CHAPTER SEVEN – FAMILY TIES

Sure enough, Charlotte's gaze followed his discreet nod towards two distinct clusters - Montgomerys and their staunch inner circle on one side, Joneses and loyalists on the other. The muted hum of conversation emanating from both like the low rumbles before a thunderstorm's first claps. "Oh for heaven's sake, we'll simply have to intervene," Lillian announced in a tone that brokered no argument. She squared her narrow shoulders and nodded curtly to Richard Jones, who was holding court amid their family friends with a snifter of brandy in hand. As her mother swept over to seize control of the proceedings, Charlotte found herself nervously toying with the folds of her skirt - an anxious habit from her debutante days she thought she'd long outgrown. "Well, at least the night is young and there's plenty of time for the niceties to wear off before total war breaks out." "There's my girl, always looking on the bright side," Alexander teased, sliding his arm around her slim waist and pulling her close once more. "Alexander! Charlotte! Over here, you two!" Both startled slightly at Henry Montgomery's boisterous bellow, somehow carrying over the swelling din of chatter and clinking champagne flutes despite the older man's wiry frame. With a resigned shrug, Alexander took Charlotte's hand and began leading them towards his parents and their entourage. "There they are, the happy couple!" Henry's bellow of a laugh echoed out as they approached, prompting Charlotte to discreetly cringe. Of course the master of the Montgomery empire wouldn't be able to resist swinging for the fences in grandiosity from the evening's first moments. "Don't they simply look stunning together?" Diane Montgomery swept forward in a sheath of shimmering emerald silk to plant air kisses on both cheeks in greeting. Her perfectly coiffed chignon didn't so much as quiver. "We're absolutely brimming with excitement for tomorrow!" "As are we," Charlotte responded with what she hoped was a convincing smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw her mother watching this display of saccharine affection like a hawk, flanked by sentinels Patrick and Marcus. Then the din of conversation around the Montgomery's cluster grew noticeably more hushed, reverent almost. Guests parted like the Red Sea, and Charlotte felt her breath catch in her throat as the statuesque matriarch herself drifted into view. Even at her advanced age, Alexander's grandmother Elizabeth Montgomery commanded the attention and respect of everyone in her orbit with an imperious tilt of her chin and piercing, aristocratic gaze. Dripping in pearls and an elegant sheath of gleaming charcoal grey, she positively radiated an aura of power and breeding as she glided across the gleaming parquet floors. "Elizabeth!" Henry practically scrambled over himself to greet her first with a vigorous handshake and overly enthusiastic pats to her frail shoulders. "How absolutely delightful of you to join us for this most auspicious occasion!" Charlotte felt Alexander tense slightly beside her as his grandmother's dissecting stare swung in their direction. No matter how many times she saw the intimidating widow up close, the younger woman could never quite shake the unease of feeling like a misbehaving schoolgirl under that penetrating, icy scrutiny. "Alexander," Elizabeth greeted her grandson in a raspy purr that somehow silenced the entire assembled crowd. "I trust you've been raised to exemplify the core tenets of our proud family legacy." It wasn't a question so much as a statement of incontrovertible fact. For one dreadful beat, Charlotte could practically see Alexander shrinking back into the lanky, uncoordinated youth she'd first fallen for strolling across the Hampton's estate grounds all those years ago. Then his spine stiffened, shoulders squaring as if steeling himself for an invisible blow. "You can rest assured, grandmother, that I hold the family honor and duty as my highest priorities. Always." Elizabeth held his gaze a moment longer, expression unreadable. Then, almost imperceptibly, she gave a sharp nod of acknowledgment and turned towards Charlotte. "Miss Jones. Welcome to the Montgomery family." That was it. No warmth, no overt affection. Just two words issued like an official proclamation from the Queen herself, weighing Charlotte down with the sudden solemnity of the moment. Of everything this union would come to symbolize within these rarefied societal spheres they occupied. It took every ounce of her debutante training not to outwardly crumble beneath the implacable force of Elizabeth's mere presence. "Th-thank you, Mrs. Montgomery," she stammered, silently cursing her lapse as heat flooded her cheeks. "I...we're both honored to be celebrating this joining o-of our families." A slight quirk of one sculpted eyebrow was the only hint of reaction from the intimidating family matriarch before she turned away, effectively dismissing them both with a regal tilt of her chin. Only the slightest tremor in Alexander's intake of breath beside Charlotte betrayed how shaken he was by the brief exchange with his grandmother. They shared a loaded look, a thousand unspoken words passing between them. Would he ever truly escape from beneath Elizabeth's suffocating expectations and iron grasp? Could Charlotte herself handle the weight of being the newest member inducted into this cloistered circle of privilege and duty? A surge of doubt washed over her, chilling her to the core despite the warmth of Alexander's reassuring palm skimming along her lower back. Before either could give voice to the maelstrom of roiling emotions, a deferential clearing of a throat split the tension like a clap of lightning. "Pardon me, Mr. Montgomery, Miss Jones. It's time for the bride and groom to make their entrance." Charlotte blinked, her vision slowly refocusing on the hovering event manager beside them, a polite expectant expression on the other woman's face. As if being summoned from a disconcerting dream, she felt the background noise and heady swirl of conversation came rushing back into her senses. "O-of course," she stammered out, offering Alexander a tremulous smile that she hoped didn't betray her sudden bout of quavering nerves. "Shall we?" He simply nodded, fingers interlocking with hers in a gentle squeeze as they allowed themselves to be swept up by the manager and led towards the center of the reception space. Despite the perfumed air and gentle tinkling melody trickling from the live musicians, Charlotte felt a leaden sense of disquiet settle into the pit of her stomach. Why now? Why on the eve of her literal dream wedding was she suddenly seized by these insidious whispers of doubt? Was this simply the accumulated anxiety of months spent keeping a tenuous grasp on her dueling families' civilities finally rearing its head? Or was it something more, some primal intuition trying to warn her away from the path she was hurtling towards? These swirling thoughts continued to plague Charlotte into the wee hours, even after the evening's interminable toasts and pageantry finally drew to a close. She lay beside Alexander's slumbering form, watching the glow of Manhattan's skyline fracture in mesmerizing patterns across the ceiling as an endless loop of recriminations and what-ifs spun through her restless mind. Finally, when the first pale streaks of dawn began breaking over the horizon, fatigue claimed Charlotte in a fitful doze. What felt like mere seconds later, her eyes snapped open again to the harsh trill of her alarm, dread instantly curdling in her empty stomach. This was it. Her wedding day. The day she had obsessed over and meticulously planned down to the last place card for over a year. So why, as Charlotte slowly rose from the tangled sheets to pad over to the suite's arched windows, did a pit of viscous anxiety burn in her throat?