Who: Gibbons and Vances When: Wednesday, February 25th, 1980. Seven p.m. What: Dinner! Where: Gibbon Estate, Melton, Leicestershire Status: Completed Log. Mireille pulled her shawl a little tighter around her shoulders as she sat next to Patrick on the sofa, their parents on separate couches facing them. Dinner had been very delightful and Mireille had quite enjoyed herself. But now it was just a little awkward, not because the after dinner conversation was lacking - there was quite a bit to comment on with the elections and everything else that had been happening in their world - but there was an undercurrent of tension that Mireille was picking up on, between her parent and Mr and Mrs Vance, but she couldn't tell if it was just her being oversensitive (and perhaps a tad suspicious of her parents' motives for the dinner) or if Ferdinand and Patrick were also picking up on it.
Her father certainly looked uncomfortable now that they were in the sitting room and her mother's mouth had a slight pinched look to it, and Mireille's suspicions were confirmed when her father leaned forward and cleared his throat before speaking in a slightly droll manner, "I think we are all very understanding of the situations our families are currently in, as we seem to have found ourselves in the same one." Julian glanced over at his wife and Mireille tried to keep her heart from jumping into her throat.
Eudora Gibbon (née Rookwood, as she often reminded people), was wearing a strained smile of welcoming and happiness as their house elf filled her glass with wine. She would have preferred, of course, that things were different and her second daughter had been properly married years ago with a full courtship that hadn't been arranged. After her own marriage, she disdained the idea of arranging couples, but, she mused, Mireille and Patrick were a better match than she and Julian. Yes, the match would be advantageous for both families -- Mireille would be married, to a man of good standing (though he was not a pureblood -- shame, but at this point, Eudora couldn't afford to be picky), and the Vances would have the advantage of a access to the Gibbon family's considerable finances.
"Of course," Eudora finally continued from her husband's statement, "We all understand that this is a delicate situation, to be handled with the utmost care and discretion. I am sure that we all would prefer that this match were preceded by a long, public courtship, but considering Mireille and Patrick's ages as well as the desperation of our time, I do not believe that we have months to waste." Though Eudora would be damned if her daughter embarrassed the family with a rush to the altar like the Wilkes and Parkinson girls. It was atrocious, she thought, these disgustingly short engagements, and whether or not the girls had actually been indiscreet, there would be talk, and talk of that sort was never good. The Wilkes girl especially... Engaged and married to an older man in less than a month. If that wouldn't cause people to talk, she didn't know what would. And all of these thoughts, of course, were completely unbiased, though they caused her to shoot a glare across the room towards her son.
Ferdinand, for his part, had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout dinner and now, as he sat in the drawing room, listening to what his parents were saying, he was absolutely silent, partly out of politeness (this whole affair was so obviously about Mireille) and partly out of suspicion. He knew that his mother had been pressing for a match with Patrick Vance for some time, and now, it seemed, her plans had come to fruition. If there was any place that the two younger Gibbon siblings had learned their scheming tactics from, it was certainly their mother. Nevertheless, he didn't have anything to say on the matter, so he sunk back in his chair and hoped that everyone would forget that he was there.
The Vances were well-aware as to what to expect that night. Ceres had even told Patrick before coming there that there was going to be an issue that they would all have to discuss together -- and he knew that, by the look on her mother's face when she had told him that -- a hopeful and somewhat worried look -- it had something to do with a matter of courtship. Then again, he knew shouldn't be too surprised; they had been encouraging his friendship with Mireille, though he had to admit that, while he enjoyed having conversations with her, the prospect of properly courting her had dwindled down over the last couple of months due to his work.
"Of course," Wilbur Vance responded to Eudora and Julian's statements. "We feel the same way, though I believe that we shouldn't be rushing into thing too fast." He glanced briefly at his wife, who had been sitting quietly for some time now, observing the conversations surrounding her. "My wife gave a suggestion to me the other day that we should proceed with the engagement, but not have the marriage until some time so that they would be given the opportunity to get to know each other better. Morever," he cleared his throat. "We do not want to be seen as racing against time to have them married. An engagement would be enough to make things definite for some time."
Patrick looked down at the carpeted floor, raising his gaze briefly to look at Mireille. While his father might have given them that reason, Patrick's own reason for being relieved -- though he had never voiced out about this to anyone -- was because there were still things that he needed to do. He needed to think about how his work would be affected when he was married; he did not want to be the kind of husband who would leave his wife alone every week to go abroad. There was also the matter of getting his sister back to the family.
While Mireille had hoped for the dinner to proceed something in this manner, she was definitely surprised by the actual direction this had gone in. Not a courtship, but an arrangement? Conflicted inwardly with shock that her mother had surprised her in this manner and embarrassment at her parent's candidness about their age. She dropped her eyes to her hands in her lap in a demure fashion. Yes, she should be (and was) embarrassed at being this age and not having yet been courted, especially with the sudden rash of engagements and courtships it made her lack of prospects all the more glaring. But this, an arrangement like Jacqueline, but less rushed would make it seem more coincidental than pressured.
She glanced up and caught her mother's short glare at Ferdinand and smothered a smile, feeling a twinge of guilt at his mandatory presence. She would help make him feel better later, right now the rest of the eyes were on them. Mireille looked over at Patrick and met his quick gaze, but it was a short moment and she was unable to sort through the emotions he held there. Mireille swallowed lightly and gave a light smile, because this was not as dire as it needed to be. Two families on the brink of being completely proper, an arrangement was to be happy.
Julian was not as happy as his daughter, there had been a reason he had turned away the other suitor (he had forgotten the man's name, but it did not matter any longer) and that was because he wanted his daughters to marry purebloods. He was being forced into this by his wife and and her infernal brother, but it was better to bend to their wills on this matter than to spend another few evenings on the sofa.
"So it shall be arranged. Patrick and Mireille, you are to be engaged for several months, six at the least I would think," Julian glanced at his wife for her approval, but looked back to Ceres to whom he was technically making the arrangement with. Of course, there was still the matter of dowry and wedding cost arrangements and other things for the men to discuss, but Julian was sure Eudora would have his hide if he decided to start in on them now, "Other arrangements can be made at a more business opportune time. I believe my dear wife has something for you, Patrick."
Eudora snapped her fingers lazily, with an ill-hidden air of contempt. The Gibbons' house elf scuttled quickly into the room again (they had discussed the matter beforehand, she was to come at the snap of Eudora's fingers), holding a small, black box. She took it from the elf and opened it, checking to see that the ring was still enclosed. "This ring," she explained, "Belonged to my mother. It is a Rookwood family heirloom, and before she died, she expressed a desire that one of her granddaughters should wear it as her engagement ring. Seeing as our eldest daughter was already married at the time, I thought it appropriate to save it for Mireille." She let the box remain open and returned it to the house elf, shooing her over to Patrick. "What do you think, Patrick?"
The elf shuffled to where Patrick sat and handed him the ring box, then shrank back into the corners of the room before disappearing without a word. Ferdinand watched the scene without saying a word, feeling uncomfortable and wondering, selfishly, what this meant for him. Of course he was happy for his sister -- he knew that she desperately wanted to be married, and he approved Patrick as a husband. But he couldn't help but worry that within a month, he would be sitting in this room, only it would be him being told he was about to marry. He had told his mother several times he wished to choose his own wife, but as she pointed out, look at how that had turned out with Jacqueline.
As Patrick took the ring box from the House Elf, his own mother flicked her gaze to him and the ring, an impressed look on her face. For a split second, Patrick felt nervous -- this was the kind of commitment that he had been expected to make years ago, and now that it was something actually definite, he couldn't help but have that wary feeling. However, his feelings were, of course, hidden away from his face. He held the ring box closer so that he could look at the ring closely, admiring how beautiful it looked. Smiling slightly, he closed the ring box and handed it back to the House Elf. "It would look even more beautiful on Mireille's finger," he told the Gibbons, sounding genuinely sincere.
Mireille knew that ring box, she knew that ring. She was a little surprised at her mother's generosity, letting Mireille have her mother's ring. It made her heart speed up a little faster as Patrick inspected it and seemed to find it suitable (why he wouldn't, Mireille couldn't even fathom). Her face showed her confusion as Patrick gave the box back to the elf, wasn't he supposed to actually put it on? Mireille glanced at her mother for some sort of prompting, but found no help there, as if she was being tested. "Perhaps then, you should place it on my finger so that we may see it properly," Mireille didn't want to seem pushy, but prompting him a bit couldn't hurt?
If Patrick had not considered Mireille to be someone whom he was already well-acquainted with (though he wouldn't consider their relationship to be especially close -- it wasn't very proper, after all), he would have thought her actions to be quite direct and upfront, but since he was already comfortable enough with her, he smiled, making a small gesture at the House Elf to hand him back the ring box, before turning to Mireille's parents. "May I?" he asked them politely.
Eudora watched the exchange with some interest and had to resist the urge to fidget with her own wedding band. Such a gesture would be telling, and Eudora Gibbon (née Rookwood, of course) tried to keep her emotions under control, at least when company was around. "Of course," she said, clearing her throat slightly. She raised her chin a bit as she watched.
With her mother's permission, Mireille smiled shyly at Patrick. She leaned forward slightly and offered her left hand gently - she tried to appear calm and collected, but she was getting engaged and it was a perfect ring and while not a perfect courtship, an arranged wedding was completely acceptable and her heart was beating quickly in all the excitement. Yes, there would be a lot to consider, especially given Patrick's occupation and where they would live, but having the prospect of being engaged and having that ring on her finger being presented right in front of her. It took every ounce of her propriety not to snatch the box out of his hand and put the ring on herself, instead, Mireille met Patrick's eyes and smiled encouragingly.
Having received permission, Patrick then glanced at her parents. His mother had a discreet smile, his father didn't look particularly interested at the scene that was about to unravel in front of them. He then turned to his bride-to-be, giving her a small smile in return, before leaning forward and putting the ring through her finger. "I was right after all," he said, his light smile turning into an almost teasing one.