Heart's Content

Part Fifty-Two

{'View of Capri' by Carl Frederik Aagaard from Wikimedia Commons}

Julien had been correct in saying that his daughter was gentle and obedient and that assured Lisette that he was as attentive of her as she had hoped. The other description of Adelaide that stuck in her mind had been the one which Amelia made, referring to her as nothing but trouble. It was difficult for Lisette to believe that the little girl would ever be capable of doing anything to upset someone because she quickly determined that not only was Adelaide obedient, but she was also very eager to please. She listened attentively in all topics, mimicked Lisette in all things, and thrived on praise; the brightness of the smile given when she was told she had done well, unrivaled. Lisette summed up Adelaide's zealous obedience and desire to do well to loneliness when she realized that she never made any mention of any sort of child for a playmate and that became something that Lisette wished to rectify.

To Lisette, Kitke seemed like the perfect new friend for Adelaide. They were both quiet and shy and Adelaide was so sweet that even though she was a few years older, Lisette didn't doubt that they would get along and she wasn't wrong. Adelaide's patient and quiet nature was a perfect fit and the children's relationship developed to where they would play peacefully together in total silence, seeming to communicate through actions alone when words weren't necessary and eventually the two asked after one another when they weren't together. Lisette and Adelaide's outings to visit Birdy and Mirella became near-daily events as the friendship grew and both children became a little bolder.

Lisette easily taught them together and Mirella was appreciative of her attention to both children equally. The two learning together provided for a situation where they could apply what they had learned when it came to etiquette and they were entertained because they were together for many of Lisette's lessons.

"Miss Olevine?" Adelaide spoke meekly as she held Lisette's hand on their stroll back to the manor after one of their days spent with Kitke and his mother.

"Yes?"

"You're staying with me... right?" It was nearing the end of the thirty day probation period and she wasn't certain if Adelaide was aware of it or if a near constant rotation of governesses had become commonplace to her but she was still wary of the eventual loss. Lisette had done well to follow the rules and she couldn't see how she could have lost the position without being aware since she had strived to keep them out of the manor for the majority of the time and in the school room otherwise, only making them each known at supper when she escorted Adelaide to the formal dining room where she could dine with her father and Lenora.

"Well... I certainly hope so." Lisette glanced down at Adelaide with a smile on her face but was met by a more solemn expression from her student who turned her face away. It was obvious that the circulation of governesses through her home had taken its toll on Adelaide and Lisette had to question the validity of their dismissals when they technically had nothing to do with Lenora but a large amount to do with Adelaide. They had already passed the market and were both wearing thin frocks in light colors to help protect against the sun with Lisette carrying a small tote of books in her free hand when she stopped Adelaide under a tree, turning to face her and kneel down before her, "I have tried my best as your governess and all we can do is hope that your father and Miss Kuznekov see that."

Adelaide was silent for a moment, looking down at the ground before she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Lisette's neck, crying into her shoulder, "I don't want you to go, Miss Olevine!"

Her words were almost lost in her tears but to Lisette they weren't entirely necessary, the emotion Adelaide displayed was enough and she released the tote to the ground next to her as she wrapped both of her arms around Adelaide, taking in the full pain that the child must have felt each time she lost someone who she had come to trust. She had been even younger when she lost her mother, but she had been old enough that she still had faint memories of her, and to suffer that loss followed by subsequent losses -- none of which she could control -- her eagerness to please was revealed as something more than a child's longing for a friend. She simply feared once more enduring the feeling of abandonment.