Chapter 117: Challenge Accepted
A tea party!
That was my grand plan, invite Celeste out to tea along with the rest of the ladies. Well I didn’t know that many people, so I sent out an invitation to the one person I knew, Lady Ivana and I in turn asked her to invite the other ladies for a tea party.
I had a hall the garden decorated fancily. Precious flowers adorned the space and the tables held dainty patterns and exquisite ceramic teacups designed for this special day. The finest contraption used to brew tea combined with several honey cake and lavender biscuit scents. The appearance indicated complete perfection in the room.
The dress I wore was a lilac colored attire with lace details on my sleeve edges. The strands of my hair hung deliberately from my pinned up style creating a graceful effortless appearance. The entire day needed to showcase elegance because this event promised friendly dialogs and genial smiles among guests.
Everyone had also looked their best and Lady Ivana had been the first to arrive, dressed in a sleeveless emerald gown with a white feathered shawl around her and in her gloved hands she had held a fan. Again she wore heavy makeup, almost heavier than the last time I saw her but she still looked beautiful none the less.
We shared a hug and air kisses to after which she complimented me on a job well done. I had smiled at her as we went to take our seat then it wasn’t long afterwards the other ladies begin to arrive, each of them dressed extravagantly as if it was more than just a tea party but I just smiled at them, politely welcoming them.
Some of the ladies I have seen but didn’t bother to learn their names and some of the ladies I haven’t seen. I suppose I do have Ivana to thank for that. As soon as some of us were seated, I motioned for Heather to begin serving snacks and the tea. Some honey cakes and some lavender biscuits were served in fine porcelain plates. Their sweet smell and floral aroma mixed together in the air. Warm and comforting liquid flowed were served into delicate cups which tasted really good and comforting.
I maintained a calm composure while I held the cup’s edge gently with my thumbs and watched the table. The ladies exchanged pleasant words amongst themselves, talks about the interior design and snacks while they commented on each other outfits too.
Celeste still hadn’t showed up at all. At first I thought Heather didn’t deliver my invitation to her or maybe it got lost somewhere along the way but I know Heather to always be thorough. So of course I knew Celeste had received my invitation, just didn’t think it would be nice to arrive on time.
Sipping on my tea, I let the warmth settle on my nerves. I knew what she was doing, besides she liked this kind of stuff. She loved making a statement without saying a word and the more I sat down and thought about it, the more I realized her absence was deliberate. A power play.
I motioned to the musicians to play some beautiful notes for us and they had played like two songs and there was still no sign of her. I noticed few of the ladies casting glances at where her seat was supposed to be but they didn’t say anything, at least not directly.