1/9/2023 0 Comments Sound chimera![]() The long white wedding gown made her look very fragile, like a delicate porcelain figure standing alone on a shelf. She was sixteen years old and very pretty, with hints of a more mature beauty to come. She jumped up the moment they entered, then stood quietly with eyes modestly downcast. And there, among the antiques like a single flower in a garden of weeds, sat Letitia Shreck, his bride-to-be. ![]() They passed through the outskirts of the crowd, followed all the way by scandalized whispers, and then through a side door that led into a quiet sitting room decorated with antiques of considerable age and complete hideousness. It seemed like the safest thing to do, if he ever wanted his hand back. Especially since William and Gerald kept explaining it to him.Īnd she took him by the hand in a viselike grip and led him off through the crowd. But he was old enough to understand politics and know his duty. One moment the Shrecks were a deadly enemy to be fought on every occasion, and now here he was marrying one. He was still trying to get used to how much his world had changed. He was average height, as fighting fit as years of military training could make him, and at seventeen old enough to marry, but not old enough to object to the marriage. If it's any help, I felt much the same before my wedding, and I've been happy enough. Anyway, whatever else we may be, we're Campbells first. Or do they taste it? I've never been sure. If we didn't, where would we be? In complete bloody chaos, and all the other Families would charge in like sharks scenting blood in the water. The Campbell sets the rules, and we have to follow them. "Keep on encouraging him like that, and we'll have to drive him to the altar with whips," said a loud, carrying voice. Gerald blinked a few times and then moved away in the general direction of the punchbowl, looking just a little confused. And of course, if something should go wrong, Robert was the most expendable member of the Family at present. In order to keep Robert and his branch of the Family from becoming a laughingstock, a marriage had been hastily arranged that would serve the dual purpose of establishing Robert in society and help close the gap between the Campbells and the Shrecks. Mostly because it was so damn embarrassing. Robert's father had been the Campbell's younger brother, who died three months previously in an accident the Family still didn't like to talk about. ![]() ![]() The groom, Robert Campbell, was currently being supported and encouraged by his cousin Finlay's brothers, William and Gerald Campbell. Her intended prey didn't even realize she was coming. She stalked off through the crowd, opening up a path for herself through sheer strength of personality. "This is a wedding, after all, not the dentist's." "Do try and at least look cheerful," said William to young Robert. "Then go and get yourself a bloody drink, and don't come back till you've drunk it" "Gerald," said William, "go get Robert a drink." Someone has to tell them the facts of life." Now, if you'll excuse me, I really ought to have a word with our nervous bride and groom. Personally, I wouldn't be without one, especially when it conies to picking up the tab. Husbands can be boring, irksome and a general pain in the ass, but you have to have one if you want to get on in society. Your father monopolizes your time far too much. "It's time you were looking for a husband for yourself, my dear. She looked back at Evangeline, who had to fight to keep from flinching. "Damn right you wouldn't," said Adrienne. anything you want to ask me before the ceremony? I mean, I am a married man." It's not entirely his fault that he's about as much use as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. He means well, but he should have been dropped on his head as a baby. He didn't get out much, but he meant well, and occasionally surprised people with his firm grasp of politics. Fortunately William found numbers both more interesting and easier to deal with than people, so he was perfectly suited to the job. It was a job that couldn't be trusted to an outsider, but which most members usually avoided like the plague, on the grounds it was far too much like hard work, and if they'd wanted to work they wouldn't have been born an aristocrat. William Campbell was tall, thin and intense, and the bookkeeper of the Family.
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