chef_chocobro | The Far Less Creepy and Far From Abandoned Mansion in the Woods; Friday Afternoon/Evening [06/27].

When the guests arrived, they would, of course, be instructed to find their way to the garden conservatory; the subtle decorations both inside the mansion and through the exterior gardens would guide most people to there, and, barring that, the steward was naturally on hand to provide and escort. There, they would find a scene that seemed almost a stark contrast to the dark and brooding decor of a necromancer, a place filled with light and life, with plants both decorative and functional, colorful and aromatic and useful, and, of course, no lack of the expected gothic or Victorian touches here and there. Somewhere, some cleverly situated water fixture babbled steadily along with the light, inobtrusive music that set the atmosphere: something elevated just slightly above casual, that slight touch of pretentiousness that was gentle in its demands for propriety and decorum and class. Comfortable chaises and chairs were arranged here and there sociably, a gathering a wrought-iron bistro tables and chairs as well, but the set-up seemed to suggest the kind of floating interactions of butterflies among flowers, drifting from one to the next with an airy regard.

And, of course, the spread of food was exceptional, lighter fair, but plenty of it, things that could be enjoyed while fluttering about with the other guests in one hand, while the other held a glass of fine wine or sparkling water garnished with fresh fruits or even a robust coffee or a floral cup of tea. Small sandwiches and crostini, bruschetta and other variations, but there were also empanadas with a chimichurri sauce, paella with scallops, pomegranate pork kebabs...

Spring rolls, summer rolls, smoked salmon cucumber rolls...

And of course, desserts, which would include alfajores dulce de leche, coffee truffles, fruit crostini, and key lime mini pies.

Needless to say, no one should be wanting for food. Just be careful not to fill up on treats too much if you plan to stay on later; there was still plenty of dancing to be had, once the party moved itself to the awaiting ballroom.

[[ ~~naturally, ocd incoming~~ ocd is up! Come and celebrate with us! ]]

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"Me? Look at you!" Arden said, beaming at Lydia. "Okay, you have to twirl for me, because if that gorgeous dress doesn't do the most satisfying spin, I will eat my little straw hat."

"Oh, well, if you insist," Lydia demurred, providing the required twirl happily. "I should hate to be responsible for the demise of such a charming hat."

"My hat thanks you, and so does my love of being right," Arden said. "A great twirl. Is that a new dress? For, say, a summertime birthday girl, just to give a completely random and hypothetical guess?"

"I've had it for a bit, but I haven't had an occasion to wear it. There's been quite the dearth of parties," Lydia complained. "I don't know what Mr. Stark has that ballroom for if he's not going to use it." Lydia would never let a perfectly good ballroom go to waste. "And yes, it is my birthday tomorrow. Can you imagine it, I shall be twenty! Lizzy married at twenty, and I thought she was so old."

Arden's eyes widened. "I'll be twenty at the end of the summer, too, and I can assure you I'm nowhere near ready to be married." She frowned. "Nobody back home is going to start pressuring you to marry anybody, are they?"

Oh, Arden. You sweet, summer child.

Haaaaaaa.

"Oh, no," Lydia assured her. "No, no one shall be expecting me to marry." Not with such an upright witness as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy attesting that yep, he sure had attended her wedding and a rather confused cleric writing in the records that it was so, since he must have officiated it even if he couldn't quite remember it and what he did remember was...odd...

"Oh, did I tell you? Mary's just been married!"

"Oooh? Good for her!" Arden said. "Didn't you say once that your mother despaired of her ever getting married or something?"

"You know, I think she was always rather lost in the shuffle of us all," Lydia said, which displayed remarkable maturity but also overlooked things like her and Kitty stealing Mary's dancing ability on the nights of balls to improve their own. That had really not been great of them. "Once we were all gone from home she had more of an opportunity to shine, I hope." Or at least to actually be able to dance at balls, Lydia. "I do wish the best for Mary, even if she was a bit, well, 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.'"

"Eeee," Arden said with a grimace. "That must make reunions a little rough. Even if she doesn't know what about you, isn't that stuff rather hard to hear?"

The Far Less Creepy and Far From Abandoned Mansion in the Woods; Friday Afternoon/Evening [06/27].

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