Tulips

Chapter 5

Adelaide chewed on her breakfast as she read the letter from her parents. There was no news to share, although the way her mother had written seemed as if the negotiations between Normandy and France were near conclusion. There was a warm breeze coming through the open window, true may-weather shone into the room. Gwendolyn had planned a trip to the tulip fields for the day. When mid-morning arrived, Adelaide walked to the front of the palace. Outside there were two carriages and three figures.

"Late as always," called Joseph, a smirk edged across his face.

"At least I was invited," she retorted, looking to her friend.

Gwendolyn smiled, her eyes wide in panic. "I asked Joseph and Nicholai to come with us, I hope that's alright."

Adelaide nodded to Nicholai, he smiled sheepishly. "Of course," she said.

Gwen and Adelaide shared the carriage on the first journey. A poet had issued a collection the other week and they were both working through the issue.

"I think the symbolism was lost on me for the first sonnet," Adelaide commented.

"Really? I picked it up immediately, I thought it was very clever." Gwendolyn scratched her forehead.

They arrived in the fields a while before midday. The sky was clear, bright blue contrasting with the flowers. The plan was to walk along the fields and have a picnic in a grass meadow on the other side of the farm. Gwen and Joseph paired of and walked ahead, out of earshot from Adelaide and Nicholai.

"I'm not going to Milan." he said after a few moments. "My step-mother is pregnant. And seeing as I'll officially not be my Dad's heir, he wants me to do something with my life, I guess."

"What are you going to do?" her jaw clenched.

"I'll go to St Petersburg, become an academic." he said. There wasn't any worry in his voice, in fact he was almost smiling.

"I'll miss you," she stopped walking, her chest tight.

"You don't have to." he turned towards her, eyes dazzling.

"What?" Adelaide sniffed.

"Come with me. I know it's a lot to ask but come to Russia and then whenever you want you can go back to Normandy."

Adelaide breathed; all the reasons she knew should stop her disappeared. "Yes, I'll do it."

They walked on imagining the future they would share, but they were thoughts. The dream was false.

The four stayed at the fields for the best part of the day, the sun was meandering towards the horizon when they left, the ground glazed in the gold of late afternoon.