The Funeral Style

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Five

The moment I walked into the building, I wished I hadn't come back for another three hours. The entire place was chaotic. Maids rushing to set things up, they were all going to fast, one of them nearly collided with another who was holding a very expensive bottle of champagne. It was nearly four in the afternoon; we weren't due to have another funeral until tomorrow.  

Elias came hurriedly from down the halls, "The décor is abhorrent, purple Vervain and red Laceleaf are two flowers that should, on no occasion, be permitted anywhere near each other, are you colorblind? Go change them immediately. I want the gold-tinted Hellebores and the vibrant pink Peonies. This is a woman we are burying, not a monster."

He glances over to me, and his entire face relaxes, "There you are."

"What's going on?" I ask, as he rushed over to me, and grabs me by the arm, pulling me to walk beside him.

"It appears we have a last-minute burial today."

I raise my eyebrows, "You never do last-minute. And why would a funeral be last-minute?"

"Because they weren't going to bury her here, besides, a colleague of the woman who died is an old acquaintance of mine."

I didn't think Elias had friends. "Who is he?"

"A clever man."

"That does not answer my question the least bit."

"You'll meet him later." He rushed me into my dressing room and shut the door behind us. He quickly began to dig through the rack of dresses, and began pulling them out, one-by-one. "This one will do." He said mainly to himself as he picked out a black dress with a lace topping. Instead the material had carefully sewn in pieces of diamond.

I didn't want to think about how much the ridiculous looking dress cost.

"Put this on, I'll have one of the girls come in and fix your chaotic mop you call hair."

"Gee thanks."

"Of course, my darling, it's what I'm here for." And then he left the room, leaving me to send him a nasty look when the door shut behind him.

I put the dress on, happy that my pregnancy was still completely unnoticeable. A maid came in moments later ready to fix my hair into an elegant style with curls and diamond decorations to match the dress.

When I was dressed and ready, I walked out to see everything had completely changed from when I had first arrived. The flowers had changed to Hellebores and Peonies, just as Elias ordered. The tables were decked in pastries all too pretty to eat. There were candles lit on each table, all burning, making the room light up in a soft glow, despite the lights also being on, it felt more like a party than a funeral.

But then again, that was the point.

"Mrs. Parity, my dear," Elias came gliding over as took my hand in his, "Tonight will be a bit different, as these guests are a dear lot. I wish you to stand beside me and show them as much gentleness as though you've known and endured them your entire life."

"Isn't that what I normally do to the guests that have funerals here?"

"But of course," He says simply, "But this time, I want you to be genuine, because my preferred people should be yours."

"Because we're married."

"Because we are."

"And who are these mysterious guests that happen to be your preferred people?"

"Persons you may have met before. They were at our wedding after all."

My eyebrows lifted, "Who?"