An Arranged Marriage (Santiago)

A servant opened the door to welcome them inside. Mr and Mrs Billings were waiting in the sitting room, the latter with fluttering hands and a quavery voice, clearly prone to anxiety, and the tension of this strange situation elevating her condition considerably. The man was older, greying at the temples, and with a worn out expression on his face.

“Mrs Malloy, Mr Malloy,” he greeted them beckoning them to join him and his wife in the sitting room. The intended bride was nowhere in sight. “Please do come in.” He made the formal introductions between them all.
When Mrs Billings was introduced to Santiago she held onto his hand, not letting him go, “It is so nice to meet you, Mr Malloy. My husband has told me what an up and coming young man you are, but he didn’t mention so handsome. Ruby will be thrilled to meet you.” Mrs Billings was relieved; she had had to listen to her daughter screaming about not wanting to marry some ugly spotty boy, but this young man, although a bit lanky, and rather skinny, was most presentable in his nice suit with his lovely striking green eyes. Mrs Billings found herself admiring his features for a little too long and realised she was still holding his hand.
For his own sake, and not because his step-mother had asked, Santiago smiled charmingly at Mrs Billings, “It’s a pleasure, Mrs Billings. I’m really looking forward to meeting Ruby as well.”
Mrs Billings laughed, a shrill irritating, almost girly sound, quite revolting from a woman of her age.
Esme stepped forward, “Where is dear Ruby? Suffering from pre-wedding jitters?”
Mrs Billings looked slightly panicky again, but Mr Billings cleared his throat. “She’s in the living room. A little nervous, yes,” he explained with a soft chuckle. “But I’m sure she’d love to join us now.” He waved a hand at the servant who stepped away to collect the girl. Mr Billings held his wife’s hand to try and stop it fluttering about so anxiously. “Please have a seat while we wait. Can I get you a drink?”
“Yes. Please.” Santiago answered quickly, hoping for something with a little kick. He glanced at the chairs and wandered over to look out the window instead, studying the small pretty garden beyond.
Esme laughed nervously and sat, trying to cover for Santiago’s rudeness. “I would love a drink, thank you so much.”
Mr Billings poured three glasses, handing one to Esme first, then to Santiago. He stayed beside the young man, sipping his own drink, trying to see what he was looking at. “Do you like gardening?”
“Not really,” Santiago admitted. “I don’t really like outdoor work. You have nice light out there though.”
“Nice light?” Mrs Billings asked, not seeming to be offended by not being asked or offered a drink in her own home. She was getting worried; it really wasn’t far to the lounge room and the servant should have brought her daughter in by now.
There was the sound of muffled raised voices, and then the discernable words from what sounded like a young woman shrieking, “Take your hands off me!”
Santiago turned and looked curiously at the door to the corridor. “I guess she’s not shy?”
Mrs Billings went pale as a ghost, her hands clutching at her throat, while Mr Billing’s face turned redder and redder until it started to look like an overripe tomato.
Without waiting for an invitation, Santiago wandered over to the door and opened it, leaning curiously into the corridor to see what all the fussing was about.

(ooc note_ from this post onwards the thread was written by blurbing, both writers working together and then split up for posting purposes.)

(ooc word count: 597)

Having lived for over twenty years with a woman he didn’t much like, and hating having to listen to her rambling on and on day after day, Mr Billings thought a private room to do as he pleased with soundproofing was just about the best thing he had ever heard of. He decided he would have Ruby’s bedroom converted into a study just for him, following similar specifications. He did some quick calculations in his head, wanting to make sure his own room was assured before arranging for this young man’s. He turned to Esme, “How about we pay for half, and we remove the other half from monies still owing to yourself?” He chuckled, “After all, it doesn’t sound like my Ruby will get much joy from such a room, and it really is something nice for your step-son.”
Santiago, the only one watching the door, saw a flash of red-brown hair dangle across the frame, and those big brown eyes furtively snuck a peek at him, before darting back out of sight.
Esme was struggling to keep her pleasant expression, “Oh, I’m sure you don’t NEED a studio, do you, Santiago?”
He looked over at her, his face serious, “I really really do, mother. And once that’s sorted we can have a lovely wedding and move into the new house.”
Ruby was trying to be stealthy but couldn’t help herself from exploding with the indignity of it all, “No!” She shouted. “I’m not going to marry him!”
“A LARGE art studio,” Santiago added, pretending he hadn’t heard Ruby.
Mr Billings shooed his wife out of the room with a frantic waving of his hands. He tried to laugh, but it was clearly forced, “She’s a funny girl. Loves a joke.” He smiled at Esme, “Half each, for the room itself, I’ll cover the furnishings?”
Esme was looking at the door with a shocked expression on her face. She hadn’t expected the girl to be thrilled with an arranged marriage, but the screaming was a little much. She was suddenly thankful to Santiago for at least keeping his tantrums to their own home and his good behaviour for company. “Perhaps we should come back when she is feeling better?”
Mr Billings didn’t have time for this. Any delays would only put him in a much worse bargaining position. “I wouldn’t want her silly pranks to delay their combined happiness. If it’s financial, I’m happy to cover the cost of the room. Consider it our wedding present to the happy couple.” He would have to delay his own room and that made him feel miserable. Still, it was worth it see Ruby off his hands.
“Deal.” Santiago agreed quickly, cutting off any protests his step-mother might be planning to make. He stood, “I suppose I’ll see her at the wedding, since she doesn’t want to come in here today?”
Ruby was half pushed by the hidden hands of her mother into the doorway. She noted the furious expression on her father’s face and attempted to look demure. “It was just a joke.” She spoke so softly it was hard to make out exactly what she was saying. An arm darted behind her, poking her in the back once more, and prodding her to say the rest she had clearly been schooled to say, “Nice to meet you, Santiago.” She looked painfully young all of a sudden.

(ooc word count: 566)

As soon as the front door closed Ruby rounded on her parents, “I’m NOT marrying him.”

“You certainly are, young lady,” her father snapped, already calculating how much her little tantrum was going to cost him. It was a very literal figure, in dollars. “You WILL marry him, and you will behave yourself at the wedding like a PROPER lady.”

“He’s GAY!” She shouted in distress. “You want me to marry some gay man?”
“I don’t care if he’s gay.” Her father roared back, “I don’t care if he only ever beds you the once. If you’d had more self control then you might be getting a better husband. You made the bed so now you lie in it.”
She pressed her hands to her ears, “Stop talking about beds and bedding, it’s gross!”
Her mother fluttered in behind them, clearly distressed, “What made you think he’s gay, Ruby? He seemed like a lovely young man, handsome, polite, and an artist! Won’t that be lovely?”
“He didn’t even look at me like that, and the artist thing too, lots of gay guys are artistic. Even when I was being super obvious he didn’t even take the hint. He HAS to be gay.”
“He was probably just embarrassed for you because he’s a well brought up young man, unlike those terrible fellows you hang around with,” her mother fluttered nervously.
“Don’t diss’ the gang,” she retorted petulantly, making her mother flinch. “Guys are guys, anyway, all the same. You flash some cleavage and if they’re not gay, they take a good look. Poor men, guys so rich they have a golden stick up their-”
Her father cut her off, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder, “Stop that foul language right now! I don’t want to have to lock you in your room until the day of the wedding, but I will if this behaviour continues. Is that what you want?”
Ruby wrinkled up her face, “No.” She hated being alone and the thought of days cooped up without a single person to speak to, and her food being dumped on her desk three times a day by her silent father or mother as the only form of human contact was too awful. She’d suffered three days of it when they’d found out about her secret and she’d run away only to be dragged back to the house and locked up to stop her leaving again.
Her mother looked at her father with concern, “What if she’s right, my dear, and he never,” she blushed and hesitated before finding the words, “consummates the marriage.”
“He’ll have to, on his wedding night at least, and as far as heirs goes, Ruby has already solved that problem, hasn’t she?” Disapproval was heavy in his voice.
“Has to?” Ruby snorted. “Are you going to be there making him go through with it, Father?”
“You make sure he does! If he wants his precious art studio, then he’ll grit his teeth and get it done.” He snapped.
Ruby saw her father’s anger and dared not push it any further than she already had. “Fine! Whatever!”

(ooc word count: 512)

The day of the wedding arrived. Ruby was feeling so lonely after being locked up in her parents’ house by herself for so many days that she was almost looking forward to it. The community hall her parents had hired looked sad and empty, when she peeked in before everything started, with so few people in attendance on her side. She had dreamed of this day since she was a little girl but she never imagined something this drab and lifeless. The only thing she liked was her dress, a stunning work of art that made her feel special like a princess of old. Her parents had even conceded and let her wear the wings she had wanted on the back of it, and glitter all over the dress, wings and her skin, made her feel like she might be a precious metal, rather than a frightened sixteen year old girl.

Santiago paced a little as he waited and tried not to yawn. He hadn’t been to bed until almost dawn, and then his step-mother had woken him a few hours later, hammering on his door and starting off a terrible headache. His friends, sitting on hard chairs waiting for the ceremony to start, or standing with him as his groomsmen, didn’t look much better off, but it was really their own fault. He hadn’t resisted them dragging him off for a night drinking before the wedding, but the idea hadn’t been his, certainly. He tugged at the collar of his suit and ignored the glower his Step-Mother gave him. She was seated already, her two daughters on either side, an almost grim smile plastered onto her face. Santiago tried not to look at them. This whole thing was already too painful; being forced to marry someone he didn’t know or care about was bad enough without having to do it while being made to look at what he was losing. He ran his fingers through his hair, remembering too late that it had already been styled and looking around for a mirror to fix it.
“Nervous? You look like you’re searching for a back door,” his friend Shine remarked.
“Forgot about my hair. Did I make it look awful?”
Shine grinned at him despite his own head pounding with a hangover too. “Does it matter?” he kept his voice fairly low in case anyone was listening. “She’s going to marry you anyway, right?” Even as he said it he was carefully straightening Santiago’s hair back into position so he’d look his best.
“True, but I might as well look bloody dashing, you know. I can’t believe I let you keep me up all night drinking. My head is going to explode.” He hoped that Ruby wasn’t going to complain loudly all night. He didn’t think his hangover could take it.
Shine smirked evily, “You look a little like something the cat dragged in and then got shoved into a nice suit. But I don’t think she’ll care much.”
“Oh, you like the suit?” Santiago glanced down at himself, smiling a little. “I convinced her to shell out for a new one, instead of cutting one of my dad’s down. I went on and on about how it would look to marry off her only son in hand-me-downs. People would talk and all that. You know.”
Shine laughed, and instantly groaned, pressing a hand to his temple. “Oh, I know. The gossip and scandal of a re-tailored suit! How could you live it down, old man?”
(ooc word count: 587)

The vows were exchanged, and both said their ‘I do’s’ without a hitch. When the celebrant asked if there were any reason that they should not be married, Ruby fervently willed someone to shout something about it being wrong, and stop it all, but there wasn’t a sound in the hall. The rings were exchanged and she stared at the heavy precious metal glinting on her finger, next to the ‘engagement’ ring with it’s large, expensive diamond that her father had placed on her finger just moments before they walked into the hall.

She calmed down as the event went on, and stopped crying, although when her veil was lifted back the slight puffiness around her eyes was a pretty big give away. At least the eye make-up she was wearing had been the very expensive waterproof type, so she didn’t look like a panda.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the celebrant said, finishing things off officially.

Santiago leaned forward towards his new wife, and paused at the sound of a loud commotion outside the hall, with yelling and what sounded like glass breaking. Something was thrown against the outside of the Hall, clanging and crashing into the brick work.

Several young men came into view in the door, a small army of servants hired just for this purpose trying to hold them back. The boys were clearly thugs and ruffians, wearing leather jackets, and covered in street tattoos with gang signs.
Santiago couldn’t think why they would be trying to interrupt the wedding until one of them called loudly, “Rubes!” and punched the one of the servants who was trying to hold him back in the nose, making it bleed profusely. “Rubes, don’t marry that wanker!” he shouted, still unable to spot Ruby as he struggled to enter the hall. “We’ll all take care of you, the whole gang, I’m sorry I told you to fuck off. Just it freaked me out when you said it might-” he was cut off by a blow to the head with a small truncheon that one of the servants had produced and Ruby screamed in fright at the sight of her good friend laid low. Santiago kept his hold of Ruby’s hand, hoping that she wouldn’t try to pull away too hard. He didn’t really want to have to cling on to his struggling bride, but he didn’t really want to let her run down into a brawl either. Someone inside the hall heeded Mr Billing’s frantically shouted orders and closed the door, locking it from the inside.

There was the ongoing sound of a large scuffle outside until the wail of Peacekeeper sirens was heard and the gang kids clearly made a run for it, unwilling to face arrest or worse.

(ooc: word count 468)

“Can you help me up, please?” she asked, sounding exhausted. Her whole body was still shaking and he could feel it in her hands, which were cold and damp with sweat.
“Hmm?” her words brought him out of his musing, “Oh, yeah.” He stood first and offered his hands to her again. “So, those guys aren’t going to know where we LIVE, are they?”

She noticed how everyone in the room seemed to be staring at her, and blushed. She realised a little late that her husband, how strange it was to use that word for herself, was asking her a question, “May we talk about this another time, perhaps?” She went on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, “When less people are staring at me.”
Santiago made a mental note to himself to make sure they did talk about it, but nodded to her. “So...I think we’re still supposed to kiss now.” Whatever moment there had been between them before the interruption was gone, but it seemed that finishing this ceremony was the best thing to do.

She rolled her eyes subtly at his terrible timing. How could he think of kissing right now when she was struggling not to throw up everywhere? She realised he probably didn’t know how nauseous she felt, but thought he could have been a little more considerate after everything that had just happened. She scanned his face, trying to see if he wanted to kiss her for kissing's sake, or if it was just the right thing to do in the ceremony. He certainly didn’t look like he was excited and enthusiastic at the prospect. He looked pale, actually. With dark marks under his eyes.

“You alright?” she asked him, suddenly concerned about him more than herself.
“Can we just finish this so we can get out of here?” He sounded more tired than annoyed. “We still have a party to get through today.”
She sighed, feeling overwhelmed at the idea. Normally she loved parties, but a party with her parents and one or two relatives, plus a whole lot of people she didn’t know seemed dreadfully dull. She noted Santiago’s best man and friends watching them, and her attitude suddenly changed. This might not be so dull after all. She lifted up onto her toes again, speaking so close to his ear that her lips brushed him, “Are your friends straight or gay too?”
He made a soft choking sound and stepped back from her slightly, “What?!” He remembered too late the friends and relations watching them and twitched, glancing out at the observers and smiling weakly before looking back to Ruby. “I’m just going to pretend you didn’t ask me that at my WEDDING,” he muttered in an undertone. He leaned down and gave her a halfhearted kiss on the lips, then stepped back, apparently content that he had finished the ceremony.
(ooc: word count 478)