There was everything on the table: a big basket of wine-boiled raisin bread, a white wine-boiled beef soup for an appetizer, and entrees ranging from sour wine-braised lamb's knee to orange-scented marinated and roasted pork ribs, basically vegetable and meat dishes either braised or stuffed with various fruit wines. In addition to the wine-stewed food, there were more and more pure alcoholic beverages, and let's just say that it was worthy of being the castle of the King of the Barrels, and just smelling the smells was intoxicating, and Dill was a little afraid that she wouldn't be able to stay sober long enough to leave the room.
When the fruit-stuffed tart was presented for dessert, Dill began to feel a little tempted to run away.
The waiter was serving wine again, they served a different wine each time, and as the young girl tried hard to stay awake, she just sipped the rim of her glass in a shallow sip as a matter of courtesy; it was a familiar mellow flavor, it was Summertime.
Kristina didn't move an inch from her side and hadn't spoken for a while, and Dill knew she was taking in every laughing face, like looking into a blurry mirror and trying to pick up a hint of familiarity in it
She could feel Kristina tensing up; they were both equally nervous, just nervous about different things.
Kristina wanted to find her birth father, and Dill forced herself to be sober enough to scan every face. The family crest of Kristina's mark was small red roses printed on a white background but families with roses as family crests abounded; even Mrs. Lester's maternal family had a wreath of three red roses printed in a circle on a green background.
Dill looked over to Sir Laird near the main table; he was talking to Lord Lester, The embroided red on his gorgeous white silk tunic was a green rose.
Some of the families might use roses, but they weren't red; even if they used red roses, the undertones weren't white, and the whole time she watched, almost none of them fit Kristina's description perfectly.
Dill also saw the Raine family of the White Oak Stall, clearly second in command of the Green Valley River, but they were not far from the main seat, and Lord Lester had little intention of talking to them.
Wilson, the patriarch of the Raine family, is a middle-aged man with a goatee, he wears a noble white velvet tunic with a gold and copper belt around his waist, and his appearance is too much more handsome than Lord Lester's, but Dill feels that he gives off a very somber feeling.
Earl Wilson seems to have been drinking his cup of wine to this welcome party and showed a lack of interest, sitting beside him in the young man thought to be the eldest son of Guise; he looked quite handsome, with a few deep dark circles under his eyes, the whole person listless. In fact, the entire Raine family gave off a feeling of being out of place; they all seemed to be immersed in their own worlds and just mingled with their own people.
Mrs. Lester's misgivings were not without merit; their loyalty was like perfunctorily brushed white paint; the fine look of it was all splotchy.
Dill noticed the absentmindedness of Guise. He kept tracing his way to the women's pews. Dill guessed that he was looking for Rosalie. There may have been a few calculations, but there were a few adoring moments in there. Dill expected that, after all, Rosalie did seem to be a lovely and charming girl.
Dill had been forcing herself to be distracted by other things, pretending not to hear the whispers of those around her.
They were discussing the age and breasts and hips of whichever young lady, and the illustrious exploits of the young knight, a few of whom were constantly being repeated in favor of them: the new Lady of the Mark of Posiva, the beautiful and prodigal young princess of the royal house of Llewyn, who was married for the third time and whose husbands had died tragically and inexplicably on the previous two occasions; and a certain handsome young knight, whom they said to be the bastard son of the noble and a great hero of the hunt of a dozen human wolves.
Then she locked eyes with him.