No marriage is happy ever after - On VERY temporary hold!

Bridesmaids

A couple of low knocks sounded on the service door. "My lady?"

Louisa composed herself and smiled gently, tugging her turmoil further inside. "Come in, Ashley."

The door opened and the maid entered. Her eyes expressed deep concern. Louisa had no doubt hat she had been discreetly eavesdropping on the whole argument. It made Louisa so happy that at least someone in this house was not focused on the splendour of the union.

She extended her arms to the maid while glancing at the main door. "Just come in; my mother has left."

Ashley sent her a worried look, while she covered the distance and placed her hand reassuringly on Louisa's shoulder. "It sounded rather violent back then." Ashley had indeed been eavesdropping. It made Louisa far more happy than annoyed.

"It was in fact not as bad as I had feared. I believe my mother is truly happy to get me on my way now. I will be married off to the heir to an estate even greater than that of my father and our name will be safe." Louisa tried to put on a big smile as she stood now, but somehow she knew that it would never succeed until she was forced to at the church.

Ashley went to rearrange the dress. It had been slightly ruffled during the argument between the bride and her mother. She was awfully silent and Louisa wondered what thoughts could have caused this. While standing straight not to disarray her dress further, she glanced at the maid. "Ashley, what is the matter? Pray tell me."

Ashley hesitated for a few moments as she very slowly laid out a portion of the train in very neat folds. Then she cleared her throat as if she had decided to finally speak. "My lady... Why do you not escape? There must be someone you can run away to who can help you avoid this marriage."

Louisa sighed. The thought had crossed her so many times as well. "I am afraid I can find no solution to that. I have no family influential enough to prevent the wedding and while I have managed to make a small savings from the pocket money I am granted by my father, I fear it would not last me for long. Besides, if I did run away, my name would be ruined. I would never be able to find any man of status willing to take me for a wife. My family would certainly never take me back and I would be forced to become a servant or at the very best a governess. While I have absolutely no skills that would help me in the former position, I might have better chances at the latter. However, I fear how it would turn out far more than this marriage as much as I oppose to it."

"But you could marry someone you would love. Is that not worth the risk? I might be able to help you find some place to stay."

The maid was a shrewd little one. She hit all the points that Louisa had considered herself. "It would be found out and you would be immediately dismissed. My mother would make certain you would never find work anywhere in this county. Then what would you do with your father? Besides, I have lived my whole life like this, being the daughter of en earl. I fear how I might live in a lower state. I wish I could be brave and embrace it, but I have come to face the fact that I cannot. I find you a brave soul, but I could never find the courage in my heart to come live like you. Therefore I must go on with the path laid out before me."

Ashley left the train and put herself in front of her mistress, her grey eyes staring straight into the green of Louisa's. "Admitting it like that takes bravery too. I do not find you a coward in any way. You are aware of your strengths and weaknesses and you have chosen the path that would seem to bring you the most peace. Even though I might not agree with you, I believe that you have thought this through and taken the least painful path for you. I can only pray that you will find some kind of solace in your decision."

The kind words of the maid brought tears to Louisa's eyes. She would wish that she felt as brave as Ashley considered her. "Oh, Ashley!" Louisa could not control herself anymore. She fell into the maid's shoulder and cried bitterly. She did not feel brave. She was scared, she felt alone and she had no idea what her future would become. She felt Ashley's arms close around her and a solidarity sobbing echoed her own.