Throughout the exchange with the house elf, Bella hadnât moved. Even as she had ordered the miserable thing, she had not deigned to look at it, having used her peripheral vision to direct her hand towards the thing. She could see the smirk on her sister in lawâs face and Bella practically zoned in on her, almost completely disregarding Rabastan which was exceedingly easy to do. The man was a bore, always playing second fiddle to his brother and never even once considering wrenching the bow off him and trying to garrotte him with it. That, at the very least, would have earned some form of recognition from Bella. As it was, he was a second rate wizard to her.Â
âParisian is more of my sisterâs tastes than mine but if it is indeed the best you can do then so be it.â Bella replied, her gaze flickering between Jillian and Rabastan. Give him a few moments and let that sink in.Â
When he suggested whiskey, Bella sighed in a rather theatrical manner and darted forward quickly, grabbing hold of Jillian, her fingers curling around the other womanâs wrist, the grip strong and sure. âWell, it sounds like the boys are going to relive the glory days they never had so, Jillian, you are coming with me and we are going to find something interesting to do in this rickety old place.â Bella smiled at the Lestrange brothers now standing together with all the sweetness of poisoned honey before she turned, tugging at Jillianâs wrist to indicate she should come with her.Â
The elf had reappeared, quivering a little, as it approached Bella who promptly let go of Jillian in order to take the wine from the tray that the elf was balancing. âPlease tell me in the name of Merlin that there is something exciting to do in here.â She took a sip of the wine, analysing the taste before shrugging a shoulder. It would do.Â
   Jillian tilted her head a bit, her lips pulling up into a grin once more. âItâs the best my husband can do,â she said in response, not bothering to look at Rabastan. âBut, by day after tomorrow, that wine cellar is going to be absolutely filled to the brim with rich Italian wine,â she said, her hands moving to the back of her hips, thumbs facing outward, as if subconsciously drawing attention to her figure. âMy husband prefers Parisian blends, I myself prefer a full bodied one. By the end of the week there will be a case of Venetian reds at your disposal, should you enjoy your visit enough to come back, that is,â she said smoothly. From beside her, Rabastan looked as if he were wary of something, perhaps finding her tone displeasing, but she didnât quite care.Â
   When her sister-in-law grabbed her wrist she stepped down towards her, noticing the slight height difference between them as she properly stood beside her. When she spoke of finding something fun to do she scoffed slightly âGood luck with that in this dreary place,â she said.Â
   âHey, this place isnât so dreary. You just arenât used to it yet,â Rabastan defended, causing his wife to raise an eyebrow at him.Â
   âI doubt I ever shall be, dearest,â she said, the name clearly a sarcastic gesture before she made to follow the older woman wherever she chose to lead her. She took the wine presented to her by the house elf before turning her attention to the other, sipping from her glass as she asked her question that dripped with hellish boredom. âOh please,â she said, shaking her head. âThe most fun thing to do in this place is snoop through the abandoned guest rooms, and even that is a bore,â she said disdainfully.Â
   She looked down at where Bellatrix held onto her wrist before looking back up at her face. âIf you have any ideas please donât hesitate, this place is more dull than my OWLS exams. At least there had been a party in the Slytherin dorm room when those had been over, and this place would take a lot more than a party to be halfway decent. Especially with the way purebloods party now-a-days,â she said with a roll of her eyes. Everyone was so stuffy, she missed having real fun.Â