Chapter 17
In all fairness, Ariel was prepared for her adopted family to get the news of her engagement, yet, she was not prepared for their reactions. Laura, Jubilee, Kwannon and Ariel herself were united thanks to Logan, who once getting over of his obsession with one Jean Grey decides to atone for his sins in help little girls that did come to his way to have a more stable life and in the end was killed by Omega Red leaving the adopted family to follow his words and get revenge on everyone who participated on the killing.
Now, they are all together again for the wedding who take everyone by surprise and Laura, being a spitting image of Logan, make a question that the real Logan would have made if he was here. “Kitty, are you out of your mind?” Laura is really a spitting image of Logan.
Jubilee rolls her eyes and speaks with more care this time. “What she means is...are you sure you want to go through this...if he´s the killer, what´s stopping him from killing you?” and Ariel concedes is good thinking and can´t be arrogant as she was in her youth. She has scars to prove how Icarus burned in his self-absorbed wish to touch the sun.
“Is a good worry, really, and yes...he killed people, that´s not being sidetracked here, yet, he killed Stryker last week” she replies and the reaction is just like Ariel felt. Misplaced gratitude. “Stryker was talking about a new program X” and Laura is not happy with this revelation, in the regards of Stryker, but, won´t say she´ll thank the Count.
“Ok, he killed one terrible person, fair enough, how can you know he won´t think you´re a terrible person and try to murder you” Jubilee press again this question in a more urgent way and Ariel replies by telling how he saved her two times and how she kicked his ass, her own words here, one time.
“Look, this is the most strange meet cutie I ever know, but, you know I dated Warren so...I can´t judge much” Laura begins with a sheepishly smile on her face. Is rare to see her with such demure expression. “But if you give me your word that we can trust him...I´ll not plug his heart out of his rib cage” Ariel has to chuckle if anything else. She may have a strange family but at least she has a family.
Kwanon opens her fan to cool herself. The summer in London is unbearable and only Queen Gloriana loves this season with all her blessed heart. “One thing out of the way, now, since we are all aboard Kurtty?” Kwanon asked and Jubilee nods taking Laura and Ariel´s word serious here. “What we will do about the courtship? Yes, Ariel has a skewed reputation” Ariel protested mildly but no one is on her side here. “She works solving crimes, which, while legal is not exactly seen by good eyes by the nobles and Ariel will marry a noble from German...my point is...We´ll have to meet the Darkholmes as a family in this process can proceed with the noble etiquettes?” Kwannon pointed out a very important fact about the engagement and no one is giving space for Ariel to do this on her own.
“Guys, I can do it,” she says a bit louder and the other women are not impressed as Kwannon is the one to break the news to Ariel as lightly as she can. “I know you think that, but, marriages among nobles requires mora tact and have more rules, plus, even it hasn´t...why in the good name of Queen Gloriana would we let you do this on your own?”
And Ariel is saying no more. A weird family is better than no family. A smile crisp on her smile as her family is making plans to meet the Darkholmes and Ariel supposes she will need all the help she can get to continue this relationship.
“By the way, do you have a wedding gall? We could shop one...Mason´s has a new collection based on Queen Gloriana” Jubilee states as she too loves Queen Gloriana as any good person would. She was in the US but even in the US, her beauty touched everyone´s heart.
“Well, I have an old dress I would like to use...it was from my mother...is that acceptable?”
“Yes, it´s acceptable...now, what else do we need to do?”
Meanwhile, Amanda Szardos is not having a good day, Dr Rory is her patron and while he´s very generous and is well enough to support Amanda and himself, the man has no link to the nobility and a good doctor as himself won´t get on the top of the pyramid...while Count Darkholme is a Count and has great name attached to him.
Amanda is not happy that a nobody manages to get his attention. Amanda is seething and fuming when the maid, whose name is irrelevant to Amanda and her plans, arrives with a letter in purple and take the letter without care for the maid(whose is too used and knows better than complaint with Dr Rory about his new “woman” maybe its time to Susanne to find a new job) and smiles widely as Elisabeth Braddock wants to take tea with Amanda...they have lots to talk about Count Darkholme and that nobody (her own word here)
“Interesting” and smirks at this new finding.