Page 51 of Take My Throne

Chapter Nineteen

As soon as I get home, I head straight to my father’s study. I figure there’s no time like the present to get things moving. But before I can get there, Isabella intercepts me.

“A word, Ivy?”

The way she says it makes it clear that it is a command, not a question, so I follow her away from my father’s room and into the little office set aside for her to use.

“Your father has been thinking,” she begins.

Uh-oh. This could be dangerous.

“He feels bad that your wedding wasn’t the grand affair it should have been,” she tells me. “House Archaic weddings should be huge celebrations, a sign to everyone that we’re flourishing, not the quiet ceremony you had. People will think we’re ashamed of you being married to Lucas, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Speak for yourself. I know better than to say the words out loud, but I am sure my expression speaks volumes.

“So, your father has decided to throw a reception party for you and Lucas,” Isabella informs me. “These are the people he would like you to invite.”

She hands me a piece of paper with a list of names: Romy, Archer, Declan, Milly, Ben and Kate Navarre, Gabriel and Rebecca Knight, and Claude and Marie Dauphin.

“Is that all?” I ask. “I thought you said weddings should be a huge celebration?”

“They should.” Isabella nods. “But this isn’t a wedding. It’s a formal presentation of you as a couple to the other Houses, and as such, this is a more intimate occasion. Your father thinks the end of this week would be a good time.”

“The end of this week?” My heart sinks. “But I was going to ask him to go to dinner with me this weekend. He won’t want to do that if we’re supposed to be having this little soiree.”

“You can have dinner with your father any time you like,” Isabella tells me. “Although I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear that you want to spend more time with him. One of his biggest regrets is that you don’t understand him better. If you would only sit down and talk to him, you’d understand why he left you with your mother instead of rescuing you earlier.”

Rescuing me from her? Boy, did he have his priorities confused.

Isabella continues, oblivious to my disgust. “I know he’d love to include you more in his plans. Perhaps after we’ve celebrated your marriage, you and Lucas can take him out somewhere together.”

“But I wanted some alone time with him,” I say. “I see enough of Lucas as it is. I’d much rather just go out with my father.”

“Nevertheless, you are a married woman now,” Isabella reminds me. “You need to include Lucas in any discussions with your father. I think you’ll find your husband has a lot of very valuable insights to share. It’s about time you treated him as the partner he truly is instead of a mere accessory. Your father isn’t the only one who feels like you keep him at arm’s length. Perhaps you might like to make a point at your reception of letting everyone know that Lucas is the only man for you. I appreciate that you’ve enjoyed playing the field, but the time has come to get serious about your future. Many arranged marriages develop into love matches and I’m sure if you just put in a little effort, you’d find that you and Lucas have a lot more in common than you realise. You really have the potential to be a good partnership.”

“If you say so.” I roll my eyes, bored of this particular game. “If we’re done here, I’ll go and text everyone to tell them about the party. This Saturday, right?”

“Saturday it is,” Isabella says. “But you won’t be texting. That simply won’t do. I’ve had these invitations prepared for you.” She picks up a sheaf of paper from her desk and hands them to me. “Fill them out in your best handwriting and I’ll get one of your father’s men to hand deliver them later.”

“Seriously?” I huff, snatching the invites from her. “Fine. I’ll get on it now.”

“Fill them in neatly, remember?” Isabella reminds me. “Don’t make me ask you to redo them.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I mock salute her and head up to my suite. Lucas is already up there.

“Hey, Ivy,” he says. “What’s with the face?”

“Is this stupid party your idea?” I ask, waving the invites at him.

“Party?” Lucas frowns. “You mean the wedding reception? It wasn’t my idea, but I think it’s a good one. Your father’s right. We should have made a bigger deal out of our wedding. This will be the perfect opportunity for us to network with the other Houses.”

“But I see Archer, Romy, Declan and Milly all the time at school,” I point out. “There’s no need to drag their parents over here as well.”

“Yes, there is,” Lucas says. “While it’s great you have close ties with the other Houses…” I can’t believe he can say that without a hint of irony. “…It’s the parents who are the real powers right now, and will be for some time to come. It’s important they view us as the power couple we truly are.”

“But I had other plans for this weekend.”

“What other plans? Ivy, I’ve been very tolerant of you spending time with your exes, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy with you being with them every spare moment. At some point, you’re going to have to prioritise your marriage over your friendships. I can be patient about that, but eventually my patience is going to wear thin.”

“Actually, I was going to ask my father to have dinner with me,” I say frostily. “It’s like you’ve said-–the time has come for me to start putting House Archaic first. I wanted to work on our relationship.”

“That’s great news, Ivy.” Lucas smiles. “I’m sure Solomon would love that. Look, why don’t you have dinner with him on Friday? You can go over the final arrangements for the reception so that everything’s perfect on Saturday. From what he’s said to me, he bitterly regrets not having a closer relationship with you. I think if you ask him to go out, he’ll jump at the opportunity.”

I think about it. Although the boys and I have planned the assassination for Saturday, there shouldn’t be any problem with moving it to Friday instead.

“Okay. I’ll see if he wants to go out on Friday,” I say. “But first, I better get on and fill these out. Isabella made it very clear that I had to write the names in my very best handwriting. Honestly, she was talking to me like I was five. When we’re in charge, promise me the first thing we’ll do is fire her.”

“That can be arranged.” Lucas laughs, as I sit down at my desk to fill out the invitations. It seems pointless doing them, since my father will be dead and I am not going to be celebrating my wedding. But, like always, appearances have to be maintained. I’ll play his little game until the moment comes to reveal he is really playing mine.

---