Chapter 391 - The Invisible Edge [bonus]
The light outside had dimmed. Most of the afternoon was gone.
Dinner was laid in a small dining room, nothing like the Malfoy hall that could host a ball, though grand enough.
The courses came one after another.
Narcissa was already seated, in a fitted pale lilac gown, relaxed and still dignified, her hair loosely pinned, a few strands falling at her ear.
She looked up and smiled as he came in. "Regulus."
"Cousin."
He took the seat across from her, his own expression easing into something like a smile.
Lucius sat, poured himself wine, and filled a glass for Narcissa.
She took it, her fingers brushing the back of his hand, and the look they traded was thick enough to wade through.
Regulus lifted his sparkling water.
Lucius raised his glass to him, then turned his head toward Narcissa, tone light with a hint of teasing. "Managed to get him here at last. She’s been going on about it for days."
"I’ve been going on about it?" Narcissa gave him a sideways look, then turned to Regulus to lodge her complaint.
"June is still months away." She tipped her head toward Lucius, smiling. "The invitation design has been settled three times and isn’t settled yet, because someone can’t stop finding fault with the gilt lettering."
"They’re invitations." Lucius set down his glass, entirely serious, without a trace of humor. "Consider who’s attending, and how many years they’ll be dealing with this family afterward. Wrong typeface, and they glance at it once and decide we weren’t serious enough."
He looked at Narcissa. "A wedding is the greatest occasion there is. What’s wrong with taking care over it?"
Narcissa tilted her head toward Regulus with an expression that said you see what I mean, laughter she couldn’t hide sitting in her eyes.
He sipped his water and watched them both.
Narcissa was happy.
The talk stayed on the wedding. He listened from the side, offering a line here and there, mostly holding his glass and watching.
Narcissa moved on to flowers. She wanted white roses mixed with lavender, but lavender didn’t bloom well in June, so it would need magic to force it, and forced blooms never looked natural.
Lucius suggested something else. She refused.
He thought about it and set himself to solving it in earnest. The greenhouses could raise a batch specifically. Preparations would start tomorrow.
She looked at him and smiled, satisfied.
Regulus drifted.
He’d been to a wedding, Andromeda’s, but that had been his cousin marrying, and his job had been to walk the bride down.
As for planning one, invitations, flowers, how lavender fared in June, he’d never married and had nothing useful to contribute.
So when Lucius spoke about typefaces, he nodded. When Narcissa spoke about lavender, he nodded. When Lucius asked what was wrong with taking care, he nodded again.
Narcissa turned her head and studied him for a moment before reaching her verdict. "You haven’t been listening at all."
He shook his head, perfectly sincere. "Every word."
She leaned closer, meeting his eyes. "Then tell me what we just said."
Lucius raised an eyebrow and sat back with his wine.
"Lavender." Regulus drank some water. "Doesn’t bloom well in June."
Narcissa looked him over a few seconds longer, then turned to Lucius. "He hasn’t been listening at all."
Lucius lifted his glass toward Regulus, relaxed, the smile at his mouth complicated.
The look of a man about to be married, aimed at a boy who hadn’t worked any of it out yet. Indulgence.
You don’t understand now. You will.
With a small measure of relish underneath it. You’ll understand eventually, too.
Regulus smiled and raised his glass, and the pale blue flecks danced at the rim.