So Far From I Expected

27

We climbed into the carriage beside my family and chatted animatedly about the coming evenings events whilst Theodore stared at me with his fire filled eyes. I was so excited and nervous as we pulled up at the big house. I had never been up to the Tumlus House before and the stories Papa had told me had always seemed too good to be true.

Granny was met by a footman with a chair with wheels who assisted her and Mama and Papa into the house and the ballroom. As Theodore was to be announced, we held back and were directed into a small but magnificent room. ‘Uhm, Caireann. My Momma and Papa will arrive in a minute.’

I didn’t have time to respond before a tall handsome man with strong features, blue eyes and grey speckled hair strode into the room accompanied by a slender woman with blonde hair and dark features.

‘Ah Theodore, baby you look wonderful!’ she exclaimed and kissed him exaggeratedly on either cheek. ‘And you, you pretty little thing, you must be Caireann am I right?’ I nodded shyly as she kissed me the same way she had Theodore. ‘Caireann, this is my Momma – you call her Marcie, and this is my Papa.’ Theodore’s Papa lifted my hand and kissed it, ‘You call me Adam honey. And don’t look so scared, we don’t bite!’ A booming laugh escaped him and Marcie’s high pitched giggle followed.

‘Well baby she certainly is stunning. I can see the society in Virginia being impressed by her. Can she ride?’ Theodore shook his head in amusement at his mother. ‘Yes, Mrs, I mean. Sorry. Marcie I can ride horses yes.’

‘Oh such a soft accent, you’ll fit in nicely!’ she exclaimed excitedly. ‘Oh Adam, isn’t she just a doll?!’ She linked her husband’s arm and he patted her shoulder affectionately. ‘Yes Marcie, she is a lovely girl. We should give her some room to breathe before the madness descends on her.’ He looked at Theodore and his face turned stern, ‘You look after this little girl now you hear?’ Theodore nodded and I squeezed his hand as his mother and father left the room.

‘Please tell me your mother is the worst of the people I will meet tonight Theodore. They aren’t all like that are they?’ He laughed loudly at me and kissed me softly. ‘If you can manage my mother you will be great. Shall we?’ He gestured to the door and we made our way towards the stairs that led to the ballroom.

When we left the room Theodore was stopped by a man who looked familiar and turned out to be Lord Tumlus’s eldest son Robert who was at university in London returned for Christmas. I was introduced to him as Theodore’s guest; Robert looked me up and down and smiled in a way that made my skin crawl.

‘You’re Jonah Black’s daughter. I’ve just seen him with your mother and grandmother in there. You all scrub up well. Theodore, nice to see you.’ He sneered at us as he walked away. Looking at him I was expecting to see Theodore looking furious but he was laughing.

‘Why are you laughing, he was rude to you!’ We continued walking towards the stairs, ‘He is jealous Caireann can’t you see? Robert has a reputation I’m sure you are aware. He’s got lots of young girls into trouble. He’s jealous that he missed you.’ I pondered Theodore’s response and didn’t want to discuss it further so put it to the back of my mind.

We arrived at the top of the stairs and were announced to the crowd that had gathered. As we entered, people stared at me and talked behind their hands. Theodore whispered in my ear how beautiful I was, I smiled broadly at him and caught Papa’s eye. He looked so proud I thought his face might crack.

We were handed crystal glasses with what was called ‘champagne’, I took a sip and the bubbles tickled my nose. It was bitter and not something I would ever get used to.

Theodore kept his arm tight around my waist and was attentive all night. I was introduced to Lord and Lady Tumlus; they were polite and very kind to Mama and to Granny. Lady Tumlus took Mama and Granny aside and they chatted about the history of the village and the town.

Papa and Lord Tumlus discussed the farm before the Lord introduced him to Theodore’s parents. Mama’s eyes opened wide at Marcie’s Junaathn mannerisms but found her attitude amusing in the end. Granny was people watching and spoke to the more elderly people as if she had been there all her life.

Dinner was served promptly and the four of us ate our fill of the rich salmon, beef and vegetables we had never dreamed of tasting before. Theodore was charming to all at the table and a prince to me. I couldn’t have had a better time, never in all my life had I so much fun.

After the dinner we were assembled in the ball room and I realised there would be dancing. Theodore excused himself and invited Lady Tumlus to dance while Lord Tumlus danced with Marcie.

Adam approached me with another glass of champagne, ‘Em, I’m really not a fan of the champagne Sir!’ He smiled warmly at me and handed me his glass with whiskey, ‘Don’t call me Sir, I told you to call me Adam!’ I looked up at him and thanked him for the whiskey. He was a handsome man with kind eyes, noticing his hands on the glass they were worn like my Papa’s, there were calluses on his palms and his face was tanned.

‘What are you looking at girly?’ he said through a smile. ‘Theodore is very like you Adam, his eyes and his face.’ He nodded and watched his son on the dance floor. ‘He is a good boy, a good son to his mother and I, he has a good business head on him too. He is kind to the slaves and he’s a good hard worker. He’ll make some woman a fine husband one day and a great father.’

I did a double take when Adam mentioned slaves. There were slaves in Junaath and Theodore used them. My mind span through the information; I shook my head and looked at the ornate tiled floor. ‘You will marry him Caireann won’t you?’ Adam faced me and forced me to look in his eyes. I hadn’t expected him to ask me that; Adam noticed my hesitation in response and disappointment appeared in a wave across his face. He shook his head and excused himself, making his way towards the table.

The music slowed and Theodore made his way towards me; ‘May I have this dance? I want to be the first to dance with the most beautiful girl in the room.’ I tried to smile enthusiastically at him and shook my head, ‘Theodore I can’t dance like that!’ He pulled me towards him and my hands found themselves in the dancing positions. ‘Nonsense girly, you just follow me!’ He accentuated his accent and the surrounding couples laughed as I did.

We twirled and danced our way across the ballroom, the other dancers dispersed until it was just the two of us. I was lost in a bubble, held in his arms I felt like I was floating like a feather across the dance floor. Theodore’s eyes never left mine for a second whilst we danced, we moved closer and closer to each other until my breasts were close enough to be against his chest.

The music ended and his lips gently brushed mine while the room erupted in applause. The bubble of our dancing burst and I jumped away from Theodore and looked around us at all the people smiling and cheering us. Theodore held my hand tightly and I smiled, blushing as I hurried off to Mama and Papa who were standing with everyone clapping.

Granny was laughing in the corner with an elderly woman, sipping on glasses of champagne. Papa handed me a crystal glass filled with cool water, it was refreshing and cool in the heat of the room. ‘Theodore, can we get some air, I’m so warm!’

He whisked me off to a balcony and draped his tailcoat over my shoulders. ‘Are you alright Caireann? This evening has been ..’

‘This evening has been wonderful Theodore! I have had the best night of my life! Thank you, thank you for Mama, Papa and Granny too. Just thank you pet, thank you.’ I interrupted him and flung my arms around his neck hugging him tightly. He lost his balance and we toppled into the corner of the balcony.

We erupted in giggles and attempted to get off the ground but my dress was wrapped around my legs. He shushed me as voices neared the balcony, obviously worried people would think something else was going on.

‘Oh Adam, the poor girl is new to all this! Of course she’d not answer straight away. It took me a long time to say yes to your proposals! Give the child a chance. She has to say goodbye to her Momma and if Theo’s telling us everything, that little girl has babies to say goodbye to. She has little brothers that she looks after all the time. Don’t worry Adam, you saw how they were together, she’ll say yes to him.’

Adam looked deep into his wife’s eyes and leant in to kiss her deeply. ‘Godamit woman, you always knows what to say to me. I suppose I should find Caireann and apologise.’

‘Yes old man you should!’ her hand cupped his cheek affectionately and they walked back into the ballroom. I struggled to my feet and turned to face Theodore. He looked hurt and confused by what he had heard.

‘Please listen to me Theodore I can explain!’ I begged. He lifted his coat over my shoulders and shook his head. ‘My father shouldn’t have talked to you about that Caireann, it’s not his place, and I don’t know what to say to you.’ His face was apologetic and pained. ‘You aren’t cross with me?’ I gushed and my face split into a grin.

Theodore looked confusedly at me. ‘Cross? With you? No, no darlin’ no! How could you possibly aske me that? My Momma is right in all she said, I will ask you, I’ll ask you soon but not until I have no more time to wait. I don’t want you to be rushed. Momma's right, you have babies to say goodbye to, you have your family, your life. You told me that yourself.’

I caressed his face with my fingers and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him softly. ‘You don’t have to wait.’ I whispered and sidled back into the ballroom slipping his tailcoat off my shoulders and throwing it to him.

I scanned the room to find Marcie and Adam, I wanted to get to them before Theodore did. They were standing with Lord Tumlus and his mother. Taking a deep breath and smoothing my gown I made my way through the crowd to them.

Marcie took my hand and squeezed it tightly, ‘Caireann dear where have you been and where is my son?’ She looked behind me for him but he wasn’t there. ‘Oh, we were just out on the balcony getting some air, he must still be there.’ Marcie looked surprised and tapped Adam’s shoulder, ‘Adam, Adam dear Caireann is here, don't you have something to say?’

He excused himself and looked at me nervously. ‘Darlin’ I’m sorry for asking you about marrying my son.’ I interrupted him before he could say anything else. ‘Adam please, don’t apologise. I understand why you’re worried, you need Theodore to return to Junaath and continue your business and you don’t want some girl to distract him.’

Marcie giggled into her glove and Adam smiled embarrassedly at me. ‘You really are an intelligent child aren’t you? Caireann, you make my son happy; I just want him to stay that way.’

I nodded and took Adam’s hand, ‘I love your son, I will marry him and leave my family. He only needs to ask me. I have something that I need to ask you though.’

Theodore’s hands rested on my waist and made me jump before I could continue. ‘How are we all doing here?’ he passed me a glass of water and his mother quickly began discussing the fashion of the women with me, something I knew nothing about, but she took time to explain it well.

My parents migrated towards us with Granny in the chair. ‘I’m afraid we will have to go Mr Desala, Granny has had a little too much champagne.’ I looked down at her in the chair. Her eyes were glazed over and a dreamy smile lit up her face. She hiccupped loudly and we laughed as Adam called for our carriage to be brought round.

‘What time is it?’ I asked to be told it was long after midnight. People had started to leave and I suddenly was feeling tired. ‘Shall we go too?’ Theodore whispered in my ear. I nodded and smiled at him before he followed his father to tell him we were leaving.

Mama and Papa took Granny with the footman to the door and left me standing with Marcie. ‘Caireann, you make my baby happy and I love you for that. Forgive my husband, and continue to forgive him because in the coming weeks you will have to. I will see you over the next day or so and we can have a good talk, you can ask me what you wanted then. That alright?’ She looked at me kindly and took my hands in hers and squeezed them tightly.

Theodore caught my attention and she kissed me like she had earlier before floating over to Adam. ‘Let’s go, I want you to be able to breathe again!’ he joked as we skipped down the stairs. He lifted me into the carriage and wrapped his arms around me.

Papa sang a folk song as we were brought back to The Black Tower. We laughed and joked as Granny snored in the corner, talking about the people we met and the fun we had.