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Chapter 40. Holiday

From the moment Madeline left the cosy, Christmas lit streets of London, she had been utterly transported to a world she'd never even known was there.

Of course she'd known that the Carrow Estate would be nothing less than picturesque beauty and extravagance, but her assumptions paled in comparison to the real thing.

Incredible sights in the multiple acres of land, glistening gilded everything, it was as if she'd left the world behind and stepped foot into the mind of her roommate.

Just like Jolie, her home was the pinnacle of class and high society.

Every polished feature, curved marble archway, and glimpse of artwork from before the fifteenth century had amazed her more than the last.

Madeline did not voice her disappointment in only staying there for the one night.

Because by the next evening, the roommates and Daphne were roaming the Paris streets where they'd been joined by Jacques, and were later welcomed to the Chǎteau de Dubois in Provence, Jolie's maternal grandparents' home.

From that day on, Madeline surmised that travelling via portkey was her least favourite mode of transportation, second to the multiple apparitions. The jolting twisty feeling had left her stomach in more knots than she could've counted.

And now that Madeline eyed the gargantuan vessel that was the Warrington family yacht, the same knotting sensation cursed her stomach again. The chilly wind of December in Saint-Tropez did little to dull the feeling, even if the scent of the sea salt misted air caressed her senses delightfully with every breath.

Madeline tried to ignore the incessant nerves in the presence of her friends and their respective parents waving them off.

The Warringtons, Otto and Calliope, along with their son, Cassius, maintained an incredible welcoming as the trip's hosts, smiling grandly to their guests and staff readying the ship, answering any last minute inquiries from the more worrisome parents.

Miles Bletchley was grimacing just nearby as his mother seized his cheeks with kisses and his father righted his overcoat. Lucian Bole spoke adamantly with the parents of Catherine Brunt and Elspeth MacGillony. Graham Montague and Peregrine Derrick both listened or pretended to listen for Peregrine's sake, to whatever it was their mothers were saying.

Madeline made a point not to stare at, nor embarrass herself in front of Adrian's father, Lawrence. He and his son were over on the far side of the dock, sharing a simple and dignified chat to themselves without any sort of embracing.

If she weren't still furious with her own father, Madeline would have been envious of the happy families.

There was still a very small part of her that wished she could've said goodbye, or at the very least given her father his Christmas present.

Suppose if they ever spoke again, she could then.

Though Felix Carrow hardly let her feel any sense of neglect when it came to goodbye hugs and well wishes. He had embraced her, Theo, and Daphne as if they were his own more times than she could count.

The monochromatic ivory in Jolie's ensemble made for the pink tinge on her cheeks that much more noticeable, humiliated by her father's antics. Felix however didn't seem to mind. In fact, he looked to be enjoying it, fussing over his daughter to her utmost dislike.

And to think they would be meeting again very shortly, as a condition for Jolie's attendance for the trip had wagered on her father meeting them at one of the ports to visit.