*****
Austin came out of the drawing room just as Marcus and Anita were climbing the steps through the front door and into the imposing entrance hall. They were a breath-taking couple, even Austin had to admit it. They looked positively regal as they gracefully ascended the stairs, Anita’s arm laced through Marcus’. Marcus, oblivious to Austin’s presence, turned his head to look down at Anita in a way that was half predator, half puppy dog. Anita looked up at him and rolled her eyes, shaking her head in mock contempt. Austin could feel his mood blacken once more; that had better be what lust looked like, he thought, or Amber would not get off lightly this time. Anita felt a sudden shift in energy ahead and looked up to see who it belonged to. Spotting Austin, she tried to pull away from Marcus, but Marcus, who had now also spotted Austin, held her resolutely in place.
‘You’re late,’ snapped Austin, sharply.
‘Father, you remember Anita?’ Marcus replied brightly, ignoring Austin’s terrible mood, ‘our guest of honour this evening?’
‘Anita,’ Austin nodded curtly, before whirling around and striding towards the great hall, his cloak billowing out behind him.
Marcus turned to Anita and gave her an apologetic look. ‘That went well,’ Anita said sarcastically as they made their way after Austin towards the great hall.
‘Ignore him. He was obviously in a bad mood already,’ he whispered conspiratorially.
They approached the huge, studded oak doors that led into the great hall and joined Peter, Gwyn, Alexander and Austin, who were already there. Anita shot Marcus a hostile look, given the lack of dates present for the other Descendants. ‘We don’t normally process with non-Descendants,’ he murmured in her ear, ‘but seeing as you are the guest of honour, we will process in last.’
Great, thought Anita. One more thing to make her stand out, as if there wasn’t enough already, but at least Marcus and Alexander looking as dashing as ever would draw some of the female attention away from her, and she definitely looked better than Gwyn, she thought cattily. Gwyn had a very impressive emerald and diamond necklace on, but the dress she was wearing seemed to somehow wear her, rather than the other way round. Her black, low cut, velvet dress, complete with a very high slit up the side, was beautiful, but she just couldn’t quite pull it off. Hopefully that would attract the attention of the bitchy girls, so she might get off quite lightly.
The hum of chattering that been audible through the doors faded abruptly into silence, hauling Anita hastily back from her thoughts. The Descendants lined up ready to process, first Gwyn, then Peter, then Alexander, then Austin and then Marcus and Anita. Marcus offered Anita his arm and she begrudgingly took it; it would, she reasoned, look a bit odd if she didn’t.
They could hear the muffled sound of a Councillor instructing everyone to stand for the procession and the scrape of chairs as everyone obliged, followed by the announcement of their arrival. As soon as the Councillor had finished, the thick doors swung easily open, and Gwyn immediately and confidently led the way through them. There was absolute silence for a few moments as all eyes tracked the procession, before, just as Anita and Marcus reached the entrance, the band started to play. Anita could not have been more appreciative of the music and from the moment it began, the whole experience felt abstract, almost dream-like. She felt she was floating through the hall, in her own little bubble of a world, making it surprisingly easy to block out the indelicate eyes that followed her.
The hall had three enormous banqueting tables set up, one down each side and a third across the top to form a horseshoe. They were heading for the top table, where the dates of the other Descendants, along with some of the most senior Councillors, were waiting. They processed past the rest of the guests, who were already at their seats in front of an impressive array of silver and glassware, all eyes fixed intently on the small group before them. They passed underneath many spectacular crystal chandeliers and Anita noticed several mesmerising works of art hanging on the walls behind the banquet tables. They were modern pieces, depicting energy waves in abstract ways, yet oddly were somehow perfect for the grand, old environment and gave it a contemporary feel, devoid of any of the stuffiness that you might expect. As they were nearing the top table, Anita noticed Cleo, already looking bored, next to Henry, who was positively beaming. That’s going as expected then, thought Anita, spotting Bas sitting next to a girl she could only assume was Missy. She looked quite nice, although very plain, and she needed someone like Cleo to take her shopping, as her dress was extremely conservative. Anita felt Bas’ energy pick up as she went past and she shot him a warm smile. Alistair was sitting the other side of Missy, but looked preoccupied with something; he seemed to barely notice the procession. Anita wondered what it could be, realising just in time that they had reached the top table, where they had to split from the others to get to the far side. Anita, Marcus and Alexander went to the right and Austin, Peter and Gwyn went to the left.
Austin sat in the middle of the top table, which Anita thought was reasonable, it was his castle after all, with Anita to his left as the guest of honour, and Gwyn to his right. Marcus was on Anita’s other side, and he had some Councillor’s daughter, then Alexander, and then Helena to his left. Gwyn was sitting next to her date, someone else Anita didn’t recognise, but who was presumably from a Council family, then Peter, then several other Councillors to her right. Peter’s wife and Gwyn’s mother, Olivia, Anita had learned from Marcus, had died during childbirth and Peter had never had another relationship. She hadn’t yet spoken to Peter, but he seemed to keep himself to himself and she imagined him to be quite shy. Anita resolved to speak with him later to see what he was like.
Everyone sat down except Austin, who remained standing to make the opening speech, his voice creamy as ever. ‘Descendants, Councillors, Children of the Temples of the Mind, Body and Spirit. I welcome you to my home for the celebration of a truly significant moment in our history; the Crowning of not one, but two Descendants. Tonight we bring to a close the Crowning traditions, having had a fantastic Chase and a poignant Crowning ceremony, both with record turnouts. We shall, of course, look forward to seeing our Chase Champion and tonight’s guest of honour, Anita, lead this evening’s dancing after dinner, but first, let us toast our new Descendants, Peter, son of Christiana and Alexander, son of Anthony.’ Austin picked up his Ginger Champagne, saying, ‘to Peter and Alexander,’ as he lifted his glass in the air.
The rest of the hall mirrored his actions, standing up and lifting their champagne, echoing, ‘to Peter and Alexander,’ enthusiastically as one.
Austin finished his uncharacteristically short speech with, ‘I look forward to seeing you all dancing after dinner, bon appetit.’ Austin sat down and the gaggle of gossip started, with many very obviously looking and pointing at the top table.
‘Just as I thought,’ Anita said to Marcus, incisively, as a mountain of food was placed in the middle of the table in front of them.
Anita managed to make it through dinner without enraging Austin. He asked her a series of probing question, such as how Alexander had managed to run so fast at the Chase when he had never previously displayed Body skills quite like it. Anita’s reply had been that maybe it was just that she had had to slow down to Alexander’s speed as her energy metre was broken, although this was definitely a lie. He asked about Anita’s family life and her parents in a way that made Anita suspect he already knew the answers. He asked why Marcus had kept it a secret that he was bringing Anita, to which she replied that she didn’t know. But most oddly, he seemed very interested in her relationship with Helena, and why, given her considerable Body skills, Anita had chosen not to become an academic. Anita told him the truth; that she had wanted to study the energy and Alistair had given her a job at the Observatory around the same time, but he didn’t seem satisfied with her answer. Luckily, at that point, Gwyn interrupted with some inane comment, shooting Anita a deathly glare and drawing Austin int
o conversation with her. Anita couldn’t have been more pleased and turned towards Marcus, to make sure that by the time Austin turned back to her, she would be engaged in another conversation.
As she turned, she spotted Cleo speaking animatedly with the man to her right and Henry trying desperately to get involved. Anita laughed inwardly. She also glanced in Bas’ direction, who was, ever the gentleman, doing his best to chat to Missy, although this appeared to be a struggle. Alistair, she noticed, still seemed like he wasn’t really in the mood for a party. Marcus was discussing the Chase with the girl to his left, and on the other side of her, Alexander was talking in low tones with Helena. Anita sat for a moment, looking down at her food, following the ebb and flow of Alexander’s energy as he conversed with Helena. Surprisingly, she found this comforting.
Alexander became aware that he was being observed and turned a little to see who it was. The last thing he needed was Austin watching him when he was speaking intently with Helena. He relaxed when he saw both Austin and Marcus deep in conversation and his energy picked up a bit when he realised it must be Anita. He didn’t bother to hide his reaction, so she felt it, but she didn’t let on. He focused on Anita and she felt a warm pressure at the edge of her energy field. She had never felt anything like it before and looked up cautiously to see what was happening, but Alexander had turned swiftly back to his conversation with Helena.
After three, enormous courses and a significant quantity of various types of wine, Anita decided it was time to open the dancing. In line with tradition, there would be no announcement, but Anita and Marcus would take to the floor at a time of their choosing, throwing a signal to the band and surprising the audience by launching into their dance.
Anita reached over and took Marcus’ hand under the table. She inclined her head in the direction of the open space between the banquet tables and he smiled in agreement. He led Anita around the top table, waving to the band as they passed. The band immediately sprang into life, striking up a jaunty number and the room quietened in expectant anticipation. Anita could hardly contain her excitement. She loved to dance and leaving Marcus by the edge of the tables, she spun her way to the middle of the floor. Marcus ran after her and caught her just as she stopped spinning, leant her backwards seductively, then restored her to an upright position in a slow, fluid, silky movement. They smiled at each other as they came back face to face, each reminded of their dance on the cliff, before Marcus almost violently spun Anita out and back in again. They tangoed around the floor, paying no attention to their audience, who watched open-mouthed at the display. They had all expected a polite waltz to start proceedings, and certainly no one had expected this.
After a couple of minutes of the borderline inappropriate spectacle, complete with too much body contact, a number of improper looks and all topped off by the suggestive backing track, the others eligible to join the first dance got up and made their way to the floor. All expect Austin, whose face was like thunder as he watched his son’s embarrassing exhibition with the girl he was beginning to hate. Marcus and Anita finished their opener with a flourish, Marcus spinning Anita around so they were back to back before lifting her high on his shoulders, her arms outstretched. He spun several times before letting her slide back to the floor, having masterfully positioned them to join the set laid out by the others in preparation for the formal dancing, kissing her hand racily and throwing her one last risqué look as they took their places.
This part was a group dance, where two couples danced a set routine together before moving round to dance with another pair. The band changed the tone significantly, launching into what was almost a jig. Marcus and Anita started with Alexander and his date; Anita still had no idea what she was called. First Anita and Marcus, and Alexander and his date danced a few steps with each other, then they all danced a few steps together, before they swapped partners for a couple of twirls. Anita took Alexander’s proffered hand when it came to the partner swap and immediately felt a tingle of energy run through her. If he felt it too he didn’t let on, looking her indifferently in the eyes for the whole time they danced together, Anita frustrated that she had no idea at all what he was thinking.
The music went on and Anita and Marcus cycled through many more couples, including Gwyn and her date (which Gwyn made sure was uncomfortable), Cleo and Henry, where Cleo threw Anita so many ‘meaningful’ looks, she presumed both about Henry, and Anita and Marcus’ dance, that Anita almost burst out laughing, and Bas and Missy. Not only did Missy look boring, she was also an uninspiring dancer and she moved in a stiff, uncomfortable way. Bas, on the other hand, danced easily and gracefully, and lifted and twirled Anita when they came to dance together, embellishing the set routine and looking dashing whilst he did it. Anita beamed at him as they moved on.
The dance came to a close when Anita and Marcus met up with Alexander and his date again. The band finished their jig with a flourish and the couples bowed and curtsied to each other. Alexander immediately led his date away and Marcus took hold of Anita’s elbow and steered her as far away from Austin as it was possible to be; Austin’s expression had not gone unnoticed, especially not by Marcus. He led Anita out through the doors of the great hall, across the lobby and into another very large room, with a bar that, during the day, had views over where Anita and Marcus had danced by the cliff edge. Marcus grabbed two glasses of Ginger Champagne from the barman, handed one to Anita and headed for the open door out onto the balcony.
‘You do like to ruffle feathers, don’t you,’ said Marcus, with mock disapproval, his eyes telling another story.
‘Me?’ Anita shot back flirtily. ‘I think you’ll find you were leading.’
‘Well, we’ll just have to agree to blame the band then, who, for some reason, selected a raunchy number for the first dance.’ He said it innocently, over-emphasising the shrugging of his shoulders and the perplexed look across his face.
Anita’s eyes flew open, ‘that was you?’ she accused, punching his arm not quite hard enough to cause any harm.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he protested, raising his arms in surrender, confirming that he knew exactly what she was talking about. Luckily for Marcus, before Anita could launch a proper attack, a squeal invaded the air and Cleo bounded over to Anita and wrapped her arms around her.
‘You. Looked. A-MAZING,’ she sang. ‘You should have seen everyone watching you. I cannot believe you just did that. But the way your dress kicked out…definitely a great choice, and he isn’t a half bad dancer either,’ she gushed, nodding her head in Marcus’ direction and squeezing his arm.
‘Thanks,’ replied Marcus, rolling his eyes and telling himself to be patient during the lengthy debrief of the night so far that he knew was about to follow.