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Although she always knew this day would come she didn’t expect it to happen so soon. She was still relatively young. As the youngest daughter she knew that one day she would be expected to marry rich but she had hoped that she would at least have gotten a chance to find someone she could have a genuine connection with, or at least have met once before their engagement was announced. Although she knew her father would have the ultimate decision in who she married so really what did it matter in the end.
As Phoebe leaned in the doorway she felt like she was gazing at her own grave.
The ticking of the clock penetrated her thoughts and made her unable to stop thinking of what felt like her impending doom. She looked around the dining room and wondered how much time she had left in the house. How soon would her new groom want to get married? How quickly would she be expected to move out? It was her childhood home, she couldn’t be expected to move out immediately. However, she knew ultimately she would have little say in the matter.
Phoebe ran her fingers over the carvings in the dining chairs, something she’s loved to do since she was young. She tried to think positively. Perhaps her soon to be husband would be better than she thinks. Maybe he’ll be handsome, maybe he won’t be cold and controlling. She didn’t want to get her hopes up though. She knew how things like this usually went. Her best friend Anne recently married a government man twenty years her senior. While he wasn’t necessarily a bad husband the situation was still certainly not ideal.
The table was already set, not a speck of dust nor a fork out of place. She could hear the cooks working in the kitchen preparing what felt like her final meal. Phoebe wondered what her dad picked for the evening. She’d like to think that he picked a favorite of hers, but she doubted it. He probably chose something outrageously fancy in order to show off. She knew it was important not only for her look her best but the rest of the family as well. They had to convince the Dalton’s that she was a good match for their son.
It all felt a bit ridiculous to her. The amount of pomp going into this. The agreement was already basically set in stone. If either families backed out now it would look poorly on both. However, despite this, she knew that her parents looked for any opportunity to show off.
Both of her parents have been upstairs getting ready for hours. They really had been pulling out all the stops. The best outfits, the finest china. She wondered if they would even be downstairs in time. She had already put on the dress that her mother had picked for her. A delicate shade of green that she had been told made her eyes pop. Phoebe picked up one of the spoons and inspected her reflection. They’ve decorated her hair with pearls but they couldn’t quite cover the bags under her eyes. She put the spoon back down.
The clock was still ticking. Phoebe knew they would be arriving shortly. She could hear her parents descend the stairs to wait in the lounge for their guests.
She heard the doorbell ring. She smoothed her dress and took one last look around the dining room she had known all her life and headed to wait for her future.