Marriage As Punishment

The Dinner: Part 1

CHAPTER 7

The sounds of life drift up the stairs, through the hallways, under my door, and into my ears. I hear the soft sounds of music and muted conversations. I need to be down stairs. In the mix of it all. Right now I should be greeting our guests, welcoming them into our home. I can't make myself move though. I'm sitting here at my vanity, staring blankly at my reflection. I know what I need to do, but I can't do it. I'm not ready yet. My dress is on and my hair is done, but I'm not ready.

I can see clearly in my mind what will happen if I don't go downstairs soon. The guests will start to whisper, questions of whether I've run away. Father will be angry, mother exasperated. She'll send Liz for me. Liz will come and scold me for being rude. I close my eyes willing myself to disappear, to be anyone except me. I open my eyes again. No, I'm still there looking back at myself. Taking a deep breath, I force my feet to move. Step by slow step, I close the distance between the door and I. I reach out and grab the cold handle, only to pause. It's time to put the sad face away. Smile you're engaged. I plaster what I hope is a convincing smile onto my face and open the door. The once muted sound of people greet my ears. Now I hear different voices joined together in laughter floating up from below. I will have to join them soon, laugh and be merry.

'Perhaps I could still run,' I think. I force the intrusive thought out of my head. 'You're a reasonable girl, you know you'd have no place to go,' I tell myself. 'Now walk!' I command my feet. Thankfully, they obey.

Nearing the staircase, the voices and music get even louder. I make sure that I'm still smiling before making my descent. Each step feels like another tug on the knot that is my stomach. If I feel this way because of announcing the engagement what will I feel during the wedding? That thought makes me freeze halfway down the stairs. The few people milling about in the foyer turn and smile brightly. I quickly return the smile and continue down the steps. After briefly thanking each person for coming, I go to find mum.

In the main hall I find the source of the music. A small band of musicians playing a cheerful tune. There are some dancing along to the music and others simply watching. I think there are a little over one hundred people here. Not including those that must be wandering around other parts of the house. I don't think I know this many people. I search the crowd no longer just looking for mother, I look for any familiar face. To my relief I find one, my friend Sarah, who is already bouncing over to me. Her red hair bouncing along with her, a huge grin on her face. We used to be very close, that is until she got married and no longer had time for single friends. Perhaps now we'll become close again.

"Aleana!" she squeals, "I'm so glad to see you! It's been an eternity!"

I smile brightly. "It's wonderful to see you, Sarah. How have you been?"

She bounces on her heels. "I'm great, and," she pauses, "I'm expecting!"

"Oh, that's fantastic," I smile, "congratulations I'm very happy for you."

"Oh my goodness! I got so excited, I almost forgot! Congratulations to you! You're getting married. I can't believe it, I'm so excited," she rambles, "You'll love it, it's truly a blessing. My John is so sweet, I know James will be too. An earl Aleana, that's amazing. Congratulations!"

I had forgotten how excitable she is. She is constantly gabbing away. I smile politely.

"Oh!" she exclaims startling me. "You and I can have children at the same time! Mine will be a little older of course, but close enough in age! They could be little friends. And if I have a boy and you have a girl, they could get married some day! Then, you and I will be related! Wouldn't that be wonderful?" she asks.

"Oh, um, that would be...lovely," I stutter. Very excitable indeed. "Have you by chance seen my,"

"Fiancé?" she cuts me off. "I have! Here," she grabs my arm, "I'll take you to him."

I panic a bit. "No! I...uh, my mother!" I try to explain, but she doesn't hear me. I try to pull out of her grasp, but it's like an iron cuff. She's not very big, but she is very strong.

"I just saw him out here," she says, leading me into the hallway. We stop and she looks around frowning. "Well he was here. I'm sorry, we'll find him though."

I let out a breath of relief. "It's fine, really," I try to smile sadly suppressing a grin, "I don't need to find him now. I was actually lo-"

"There!" she exclaims, "I told you he was out here. Lord James!" she calls.

I grab her arm and try to pull her away. "No, Sarah! It's fine! Lets not interrupt him," I plead.

"You won't be interrupting him, silly. You're his fiancée. Lord James!" she calls more loudly this time. That gets his attention. He turns and sees Sarah, then his eyes find mine. There's no use in trying to hide from him now. So I smile and follow Sarah over to him and the two men that he is with.

"I've brought your bride to you, Lord James." Sarah beams, looking very proud of herself. 'Well I hope she is,' I think bitterly.

James and the two men chuckle. "Thank you, I am deeply in debt to you," he smiles.

My heart skips at his words. He seems genuine, could someone be such a convincing liar?

"Hello Aleana. You look very beautiful this evening," he says looking into my eyes.

I look down and whisper a small thank you. Which only makes him and the other men laugh again. 'He's laughing because he sees how nervous he makes me.' I frown. I'm stronger than this. I raise my chin and meet his eyes again.

"You look quite handsome yourself, Jamie," I throw in the nickname he seemed to hate. James raises his eyebrows. One of the men beside him bursts into laughter. I look at him and smile. He is younger than I thought. He's only a boy, not much younger than I am though. He's got dark curly hair and the same blue eyes as James. Though his eyes are less mystery and more merriment. I already like him.

"Ahem," James clears his throat at the still laughing boy.

"Sorry...Jamie," he grins, "I thought only mother called you that."

James' jaw tightens. "Actually, no one calls me that," he raises an eyebrow at me. "I prefer James."

Seeing an opportunity to annoy him, even though I know I shouldn't, I respond. "Awe, I quite like Jamie. I think it suits you. It's cute like a sweet little lamb."

His eyes narrow slightly. "I assure you, madam, I am no lamb. Quite the opposite," he smirks.

"I like her. She's funny." The boy laughs. James looks annoyed. Yes, I definitely like this boy. I smile warmly at him.

"It doesn't seem that Jamie is going to, so I guess I'll introduce myself. I'm Aleana Brighton and this is Lady Sarah Downy."

The boy grins widely, "I'm-"

"Matthew," James interrupts, "my youngest brother." James looks very annoyed now. I smile to myself. "And this is my good friend Lord Gavin Trevall." The so far, silent man bows his head and smiles in greeting.

Right then mother rushes up.
"Oh good, you're together. Dinner is about to be served," she says as the dinner bell is rung. Sarah runs off mumbling something about finding her husband. I watch her go.

When I turn back to James I find that Matthew, Gavin, and my mother have already gone. James silently offers me his arm. He is upset over me calling him Jamie. It serves him right after teasing me in the forest. I take his arm and we make our way to the dining hall.

"I didn't mean to upset you James. I was only teasing." I look up at him innocently. He glances down at me briefly before rolling his eyes.

'This evening could be fun.' I think to myself, smirking contentedly.

~~~~~~~~~

TA-DA!!!! I did it! I wrote another chapter.

This feels like a really long chapter. I decided to put it in parts bc it was so long. I'm fairly proud of this one, I had fun writing it.

It's 1 am, and I've just finished writing. I think I do better writing at night. Less distractions maybe?

How am I doing? Are my characters consistent? Can you follow easily? Does it make sense? Give me your honest opinions I want to know what you think.