Chapter two
2881 Words
Bethany's POV.
“Give me a minute mom!!” I yelled from my room.
“Seriously….” My mother dragged on, “even on your wedding day?” She asked.
I rolled my eyes as I wiped off the lipstick smudge that her loud voice caused me to make.
It was not even my wedding.
I sighed, of all times to yell, it had to be now.
“I said I will be down with you in a minute mother!, it is not even my wedding!” I said to her,
“Well you had better hurry, I will be leaving you behind and you either have one of two choices, use the subway or you dispatch yourself to your own introduction!” She said as she corrected herself.
I rolled my eyes, I wondered why she was taking this so seriously, it was not a big deal actually
That was the fact.
Edgar was not in a hurry, well at least I was certain that he was going to be in bed
He was super to call me so this must mean good news
I smiled as I thought about him.
My husband……well, not yet but In no time he would be that to me
I could not help but wonder if he was having a better time than me in his own house.
I got my makeup right eventually and I headed downstairs.
My mom was dishing out scrambled eggs onto a plate.
“Mom?”
“Finally, you are down, thank God!” She said,
“What are you doing?” I asked, ignoring the last thing that she said.
“What do you mean by what I am doing?” She asked, “I am making breakfast obviously!”
“But you told me that you were leaving?”
“Well I stayed back did I not?”
It was then that it dawned on me what she was doing.
“Edgar made arrangements to pick us up, did he not?” I asked her.
“Of course, what did you expect, did you think that he would let you wake or take the bus to his place?” She asked..
I shrugged my shoulders, she was right.
He had not called me by now, it was safe to assume that he was still busy.
“Now eat up!” She said to me,"I will not let you make the same stupid mistake I made on my wedding day!” She said to me
That leaked my internet, taking a spoonful of the meal that released steam in front of me, I asked, “and what was that?”
“Starving myself on my wedding day!” She said to me as she gave a light chuckle
I laughed along with her.
“you can not be serious right now mother”
“I am dead serious!”
“Oh well, I do not intend to make the same mistakes that you did”
“I did not make any other mistake asides that, the workday I did was not eating that day, but everything else was right, your father was a good man”
I could feel the atmosphere thicken as she spoke about my father.
I was not sad, I was just aware that she loved him and he was not here to witness all of this.
“Honkkkkkk”
Whatever that was, it was powerful enough to snapp me and my mother out of whatever we were going through at that moment.
“Your ride is here…”my mother declared as she looked out the glass window.
“Our ride…” I corrected her as I got the last morsel of food on the plate and gulped down the glass of grape juice that was ok on the table.
“Slow down, you do not want to choke on your wedding day now would you?” She asked me.
“Mom, for the umpteenth time, it is not my wedding” I said to her as I pulled her hands and rushed towards the door.
“That is what you think, she said to me!” as she followed me.
……
Our drive to the manor was a long one but we got there
We did not really feel the impact of the long drive as the car was really comfortable for us.
I just stood in front of the house in awe.
I had been to Edgar's house, but this was different.
The Blackwood manor was like a fairytale come to life.
When Edgar spoke to me me of a manor, I did not in my wildest dreams think that this was going to be it,
“Oh come on, do not stand there looking like you have just seen a Ghost!” My mother said to me,
“Mommmmmmm” I whined.
“Come on, let's find someone to help us lest we get lost.” She said to me
We approached the gate and just as we got closer to it, it opened up to reveal another limousine waiting for us.
“Come with me, miss!” The driver said.
I looked at my mother and we both made our way Into the limo.
“Cozy!” My mother muttered as she made herself comfortable as she sat in the car, “the chair is kinda hard though…” she said.
“Mom….”
“Oh puh lease” she said to me with a smile
The car made a soft revving sound as it glided through the gates of the Blackwood estate, I could not help but feel a sense of excitement and curiosity as the gates closed behind me.
As though the chauffeur, a stern-looking man with a crisp, black uniform, knew what I wanted at that moment, he lowered the tinted glass windows of the limousine as he navigated the winding driveway with ease, his eyes fixed intently on the road ahead.
I muttered a faint “thank you”,
“Wow!” My mother cried out, I turned and looked towards her own side of the window.
The manicured lawns stretched out like a vibrant green canvas, dotted with towering trees and vibrant flowers that seemed to bloom in every color of the rainbow.
The sound of birdsong filled the air, punctuated by the occasional distant rumble of a lawnmower, we could see someone at a distance and my mother instinctively waved at the person who waved back at her.
“Jeez..” I said to her,
“Well first impressions really do matter,you do not know the relationship that I have built now by a simple wave of hand?”
I shook my head, “I know that It matters, but it just feels weird…”
“Trust me, it is not” she said..
“And where did you get that?” I said, referring to the champagne flute that she had in her hands.
“This might be your first time in a limousine,but it is definitely not mine,” she said as she opened a compartment of.the car that looked like a refrigerator.
Jenkins,as we later learnt our chauffeur to be called, brought the sedan to a smooth stop before the main entrance, a sweeping archway flanked by twin stone lions.
"We're here, miss," he said, opening the door with a discreet smile. "Shall I escort you to the house?”he asked
“I am good” I responded as I got out of the car and walked towards the door where two maids were waiting for me and my mother
"Welcome to Blackwood Manor, miss," one of the maids said, her voice low and smooth, "The family's home for generations."
“Thank you!” My mother responded, “I came here for….”
“Mr Edgar?” The maid responded, “he is aware of your coming and he has instructed me to welcome you and make sure you are comfortable and happy all through your stay here till he joins you”
I sighed, this was cool with me, at least I had enough time to explore.
This was another form of relief, I mean, a lady who was late to her own introduction was not a good look on her, (even though I was not in charge of my coming here)
“That's good” I said
“Come with me then miss” they said as she gestured and directed us inside the house.
We walked past the blinds and shiny artifacts that were in the lobby.
But there was something that caught my eye.
My breath ceased as soon as my brain interpreted the image my eyes saw.
That portrait that hung in the lobby
It was a family portrait but there was one person in there that looked familiar.
The boy, I knew that face from somewhere, a place that I did not want to remember too often.
“What's the hold up?” My mother asked me, “you have been standing there for over a minute now and you just keep staring at that portrait, Is anything the matter?”
How could I tell her that this portrait had a resemblance to the man who r***d me when I was younger.
“Nothing,” I said to my mother, “I'm fine, I was just trying to get accustomed to the faces of my soon to be in-laws.” I lied.
“Come on, I think you have had enough of your in-laws for one minute,” she said as she took me away towards the lobby.
We did not stay there long before Edgar came down the stairs
“MY darling!!!” He exclaimed
I rushed and ran Into his open arms for a hug.
“You kept me waiting…” I said to him,
“I am sorry, I needed to keep the whole place in check for you”
He took me by surprise when his warm lips pressed against mine.
“!!” My mother coughed.
It registered in my head immediately.
I could feel my cheeks turn bright pink with the embarrassment that washed over me. I did not know if its source was the fact that my mother was present while I was being kissed or the way he kissed me by surprise.
“Oh, hello Mrs Carolyn…” Edgar greeted my mother, his hand in his pocket, “I did not see you standing there” he said.
“Of course you did not…” she responded, “I am certain you did not..” she said
“Oh my God mom,!” I thought as I rolled my eyes, I could tell she was enjoying this with the smirk on her face.
“I will just leave you love birds to it then” she said.
“No….” Edgar said, “I have things planned before the event that starts by nine today!”
“Nine?” My mother said,
I knew that she was not okay with this arrangement.
“I have a lot of things planned out for you,” he said.
“You better impress me!” She said
“Great…” let us begin.
………..
“Will she be alright?” Edgar asked me as we lowered my mother to the seat that was close by.
“Yes she will”
This is not common knowledge but my mother was very allergic to sunflowers.
And she happens to come in contact with one during the course of your tour.
“It is not that bad, she just gets dizzy, it's a good thing that she realized what dangers she was in first before it got that bad”
“Martha!” Edgar yelled.
A lady ran towards him.
“Please make sure that Mrs Carolyn is well taken care of” he ordered her.
“Yes sir!” He responded.
“I am so sorry that this happened, and on an important day like this!” He said as she pulled on his hair.
“Trust me!” I said to him, “this is not bad, she will be fine, we all have allergies don't we?” I asked him, “I mean you should have one do you not?”
He smiled at me, and with a glint in his eyes that always had me struggling to breathe,he responded,
“walk out of this room and see for yourself”
That was all that I needed to get fired up from my insides.
“Oh Edgar!” I moaned as he shut my mouth with his lips, his hands exploring every inch of my body.
He paused, I was certain he wanted me to catch my breath..
“That's one way of shutting you up!” He said to me,
I threw away every care to the wind, “a little less conversation, and a little more of this …..” I moaned as I drew his hands to my breast.
He understood the assignment and sent spams up my body.
“Arghhhhh” I groaned as he pinned me up the glass window that faces the garden.
I opened my eyes, what the f**k was I doing, I felt embarrassed.
“Um….” I groaned uncomfortably.
He noticed and stopped.
“I'm sorry,” he apologized.
“No,” I said as I stopped him from apologizing, “you do not have to apologize,it's just that….”
He understood what I was speaking of, “you mean the windows?”
I nodded,
“They are tinted, no one can see what goes on here, but if that does not make you comfortable, we can always go upstairs?”
“No, it's fine!” I said.
“Are you sure?” He asked me.
“I am”
“Well I can not leave you all by yourself, there is nothing that I am doing right now?”
“Is there anything you would want us to do or discuss?” He asked.
Just then I had a bright Idea.
“There was this painting that I saw when I walked in….” I said to him,
I saw his eyes light up with excitement, “were you the cute looking teenager there?”
He chuckled, “I am flattered, but that was me in my twenties,I went with my family to Hawaii that holiday” he responded.
My heart sank, that was where I knew him from, he looked familiar.
I was in Hawaii too .
“What holiday was that?” I asked him,
“Easter?” He said,he sounded more arrogant about it than uncertain, “we were supposed to go with three random families though…” he asked
“Why do you ask?” He asked me.
“Nothing….” I lied, “just like the look of you when you were younger” I said with a forced laughter following my statement.
“I can't blame you!” He said.
Just as soon as the silence was about to get awkward, Martha walked into the room.
“Mr Edgar, your two thirty is here?” She announced.
“Oh ... .good, that is our masseuse” he said to me, “another surprise that I had planned out for us” he said.
“Are you coming now?” He asked.
“No, I have to check up on my mother, but go ahead, I will join you soon”
He got up and left.
I pulled out my phone from my bag and called my best friend, Elizabeth.
She after two rings
“Girl….” She said as soon as she picked the call, “how are you calling me, and why does your breath sound so ragged…” she asked me
“Hello Liz…” I said to her
“Spare me the pleasantries,” she said, “why are you calling me right now, I thought you had some wedding?”
I rolled my eyes, “it is not a wedding, it is an introduction ceremony!!”
“Changes nothing” she said.
“Are you pissed that I did not take you along?”I asked her.
“Well ... .duh” she answered..
I laughed, temporarily forgetting what I called her for…
“Well, I will make it up to you,I just need you to help me out with something, I need you to check out that trip I went on years ago!” I said to her,
She was silent, she knew what that meant
“But Bethany….I thought we promised never to speak about this again?” She said,
“I know, but something came up” I said to her.
“I
hope this is worth it, what would you have me do?” She asked.
“Simple, I need you to know if the Blackwood's were on that cruise with my family and check if their son went with them!”
“By son you mean Edgar?” She asked.
“Yes, you know what I mean”
“Fine, I will help you, I just hope this was worth it!” She said,
“I'll catch up with you!” She said,
- Writer
