Page 100 of The Seven Sisters
‘I think it would lift her spirits, and therefore benefit her health immensely. Would you let us go, Pai, just for a couple of weeks or so? It’s so very hot in Rio just now.’
‘Izabela,’ Antonio said with a frown, ‘you have only just arrived back and now you talk of leaving again. Anyone would think you disliked being here.’
‘You know that isn’t true, Pai. But until we both feel Mãe is on the mend, I’m not comfortable with finalising a date for the wedding. And you know how eager I am to do that. So if some time spent at thefazendawould hasten her recovery, I’m happy to accompany her.’
‘And leave me all alone here, with no wife or child to come home to?’ Antonio complained.
‘I’m sure it would be possible to visit us at the weekends when you’re not working, Pai.’
‘Perhaps. But it isn’t me you have to convince; it’s your fiancé, who may not wish you to disappear from his sight again.’
‘I will talk to Gustavo,’ Bel agreed.
*
‘Of course,’ Gustavo nodded, as Bel explained her plan the following afternoon. ‘I’m in favour of anything that will hasten our walk to the altar. And,’ he added quickly, ‘it will be the best thing for your mother’s health. However, before you go, we must make a few decisions.’
Bel told a delighted Carla that they were to leave for thefazendathe following week. She wasn’t the only member of the Bonifacio household who was happy at the thought. Loen’s face lit up when Bel asked her to accompany mother and daughter up to the mountains. Even though her presence wasn’t technically necessary, as Fabiana and Sandro who ran thefazendawere capable of caring for their needs, Bel knew it would give her a chance to spend time with her young man.
‘Oh, Senhorita Bel,’ Loen had said, her eyes glowing with pleasure. ‘I cannot believe I will see him again! Because he can’t read or write, we haven’t spoken since we last saw each other.Obrigada! Obrigada!’
Giving her mistress a spontaneous hug, Loen had virtually skipped from the room. And Bel decided that even if she herself could never be reunited with the one she loved, she’d live vicariously through Loen’s joy.
The following day, Bel duly went to meet with both Gustavo and his mother to discuss the wedding plans.
‘It is most unfortunate that your mother’s illness means she is unable to contribute to the organisation at this crucial time,’ said Luiza Aires Cabral. ‘But we must do as much as we can to plan the event in the meantime.’
Bel had an urge to reach out and slap Luiza’s arrogant face, but she managed to restrain herself. ‘I’m sure she will be better very soon, especially with a dose of fresh mountain air,’ she answered.
‘Well, if we can at least set the date, Rio will not feel as though there is further procrastination, given that you have already spent so long abroad. Now . . .’ Luiza put on her glasses and studied her diary. ‘The archbishop has already informed me of the dates he has available. As you can imagine, his schedule is booked up months in advance. Gustavo has told me that you wish the marriage to take place towards the end of January. On a Friday, of course. Weekend weddings are so vulgar.’
‘Whatever you think best,’ Bel agreed demurely.
‘As for the reception afterwards, your father has a notion that we should hold the wedding breakfast at the Copacabana Palace Hotel. Personally, I find it’s rather a common crowd that rate it and would have favoured a smaller, more select event here at the house, following in the family tradition. But as your father has decided to renovate what I think are already adequate facilities here, that is not possible. The house is crawling with tradesmen and I can’t run the risk of them not being finished by January. So we must select another venue.’
‘I’m happy with whatever you decide,’ Bel repeated.
‘As for bridesmaids and pages, your mother has put forward a number of names of your cousins from São Paulo. Eight in all,’ Luiza clarified. ‘We too have at least twelve from our side whom I must consider, as they are godchildren and would of course expect to take a leading role in the ceremony. Eight is the maximum number of attendants we could allow without it looking showy. Do you have anyone you especially wish to be included on the shortlist?’
Bel named two young daughters of her mother’s cousin and one boy from her father’s side. ‘Please, I am happy to accept the rest of my attendants from Gustavo’s side of the family.’
She glanced at her fiancé, and he gave her a sweet, sympathetic smile.
For the next two hours, Luiza questioned Bel on every tiny detail of the wedding. But each time Bel ventured a suggestion, her ideas were just as quickly rebuffed, due to her future mother-in-law’s determination to have things her own way.
However, there was one point on which Bel was determined not to budge: that after the marriage, Loen would accompany her to her new home as her personal maid.
When she dared to raise the subject, Luiza fixed her with an icy stare before waving her hand dismissively. ‘That is quite ridiculous,’ she said. ‘We already have servants here who are more than capable of taking care of your needs.’
‘But—’
‘Mãe,’ Gustavo interrupted, finally rising to Bel’s defence. ‘If Izabela wishes to bring her maid, whom she has known since childhood, then I cannot see why it should pose a problem.’
Luiza looked at him with an irritated raise of her eyebrows. ‘I see. Well then, so be it,’ she said, nodding at her son curtly before turning back to Bel and continuing. ‘At least what we’ve discussed today gives me some detail to work with while you scurry off to the mountains next week. Given you have been so long apart from my son, anyone would think that you didn’t wish for your intended’s company.’
Again, Gustavo intervened. ‘Come now, Mãe, that is not fair. Izabela simply wishes for her mother’s health to improve.’
‘Of course, and I will mention her in my prayers when I attend Mass tomorrow. In the meantime, I will do my duty and take control of arrangements until you and Senhora Bonifacio are back in Rio to share the burden. Now’ – Luiza glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece – ‘if you’ll excuse me, I have a committee meeting with the Sisters of Mercy orphanage in less than half an hour. Gustavo, I am sure you can escort Izabela around the gardens to take some air, and show her the renovations in progress. Good day to you.’
