\n<\/p>\n
\u201cCan they really?\u201d Francis said, feeling sick to his stomach. All this time, he\u2019d thought Augie was finally safe, that she had finally married money.<\/p>\n
Prince Julius poured himself another glass of scotch. \u201cThis is why we are so relieved that Augusta accepted Maxxie. My boy is just so goddamn lucky to marry into the Gresham family! That\u2019s one big worry off my mind. He\u2019s your problem now, ho ho ho.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wedding banquet was the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance of the nuptial weekend. Upon arriving at Bellaloha, the dinner guests followed the torch-lit path into the rain forest, where they came upon one long curving banquet table for three hundred that snaked playfully between towering trees and verdant bushes. Not content with the natural beauty of the flo a, Arabella had demanded that each tree be festooned with flowers, and hovering over the middle of the table was a floral sculpture canopy composed of thousands of orchids, dahlias, and Icelandic poppies. At the very center of the banquet was a gigantic banyan tree with thousands of ancient roots descending from the branches, and hundreds of flickering lanterns were entwined in the roots, casting a magical glow onto everyone. As the guests supped on Dover sole \u00e0 la Augusta on the eighteenth-century Greshamsbury S\u00e8vres that had not been used since Edward VII<\/a> had come to stay when he was still the Prince of Wales (3)<\/a>, Jackie was by the side of the stage, in the midst of fitting a remote microphone onto Rufus\u2019s jacket collar, when Arabella came rushing up.<\/p>\n \u201cRufus,are you giving the first toast?\u201dArabella excitedly inquired. \u201cThat\u2019s the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery good. Now, will you be saying nice things about a certain somebody?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI plan to say very nice things about Augie and Maxxie, yes, after I humiliate them for a few rounds, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2019m talking about. Will you have something special to announce in your speech?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething special?\u201d Rufus looked confused.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout a certain entente cordiale, perhaps?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMother, English please. I haven\u2019t a clue what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh come on, no need to be coy with me,\u201d Arabella giggled. \u201cI\u2019m talking about your petit plaisir de l\u2019apr\u00e8s-midi<\/em>? A little bird told me that you spent the better part of the day holed up in Sol\u00e8ne de Courcy\u2019s suite at the Mauna Lani.\u201d<\/p>\n Rufus rolled his eyes. \u201cSol\u00e8ne sprained her ankle and exposed her bleeding knee to water contaminated with flesh eating bacteria. Eden had her on so many antibiotics I had to make sure she didn\u2019t have a bad reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that what you were doing? Making sure she had no bad reaction?\u201d Arabella sniggered gleefully.<\/p>\n \u201cPrecisely. And she spent an hour giving me advice on how to improve my art career\u2014unsolicited, I might add.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow kind of her. She\u2019s such a sensible girl. Now, you must repay the favor by saying something nice about Sol\u00e8ne and her mother during your toast.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou want me to mention Sol\u00e8ne and her mother during my toast to the bride and groom<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not? Haven\u2019t the de Courcys been the highlight of your weekend?\u201d<\/p>\n Rufus gaped at his mother. \u201cWait a minute. Have you been trying to set me up with Sol\u00e8ne all this time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know it might be a little premature, but it would be so fun to give our audience a little preview of what\u2019s coming next season.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNext season? Do you think we\u2019re living in a television series? Let me make this very simple for you: Sol\u00e8ne de Courcy is a very nice girl, but it\u2019s never going to happen in a million years. She\u2019s not my type.\u201d<\/p>\n Arabella looked at her son in exasperation. \u201cNot your type? What\u2019s wrong with you? She\u2019s one of the most beautiful women on the planet! She has an exclusive modeling contract with Chanel!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMum, when will you realize that I don\u2019t give a damn about any of that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand . . . Bea told me things were going perfectly!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow would Bea know what\u2019s going on? I haven\u2019t seen her for days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to murder those silly girls! Bea\u2019s too distracted by her photo shoots, and Eden has been an utter failure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does Eden have to do with any of this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBea and Eden are rooting for you to fall in love with Sol\u00e8ne! They both adore her. Everyone adores her. Why can\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEden\u2019s been part of your maniacal plans?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe was supposed to earn her keep, but it looks like she\u2019s been far too distracted herself, sleeping with that Freddy guy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWait\u2014what? Eden and Freddy are not sleeping together!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course they are. They\u2019re having a torrid fling. Eden\u2019s desperately been trying to catch Freddy since the moment he arrived on that ridiculous shark boat. And you don\u2019t even know the half of it, that stupid girl has been so careless that she\u2019s gotten herself\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Rufus rushed off before she could finish.<\/p>\n