Rosemary Constance

Chapter Two: Reunion to the future

" And, pardon me for asking, but might I invite Elizabeth and her husband over now that I am to be living in London? It has been so long since we've both seen each other, you know that we are the dearest friends in the world!"

" I am pleased with your question Rosy, you see, I have already sent a letter to Lizzie, her husband, her son and herself are invited here in three days" he answered amused.

Rosy's mood lightened up, she was going to see her dear friend and she had to focus on that, meeting her suitor could not seem so unpleasant after all.

***

The morning following her arrival, Rosemary had much trouble to hide her uncertainty in regard to her suitor. During the breakfast she almost spilled her coffee when Lady Lister asked her if she was looking forward to the meeting. However she managed to get herself together and to give a satisfying answer, even if she had owned herself some suspicious looks from her hosts. After breakfast Rosemary and Lady Lister went to the living room, unfortunately for her, Lady Lister insisted on Rosy playing the piano. The young lady hadn't really practised in the past two years. The pianoforte in the Throwley Cottage was regularly covered in dust, and cleaned only every two or three months , only when she decided to play some music. But she sat in front of the instrument anyways, she asked for some music sheets that she had studied in the past and was sure that they had stayed in the house. At first, it took a moment to adjust herself to the piano and to her spectator that kept looking at her, obviously a bit disappointed by Rosy's shambles. Nonetheless, with the help of the partition her fingers fastly found the old memories, they were running from one tile to another with ease. Lady Lister was finally pleased to hear a decent, even beautiful music air. Then she started singing to follow the sound of the piano, her voice was clear like water running down the rocks of a mountain, the purity of her voice was almost heartbreaking, anyone that would have listened to that song would have shed one or two tears. And Lady Lister did, thanking Rosemary for her performance and praising her for that talent she was so hesitant to show.

Later that day, she was expected to be dressed with the finest taste in order to look perfect regarding the evening ball that should follow in the evening and where she would meet her suitor. Her gown was magnificent and displayed well how opulent the Lister family was. The blue fabric was so superb that only wealth could be seen when looked at. Some pearls were embroidered on the neckline. Rosy delicately put her hand on her dress, the fabric seemed to be flowing like water in her fingers. She looked in the mirror and grinned, with pride she looked at her reflections, she was beautiful, in her mind she looked stunning, and she appreciated it. She asked for her pearl necklace and some perfume before considering that her dressing was complete.

***

She advanced, her elbow linked to her godfather's. Everyone looked absolutely perfect, the noble society of London was definitely of the finest. The room was bustling with people cheering and dancing, some even absorbed in serious conversations. However, Rosemary found herself annoyed by the loud orchestra's music. Nonetheless, she wasn't one to be distracted with such a thing, her whole mind was directed toward the meeting of her suitor. Her eyes were frantically browsing the room but she could not catch a glimpse of him, she had only seen a miniature of his silhouette and it wasn't enough to recognize him. But her godfather didn't leave her the pleasure to analyse the room for too long, he soon enough guided her toward a group of gentlemen that were having an animated discussion. But before they could approach them more than three feets, a blond young lad turned to them.

"Evening Lord Lister, what a pleasure to see you here!" he said, then taking Rosy's hand to his lips, " And Miss Constance I presume, your godfather talked so much about you, it is such a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance! I'm Lord Fitzgerald, but I'm sure that your godfather already told you that."

His playful green eyes watching Rosemary with attention, his charming grin directed to the young girl made her slightly blush. He was a very fine young man and very obviously Rosemary's type, even if the young girl would never admit it. As they talked, she could also notice that the lad was of a delicate wit, and a strict intelligence. They soon started melting with the dancers, the waltz was intoxicating for Rosy, everything around was spiralling and people around were vanishing like smoke, she was enjoying her time in company of her suitor. Then, in the blink of an eye, realisation hit her, made her come back to reality, this man was probably, even certainly, going to be her husband. The crowd reappeared again, the loud music shattered her ears. She excused herself, and went outside, almost running to the garden. She hit a dowager countess and a baron on her way, but she could not have cared less. Her feet stomped on the floor fast enough for anybody that would have seen her in this moment to judge her as unladylike. In the end, following a sanded path, she found a marble bench, she sat on it breathing heavily, her eyes filled up with tears. Somewhat, a servant was taking the same path as her to go back to the party. She called him.

"Excuse me my dear, but can I count on your discretion to bring me a glass of whiskey please?" Rosemary asked.

The man looked at her, disbelief in his eyes, but he did not point out the weird request, he accepted and soon came back with the demanded goods, and went back to his principal duty, serving at the party. The girl pushed her back against the gigantic hedgerow behind her. She raised the drink to her lips and her eyes to the starry sky, contemplating her life quite sadly.