𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒

Chapter 15

"YOU ARE SILENT, MY DEAR," THE Lady Beresford, mother to Lord Jack Beresford and aunt to Lady Aramina Embry, spoke, her eyebrows pinched in silent observation as she looked at her supposed niece. 

Jessie had come to recognize these looks, and in the short span of last evening following into the morning of Christmas day, she had come to dread them just as much. 

The sky outside was bleary and heavy somehow. As though the cheer of the holiday hadn't quite made the expected impression on the clouds and the blue canvas high above. If it weren't for the faint carols beings hummed by the occasional passer-by excited to get home for a breakfast tinged with the taste of  the holiday, or the decorative wreaths and garlands wrapped chaotically around street lamps still burning from the previous night well into this dark morning, one could assume it was just another Southampton winters day. 

Jessie dropped her silver spoon by mistake as panic gripped her, her loss of composure much unorthodox than she had expected. The spoon clattered against her ceramic breakfast plate, and the Lady Beresford hissed under her breath, her eyes shutting tight for a second. 

"Oh, even the slightest of sounds hurt my head so," The lady mused in discomfort. 

Lady Acacia Beresford had somehow manged to get a footman to misplace her mother-in-law's lorgnette, and not having used its glass for the entirety of the evening last night well into this morning, the withdrawal had given the Lady Beresford a headache she missed no chance to complain about. 

"If it were not for this incompetence," The lady murmured under her breath and glanced at her daughter-in-law across at the head of the table with a look of clear disdain. Lady Acacia Beresford smiled her warmest smile in return, clearly aware of her mother-in-law's distaste. 

That was another thing Jessie had learned in the short span of time she had met and was spending with her aunt. The lady carried a clear dislike of the woman her son had married, and the woman in turn harvested the same dislike towards her husband's mother. A dislike that was exchanged between tight smiles and whispered harsh sentiment that never quite reached the other party's ears sometimes. The passive aggressiveness made Jessie uncomfortable, and she was glad she wasn't the real Lady Embry— for choosing a side wasn't something she had a right to do at present. 

Clearing her throat and catching a glance from Acacia Beresford, Jessie turned to her aunt. 
"I apologize, aunt," She began, thankful her voice was levelled, "I've just been thinking about your offer." 

It was the truth. She had been thinking about it. But the more she had thought, the more ridiculous she deemed herself. The offer was a dream. To cast aside her fears and regrets in Southampton and live somewhere with new possibilities and prospects at her disposal. It was the stuff dreams were made of. But that offer was for Lady Aramina Embry, not Jessie Churchill. She wondered what Lady Beresford's real niece would have done. Would Lady Embry have accepted the offer? But she would've had so many options to choose from, and Jessie had none. 

"What is there to think about child?" The lady waved a hand, as though Jessie had spoken out of turn. "This is not an offer. I insist you come with me. Jack has no business pretending he can care for a young woman, even if that young woman is his cousin. I haven't even seen him yet, who knows which part of England he's off galivanting to at Christmas! And I have been freshly reminded I cannot trust other persons in this household with my belongings— so what makes you believe I will trust them with my niece?" 

"Aunt," Jessie tried, eyes earnest, "It will be such a change. I'm not sure if I'm ready for it." She was ready for it. The Southampton parish rector's daughter, Jessie Churchill wanted this like she hadn't wanted anything else.