The Witch's Daughter

Chapter2(Leith)

I finished getting ready and now I am just standing in the hallway waiting for Mama to come tell me it is time to go downstairs. I can hear the guests being greeted at the door and chatting away in the ballroom. I peak over the railing just as William is walking through the door and before I can duck away, he looks up and sees me. He smirks as he starts to head up the stairs towards me, but luckily Willow beats him to it. I notice he furrows his brow as his dad and him are greeted by my mother and ushered away into the office.

“There you are, Leith. Your mother sent me to find you and asked that I bring you down.”

“Oh… I thought she was going to walk down with me.”

“She said she had some urgent business to take care of but to start the party without her.”

I give her a nod and we both head downstairs into the fray. As we reach the bottom of the stairs, Arabella speed walks over to me.

“There you are! Happy birthday, Leith!” she grabs me into a hug and squeezes me.

“It is so good to see you, Bella. I feel like it has been such a long time.”

“We saw each other two days ago, silly.”

“So it has been a long time.” I tell her while I give her a wink and a smile.

She laughs as she drags me into the ballroom. I look around as we walk in, and I am stunned at how amazing it looks. There are fairy lights and vines with gold and emerald green Scottish primrose flowers covering the ceiling and walls. It is amazing and exactly how I pictured it. Bella and I circle around the ballroom trying to see who all has come to celebrate me. I tell her about how I promised my mother I would be more sociable tonight and try and find a suitable husband, but she just laughs and drags me over to the drink table.

“So I noticed William is here… I thought you had thrown his invitation out?”

“Oh, I did, but he slithered his way in when I ran into him in town today. He asked me about his missing invitation in the middle of a*****e with multiple people around so I could not say no. We will just have to avoid him at all costs tonight.”

“It’s honestly sad, if he wasn’t such an ass he would probably be the perfect husband.”

“I refuse to think about that because he is such an ass and there is no reason to dwell on what ifs.”

“No, I am serious. He is handsome and comes from one of the wealthiest families in town. If I was not already engaged, I would honestly think about putting up with his pompous arse just for those two things.”

I give her a shocked look because she never talks like that. She gives me one back and then sighs.

“I overheard that his father is getting tired of waiting for him to pick a wife and he is going to pick one for him. I have no idea who, but I cannot wait to find out.”

“Oh, that will be delightful to watch. I hope it is someone who can and will put him in his place.”

We burst into laughter and start making another round through the ballroom when William cuts us off.

“Good evening, ladies. Happy Birthday, Lili.”

“My name is Leith for goodness sakes.” Bella snickers and tries to cover it up with a laugh.

“Well, I would love to have the next dance, Leith.”

Before I can say anything Mama comes out of nowhere.

“That would be a wonderful idea, Leith.” She gives me a forced smile and glances around at all the people eavesdropping on our conversation. I force myself not to roll my eyes and turn back to William with a fake smile.

“It would be my honor to dance with you.” He smirks at me before walking away. I pull Mama and Bella onto the balcony and shut the door behind us.

“Why would you make me dance with him when you know I cannot stand him.”

“There were too many people watching even for me to try and save you. Not to mention you promised you would be more sociable tonight.”

“Yes, but not with him.”

“Well, I have not seen you dance once tonight, and the night is almost over.”

“Fine but we are going back to town tomorrow so I can get some of that chocolate cake.”

“Do not worry, you will get your chocolate cake. Now let's head back in, we are the hosts after all.” She gives me a smirk as we head back in. The band starts to play their next song, and William finds me in an instant. He takes my hand, and we head to the dance floor.

“Wow, I am shocked that you are such an excellent dancer. I thought all that schooling would ruin you.” He tells me with a smirk on his face.

“Well, I can not say the same thing about you, but I’m glad to have proven you wrong.”

“Tell me why you act this way towards me?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you have been rude to me my whole life, or it could be because your father has been trying to weasel his way into my father’s business since he past because he thinks my mother can not run it herself, when she in fact can and has been.”

“He has not been trying to take the business from your mother, he has been trying to help her.”

“Well, we do not need his help.”

We dance in silence a little bit and as the song comes to an end he leans down and whispers in my ear.

“If you do not like me so much, why are you wearing the present I sent for you?”

“No, my mother…” I stop mid-sentence because I realize that Mama was nowhere near me in the store and could not have known that I forgot to get the necklace and earrings.

“You got this for me?” I ask incredulously.

“Yes, I noticed how well they went with your hair and eyes and saw how you admired them in the store… didn’t you get the note I sent with it?”

“Note? No, it was just the box.”

“Wow, maybe the courier really does need talking to.”

I shoot him a glare, so I do not smirk at the one funny thing he has said in his life. I glance over his shoulder to realize that the song has ended at this point, and we have just been standing there in each other’s arms for gods knows how long. I push away from him and rush over to Bella.

“Leith, what were you talking about? The dance was over for so long before you noticed.”

Before I can answer her, William’s father and my mother take the stage, and Mama starts to speak as she waves me up to the stage.

“Thank you all for coming tonight. Leith and I are so happy to have spent her birthday with everyone we hold dear.” I finally reach the stage and give everyone a smile and a nod. I notice William was called up by his father as well and my stomach knots up for some reason.

“We have an amazing announcement to make as well.” Mr. Adair states as he looks over the crowd. “The Douglas and the Adair families will finally be joining together, and we would love to let everyone know that William and Leith are officially engaged!”

There are shocked gasps in the crowd and then finally applause. I lock eyes with Bella, and she has her hand over her mouth in shock. The cooks bring out a huge chocolate cake with candles and I can tell from here it is from the café that I love. I look over to William and he is already looking at me with guilt in his eyes. He knew. He knew the entire night, even before tonight. I turn to walk out of the ballroom and when I finally reach the hallway, I sprint upstairs and into my room. I could not even enjoy my chocolate cake.