Chapter 165: You Are Declaring Your Territory Tonight
Speaking of it, Cathryn had been here for two days. But for meeting Keith's family, getting the evening dress and jewelry with Helen and attending the poetry meeting, and having a rough time with Keith in the afternoon, until now, she hadn't seen the rear part of the property.
Clinging her arm with Keith, the two went to the back garden.
Out of the castle was a cobblestone trail, with thick holly on the roadside. The holly is neatly cut in symmetrical shapes. In the late summertime, it brought a strong vitality to the yard.
About 20 yards of the path were lit by colored lights. The evening was bright enough, and at its end, a round fountain of 10 yards in diameter stood in the center of the garden. The fountain was working, and the water splashed into the groundwater pool outside.
It was an old white stone fountain with almost a bronze texture. There were fairies and angels on the three layers of stone, and the outside was engraved with simple Romanian patterns.
The path went wide around the fountain as Cathryn walked by it with Keith. The granite pavement was made of irregular square stones, and there was short grass growing in between.
Cathryn started hearing people talking. And there were lights ahead of them. As the two gradually approached, the light became stronger, the chatters became louder, and Cathryn could hear her heartbeat.
In her hand, the man seemed to perceive her nervousness. He pinched her palms with his fingertips, turned his head, and smiled.
"Hey, you are declaring your territory tonight, aren't you? You are the host here, and they are the guests. Don't feel nervous."
He sounds right. Cathryn raised her eyebrows and made a smile, "Still, I can't lose my face in front of them."
"One thing we don't care about here is the face," Keith said, pulling Cathryn's hand to the entrance made of vines and pots of cornflowers.
The garden here was as big as a standard soccer field. It was covered with grass and different flowers, and the maritime climate bushes and trees formed some interesting walks on the side. Nothing regular could be seen from here; everything looked organic.
Outside the small path, there were four more steps to go to the sunken garden. The steps were a bit steep for her high heels, there were carvings on both sides, and there were vines and other greens growing under the steps, running all the way to the stone pillars on each side.
The banquet should start in 30 minutes at 8:00, and there were already people coming and going into the garden. Apart from the busy maids, Helen and Richard Clarkson were there greeting the guests.
As if there were a spotlight on them, as soon as Keith and Cathryn entered the flower gate, all the eyes were cast on them. And all of the attendees were staring at them in cheerful amazement.
Keith, in his black tux and meticulous bow-tie, was glistening with his dark blue eyes in the dim decorative lights, along with his erect figure and refined temperament.
He was standing with a young lady who was one head shorter. She didn't have a very fancy hairstyle, but a casual French double braid that joined in the back of her head, like a fishtail, which quite resembled the mermaid princess statue in their front garden.
Cathryn always had sweet, next-door girly facial features, and now she's slightly powdered, her coral cheeks were shining on her oval face, her fleshy lips were hooked into a sexy smile, and her pair of obsidian eyes were clear and bright under the moonlight.
Her violet dress was perfectly exposing her thin, smooth neck along with her pale shoulders and collarbone. The deep V-neck was revealing her cheerful peaks while she was smiling with much more confidence than erotica.
The appearance of the couple gave a slight shock to the audience. The chatter somehow stopped for half a second, and then the garden burst to a brisk laugh, and Keith took Cathryn down the last step.
Helen was the first to come over, she praised Cathryn for how "radiant like a fairy" she was, and Cathryn returned with a shy smile.
The mother-in-law was wearing a long green velvet Chinese robe tonight, along with a round, flat, bright green jade pendant and her newly styled blonde hair that ensured her prestigious temperament.
"Keith said you can't drink," Helen pointed to the tables in front of them and told her, "In the tall glasses, except for the red and white wine, all the rest were juice, you can drink whatever you like. All of them were old friends of ours, you don't need to worry about the niceties. Don't force anything."
Helen's consideration made Cathryn move, and she smiled assuredly. Helen kept looking up and down at her and praising, "Fabulous, my dear."
She kissed her cheeks and encouraged her once again, and went back to her friends.
Helen's comfort really calmed her down. Cathryn couldn't think of anything to worry about in front of people who were friends with Helen.
Today's dinner was a casual buffet. The long table was covered with linen tablecloths, and beautiful foods were served on delicate porcelain plates.
The foods were full of German specialties, with crispy roast pork, potato goulash, cold salad, cold sausage, smoked fish, chopped duck, and several different types of cheese.
Cathryn walked with Keith as they greeted everyone as the host. She soon got to know a few friends and distant relatives.
Some of these distant cousins had moved to Germany for one or two generations and were involved in the family business more or less. They kept a close relationship, although the blood relations were less.
The more she got to know, the more urgent Cathryn felt that she should learn to speak German. Because it was really embarrassing to rely on Keith's translation and make nothing but dumb smiles with the new encounters.
"I should find a language teacher," After being introduced to most of the current guests, Cathryn said to Keith affirmatively as they sat on the side bench and looked at the noble guests and families chatting with one another.