The Countess (3)
Antonio opened the wardrobe, which was divided into two parts: on one side there was a wide variety of dresses and casual clothes in different colours, and on the other side there was a wide range of shoes, as if we were in a shop.
Antonio looked at Anna and said, "I asked Sister Mary for your dress size and shoe size and had them made for you, I chose the style, if you don't like it, you can choose another one later. The food is ready in the living room, there will be a small reception later, it can be considered our wedding reception, I have invited some friends, you can change your clothes and come downstairs ..." Antonio said and walked out of the room.
Anna put her luggage on the floor, which was in fact the small basket that Sister Mary had passed on to her. All that was in the basket were two pieces of cotton cloth that had been wrapped around Anna when she was a baby, and a note. A book on the occult given to her by the old gardener. And a potted flower of forget-me-nots given to her by Alexandria. Anna tucked the basket under the bed and went to the wardrobe to stand and stare.
Red, pink, fuchsia, orange, lake blue, light blue, dark blue, dark green, grass green, light green, goose yellow, beige, gold, silver ... had never seen so many brightly coloured and varied clothes before and Anna didn't know which one to choose.
After looking around, Anna's eyes fell on a pure white dress. After seeing so many colourful dresses, it was refreshing to see this plain white. Anna pulled the dress out of the cupboard and picked out a pair of white shoes with gold trim to match.
After putting on her dress, Anna brushed her long blonde curls that fell to her waist and came into the living room unadorned.
What Anna didn't expect was that there were people in the living room that she had never seen before, many men in formal dresses, many women, all dressed up, jewelled and decorated, and smelling of flowers and powder.
Standing in the parlour and looking out of the window, the previously quiet lawn had somehow become an open-air stage with a musician and a pianist, and as Anna came out of the parlour, she saw Antonio wave his hand and the music began. The unknown music was pleasant to the ear, like a joyful march.
Antonio took Anna's hand and happily announced the marriage, his voice intoning and gentlemanly as the crowd cheered enthusiastically and applauded.
Anna had never seen so many people staring at her at once and she felt uncomfortable. After a few minutes, Antonio's speech finally came to an end and the guests began to move around freely. Some drank champagne, others tasted delicacies. Some were dancing.
Antonio told Anna to eat as she pleased and he went off to serve the guests. Anna was left alone to watch people dancing on the huge stage, while Antonio was busy talking to people, clinking glasses and drinking with them, laughing. There was no time to talk to her.
The ball was a great success and there was a lot of talk about how delicious and sophisticated the food was and how happy they were at the ball.
It was the first time Anna had been to a ball and she realised that she didn't like it at all. How she wished there was no ball today, no one there, that she could just be quiet.
Anna sat quietly in a corner, staring at the crowd, which seemed to have nothing to do with her. After a while, she quietly walked through the living room and went back to her room, where she sat in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window and stared out at ...
...
I don't know how long it took, but when Antonio came into the room and saw Anna staring out of the window, he smiled and said, "I thought you were a runaway bride on your wedding day. ... Here's to our union!" He joked as he handed Anna a glass of champagne.