"What did you do?"
When morning came, Louis was in a state of confusion. Last night had been one of his best nights ever. He knew the blonde hadn't fallen in love with him, not as much as he had... and his poetic thinking led him to believe he would make her.
As the old saying goes, love always comes after marriage.
But there was still that dilemma that lurked in his mind. No sooner had he told his grandmother what had happened at the hour she was asleep than she lashed out at him with all her indignation, using the tongue of strict English customs and traditions.
"A woman who comes late at a man's house, sits with him in a closed room, and wants to convince me that she's not a promiscuous woman?" The lady glared at him angrily, and his lips pursed in a stern manner.
"We just talked, Grandma. Besides, she'll be my wife in a few days, and then I won't have to worry about people's eyes or what they might say about us!"
"Listen to yourself saying this nonsense. Do you know why I agreed to your marriage? Because I knew she refused. No: she doesn't love you and doesn't want to marry you. She's having fun with you as she's having fun with other men. That was clear when she made you kiss her in the garden without the slightest shame."
"I kissed her!" he protested nervously. He saw her shrug stubbornly as she folded her arms tightly around her chest. "That's not what Baroness Emilia Laurence saw."
"The Baroness saw what she wanted to see."
He was irritated and tired of having the same argument over and over again to no avail. He mopped his face sullenly and looked at her, trying to calm down. "Why can't you see that I'm happy with her? That I want her no matter what is said about her, because I know where the truth lies."
He could see the ice of her blue eyes melt for a moment, as the storms of her face settled calmly. "There's still a chance, Louie. We can let everything that happened go and write it off as a passing fancy, and Hazel is still here. Seven Palom isn't like us and she won't make you happy."
"Why are you treating my heart like a vase whose bouquet can be replaced?" His voice erupted with anger and despair, making her blink in shock. "...Sunday is my wedding to Seven Palom and that's non-negotiable!"
"That's not a decision..."
"That's just mine!"
He swallowed her words sarcastically, putting an end to the stressful morning discussion. He nervously picked up his hat and coat and paced down the hall with harsh steps that matched her voice, which cracked at the last moment before he left the house.
"You will bring misery and ruin upon you, Louie. Mark my words well!"
The sky was deserted with pale gray clouds that reflected the crumbs of sunlight that had no power or strength to dissolve the sorrows and worries that oppressively dominated the soul.
Simon Palom ran his eyes over the morning newspaper, although he wasn't really paying attention. He saw the movement of River as she arranged the breakfast plates and heard the rustle of his sister's approaching footsteps with a heart that beat with displeasure.
"Good morning." Sikin greeted quietly as she took her seat in the seat opposite him. He glanced at the diamond ring on her finger with a bitter look that hadn't left his eyelids since he learned the news. The news of her engagement to a man wasn't new to him, yet he felt sad every time .
"I'm going to Wendy's today so she can start sewing the dress, then I'll visit the cemetery on the way back. Don't worry if I'm late," she told him. Her tone was hollow, and her mood wasn't even mild. Perhaps it was because of their heated argument in the late hours of the night.
Simon bit his lower lip hesitantly, then exhaled heavily. "Siqin, maybe you should think about this for a while. There's no need to rush."
He tensed at her heavy sigh. He'd been trying to avoid upsetting her, and it had been many days since her last attack, but he wasn't satisfied. He was devastated at the thought of her marrying again and leaving him alone.
"We've had this talk before, Simon. It's settled, and the wedding is next Sunday."
"Why? Why do you want to get married again? After everything that's happened. Aren't five men enough for you? Why do you deliberately hurt me every time? I have no one but you..." He breathed angrily, placing his withered greens with their dark counterparts, finding his patience running out in them.
We can stay together, Seqin. You don't need a man in your life. We will be together forever, and I will never leave you and I will never marry."
If only it were that simple, Simone. Seqin smiled for a few seconds, mockingly. "You're a man, it's okay if you don't marry. But I am a woman in a society that will continue to show mercy with its judgments until I become subservient to a man. That's how it is, and it will remain so forever."
"And now you care about people's judgments?" Bakid snorted. His heart was clenched in an abusive grip. He looked at her with eyes brimming with tears of rage as she shook her head dismissively. "You'll never understand."
He fell silent angrily.
She was a woman. She was different. She had a dark, painful past. Society's traditions oppressed her and people's norms imprisoned her until she broke their chains in rebellion. But there were still fragments embedded in her wounded heart that always made her turn to them... even if she pretended otherwise.
He watched her slowly straighten up from her seat, many raging, angry emotions surging in his head, until he stopped her with a desperate question that reflected how much he hated him. "Are you in love with him?"
Siqin looked surprised. She was surprised by his steely tone and his dark gaze despite his sadness, and she shook her head with a slight sarcasm. "The whole thing is far from some silly feelings. Louis is a kind and noble man... and he will be a good husband (who protects me from people's looks). That's all."
Simon blinked proudly, his tears glistening from the downpour stubbornly resisting, as the blonde leaned in to kiss his frowning forehead and smiled warmly at him. "You're the only man I love, Simon. You, me, and life are ours... no man, no woman, no stranger between us."
He forced a smile, but his face quickly shrank in displeasure as she left, leaving behind the wreckage of a soul destroyed by being repeatedly trampled on. He listened to the hum of his weak heart, which could barely hold together some love until it was selfishly stabbed.
The streets of London were bustling with activity as the afternoon hour arrived with its icy signs. Gentle snowflakes fell, covering heads in a thin layer and blanketing chests with chilling stings that made the body shiver with each passing second
A lively movement filled La Marcheille's shop as elegant pieces of fabric were passed between the hands of elegant ladies, who exchanged whispers in the indifferent earshot of Wendy, who bent down to the hem of a blue dress, putting the finishing touches on it .
When the bell rang open at the shop door, she was surprised by an odd silence that the women tried to suppress under their breaths as they watched a blonde woman advance confidently among them, unconcerned with the hints that trailed her. This was nothing new to her.
"Good day, Wendy." Seqin greeted brightly, pulling her seamstress's head high before adorning her lips with a cheerful smile as she straightened up. "Good day, Seqin. I was wondering when I'd see you again."
The relationship between the two women wasn't intimate.
But what Wendy liked about that English was that she saw herself in it. Both of them were different and extreme in the eyes of others, depending on the circumstances. Perhaps Wendy doing something beneficial to women would spare her a little of their hints and grant her a little affection
"I can't imagine there's a more perfect occasion for me to come than a wedding." Sigin had barely admitted this before the attention of a few nearby ladies caught their attention, who glanced at her in surprise and whispered chatter.
"Wow. Are you getting married?" Wendy beamed, showing Toma Seven the wedding ring that the seamstress's eyes gleamed with admiration. "That's great, Sigin. Who is it then?"
"Louis Legrent."
A gasp was heard in response to her statement, and the blonde's smile widened inches as Wendy held both of her hands warmly. "That's an excellent choice, darling. I'm happy for you."
"Thank you, Wendy. I thought I'd come today to inform you of some changes this time, and I'll need it earlier than last time." Siqin nodded lowly, and Wendy nodded affirmatively as she pointed her toward the chained staircase upstairs. "Sure. While we're having tea, you can tell me what you need."
Cup after cup, the tea trolley was ready. As the clock struck its second chime, the ladies of the large families were gathered in their usual sitting in the living room of the Legrent House, chatting over teacups and sideboards.
Baroness Amelia lowered her teacup, listening to the ladies' phrases being passed between them and Lady Elizabeth Legrent, who was the object of her gaze as she interrupted the conversation listlessly.
"You still haven't told us about your grandson's engagement, Elizabeth." The others' eyes widened as Lady Elizabeth swallowed briefly, her surprise and confusion evident. "It didn't stand a chance, Amelia."
"Has Louis proposed to one of them at last?" Lady Gina Hood inquired happily. Lady Elizabeth nodded, annoyed, to which Lady Caroline Winston's curiosity failed to satisfy. "Which family is she from, Elizabeth?"
Lady Elizabeth cleared her throat in annoyance. It wasn't a conversation she was ever going to bring up in this session, but wherever she knew Baroness Emilia Lawrence... she didn't know very well, and she certainly didn't feel very satisfied.
"From the Pallum family." The Baroness blurted out sharply, causing both ladies to freeze in shock as they exchanged glances between herself and the sullen mistress of the house. "Louis has proposed to Sigin Pallum."
"Oh, my."
"Oh, my God. Is what Emilia says true, Elizabeth?"
Lady Licorn shifted in her seat in annoyance. How she hated it when the conversation turned to the subject of her grandson marrying the lecherous blonde after she had been trying to forget about it by talking about wools .
"Yes, yes. My grandson asked to marry Sigin Pallum. Whatever that woman did to him, I couldn't change his mind." The lady breathed sullenly at the astonished looks of the ladies.
"Didn't he find anyone but that licentious widow with scandalous behavior?" Mrs. Hood crossed her eyes, and Lady Elizabeth shrugged helplessly without a sound. She didn't want to dwell on the matter, lest her view of him become even worse than it already was.
She couldn't imagine living under the same roof with Sigin Pallum, or considering her an eternal member of the noble Legrent family. How humiliating that must be.
"How do you know this, Amelia?" Mrs. Winston asked the Baroness, who first sipped her tea politely
"My daughter Freya's maid was at La Marcheille's to receive a new gown. She saw Siguine Palom there talking with Madame Marcheille about making her wedding gown and almost disbelieved when she said she was marrying Louis of the Legrent family."
She didn't know whether to gloat or blame. The Baroness's disapproving tone did not please Lady Elizabeth, who knitted her brows in surprise. Perhaps she was angry at her reckless grandson's decision, but she would never allow anyone to think ill of him.
"You must speak to him, Elizabeth. You know her. He wasn't there to see what we saw or hear about her. Don't allow him to get into this mess with that unfortunate woman. She will make his life miserable."
Every word Gina spoke was true and unfortunate. Louis didn't know what he was getting himself into; his grandmother knew. There was no safety for a woman who married multiple times after her first husband. There was no safety for a woman who didn't care about tradition and lived like a man, without restrictions .
There will always be a limit between a woman's freedom and a man's.
When the front door slammed shut, the ladies sat back, and Louis crossed the threshold of the living room, smiling warmly at them. "Good day, ladies."
They returned his smiles, both dull and happy, followed by a throaty snort from Baroness Emilia, her face flat. "It was a wonderful surprise when we learned of your engagement, Louis. It's a pity you didn't give a small party to mark the occasion."
Louis's smile narrowed nervously. He read the lady's look of reproach and humiliation at everyone's hints and schemes about his marrying her daughter, and then went to propose to the last woman anyone would have expected.
"It's happened so fast, ma'am
"Mrs. Seqin Palom was also... a good choice of you." He slowly clenched his jaw as she sipped calmly from her cup, continuing with an almost sarcastic look. She is beautiful and has extensive experience. But unfortunately, she is very intelligent. And intelligent women cannot have children. Intelligence causes sterility.
"No wonder most of the women in the city have children, then." He spat in a deadpan monotone that made the ladies' eyelids widen in surprise while his grandmother's argument was a reproach that did not shake him as he smiled and bowed to them halfheartedly. "Excuse me now, ladies. I have a date with my bride."
He left with angry steps.
No one was allowed to rudely tease the blonde in front of him. He was tired of everyone rushing around him about having children and that she might be, as they put it, a wasteland so they could pressure him to leave her. It was just a desire to have an heir.
He had always been much more than that .
The sky split in two at that moment.
Like a bottle of wine spilled into the horizon, so that the clouds swayed in a captivating crimson dress, softly caressed by the dusk brush, just as Sikin pampered her palette with a more delicate, longing color.
"... She said I could receive the dress in four days." She resumed her one-sided conversation as Louis sat in his chair on the jasmine-scented veranda of the house, lost in his own world.
"We need to talk to the church to set a suitable date, and it would be better if it was early. And I want you to let me know what time I can send my things to the house. It will take a long time after the wedding to arrange them."
She knew everything that needed to be done, and this didn't worry him. Perhaps he was suspicious of the idea of suddenly getting married in a week, as it would be the fastest marriage ever. As he knew, the period between engagement and wedding lasts between six months and two years.
But in the face of her desire to complete the matter without delay, he saw nothing that could make him object. The closer she got to him, the better for his heart.
"You've been so quiet since you came. Is there something wrong?" Beheira pulled him from the bone of his arrows. His brow was set, and his eyes were empty like glass, while he spontaneously shattered his silence and dispelled her preoccupation with her painting. "Were all your husbands infertile?"
Every sound of nature suddenly fell silent
Her brush dried on the canvas like ice while her greenery sank into a stagnant sea. Her heart gasped violently. She licked her lips despite her dry throat and turned to his empty eyes with a similar look. "Why?"
For some reason, mentioning it angered her. It was completely understandable for a woman surrounded by people's talk about children while she herself did not have one despite being married five times, which made the problem inevitably hers. Despite all that, he did not hesitate to bring up this specific matter .
"It's just weird. Not having a child for all these years."
"Please don't bring it up again."
He held himself in a stiff silence at her low request, which was laced with bitterness and annoyance. He exhaled tiredly, his spontaneity controlling him for so long, and stood up to take her hand, kissing it warmly and then looking into her eyes with regret.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said this. I'm sorry. You can send your things any time you want, and I'll make sure they're put somewhere safe until you sort them out." He smiled gently, and she returned it despite the sadness that welled up inside her.
"Louis!" Simon's voice, which had filtered through the balcony, pulled at their necks as he took the initiative to shake Louis's hand with such warmth that it puzzled him. He had always seen in the little blond an innate kindness, almost innocence, but his smile now was a little exaggerated
Simon took a step back, clenching his fists together warmly as he looked at the two of them with wide mouths. "So, Sunday! It's going to be a busy week, right?"
"Not necessarily. No." Louis raised an eyebrow in surprise. The blond's tone wasn't measured. His gaze wasn't clear, but clouded with a slight hint of sadness.
"Still, you're both in a bit of a hurry. Don't you agree, Louis? You two needed more time, didn't you?" As if hoping he would agree, Simon looked at him hopefully, solving the puzzle of Louis's confused mind.
"Simon, didn't you have an appointment with Mr. Victor? Go before you're late." Siguine's gaze hardened. The blond was silent for a moment, his face drooping in despair, before he excused himself, followed by Louis's astonished eyes
"Excuse me, brother. He's sad that I'm just leaving him alone. He loves you and appreciates you and is happy with our marriage, but he's a bit sensitive." Sigin cleaned her fingers with a towel she threw away and then got up from her seat. "For years, he's had no one but me, and me parting hurts him every time."
He's welcome at home anytime, you know.
"I know." Her arms wrapped around his neck gently, and she placed a delicate smile on her lips, drawing out his bright green eyes. She was toying with him, and he knew very well. Yet, he didn't hesitate to lean towards her, ecstatic with his pain, as she moved away at the last moment, almost spilling his urine on her lips.
He smiled. Perhaps she would continue to woo him, but that wasn't to last long.
Night approached infatuation. The clock struck six as he entered the house, with its ancient scent that bestowed a firm tranquility on his soul, making him breathe deeply. He walked with measured steps towards the study, where his grandmother sat in her usual place, knitting her wool with a cup of hot tea
When he greeted her, she didn't answer him, and he wasn't surprised. He had been very rough in the morning and impolite in the afternoon around the ladies, but he could no longer control his temper as he had done before. His anger was quickly taking over him.
"I hope you had a pleasant time with your lovely bride." She couldn't stop her comment from uttering itself. She held her downcast face as he sighed, sliding lightly before her on her knees.
"She really is nice, Grandma. If you only give her a chance, you'll find you've had a mistaken view of her."
"I doubt it," Mrs. Bogum denied.
"For my sake, please. I don't like to do anything without your consent. Perhaps Sigin has made many mistakes, and now is her chance to make amends." He held her hands tightly and raised his disgruntled eyes to her
Why would you love her, of all the more beautiful girls in the city? She is unlucky and barren. She is also worse than you. What will people say? "The same talk that filled him with anger. He looked at her with determination and argument .
"I don't care what people say. I only care about you and her! I can never know why she's the one I want. All I know is that she's the one I want.
But I won't be happy if you aren't. Please?"
With her consent, everything would be perfect, he thought. The lady pursed her lips hesitantly and stiffened, looked into her grandson's pleading eyes, and listened to his words, which he kept repeating insistently. It was a done deal, whether she agreed or not... so why the stubbornness?
A small smile thawed the situation. She might have been angry, protesting, and in disbelief that she wasn't thrilled about the marriage of her only grandson, whom she had long awaited, but as long as he was happy, why the resentment?