A woman in her late forties embraced Adeline in a tight hug, her lips stretching from side to side.
"Aunt Claire," Adeline called, her smile more forced than the previous ones.
"My dear, you've grown so beautiful. No wonder a prince has his eyes on you," remarked aunt Claire, her voice deliberately loud enough for everyone to hear.
Seeing everyone glancing at them, Adeline wanted to correct her aunt but her mouth opened and closed and she ended up saying nothing.
"My boy, what a handsome man you've become. Now that your sister is getting married, you should be next to find a wife," said Claire, giving Adler a light hug.
Adler didn't respond and just pursed his lips. Carlton suppressed a laugh while staring at their expressions, but he was not spared from the embarrassment by the older woman.
"This is Carlton? How have you been? How's your mother? It's been a long time since we last saw each other."
"She's fine," Carlton simply responded.
Aunt Claire disregarded everyone's presence and went on and on, shifting from this topic to the other. Adeline felt suffocated and kept sighing, but she couldn't just walk out on her aunt.
Claire was her father's younger sister and whenever she came to visit, it was torture for all of them because she acted like the Madam of the house and did whatever she wanted, not caring about anyone's opinion.
The way she talked like it had been ages since she saw all of them annoyed Adeline, and she couldn't wait to end this conversation.
"We'll be leaving now, it's nice to have you aunt," Adler interrupted Claire's blubbering, pulling Carlton away.
"Where are you going? I've just arrived," she tried to stop them but Adler was already walking away. Adeline pouted at them for leaving her to deal with her aunt's nagging and Carlton gave her an apologetic look.
Soon the guests left and the only people remaining in the mansion were Adeline, aunt Claire and the servants.
Claire talked nonstop as they wandered around the house, pointing out a dusty window, or a servant slacking off, telling Adeline her ideas about decorations for the wedding. By evening, Adeline felt like her mind was going to explode and she tried hard not to snap at her aunt.
"What about the wedding dress? I want to see it," Claire demanded.
"It's not ready yet." To this, Claire had a shocked expression and Adeline resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"How can that be? The wedding is in four days!" She exclaimed.
"Aunt, I was informed about the wedding yesterday. How was I supposed to have a gown ready within a few hours?" Adeline was unable to conceal her irritation and her tone surprised Claire a bit, but she didn't reprimand her. Instead, she asked her to take her to the seamstress, to check the progress of her work.
Esther's shop was always full at this time of the year because of her exquisite tailoring skills and when they reached the shop, they found people queuing outside. Seeing the Duke's daughter, and soon to be royalty, people made way for Adeline and her aunt, and Claire had her nose up in the air arrogantly.
When they entered the shop, Esther's male assistant was taking measurements of a young woman and Esther was no where to be seen. The man was writing down something and he didn't notice someone entering through the door.
"How is it that you're here doing other things when you're supposed to be making my niece's wedding dress?" Claire demanded in an authoritative voice and the man looked up. Seeing their faces, he bowed respectfully and closed the notebook in his hands.
"Lady Adeline, Lady Claire. Esther is taking care of the wedding dress so I was taking care of the other customers," the man responded calmly.
Claire's overbearing attitude was known all over the duchy and people were always cautious around her. Some would cower in front of her, afterall, she was the Duke's sister. But this man maintained a calm expression and didn't seem intimidated at all.
"Hmph," Claire huffed, finding no words to talk back. Adeline sighed in relief and looked at the assistant.
"Where's Esther?"
"She's at the back, my lady." The man responded and showed them to another room behind the main shop. Esther was seated on a chair, a deep frown on her forehead as she put all her concentration on drawing the outline of the dress. When she heard the door creak open, she raised her head and her eyes slightly widened at the sight of Adeline and Claire. She scurried to her feet nervously, bowing to them.
Her assistant left after escorting them in and Esther was left with the two women.
"Where's the dress?" Claire asked, not bothering to greet the woman back. Esther's eyes shifted to Adeline and found her frowning deeply. It was clear that she didn't want to be here and Esther felt slightly relieved.
Clearing her throat, she stared back at the older woman and said, "I am working on it. I was just drawing the outline."
She then went on to show them her drawing and explained the design of the dress. Claire was very pleased with this explanation, but she was still making a fuss, claiming that she should start as soon as possible because there was no time.
Esther was clever enough not to mention anything about the colour of the dress and luckily, Claire didn't ask. Adeline gave her a meaningful gaze and she nodded in response.
After leaving the shop, Adeline avoided her aunt as much as she could throughout the day and stayed cooped up in her bedroom.
The next few days were very busy for everyone, except Adeline who didn't bother herself with anything. It was as if the wedding was someone else's and she was just a bystander. Claire was in full control, giving instructions and the servants carrying them out. The servants barely slept, making sure that everything was done according to the instructions because they knew no mistake would be excused.
Howard's work was to supervise and double-check everything. He was also as busy as a bee but it didn't take a toll on him like it did the rest.
Claire also invited other ladies for tea parties, but they all knew she was just showing off the progress of the wedding preparations. Adeline escaped these tea parties with the excuse of preparing herself for the wedding and the ladies were very 'understanding'.
People still visited to deliver their congratulatory gifts and overall, the week was a busy one.
A day to the wedding, the seamstress finally brought the dress and personally delivered it at the Duke's mansion.
Adeline, Claire and Malvina gathered in the sitting room and waited as Esther untied the ribbons around the big box. Rosa and Howard were also present and everyone held their breaths in anticipation.
Esther could feel cold sweat forming on her forehead and her hands trembled from the pressure enamating from the people present.
As soon as the box finally opened and she brought out the dress, the women's eyes widened in amazement and their mouths hang open.
"Wow!" Vina exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with excitement.
Claire had a bright smile on her face and her eyes twinkled like those of the little girl. Even though Adeline didn't show much of a reaction like the rest, her eyes were also shining like stars at the sight of her wedding dress.
Just like she had requested, the dress was blue in colour and was very exquisite. The bodice had small pearls joined together with intricate needlework like a piece of art, and the bust area and the sleeves were made of beaded lace. The skirt was also very beautiful with pleats that had a darker shade of blue.
As if finally realising something, Claire's eyebrows furrowed and her expression changed from excitement and amazement, to displeasure and she turned to the seamstress.
"Why is it blue?" She demanded and Esther gulped nervously. She looked towards Adeline for help and it took a moment for the latter to process the situation.
"Oh, I told her to make it blue," she replied nonchalantly and her aunt turned to her with a bewildered look.
"Why? It's a wedding Adeline, the wedding dress should be white."
"Come on, atleast mine will be unique," was Adeline's simple reply and aunt Claire shook her head helplessly.