Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers

with all this.”
    He said nothing. We watched some more of the preparation and then went in so he could show me his tux and we could get ready for dinner. I realized it would be the last dinner with the four of us at the table for a good ten days. Lucille reminded me about the Citizen of the Year dinner we were to attend after they had returned from their honeymoon. She saidshe would see to it that Ethan was included in our party. Now he really looked overwhelmed and even more impressed with her and, especially, my father.
    “After the wedding, let’s not get so formally dressed for dinner every night,” I told him later. “As you can see, we’ll have many opportunities to dress formally. Lucille looks determined to include us in every possible event.”
    “Whatever you want. Just think,” he said, holding out his arms. “You’ll be the lady of the house, the mistress of Heaven-stone. The tiller of this great sailboat will be in your hands, Semantha. Take it wherever you want.”
    “As long as the wind lets me,” I said.
    He laughed. “It wouldn’t dare do otherwise.”
    He looked as if he believed it. How long, I wondered, would it take for someone brought to the bosom of the Heaven-stone universe to become arrogant enough to think he or she could walk with gods and goddesses?
    “Minutes,” Cassie whispered.
    I turned sharply.
    “What’s wrong?” Ethan asked as he opened the door for me.
    “Nothing,” I said.
    I could see Cassie dancing on the grass and then hooking on to the breeze that circled the altar. How I wished I knew as much about our futures as she did, but the price for that was too great.
    I hoped I wouldn’t pay it.

Wedding
    I WAS UP with the sunrise on the morning of the wedding. It was as if Cassie had nudged me out of a wishful dream during which we were all young again and Mother was alive and Daddy thought of us as his three precious young women eagerly waiting for him to return from work. I was always the most exuberant, throwing up my arms for his hug. Mother waited nearby to have her welcoming kiss, and Cassie stood smiling as if she were overseeing it all and we were all doing what she had designed.
    As soon as the disappointing reality sank in, I rose and went to my window to watch as the great golden eye peered over the horizon timidly, as if it weren’t sure it had been invited to the wedding.
    “Maybe it just doesn’t want this day to happen,” Cassie whispered.
    “Maybe,” I agreed.
    The night before, after the rehearsal dinner that included Lucille’s father and some cousins as well as her close friends, we all went into the den for after-dinner drinks. Ethan and I spent most of our time talking with Uncle Perry. The conversation woundaround to Ethan’s new job and how Uncle Perry was acting on some of his suggestions. They both saw that I was bored with the talk, and Uncle Perry began to describe some of his favorite vacations. Claire Dubonnet heard us talking, and she and Uncle Perry discussed southern France and Italy. I saw the way their travels and descriptions excited Ethan.
    “Imagine being wealthy enough to go to those places and stay at those hotels,” he told me.
    I didn’t have to imagine it, of course. I was wealthy enough, but I tried to be enthusiastic for his sake. When Daddy announced that he was going to bed because he thought he had a big day tomorrow, everyone laughed. Soon after, the rest of us retired for the night, and the great mansion was quiet. It seemed to be holding its breath in disbelief. Was this really going to happen? Would it have a new mistress?
    With the rising sun, the house revived. Along with Doris and Mrs. Dobson, there was a small army of temporary servants crawling over the property like ants. Footsteps echoed everywhere. Doors opened and closed. Waves of new voices rose. Machinery was turned on, and orders were bellowed over the sound system. As Ethan had said during one of his reactions to the preparations, it was like the launching of a great aircraft carrier. I half expected to see Lucille go out there and break a bottle of champagne on a side of the altar.
    It was interesting to watch it all, but I didn’t feel half the excitement Ethan felt. I think I was more numb than anything else. When the guests began to arrive later in the day, the party atmosphere reallytook hold. Lucille had arranged for a bevy of waiters and waitresses to greet each guest with a glass of champagne that included a floating