Chapter 327: The perfect day for a spectacle
The Lady sat so straight, Arabella believed it was unreal, and yet also graceful.
She seemed to be all ears, ready to take in whatever Arabella had in mind.
Silas shifted once in his seat but quickly found a comfortable pose to adopt for the rest of their meeting.
"Would I be wrong to assume you have an idea of your own in mind?" hands together on her own lap, Persephone focused strictly on Arabella at those words.
"Well...," the young woman stammered a few times before collecting her voice, "That assumption would be correct," she gave one big nod.
"Then, tell us all about this idea, please. That is what I am here for after all,"
"I was thinking that the funeral could be handled discreetly among us and... For us to take advantage of a different event in order to make a spectacle out of," Arabella tried to smile, but it only graced her lips.
"The only upcoming event I can think of is the tribute auction and I do not wish to entangle matters that have no business being tangled together," the Lady shook her head, tone firm.
Arabella cleared her throat before speaking again, "Well, there is another event that is meant for spectacle to begin with. Not to mention, inviting Lord Dragomir to that one wouldn’t ignite suspicion at all. In fact," her eyes drifted, earning her a distant look, "It would make a lot of sense to invite my father to it as well,"
By the end of it, Arabella had her eyes soldered on Silas.
Both the Lady and Silas seemed pensive for a short moment, but it was the Persephone who caught on to her sayings first.
Her black eyes flashing wider very momentarily, she somehow managed to straighten even more than before, "You’d volunteer your own wedding day for this spectacle," she half asked.
"No," Arabella shook her head, "I wouldn’t be volunteering it for much of anything since Lord Dragomir would’ve been invited to Silas Eleazar’s union regardless, and as for my father, well..., he is my father and for as long as he remains in Umbraria then it only makes sense to invite him, whether he agrees to this union or not. They’d see then that I am still alive with concrete proof, and I am sure they’d also learn of the passing of Edna by the same occasion," her cheeks had shifted from a rosy, pink color to a stronger shade of red.
"I...," the Lady trailed off, an ambiguous expression on her features.
"I apologize if I’ve overstepped. I merely meant to help," the young woman looked at the floor and kept her gaze on it.
"No, that isn’t it at all," Persephone took a mildly deep breath, "I only thought I’d have to work harder in order to get you to even think of your wedding after everything that happened. I thought we’d have to beg," she chuckled lightly, "But aren’t you full of surprises?"
Silas said nothing and alternated between staring at the floor and Arabella. His expression indicated that he was either not too keen on the proposed idea or... Just taken aback like his mother. Arabella couldn’t put her finger on it.
"In any case, the wedding is another topic I wished to broach with you. I am sure it will be no surprise to you that I wish to... Speed things along a bit if you understand me," the Lady took a moment to consider both of their reactions, "After everything that occurred, it is my belief that officially tying the knot between you two will alleviate some of the pressure, but I also note that your plan will only work if your union happens before the auction," her eyebrow sort of twitched around the end.
Arabella caught it and jumped to the conclusion that Persephone was seeking validation for her terms in her own way.
"I do agree," Arabella nodded without looking back at the Lady.
"I am not sure if I agree with everything that was said," Silas’s voice blared, "But, I am not against our union taking place this very week and therefore I will not argue for now,"
"I heard from Kallum that you’ve already picked your dress out among the designs he’d brought," Persephone half asked.
"I have," the pink around Arabella’s cheeks returned as her lips somewhat drew a faint smile on her.
"We have that out of the way, at least. Kallum has your measurements, and I’ve taken the liberty of instructing him to keep working on it since your...uhmm... Rise back to life," she cleared her throat, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear... That strand was, by all means, innocent and did not even linger near her face.
"Oh... That is... Wonderful then," Arabella nodded, her eyes darting from one object to the next.
"Well, there is another topic I wished to discuss with you while we’re at it. It regards your aptitudes in business management and-"
"That is something we can leave for another time," Silas stood off his chair, "She can use some rest for now,"
He extended an inviting hand towards Arabella, but she hesitated, looked at Persephone then back at him while biting on her bottom lip.
"What’s the matter?" he enquired with a softer voice.
"It’s nothing serious," she started, "It’s just that I’ve been meaning to hold a meeting with the Lady in order to discuss a specific topic," so sheepish she was.
"You can go ahead and leave us to it if you’re bored. She will meet you once we’re done," the Lady waved him off dismissively.
"I am not bored. It’s about...," he trailed off, "What happened to discussing things as a family? Is that no longer necessary when it’s me then?"
Unfortunately for Silas, he stood facing the only two women in the world that could cause him to be flustered with a scary amount of ease.
"No, it’s not like that! I am sure it’s-"
Arabella’s first instinct was to diffuse the situation, but Persephone bulldozed through those attempts and hit him with, "Don’t be so dramatic, Silas. This conversation will most likely contain nothing you aren’t already aware of,"