More | Simon Basset

different

Eleanor was still not used to living in a house with a family of nine after it only being her papa, maman and her.  It was something to get used to with having kids crying in the middle of the night due to them having a nightmare or just because they couldn't sleep.

It took her almost two weeks to get used to Hyancinth or Gregory coming into her room or Hyancinth but once she got used to it, she had to admit she loved it.  They hated bothering their mother as they knew she didn't sleep well at night.  Not being able to sleep with her husband anymore, even though it had been years since his death, it was still hard on Violet.  

When they say as time goes on you learn to move on from your loved ones passing, but you don't really.  They always stay with you.  Whilst some may grieve more than others, you always have that person in you.  Whether it's a memory, an inside joke or they were a spouse, sibling, etc.  

"Can you believe that awful woman?" Daphne exclaimed as she let out a noise that more or less resembled a horse when they let out a low grunt.  

"Why d'you believe her anyway?" 

"What woman?" Eleanor asked, intrigued.

"Lady Whistledown of course," Benedict spoke up.

"Whose that?" 

"She writes these columns.  See," Eloise tells her cousin as she hands her some.

Anthony could really care less about the whole talk of the Ton of who Lady Whistledown was as he had more concerning matters.  But it irritated him to no end that whoever this Lady Whistledown person was seemed to print more and more about his family.  Especially as this was Daphne's first season.

Eleanor read the column rather fast as she had always been a fast reader before she handed them back to Eloise.

"She seems like quite a fascinating person," she finally commented as they were all waiting on her reply.

"She?" Benedict acted gobsmacked.

"Well, is there any other option?" Eleanor questioned her cousin.

"It could be a guy!"

"Do guys gossip?" Eleanor asked.

"Well, no.  Not really.  But some do!" He told her.

"It's definitely a woman," Eleanor said as she glanced at the print again.

"Yes!" Eloise cheered as she finally had someone on her side.  "I knew it.  But Benedict obviously didn't believe me and Anthony, well, he doesn't care.  Daphne cares to a certain extent but she doesn't want to know who it is..."

"D'you have your guesses on who it might be?" Eleanor asked as she leaned closer and ate a tasty treat that was left out for the kids to enjoy.

"I have some guesses with my best friend, Penelope Featherington.  You'll meet her tomorrow," Eloise tells her older cousin.  "D'you like it in France?" Eloise asks her.

"I do," Eleanor told her with a soft, fond smile of the place she called home.  "It's very beautiful.  Especially this time of year."

"I don't know why you would want to leave a place that beautiful to come here," Eloise scrunched up nose a little which made Eleanor laugh.

"I felt like I needed something different," she shrugs her shoulders and goes back to reading a current novel that talked about the characters adventures to a far away land.

Eloise wanted to ask her more questions but not after the fact that Anthony chastised her in front of everyone.  Like she was a little girl being punished.  She decided she would ask some other time when she was alone with Eleanor.