Chapter 35
T he nervous energy in Ana?se’s bedroom was palpable to the point that Scarlett felt like she was walking through an anxiety-fuelled force field.
The usually spacious room felt uncomfortable and warm from all the bodies swarming around Ana?se, who was positioned on a stool close to the floor-to-ceiling mirror leaning against the wall in the far corner.
Flashes of white lace and tulle were evidence that she was being pruned and primed to an inch of her existence.
The previous days had passed in a flurry of activity, with decorations, lights, flowers, and people arriving in what felt like droves.
As Scarlett paused, taking in the mania in front of her, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
Everything was perfectly in place; all that was required now was a bride and a groom. Simple.
They were still a few hours away from the ceremony, but Ana?se’s mother was adamant that Ana?se should be dressed and ready in plenty of time.
The idea of the bride being late had appalled her.
Early that morning she’d requested Mrs Wilson gather the staff, including Scarlett, making Mrs Wilson flutter around like a nervous bird as she tried to find everyone, who, because of their varied duties, were scattered all over the house and grounds.
“There will be no delays or theatrics today of any kind, do y’all hear?
” Eva Marsden-Beasley, standing tall and formidable in swaths of navy and plum velvet at the top of the staircase, her light blonde hair militantly contained in a complicated baroque- style updo, had addressed her group of subjects like a grand old mistress.
The irony of Eva’s opening statement was not lost on Scarlett, who covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. Mrs Wilson cast her a reprimanding look.
“None,” she’d continued– this time looking at Ana?se, who stood behind her mother, eyes cast downwards with her shoulders slumped. Her usual spark was absent, replaced by an eerie and vacuous version of her former self.
There was something pointedly off about the whole situation, but Ana?se had shared nothing with Scarlett, nor was it expected that she should.
Despite their rather intimate evening together when Scarlett was ill, Scarlett was still staff or the help , as she often heard herself being referred to.
They weren’t friends. It was a professional relationship, and Scarlett understood the clear boundaries– yet she still felt a warmth towards Ana?se and wished she knew what troubled her, even if all she could do was offer some comfort and support.
Now, Scarlett scanned the bodies surrounding Ana?se and relaxed when she saw Eva was not amongst the throng. Miranda wasn’t present either, which Scarlett thought strange. It wasn’t often that Ana?se’s best friend and maid of honour wasn’t by her side or somewhere nearby.
“I can’t breathe!” Ana?se’s voice travelled across to the doorway where Scarlett stood, yet nobody seemed to hear, too occupied with their individual tasks to create the vision that Eva no doubt had put the fear of God into them to produce. “Please…” Ana?se’s voice was small and weak.
Scarlett clapped her hands loudly. “Everyone take five, please!” Several surprised heads turned to look in her direction, followed by various protests and complaints about time scales and clocks ticking. “Out, all of you. In fact, come back in fifteen minutes.”
Despite being surprised at her own assertiveness, Scarlett was pleased the others seemed to buy into it.
Although they all appeared reluctant, they put down their curling tongs, combs, and brushes and left the room.
Scarlett closed the door firmly behind them and turned the key in the lock in case any of them changed their minds and returned sooner than instructed.
Ana?se’s bottom lip quivered, and her eyes filled with tears. “Fuck, my makeup!”
Scarlett rushed over, pulled out a tissue from the box on the dressing table, and handed it to Ana?se.
“Thanks,” Ana?se said in a cracked voice. “I just got a little overwhelmed.”
Scarlett handed her another tissue, which Ana?se took, looking up at the ceiling and dabbing under her eyes.
“It’s all a bit of a mess.” Ana?se sniffed.
“Here, let me.” Scarlett took another tissue and removed some of the mascara that had smudged next to Ana?se’s left eye.
“My mother, if you haven’t already noticed, is a real bitch.” Ana?se let out a broken laugh.
Scarlett smiled. “She’s certainly a force to be reckoned with. I’ll say that much.”
“This whole match is a farce.” Ana?se shook her head, and Scarlett stepped back to give her some space. “This wedding isn’t the real deal, Scarlett.”
Scarlett frowned, and Leonard’s words repeated in her mind.
Smoke and mirrors .
“Leonard and I are a business deal to keep up appearances– it’s basically a publicity stunt.”
“I don’t understand.” Scarlett frowned. “What deal?”
“My personal choices were putting the family name at risk, so a deal was struck between Leonard and my father. Have you had the pleasure of meeting him yet?” Ana?se gave herself a small shake and straightened herself.
Scarlett shook her head. The various people who had arrived were a haze of faces and luggage– mostly luggage, really.
“You think my mother is a piece of work? Well, my dad is a real delight , let me tell you. Banker and Republican to the core, conservatism runs through his veins. It was bad enough that he never got that son he wanted, but then to have a… well, that was a real kick in the nuts for him. So, here we all are…” Ana?se’s voice trailed off, and she released a weak laugh.
Several things occurred to Scarlett at that moment: the separate sleeping arrangements, the alcohol-induced hilarity, the hidden sadness, the sudden descent on Haddon House.
Not to mention the superficial and forced affection between her and Leonard, and the more subtle and intimate looks and touches between her and Miranda.
Ana?se Marsden-Beasley, an only daughter of a public and conservative ancestral family, was not a heterosexual woman. Something that Leonard Cameron-Reid was ruthlessly capitalising on. Scarlett felt sick.
“I’m so sorry, Ana?se,” was all Scarlett could think to say.
Ana?se smiled kindly. “Sweet Scarlett, don’t look so devastated for me. It’s not ideal, but this is my choice. I’m choosing my lifestyle and money over love and personal preference, that’s all.” She sniffed, stood, and straightened further, looking at her reflection. “Not bad, huh?”
Scarlett frowned at the sudden shift in attitude, but then nodded. “You look incredible.”
“Exactly, and that’s what money can buy.
” Ana?se turned slightly to see the back of her dress.
“Today is just another day playing dress-up, smiling sweetly, and tomorrow, life will return to what it’s always been.
Whatever I want it to be, within reason, of course.
” She laughed, more heartily this time, and then shrugged.
“It’s not even like I have to sleep with him all the time, just a couple of times a month to get pregnant, and then the deal is done. So to speak.”
Scarlett’s jaw dropped, making Ana?se laugh again.
“Don’t be so na?ve, Scarlett. You think marriage is anything more than a contractual agreement?
People in my circle have very little choice in the matter– you think we always get to marry for love ?
” She shook her head for emphasis. “Nope, if it happens, it’s over time.
Unless you’re extremely lucky, which is rare.
Look at my parents, living comfortably together but apart. Freedom looks different to everyone.”
Scarlett still had no words. It was like watching a Bronte novel play out and she didn’t feel well-read or qualified enough to comment, let alone pass judgement; nineteenth-century fiction was more June’s bag.
“Anyway, enough of this. Before I let the torture sisters back in, open that wardrobe. I have a present for you.”
“For me?” Scarlett was still reeling from Ana?se’s confession.
“Yes, for you, now hurry up,” Ana?se told her.
Scarlett opened the large oak wardrobe and the dark green dress she had admired when Ana?se first arrived hung inside on its own, the rest of Ana?se’s clothes already packed and ready for when she and Leonard left in the morning.
“Mrs Wilson and your mother helped with the alterations, so it should fit like a glove. It’s to say thank you. You’ve been a good sport and quite frankly I’m not sure this wedding would be to the standard it is if it wasn’t for you.”
“Oh, God, I can’t accept this,” Scarlett said, her fingers gently tracing the soft silk material and detailed stitching of the deep neckline. “How did you even know?”
“Don’t be stupid. You can, and you will. Especially after all the trouble I’ve gone to.” Ana?se glanced at the dress and then at Scarlett. “A girl can see the spark of love at first sight. I knew as soon as you first saw it lying on my bed, and I wasn’t all that keen on it, anyway.”
Scarlett knew she was lying. “I’ll never have occasion to wear it. It’s such a waste.”
“How about the wedding you’re attending today? Did you think you’d be wearing those old jeans and Converse trainers?” Ana?se raised an eyebrow.
Scarlett laughed. “Obviously not, but I’ll only be in the background making sure everything goes okay.”
“You will not.” Ana?se snorted, walking over and pulling out the dress along with a box from the shelf above the railing.
“Here are your shoes, too. You’ll be attending as a guest. Now, off you get, everything is done.
Go have a bath and get ready. I’ll need you here for support later.
” Ana?se paused and smiled at Scarlett. “You’re worth much more than you think, Scarlett.
I mean, you are literally named after a Southern hellraiser, for God’s sake!
” Ana?se turned away from her to check her makeup in the mirror.
“Go on now, let them back in before my mother notices and has all our heads.”
Ana?se winked at Scarlett in the mirror, who sighed, still feeling reluctant to take the dress and shoes, but she knew she was beaten.
So she followed Ana?se’s instructions and left the room.
The awaiting women and men urgently bustled past her to get back to their jobs, no doubt fearing the wrath of Eva if their efforts weren’t up to her high standards.
Scarlett paused outside in the corridor, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the whole affair. Whatever happened to a quiet life?
This place and its inhabitants were so far removed from her previous existence that she wondered if she would ever readjust to the real world, where normal people like her existed in delicious ignorance of how the other half really lived.
Feeling the presence of someone else, Scarlett looked up and noticed Miranda standing against her bedroom doorway. She never smiled at Scarlett or spoke to her– her vacant, almost hostile expression often made Scarlett feel uncomfortable, but she now realised where it came from. It was pain.
Miranda was, after all, the ultimate jilted lover. Scarlett couldn’t help but feel sorry for her– playing the part of a lifelong best friend at the wedding must be an emotional torture Scarlett couldn’t even imagine– so she smiled and nodded before turning to head back to the stables.
“You take care now,” Miranda called to her.
There was a sharpness to Miranda’s voice that told Scarlett it wasn’t coming from a place of kindness or concern, so without turning she continued walking and called back, “You too.”