Cut Strings

Chapter Nine

And I stomped out of the side door which Lil had gone moments ago.

But just before I walked out the door, a hand clamped onto the doorframe and a smooth voice laced with velvet whispered softly into my ear:

"Can't it be both?"

And he let go and I passed though without looking back. However, I was far from unaffected. My unexplainable tears were threatening to spill over, and I unconciously touched my necklace, hidden under the high, lacy collar of the dark blue nightgown which matched my mood.

***

I walked past a woman who was standing at the side of the hallway dutifully.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a petite girl with a forest green cardigan and bright pink skater skirt walking by?" I stopped and asked politely with a genuinely grateful smile. I was tired and not up to dalliance to be mean and cranky.

"Yes, miss. She went into the V.I.P guest bedroom. This way, miss."

Wow. Guessed that the staff here in the Parton townhouse were much nicer than the Parton son. Or possibly Parton senior. I don't know, I never met him, only his wife. She was rather nice though.

I walked into the guest room and found Lil in the shower. How did I know? Well, one of her hobbies was bathroom singing. She wasn't horrible, though. Not like me.

I thanked the staff, who smiled at me graciously and said, "You're welcome, miss. Enjoy your stay. I'm Delia, your appointed lady's maid. Tell me if you need anything. I'll be at my previous station, miss."

After she left, head slightly bowed and hands tightly clasped on her lap, I rushed over to the corner of the room near the bathroom door.

What I found was amazing. Really. There were four walk-in wardrobes, lined up in a straight row. Under closer inspection, I found each to be filled with dozens of dresses, shirts, bottoms and some accessories. What I found particularly annoying was the fact that the dresses were hung up on sturdy velvet-covered wooden hangers and dangled merrily. The shirts and bottoms looked even more tidy. There were no creases on them, even though they were folded to perfection. However, I noticed that the lower few of each pile had some small folds and creases, which looked like they had been acquired naturally after sitting there for months. I had to applaud the staff for maintaining the state of the clothes. They looked perfect to the untrained eye.

There were multiple piles of clothes piled neatly on several sets of drawers which rolled smoothly and didn't make a sound. Not even a slight creak. I had a sudden hysterical thought to break a drawer to prove that it wasn't perfect. I realised that it would just cause more trouble for the house staff. I hated the fact that Wayne would see through my trick and not let me take blame, instead probably damage more stuff to cause more trouble than there already was.

So I just went back to examining the drawers.

The top few looked perfectly innocent, with neatly kept jewelry boxes and stands to keep jewelry tidily and nicely kept.

The bottom few drawers were not very presentable, so I knew why they were the last few.

They all held small piles of garments. Not just garments, but undergarments. I wondered if it was the staff who picked the lingerie out, but it didn't seem humble enough. They came from brands like Agent Provocateur and La Senza, and of course featured a great deal of lace and neon colours. Who in the right mind would wear a Victoria's Secret neon bra and panties under a thin white silk shirt? Well, you never knew, I thought darkly. You never did.

Damn. I was supposed to call for Lil and talk to her. Too bad I was rather delayed with the very distracting walk-in wardrobe. I still had a couple more drawers to look through, so I decided to mark that particular wardrobe as my territory and leave the exploring for later.

"Bang. BANG. BANG!"

"Lil. Lil! Hurry up and get out! I need to shower too!"

"You spin my head right round, right rou- Wait, Derra? Is that you? And, hello, I know that there's another bathroom over there, so there must be another more pressing reason for you to interrupt my private time-"

"Lil, I don't have the time for this! Fine. Hurry up and finish your shower, we need to talk about something!"

"Is this something a certain five feet ten guy with a smooth voice and mysterious aura? With deadly blue-green eyes like the midnight sky and dark hair?"

Oh no. I really had no time for this now. This was not what I wanted in my thought process!

"Judging by your prolonged silence, I must be right. I really hope you don't gripe about his family or whatever. You guys and meant to be! Uh-oh. Kay, I'm coming out... in about five seconds?"

I said nothing except, "I'll be waiting for you in my walk-in wardrobe. The second one from the left."

And I went to crouch down unceremoniously in my marked territory.

***

Ten years later... (possibly just ten minutes)

"So... what actually happened? You guys apparently had a long history. Of what? Breakups?"

I couldn't really tell her now. Not when Wayne was around and we were currently staying in his family's townhouse.

"Not now, Lil. Really. Not now!"

A sigh escaped her lips. "Fine. Once everything is over, you have to tell me."

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Wow. This chapter finally is over. I took quite a number of days to type all this out. I'm glad I revealed some stuff. Yayyy! XD

Picture on the side is the invitation that Lil received. The theme for the fete: ribbons and bows! Girly much?