Helping Elizabeth (EDITING)

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Three

The doctor wasn't lying when he informed Elizabeth that she was to be able to stand up and venture the halls of the mansion a fortnight from then. She remembered waking up at dawn, as usual, to contemplate the chance of that day being the day where her ankle would be fully recovered and the day where she'd be able to finally get out of bed to venture the grounds of William's estate. When the doctor finally arrived to examine her ankle he was more than happy to inform her that she could finally start walking, although he gave specific instructions, one of which was to not step fully on her foot during the first week.

Here she was though, sitting down in one of the drawing rooms with her mother, and her mother-in-law, discussing the wedding par usual, William was nowhere to be seen during the day, he would show up during lunch and dinner but he would suddenly disappear during the afternoon, which meant that they were not meeting after dinner anymore, which disappointed Elizabeth, for it was the only thing she waited upon from the moment she woke up. But then again, her mother and mother-in-law made sure that they barely met, stating that it was better for them to miss each other before the wedding that was to take place in a week's time.

Elizabeth had gained all the weight she had lost during these three weeks, although she had continuously lost her appetite during the day, her mother had forced her to eat so that her wedding dress, which was cream in color, would suit her perfectly. Then, she was surprised when her mother-in-law, told her once to visit her in her private chambers during one afternoon. Elizabeth, of course, was a bit nervous when she did so, and she was more than surprised when she went in and saw the huge blue dress with all its finery on the bed, she frowned in confusion and then raised her eyes to meet the Duchess's warm eyes.

"This is the dress that I hoped, you'd wear when you are to be presented to the queen." She had said. Which took Elizabeth by surprise, for she had totally forgotten about the Queen and the say she was to be presented to her as the new Duchess of Devonshire.

'Oh." Was all she managed to get past her quivering lips, she was overwhelmed with all the sudden emotions that rushed to the surface. She gazed at the dress and then gifted the Duchess with one of her warm smiles, and then she rushed to her side and hugged her. "This is the loveliest dress I have ever set eyes on." She whispered as they stood side by side staring at the dress. "I'm afraid it would need mending though, look at the bodice, it is big, is it not?" she asked blushing when she looked down at her small bosom.

"Don't worry about that, it can be easily altered and then it would suit you perfectly." She exclaimed clasping her hands in front of her with a warm smile plastered on her face. "We should get you in it first, and will do that in the morning, with the presence of your mother of course, and I'll call upon my dressmaker too. This way we will have this issue settled and we will be able to settle all the other issues concerning the wedding."

Elizabeth had nodded her agreement, and just as she had promised, the following morning she was fitted into the gown with a couple of pins put so the dress maker, Mrs. Wallace, could make the changes. Then they were left to finish all the final preparations for the wedding, it wasn't an easy task though, for now everyone was nervous and a lot of aimless blabbering was taking place which made Elizabeth more nervous than ever. She had always looked forward to seeing William during dinner, although not a lot was said between them, for she was always occupied with talking with her sisters about the day. Anna was more than excited, it was her sister getting married after all, and with her married she would be the last between the Alves in the marriage mart, apart from her cousins of course. Her mother had promised her that she was to prepare her to the fullest when they were to attend the Season next year, which made her all the more excited, although she was sure that she was going to miss her sister immensely, for apart from the age, she was the closest to Elizabeth.