Unwanted

Chapter 2

Alexa woke the next morning very groggy and looking like kittens had been playing in her hair all night. A quick glance at the large, mahogany grandfather clock in the corner told her that it was nearly midday and a second glance at the mirror told her that she was in desperate need of a bath and assistance with her hair. She reached over to the velvet rope beside her bed and called for her ladies maid, Maria, before slowly sitting up, hoping the pounding in her head would fade. Thinking back over her evening, Alexa realized that the last few glasses of champagne were a poor decision; she had been feeling very off kilter after her dance with Mr. Allington and had attempted to use champagne to calm her nerves. In hindsight, that was a very poor decision indeed.

A soft moan escaped Alexa as she sat up fully and the pounding in her head matched the beating of her heart. To her delight, not a minute later Maria walked into the room with two maids carrying the empty bathtub. Maria placed a breakfast of apple juice and toast with raspberry jam on the bedside table. Normally Alexa would rise and eat downstairs with her father and brothers but as she did not wake until nearly luncheon, Maria had brought a small breakfast to her room. Alexa could not stand tea, many considered it to be very "un-english" of her but she could not force herself to drink it, she never could. At tea in the afternoon she would sip on hot chocolate instead and in the mornings she always drank juice. Apple was the easiest to find but orange was truly her favorite. Unfortunately oranges did not grow well in England and therefore were more of a treat than anything else.

"Good morning Ms. Alexa, would you like assistance untangling your hair before you bathe?" Maria asked, having learned long ago that formalities did not suit Alexa, and had finally relented and begun calling her Ms. Alexa after months of reminders.

"Yes please, I slept with those ghastly hairpins in last night and my head is already pounding. One of these days, my hair will be the death of me," Alexa replied with a sigh, wishing desperately that water for baths did not take nearly so long to heat.

Nearly thirty minutes later, there was enough warm water to bathe and Maria helped Alexa remove her bedclothes, making sure to stand between her mistress and the mirror. Maria had learned on her first day as a ladies maid with Alexa that she could not stand the sight of her unclothed body and had therefore been instructed to always stand in the way of the mirror if Alexa was undressed. A lifetime of insecurities about her size had left Alexa loathsome of her own body, an ailment not easily solved.

Once Alexa had entered the bath, Maria set to work washing her hair. Unlike most ladies, Alexa's curls forced her to wet her hair everyday, and wash it twice as often as most other ladies. The curls did not take well to being in pins or slept on, and looked atrocious unless they were dampened and allowed to re-curl on their own.  

"Maria, I think I would like to sit and read in the garden after luncheon, the turquoise day dress would be lovely for that. Please pull that out of the armoire for me," Alexa asked, stepping out of the bath and immediately covering herself with the towel. In a few minutes Maria had dressed Alexa and the only thing left to manage was her hair. Dressing Alexa was far quicker than dressing her previous employer, largely because Alexa refused to wear a corset at home and instead wore only underclothes. It was completely inappropriate, but within the confines of her own home, Alexa was adamant that she be comfortable. Her hair was allowed to dry on its own after being shaken out and covered in some type of oil her mother had found in London once the previous year. It did wonders for her hair; she no longer looked like the savage she had once resembled as a child with unruly, unkempt hair.  

Luncheon was an ordinary affair, her brothers were off enjoying the beautiful day with a ride on their horses and her parents sat on either end of the table in silence. Ever since the enormous altercation they had at supper one evening over two years ago, the two barely spoke. Her mother had moved her bedchambers to the opposite end of the house and the only time they were ever together was at social functions to maintain appearances.