"COULD YOU PLEASE request Mrs. Shrine to send an empty basket to my room?"
Chrissy met Vivienne's eyes in the mirror, and she nodded once.
"How are you liking the other ladies?" Vivienne asked politely.
For the guests who hadn't travelled with a lady's maid, Lady Torrington and Mrs. Shrine had assigned maids to them. Vivienne knew Chrissy was tending to a few other ladies during their stay at the manor.
Chrissy was silent for a moment and Vivienne thought she might not answer her question before she spoke. "They are much easier to tend to. They have finer dresses and jewelry. I've received two offers thus far of becoming a permanent lady's maid," Chrissy boasted.
Vivienne smiled tightly, "That seems nice. I'm sure you will be missed here if you do leave."
This time, Chrissy did ignore her comment and opened the door to her bedroom chamber. "I'll have your basket brought up soon enough."
"Thank you."
When the door shut Vivienne sighed into the chaise. It might be better for them all if Chrissy left Chalcott manor. Her behaviour had not improved the last few weeks sand Vivienne knew that the maid barely tolerated her. From what the dowager countess had been teaching her, ensuring the happiness of the servants led to successful houses. Sooner or later, the situation between Chrissy and her would become much bigger but right now, it was just like a clock hand ticking away slowly, approaching the hour.
There was another knock on her bedroom, and she swung the door open to see a chamber maid holding a basket.
She grabbed it from the maid, thanking her. Vivienne then took a hold of a sleeping Ginger and placed the cat into the basket before closing the top. The cat meowed, and Vivienne's heart crumbled but she held on. This was for the best. Slowly opening the door, she made sure that no other ladies or gentlemen were awake and in the hallway before making her way down.
It wasn't surprising at all that it was only the servants that were awake at this hour as everyone had gone to bed quite late last night. While the gentlemen gathered in the billiards room, the ladies gossiped quietly before retiring in the late hours of the night.
Martin was the first to notice her, "Good morning my lady."
"Good morning," Vivienne replied softly over the faint meows of her cat.
Concern lined Martin's face as he took in her day gown and bonnet tied right underneath her chin. "Is everything well?"
She gave him a reassuring smile, "It is, Martin. I'm just going to head to the gardens for a bit of fresh air. I should be back before breakfast." she promised.
"Very well," the butler said. "Have a pleasant walk."
"I will."
As the door shut behind her, Vivienne sighed in relief. She walked slowly towards the gardens, taking time in ensuring that the basket didn't rattle too much for fear that Ginger might get injured. She sat down upon the stone bench in the gardens before opening the basket and Ginger curiously lifted her pink nose in the air.
Vivienne hoisted the cat out of the basket and set her on the ground, "Go on now. Explore and enjoy the sunshine little one. I might not be able to sneak you out till all the guests are gone."
The cat did not hesitate for a moment before she began walking around the garden, sniffing the various plants in the area. Vivienne winced as Ginger came extremely close to one of the rose bushes. Surely the cat would not bite off any of the flowers in the gardens. If Ginger did not behave, Vivienne would owe the gardener quite the apology.
Vivienne untied her bonnet and set it beside her, allowing the suns rays to warm her skin. It was nice to get away from all the guests, she felt suffocated in the manor. At times it seemed as though every move of hers was being monitored, and they were all waiting for her to make a mistake so they could humiliate her.
"Oh, I didn't know you were here."
Vivienne opened her eyes to see Lady Fiona standing in front of her sans bonnet or gloves.
Vivienne stood up abruptly and said hesitantly, "Good morning, Lady Fiona."
"Please, call me Fiona."
Vivienne nodded, "Then it is only right for you to address me as Vivienne."
They shared a rather awkward smile. Something had gone amiss at dinner, but Vivienne didn't know what it was. Vivienne had been seeking a chance to speak with Fiona in the parlour, but the lady had always been engaged with someone else. Vivienne was left with no choice but to sit alone and listen to the chatter of others.
She pointed to empty space beside her on the bench, "please join me."
Fiona shook her head, "Oh no, I don't want to disturb you," she bit her lips almost nervously, "I didn't know anyone visited the gardens at this hour."
"They usually don't, but I wanted to let Ginger have some air," she pointed towards the cat who was squirming around in some sort of plant. "Unfortunately, she's been cooped up inside my room since the arrival of the guests."
Lady Fiona smiled as Ginger came closer to inspect her. She bent down and laid out her hand, and the kitten sniffed it once before losing interest. Fiona ran her fingers through the cat's fur, "she's quite the beauty."
"That she is," Vivienne echoed.
Ginger slipped through her grasps and Fiona stood up once more. "I'll leave you to it then."
"No, please stay, I insist." When Lady Fiona still looked hesitant Vivienne gave her a reassuring smile. "There isn't much to do in the manor at such an hour anyways, most of the guests are asleep."
Lady Fiona accepted the invitation as she sat down, making sure to be careful of her pale blue day dress.
"How are you enjoying the party so far. I believe I saw you speaking to Lord Falmouth over dinner last night?"
"It has been a nice house party so far, although I must admit some of the guest can be very dull."
Vivienne giggled, "I thought I was the only one who felt that way."
Lady Fiona gave her a sincere smile. "No, you are not. It makes sense in some ways. Most people are preparing for the season and many families have already settled into London anyways."
Vivienne watched as Ginger chased a moth floating about in the garden. "And Lord Falmouth, does he fall into the category of an uninteresting gentlemen?" she questioned.
Lady Fiona's smile slipped for a moment, "He is quite the gentleman..."
"But?" Vivienne prompted.
"I don't see myself marrying him. I can't imagine our lives intertwined with one another. It might seem foolish to you, but I want to get married for love. It doesn't have to be present at the beginning of marriage, after all, I saw it grow between my parents, but I don't want to be with someone who I grow to despise afterwards."
Vivienne was silent as she took it all in. Since she didn't know her parents, she didn't know the marriage they had. She didn't know if they had loved or despised each other. However, what Fiona was saying made sense. A part of her wanted to marry someone she loved but she also knew everything was dependent on the kindness of the duke. He would want to get rid of her as soon as possible and she couldn't blame him. She wasn't his responsibility, yet he had been kind enough to provide for her when nobody except Agatha had done the same.
"Say something," Lady Fiona urged as she nervously played with her hands.
Vivienne looked into her eyes, "I think what you want is brave and courageous, and you shouldn't settle for anything less."
A wide smile broke out on Fiona's face, warming hers as well. "Well, what about you? Cedric and you seem to get along quite well."
"Cedric?"
"Ah, that's Lord Berkeley's Christian name." Fiona explained.
"I-" Vivienne paused, "don't think of Lord Berkeley in that way. He's been exceptionally kind to me. It's uncanny on how he is able to make me feel comfortable in places where I don't know what to do but..." she trailed off not knowing how to finish.
"He is quite kind, isn't he?" Fiona said in a softer voice.
Vivienne watched the lady beside her carefully. Was it her imagination or did Fiona's voice change when speaking about Lord Berkeley? "Has he always been like that?"
A wistful smile came upon Fiona's face as she looked up at the sky above them. "Yes, Henry and James would often torment me, but Cedric never did. When the boys would try to leave me behind, he made sure I was included."
"He's quite handsome," Vivienne commented.
"Yes he—" Lady Fiona turned back to look at Vivienne who was smiling slyly. "You are trying to set me up to say something I don't intend to!"
Vivienne laughed, "My apologies if it seems that way." Her voice turned more somber. "I believe you might have tender feelings towards Lord Berkeley."
Lady Fiona gave her a sad smile, "We have only spoken for such a short time and you already know. If only it was as obvious to him."
Ah, now she knew the reason for the awkwardness between them last night. Fiona had seen Vivienne speaking with Lord Berkeley and had mistakenly believed she held some sort of affection towards him.
"Have you spoken to him about it?"
Lady Fiona face scrunched tightly, "Once. It didn't end well, and it seemed that he rather misunderstood me."
"Maybe things have changed?"
Lady Fiona laughed, but there was no joy in it. "It doesn't seem so. I am stuck in this insufferable loop of being unable to move on thus, find myself rejecting suitor after suitor. My Mama and brother just don't understand. I can't get married until I've seen him settle down, then at least the spark of hope that still exists inside me will be extinguished thoroughly."
Vivienne's heart clenched, what Lady Fiona was describing felt miserable. She could not imagine the sadness of loving someone from afar.
Fiona stood up and brushed her dress. "We should go inside now; breakfast will be served soon."
"Yes," Vivienne echoed before calling out to Ginger. The cat came willingly, and she scooped her up, placing her back into the basket.
Fiona grasped her hands within Vivienne's. "Thank you for listening to me."
Vivienne watched the kaleidoscope of feelings swirling around in the lady's eyes before she nodded. "Of course, you have someone to listen to you whenever you need," she said sincerely.
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Happy New Year's Everyone! It's nice to see Fiona and Vivienne, bonding, what do you all think? Thank you so much for the 2K reads!