Free (2)

"I'm truly tired of hearing of the harvest festival because of how it's affecting your behavior. I have not even made the decision on if I want to put together our annual party to show off the land and garden. The king would drop dead with jealousy if he ever saw our garden," Minnie stated with great pride. Their garden was always talked about and each year she would put together a grand show for her many friends to marvel at.

"The garden looks even more wonderful right now. It would be a shame for you to not show it to those who have been waiting. There's enough time for you to plan the party. Maybe it should be on the last day of the festival to end everything with the view of the garden," Aurora offered as an idea simply because she wanted to see the garden decorated to its full potential.

She loved seeing when Minnie threw garden parties.

It warmed Minnie's heart to hear Aurora talk so passionately about throwing the party. If only the young woman would be this passionate when telling what she was hiding. Her approach to finding out what Aurora might be hiding was abrupt but she was impatient to know if that creature was trying to talk to her again. Ignorance was bliss for someone like Aurora.

"I will think about the party if it would make you happy. Forgive me if it seemed like I was prying into your life and overstepping my boundaries Aurora but I care so much about you, Regina, and Samuel. I want to know what is happening in your life, understand?"

Aurora silently nodded her head but still didn't agree with it. She didn't want to have an argument with Minnie right now. Two days ago she wouldn't have expected to receive answers from a werewolf and not her own grandmother.

Her family wanted to keep her ignorant of the truth but she would take the risk of getting the answer from the wolf. She didn't like feeling like she was living a lie. Her life was already caged up in this home, the least she should know was the truth.

"Your father and I are thinking about entering the tea business after looking over the number of tea parties that take place in a year. We're going to start off small, only offering it to the important people in the town and then making it available to everyone else around a month later. You have to make these people feel special."

"Sounds like a brilliant idea," Aurora said as many of their business ideas were always successful in the end. Their last name was well known for a reason.

"Of course it is. I have to make a list of the really important people. There's news that Mary and her family have gone broke so they tried to sell their daughter off to a rich young man thinking it would help them. Her daughter didn't even care to look back and help her family. I don't know why Mary is trying so hard to get into contact with me now," Minnie said, shaking her head at how one of her neighbors' lives went to ruins. Their beautiful home will soon be empty.

"Maybe because the two of you are friends?" Aurora inquired as to the reason. Mary and Minnie often liked to socialize here and talk about society's trends but now that Mary's family had run out of money she was being cast to the side by her friends. "The two of you were so close she must be expecting a helping hand with her troubles."

"I will not extend my hard earned money to someone who enabled her husband to gamble thinking they would become rich off of it. As a close friend, I offered her my business knowledge to help her but she denied it. I am too old to be caught up in her drama and help her hide from the people she owed the money to. Her daughter now has a well-off husband but you don't see her helping."

Minnie continued to say, "A tip to your young mind Aurora. This world is a vicious world where you need to cut off loose ends before they bring you down with them. Reputation is key in our society and Mary knows that. She thinks clinging on to me will save her poor soul. It sounds harsh but I too was clueless and innocent just like you and had to learn very fast if I wanted to survive.'

"It doesn't feel like the kind of life I want to have in the future. Cutting a friend off so that I can save my reputation. One day we could be in that position and then what?" Aurora wondered. One day their entire life of luxury could change in an instant. "I just want to live a simple life in the future with a family of my own."

"That type of lifestyle does suit your personality but you are a Hamilton dear. Simple is not in our vocabulary," Minnie chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand to not appear unladylike. Why would anyone want to live a simple life? She loved the lavish lifestyle she grew up in and would do anything to keep it. She wanted the Hamilton last name to be a strong household name for generations.

Whenever someone mentioned the Hamiltons money should be in the conversation.

"When am I going to meet suitors? I'm older than Regina but she's being set up for marriage," Aurora said.

"When I am ready to let you leave my child."

"Okay," Aurora replied, not pushing the topic any further. There might be a possibility she would only get married at Minnie's death bed.

"Aurora, for your twenty-one birthday which is approaching, there's somewhere I want to take you depending on your behavior," Minnie stated out of the blue.

Aurora's birthday wasn't that close so for Minnie to be talking about it was odd. "Where?"

"It's a surprise. One anyone would die for."