28 - Derbie's Family

                                        

                                              
August had brought with it just as much chaos as the rest of the Season had, and Derbie knew better than to assume that things were going to calm down now just because he'd gotten engaged. A standard Social Season wasn't as filled as his Debut year happened to be, Alaric had six others in his year, Blair had two, and Calvin Debuted with Danilo and two others only. Derbie had Debuted with nine others, it was brief respite that three were triplets but that still meant seven social Events, and then the packed summer schedule was additionally burdened by Earl Wignell's return Event, and now this much deserved feast to celebrate Edwina's accomplishments. 
Derbie wanted to cheer his sister along, but he was also getting very tired of all these social appearances and obligations. After the success of the Ruma gallery, especially where Alaric and Lady Aayina had been concerned, Derbie had been hoping to have some down time and recover.
Instead, Lord Daro Korolenko had proposed this feast to honour Edwina's efforts now that he was replaced by Master Gentileschi. Obviously, they were all eager to go, especially once the younger siblings were actually included, and the Briggs siblings arrived only lacking Farran. Since Edwina was the Lady of the hour, Derbie and Ban had agreed to meet at the feast, but for now he was with the others. His suit was an indigo jacket, shirt, and trousers, with a scarlet embroidered vest that was such a dark red it looked black, as did his cravat. He knew Ban's dress was the same indigo, scarlets, and darkest red as they were a matched set. Blair was just as purposefully dressed, her Wignell coloured gown suiting her wonderfully, and he suspected Clayton's suit would match her perfectly. Calvin and Alaric were both wearing Briggs scarlet, but Derbie did notice Alaric incorporating Ram orange in his for Aayina's sake.
Edwina, as the star of this feast, was dressed in an adult style gown from the southern territories. Derbie had gotten used to Winnie's work aprons and normal young girl styles, so when she stepped out in her dress for the feast, it'd been a shock. She was always the tallest of the sisters, not a hard feat when up against Hida and Blair, but even amongst the Briggs' Edwina was nearly the tallest. Right now, only Alaric was taller, as the deliberately styled shoes she wore added inches in height, and Derbie suspected their eldest brother had wanted to demand Edwina change. It felt wrong for her to be wearing a woman's dress that revealed so much of her legs; Derbie felt it was wrong for any of his sisters to be considered women in that manner. Seeing Winnie in a corseted gown with the skirts deliberately styled to reveal stockings and shoes felt almost inappropriate; she was still his little sister. 
It made Derbie have a little more sympathy for Alaric's struggles, he'd had to Debut Blair. Though since she'd opted out of the Social Events until this year, that may have been a reprieve. And Edwina's presentation now was the death of it, Derbie knew that even though she hadn't Debuted yet there'd be Letters of Intent sent for Winnie after this. She wasn't as traditionally beautiful as Blair, but his sister was striking enough to cause a stir. 
Gavin was wearing one of Derbie's suits, adjusted to fit his younger brother but after his next growth spurt Gavin would be too broad shouldered for hand-me-downs. He looked as young as he was, and Derbie was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea that in a few short months Gavin was going to be a father. Derbie was going to be an uncle, and honestly, he'd really expected to be the first sibling to have their own family, at least at the start of the Season he'd believed that.
Hida was still the baby of the family, stitches and all. Her short pinkish hair was only emphasized by the Briggs scarlet dress she wore, and the new scar on her neck had been carefully hidden behind a delicate lace collar, making her look doll-like.
Before this Season, their family had all dressed to match each other, Briggs scarlet their only claim, and yet now Ruma indigo, Wignell blue, and Ram orange had all clearly worked into all that red. And if Derbie looked closely, he could presume Calvin's suit had Danilo's gray as it's neutral colour (Even if his brother hadn't made it official, those two were all but married to each other already). And the only reason Gavin's outfit hadn't incorporated the Sikali orange was the need to be discreet about their underage coupling. It was a saving grace that Eniola wasn't far enough along that her pregnancy would be showing yet. Only Edwina and Hida had no paramour to consider, no other family colours to try and incorporate; the artist and the warrior. Although he could imagine Winnie one day wanting to marry, Derbie couldn't imagine Pinky EVER wanting to be anything but a Knight.