To Be A Bougainvillea

Chapter 4

"He rejected the proposal?" Aurelia repeated, a small smile appearing on her face. 

"Yes." Franz, the butler, bowed his head. 

"Just as I expected." She said under her breath, the smile intact. 

"Thank you for the news, Francis." Hana said to Franz who bowed his head once again before leaving Aurelia's bedroom. 

"Why are you smiling? And why did you send a proposal to him if you knew that he was going to reject it?" Hana asked, perching down on the side of her bed. 

"Because that gives me an excuse," Aurelia opened the doors to her closet and raked her eyes through it, "to visit him in person." 

An hour later, as she waited for her chauffeur, Hana walked down the steps of the Princeton manor and gave her outfit a quick glance. 

"You look like you're going to a funeral," She stated, the wind playing with the strings of her ponytail as the evening sun hit her face, making her squint. 

"I pull off black so well, don't I?" She grinned, gazing down at her black feather-cape sleeved dress, black lace gloves and thin black heels.

"Don't do anything... rash, okay?" Hana vaguely exclaimed. 

"What can I do with a man who refused my hand in marriage?" She inquired. 

"You know what I mean." 

"Good Lord, I'm not going to force myself on him." Aurelia pulled a fae, "I do have some sort of dignity." 

"Your sort of dignity is rather estranged to everybody else's." Hana retorted as a silver car pulled up. 

"Don't worry, I'll try to keep it in my pants." She winked at a flabbergasted Hanna before sliding into the car. 

"Where to, my lady?" The chauffeur asked as Hanna buckled up. 

"Bougainvillea residence, please." 

"And what time should I pick you up, my lady?" 

Aurelia smiled to herself as the car soared off into the road. "I won't be needing a ride home." 

__________

"Good evening, how may I help you?" The Bougainvillea's housekeeper asked as she curtsied. 

"I'm looking for Mr Dietfried Bougainvillea." Aurelia replied, her eyes scanning the inside of the mansion through the open door. It was all marble and vintage and wealth. Nothing Aurelia hadn't seen before. 

"Pardon me but I haven't been informed of any visitors." The housekeeper claimed. 

"Oh, I'm no visitor." She gave the housekeeper a starry smile. "I'm Aurelia from the Princeton family. I've come to settle a matter regarding a marriage proposal with him."

The housekeeper's eyes widened before she ushered her in. "Master Dietfried will be with you shortly." 

Waving a buoyant hand, she said, "He can take as much time as he wants. I have nothing else scheduled for today." 

The housekeeper curtsied once again before disappearing out of sight, leaving Aurelia standing in the middle of the hallway in front of a striking double staircase. 

Losing herself to her curiosity, she walked to the left, her heels tapping the tiled floor when she came across a slightly ajar door with a familiar tune playing from inside. 

"Rachmaninoff - one of my favorites." The elderly woman sitting beside the fireplace craned her neck when she heard Aurelia walk in. 

"Good evening," Aurelia bowed her head, catching a glimpse of the grand piano in the corner of the room. 

"And to you, my dear." The elderly woman gazed at her with quaint eyes for a moment before saying, "I've seen you somewhere." 

Aurelia blinked but before she could answer, the woman's mouth fell open. "Pray tell, could you be Aurelia Lacy?" 

Taken aback, Aurelia replied, "Yes, indeed, I am." She felt herself surprised that she was recognised by her pianist name. Not many people in Leidenschaft saw her as the classical pianist, Aurelia Lacy. Instead, she was seen as the unmarried Lady Aurelia of the Princeton household. 

A taste of resentment grew at the back of her throat. 

"Could you turn that off, dear?" The woman pointed at the small, black radio on the mantel above the fireplace. When Aurelia switched it off, the elderly woman turned to her with a wrinkled smile and said, "Why should I listen to recorded music when I have Leidenschaft's most talented musician in my own house?" 

Aurelia blushed. "Thank you, ma'am, but I'm nowhere near being called Leidenschaft's most talented musician."  

"I think you're divine - I'm a big fan, if you haven't noticed." The elderly woman's eyes were a dark brown. Aurelia briefly wondered who she was to Dietfried. "Say, you don't mind playing for me, do you?"

"Of course not. Would you like me to play more Rachmaninoff?" She asked, turning towards the piano. A thin coat of dust flew in the air as Aurelia uncovered the ivory keys. 

"Play whatever you like, dear." The elderly woman leaned back in her chair, a smile intact on her ancient face. 

Aurelia began playing one of her favorite pieces she knew by heart, the Moonlight sonata by Beethoven. It was a melancholic piece that Beethoven wrote for one of his pupils, a seventeen year old countess, who he had strong feelings for. However, they never started a relationship because they belonged to different social classes. It was the certain feeling of hopelessness and forlorn sorrow and mournful gloom of this sonata that always hit Aurelia home. 

"That was stunning, dear." The elderly woman wiped a tear with her silk handkerchief when Aurelia finished playing. "Absolutely mind-blowing." 

Just as Aurelia opened her mouth, a deep, husky voice said, "Oh, but not as mind-blowing as her sporadic arrival."

Dietfried Bougainvillea stood at the doorway with a frown marred on his face. He wore a crisp white shirt, the stand up collar wide to display his gold pendant and revealing more skin. His black slacks fitted him well and as he stood there with so much pride and masculinity, Aurelia felt her mouth dry. 

"Why don't we leave my mother to rest and head to my office, Lady Aurelia?" His voice was falsely polite, perhaps due to the presence of his mother. 

Aurelia gathered herself gracefully before nodding, "Of course, Captain."