Love & Misunderstanding

Chapter Twenty One - Helene's POV

Just when I thought that nothing could possibly ruin my time in London, things had to become complicated. Being near Jonathan was now more awkward than ever before. It seemed that neither of us could think of anything to say to the other. We had accidentally bumped into each other in the hallway a couple of days before, and I found it incredibly hard to concentrate on anything aside from his mysterious grey eyes. How I wished that I could hate them for causing me such grief.

I did briefly notice that he too seemed to be distracted by something; however, my only thought was that he'd had another argument with his mother or brother. I never suspected that it might be the cause of something else. I honestly thought that my newly discovered feelings were purely one sided. I did not think that they could ever be reciprocated.

Just then, a knock came at my door. "I shall get it," Edith announced, as she stopped what she had been doing and went to open the door.

Rising from my seat in front of the vanity, where Hannah had been styling my hair, I was pleased to see that it was Miss Edwards. "Is Miss Hoffman ready?" she asked.

Miss Edwards had offered to take me into London to look for a new dress for the ball, a most kind and thoughtful offer. I did have a bit of money, but I feared that I would not be able to afford anything extravagant. My primary reason for accepting her offer was so that I could look around a bit. I knew that I would probably never return to London, so I wanted to make the most of this trip and see all that I could.

"We had a bit of trouble waking her up, but she is ready now," Edith told her, motioning for me to come.

She smiled at me as I came out from the bedroom. "Mr. Brown has agreed to accompany us, and the carriage is waiting for us as we speak."

I smiled slightly at Mr. Brown, who was peeking around the corner, silently thanking him for being our escort. "Then let us get going."

Mr. Brown escorted us through the long maze of corridors, down a couple flights of stairs, and to the door. As usual, I momentarily got lost in my observations, marvelling at how different the Edwards home was from the Gilmore's. It was less extravagant and seemed a bit less stuffy, which was a description that seemed fitting of the Edwards.

When we stepped out of the door, I was a bit taken back by the sight of the carriage that we would be riding in. It was the fanciest carriage that I had ever seen in my life! There was even a gold detailed family crest on the door. Although, it was not the first time I had seen such a detail. The Gilmore's had a couple of carriages with their family crest displayed on the door as well. Unfortunately it was incredibly rare to actually see them use those carriages. Mr. Gilmore usually preferred to travel by a more modest looking carriage.

As I climbed inside, I was surprised to find that it was even more luxurious than the outside. Taking a seat on the rich red velvet cushion's, I found myself momentarily overwhelmed by the luxury in which we were travelling, which in turn caused me to feel rather self conscious about my appearance. I began to fuss over the wrinkles and folds in my skirt, feeling as though I was going to stick out like a sore thumb in the city. However, both Miss Edwards and Mr. Brown assured me that I looked just fine, and that made me feel a bit better, even though I knew that I could never hope to compare with their sophistication.

"So, what do the women of Portsmouth think about my two cousins, Vincent and Jonathan?" Miss Edwards began the conversation.

I considered my reply for a moment, not wanting to make them sound bad, but also not wanting to lie at the same time. "Well, Vincent is considered the town flirt. Every woman who comes to my mind would jump at the chance to spend even a minute with him."