𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄 || 𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

Chapter Six

The next day, Vienne was still pondering her conversation with Sebastian. It felt like the conversation moved along well and made her feel more comfortable and like she knew him much better. And of course, she couldn't help but feel more attracted to him. Especially since he had been one of the only people to encourage her to do what she wanted to do and not what others wanted of her.

But she was also still slightly anxious over how serious her mother seemed regarding Mr. Carter. Claudine was furious that she had been late, and Vienne could only imagine how upset Claudine would be if things got more serious but didn't exactly work out in the way she wanted all of it to.

Thankfully, Luis, Elizabeth, and the children were coming to visit that day, so Vienne would be able to talk to him away from their mother. It wasn't all too often that they got to speak alone since Luis left home, but he tried to make as much time for them as he could. And that was just one thing.

So from early on in her day, she was waiting for them to show up. Claudine seemed to be in quite a sour mood, seemingly still upset from yesterday's events. She hadn't spoken a word to Vienne all day.

"How petty can you be over me just being late?" Vienne mentally grumbled to herself.

Yes, she knew she was late, but it wasn't anything personal! She just lost track of time and was a little late. That wasn't so bad, was it?

Thankfully for her, Luis and Elizabeth showed up soon enough, helping ease the tension in the home. From her room, she could see their stagecoach coming down from the road, and she raced down from her room to the front door as fast as she could, excited to see her family.

The three children, Benjamin, Georgie, and Lily, were the first out of the carriage, stumbling over each other to see who could reach their aunt first while Luis helped Elizabeth out of the carriage.

Vienne smiled and got down a little so she could open her arms and receive the hugs that the children were going to give her.

"It's so good to see you! I missed you!" Vienne said excitedly, kissing the tops of their heads. She gave them all one big squeeze before they scurried off inside.

She stood up before giving Elizabeth a big hug. Once she pulled away, Luis was standing there patiently waiting for his own hug.

"Luis," Vienne smiled, throwing her arms around her brother's shoulders. The past couple of times Elizabeth had visited, Luis was unable to come. So seeing her brother again, especially as visits became more scarce, was so exciting.

Luis squeezed her tightly before pulling away, a big smile on his face. "It's so good to see you again."

"I've missed you so much." Vienne replied. "Now come inside and see Mother. She's been waiting for you all day." She added, pulling her brother inside.

***

The family soon situated themselves on the veranda so that the children could play while they spoke. It was the usual thing-catching up, making future plans, and, of course, Claudine asking her son about the estate.

When George had died, he left quite a lot. The Austen family home, where Vienne and Claudine still currently resided, was under Luis' name so that he could manage everything. Claudine was getting older, and when Vienne was asked at eighteen if she wanted part of the rights to the home, she declined. Her father left her with enough money in her name to get by, and she wanted to leave this town as soon as she could. So, everything was left for Luis to manage. Although, if anything were to ever happen to him, everything would go to Vienne.

The other home George also left was also in Luis' name, and that became his home for his wife and children.

When George purchased the home, he had intended it to be the place where he and his wife spent the rest of their days as they got older. It had a decent amount of land, away from all the noise of the world, but unfortunately that never happened. The home was away from town-hence Luis' scarce visits with the family. Yes, apparition and floo systems were an option, but they were less than an ideal form of travel-especially with three children.

So needless to say, there was a lot going on in the Austen family.

As they sat outside, it got a little hotter. Elizabeth fanned herself with her hand before turning to Luis. "Luis, would you be a dear and grab my fan, please? I must've left it inside."

"Of course, darling." Luis said before standing up and turning towards the door.

Vienne quickly stood up. "I'll come with you." She blurted out. She gave no reason; she just stated it.

Luis made no protest as he walked inside, Vienne following closely behind. Although Claudine gave her an interesting look after her sudden outburst and quick response.

But once they got inside and away from the door, Luis turned to Vienne. "So, what's bothering you?" He asked without any other context. He could tell something was bothering her, and that was the reason why she had left so eagerly and was antsy to go with him. To her, being left alone with Elizabeth and her mother meant she was about to get a barrage of questions or unsolicited opinions about her love life.

Vienne sighed, leaning against the railing. "Is it that obvious?" She asked.

Luis mirrored her, taking on the same stance. "Yeah, it is." He answered. "Is it mother?" He asked, knowing how strained their relationship had become over the past year or so following George's death that shook the whole family.

Another sigh left Vienne's lips, and she nodded her head. "Yes, yes it is." She sighed. "Only this time it's arguably worse." She explained. "She's set me up with some ma, but this time she's much more serious about it. As if she won't let up at all."

"Who is it?"

"Edward Carter, from the other side of town."

Luis seemed to ponder about this for a moment. "Edward Carter, you say... Well, I've heard he's a decent bloke." He stated. "Good family, good status."

"I'm sure he's a fine fellow, but Mother is so serious about this that it just feels forced. It feels wrong. Like as if, if we were to ever get married, that no love would truly ever be present." She sighed, placing her hand on her chin. "I was late to meet him once the other day, and Mother has been furious since. She hasn't even talked to me."

Luis pursed his lips. "I see."

"You're so lucky that Mother was only half as unbearable as she is now when you were trying to find a wife." Vienne muttered. "All she cared about was if you gave her grandkids-didn't even matter who it was with."

"Father was alive then, Vienne. Mother had much less to worry about at the time." Luis reminded her gently. "And trust me, she cared. Sometimes I swear Elizabeth was handpicked by her. But I was lucky enough to fall head over heels with her immediately. But I have a feeling that's not how it is with you and Edward, is it?"

Vienne shook her head. "He seems sweet so far. A little overbearing, really. But something just isn't clicking for me, and I don't know what it is." She said.

She had a feeling it was because of the forced feelings between them, but then again, she couldn't be sure. After all, she had been having a different man on her mind for over a week by now, and that was more than likely interfering with it all.

"Well, my advice is to not lose hope." Luis spoke up. "Things might end up going in your favor or working out in the way you want. Just don't give up hope. I'm sure Mother will eventually come around and settle down about it. She can't keep this up forever."

Luis was, of course, going to talk to Claudine himself. He could see how this was affecting her relationship with Vienne and how it was affecting Vienne in general. He wouldn't tell Vienne since she'd probably tell him it was no use, but he felt responsible to at least do something. Claudine was stubborn, so she probably wouldn't listen. But hopefully some perspective and insight from another one of her children could help.

"I sure hope so." Vienne sighed. "I know part of her does actually want me to be happy and to marry someone I truly love, but I think her anxiety over everything has outweighed that desire. She's probably itching to have to not deal with me anymore after this, to be honest." She added, a little humor presented in her tone.

Luis chuckled, reaching over to pat her shoulder. "I'll never get tired of having to deal with you." He grinned in true sibling fashion, which just led Vienne to hitting him in the back with a laugh.