CHAPTER EIGHT
The invitations had been sent. Thalassa knew there was no way out of the ball. For after all, she was the one who suggested it. But- only recently had she realized that inviting the prince would mean inviting Mr. Sinclair who confused her so much she does not even know whether she hated him or liked him as a person.
He was so hard to understand that he drew Thalassa to him like a moth to a flame. He was someone new and yet- at the same time, so familiar. Thalassa shook her head. The ball was for her sister. She had no time to worry about someone else- even herself. She must dedicate the whole day in making her sister happy.
They had agreed on hiring help for the day because there was no way they could mingle with the crowd and prepare food at the same time. Though, Thalassa would have loved the excuse in staying in the kitchen alone. And that was when the thought entered her mind.
“Mamma,” she called to her mom who was dusted the books in the study room. Mrs. Haskell turned to her with a smile. “Please, allow me to help with the dinner and bake Aeras’s cake for the day,”
“But my dear-”
“Please,” Thalassa pleaded. “It will be my gift to Aeras,”
Her mother thought for a moment. But- the pleading eyes Thalassa stared at her with made it impossible to deny her wishes. So, she had agreed with a promise that she when she finish the cake, she would clean up and join the ball herself.
Thalassa agreed. At the very least, she would not be there for the whole duration of the ball.
~oOo~
The day of the ball had come. And Aeras have not seen her sister since morning. Their mother assured her that Thalassa was fine and would be attending the ball at a later hour. But- Aeras would have wanted them to enter the ball together.
She looked at herself in the mirror one last time. Her red dress accentuated her features. Her curled, blond hair framed her face; making her eyes looked bigger. Despite not saying it, Aeras had loved the work done in her gown.
Its corset top hugged her very body without being hard to breath. The skirt was covered with lovely rose laces that dance with her every move. The seamstress told Aeras that it was done and designed especially for the oldest daughter of the Haskell. And Aeras would not have worn another gown for her day.
Excited murmur and lively music could be heard from the other side of the door as Aeras stood in front of the ballroom. How she wished Thalassa was there besides her but her younger sister was still nowhere to be found.
Then, the double door opened and people clapped simultaneously at Aeras’s entrance. Everyone was entranced by the beauty the lady beheld. She was like an angel sent from the above as no eyes could leave her sight.
Yet- only one man had gained the attention of the young lady making her way down the elegant stairs. He was so dashing in his blue tuxedo that Aeras had found him hard not to notice. He was just standing there with his cousin yet- all Aeras could see was him.
How unfair was that?
At the end of the stairs, Mr. Haskell was waiting for her. Offering his hand to his oldest daughter, Aeras accepted it with a smile that made the whole room bright up than it already was. Mr. Haskell led his daughter towards the middle of the room and signaled for the music to start up again.
He would rather be crimpled and lying down than give Aeras’s first dance at her birthday to someone else. Though, he would be honored to give the second one to another fine, young gentleman if Aeras would accept.
Aeras’s carefree laughed filled the air and was like music to another one’s ears. Other pairs had started dancing around the father and daughter yet- Nicholas could not find it in him to ask a lady to dance despite liking to dance very much. He just could not take his eyes off the very beautiful muse dancing in the middle of the room.
And unbeknownst to him, his cousin had noticed the way he was staring at Ms. Aeras. He was not only Nicholas’s personal guard but his cousin as well and Pierce would do everything in his power to protect him physically and emotionally. He shall be watching if Ms. Aeras would reciprocate the feelings he could clearly see in his cousin’s eyes.
The first dance was over and Mr. Haskell led Aeras to the table set up in front of the room where his wife was sitting. And when they reached it, Mrs. Haskell stood up besides Aeras. Many had noticed the absence of the youngest daughter though none had voiced it.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen!” Mr. Haskell started. “We are gathered here today to celebrate our dear Aeras’s birthday! Tonight will be filled with music. Please, do enjoy yourselves to dance as we wait for the dinner my youngest daughter is helping prepare at the moment,”
Murmur filled the air at the mention of the youngest daughter and the reason why she was not present at the moment. And Nicholas saw the small twitched of his cousin’s brow in shock and could not help laughing at his expense.
“Why, pray tell, are you laughing at me dear cousin?” Pierce asked without looking at Nicholas.
Nicholas gently shook his head before asking with a smirk gracing his lips. “Then, why pray tell, are you so shock at hearing Ms. Thalassa is in the kitchen?”
The remarked earned Nicholas a look from his usually, well composed cousin. He knew very well that if you managed to change his expression, Pierce was well caught off guard.
“I simply did not think she knew her ways with pots and pans since she was so knowledgeable with the deadly arts. It just does not go well together, do you not think? One cannot afford the luxury of both worlds,”
Nicholas smiled at his cousin. “But- apparently, dear cousin, Ms. Thalassa can,”
And Nicholas let his cousin dwell on it as he made his way to ask for Ms. Aeras for a dance. And he certainly does not plan on letting her out of his sight and hand if she so much allow it.
“Yes, apparently, she can,” Pierce whispered to himself as he watched his cousin glided his way towards the shining lady in the front of the room.
For an hour, laughter and music could be heard from the Haskells’ ballroom. Though, despite the joyous occasion- there were some people who still gossiped. Some believed that they were trying to hide the youngest daughter away since she was the very bane of the family.
The older ladies, who lived their whole lives in the village, told the stories to mother of a family that had recently moved in.
“It had happened when the youngest Haskell was apparently ten. No one had seen her since she was born, you see. That was why people are so curious about her,” one started and the rest agreed as the one being told the story to listen well. “When the youngest Haskell was still nine, they took in a family of four to work for them. The McMillians, was it?”
“Yes,” one confirmed before she continued the tale. “The McMillians had two children. One was a boy who was the same age as Ms. Aeras. And the youngest child was only a year older than the youngest Haskell. So, her job was to play with her,”
Little did the gossiping ladies noticed; a man was listening to their tales. A man who very much heard the tale they were talking about yet, a man who did not believed it to the fullest. He was taken aback that people would talk bad about the family whose house they were currently inside.
“The McMillians had stayed with the Haskells for a year. But- during those times, rumors have spread. Penny, the youngest McMillian, told everyone how Thalassa, the youngest Haskell, would hurt her. She would even invite the poor, little girl out to the forest and leave her alone to find her own way home!”
“Goodness!” the one being told the story told exclaimed. “That is not something a child would do!”
The rest of the ladies told her that it was indeed true. But- she found it hard to believe that a child would do something so unspeakable. She had daughters of her own, and despite knowing she have not raised them well- she knew they would never do such a thing.
“But, that wasn’t what tainted the respectable name of the Haskells, my dear Josepha,” one continued to tell. “The reason why the McMillians left was far more horrendous. Penny McMillians now cannot walk on her own- for her left foot had been cut off by none other than Ms. Thalassa Haskell,”
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