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

A new home

Louisa woke up to the unfamiliar sound of a blackbird singing close to her window. There were no trees close to the windows in her bedchamber at Midgrove Manor. She reached out to grab another pillow, but when she touched them, they felt different. The very bedlinen felt different.

Louisa sat up with a start as reality came flooding in. This was not Midgrove Manor. This was Oakdale Manor and this was her new bedchamber with strange linen and a tree outside where a most zealous blackbird sang its beautiful morning serenade.

Louisa blinked her eyes a few times, feeling a creeping sensation like a vice pressing slightly on her temples as she gazed out her window. The sun was barely rising and she knew she had not slept for long, explaining the slight headache.

She propped herself up against her pillows and let her mind wander over the last few days since leaving Midgrove.

Despite the profound persistence from her parents, especially her mother, it had been Lord Hiddleston who had decided not to spend the night at Midgrove and therefore begin the journey home at once.

They had spend the night at a decent inn a few hours away. Lord Hiddleston had ordered separate rooms for each of them, claiming that both of them would need to rest thoroughly for the journey the next day.

Louisa had found herself agreeing completely as all the sensations of the day had deprived her of all strength and to her luck she had hardly laid her head down on the pillow that night before she had cried herself into a deep, yet troubled sleep.

The entirety of the next day was spent travelling, only with one stop for luncheon. It had been one of the most tedious days Louisa had ever spent in her entire life. Her husband had not uttered a word to her the entire journey despite many attempts to spark a conversation between them, the earl had been sleeping through most of the ride in the carriage and thus the ladies had most often been the ones conversing.

Despite the tediousness of the journey, Louisa had not feared the silence. It had been a welcome time to consider the life ahead of her. After awaking in the inn, Louisa had decided not to cry any more but instead ponder on what she could do to prove her own worth in the station she was to take.

Conversing with the countess had been superficial at best, as Louisa was still considerably sceptical towards the persons who had negated her marriage with Lord Hiddleston. Apart from that, Louisa was neither willing to discuss anything that might make her appear insecure in front of the lord.

However, Louisa had found that the elder woman was in fact surprisingly pleasant to converse with. The countess deftly and willingly averted more sensible subjects and she had a vast knowledge of music which Louisa would, on a less awkward situation, be more than willing to discuss in further detail than done then. Other painless matters such as favourite seamstresses, the latest plays in London and various botanical subjects were also touched upon during the travel.

The following night and day followed the exact same pattern until they had at night time reached the very gates of Oakdale. The journey had been so long and tiring that Louisa had only sensed a practically never ending road to a gigantic house. She vaguely remembered being escorted to a room where a maid had helped Louisa undress and left her tucked under the covers in the strange, new bed that was now belonging to her.

Louisa prodded the linen around her. It was soft and smelled faintly of lavender. Suddenly she recalled how her mother had always used sandal wood in her linen closets back at Midgrove. This memory caused her throat to tighten and a burn to start behind her eyes.

Louisa drew a deep breath and blinked heavily to hold the tears back and regain her senses. She refused to cry any more.

After a while she was calm again and was able to appreciate the room she was in.