After spending about an hour or so in the parlour, Allie and the others were shown to the chambers they would be staying in for the rest of their visit. Her mind wandered as her lady's maid, Priscilla, helped her unpack her trunk and change into a light day dress. Once Priscilla had finished and left, Allie sat herself down on the plush bed and exhaled deeply.
A range of thoughts swam in her mind, and the reality of the last week or so caught up to her. It had been an exhausting mess of events that she still was unable to make head or tail of. With a sigh, she rubbed at her eyes and yawned, wishing for night to come so that she might sleep.
They'd been informed that the midday meal would be served at half past noon, and they had a few hours to relax and recover from their journey, but Allie knew that if she slept now, she would not awaken until much later. Sleep had not come to her easily for days, and her nights had been spent tossing and turning in unfamiliar beds at inns along the way. In the carriage, the best she could do was nap for short spells until a particularly bumpy stretch of road jolted her from her sleep.
She glanced around the room, taking it all in. Somerhall was incredibly grand, but Kensington Place seemed to be even grander. While both homes seemed to be of about the same age, Somerhall was built in the Gothic Tudor style while Kensington Place was built in the English Baroque style. It was lighter and airier than Somerhall, and her room even had a lovely little balcony with a pillared rail that overlooked the expansive grounds.
The walls were papered in cream, with small swirling designs on the paper that were only a shade darker and barely noticeable. There was an intricate folding screen towards the side of the room and a study table as well. The bed was a gorgeous, ebony poster bed with translucent hangings, silk sheets and an ottoman at its foot. It was truly beautiful.
There was a chair on the balcony, and she decided to sit outside for a while to keep herself from falling asleep. For about a half hour, all she did was stare at the rolling green and the stables to the side as she attempted to keep her thoughts at bay by replacing them with dreams of how lovely it would be to ride. It had been far too long since she'd ridden, the last time being two weeks before at Hawthorne Hall, but even that had not been on her mare, Starlight, whom Allie had reared and ridden since she was a foal.
The chair was comfortable, and she soon found herself dozing off, but straightened up with a start at the sight of Richard, who was walking in the grass a few metres from her balcony, seemingly lost in thought and unfocused on everything around him.
He looked handsome and lordly, with his windswept hair and measured gait. The thought came suddenly, and she couldn't help but wince at how naturally she'd thought it, as if they were actually engaged and not just pretending. It was quite honestly embarrassing, and she was glad he could not read her thoughts.
Suddenly, as if he could feel her gaze on him, he looked up and caught sight of her. He raised his hand in greeting, and she did the same, praying he could not see her blush from where he was. It was impossible, but the idea still embarrassed her.
"Shall I come up?" He called, and his voice carried in the silence of everything else around them. Hopefully her sister and brother-in-law, who were in the room right beside hers, had not heard.
"Alright." She replied, attempting to sound as at ease as she could. She hadn't spoken very loudly, but sound carried in the country and he appeared to have heard her well enough for he nodded and replied that he would be right there. It was not exactly proper for him to come to her room, even if just the balcony and in plain sight. If it were London, they would have caused quite the scandal, but this was his home and he clearly trusted that the same would not result here and she trusted him.
Allie had expected him to come from inside the house but, to her astonishment, he stood at the base of the balcony, leaped and caught the base of one of the pillars, using it to hoist himself up and over.
"What on Earth is wrong with you?" She demanded, the moment he landed gracefully on the veranda, dusting his hands on his trousers. "What possessed you to do such a thing?"
"It's only the first floor." Richard brushed it off with a boyish grin. He seemed more like a child than a man when he did such things, and she was glad to see more of his childishness come to light, especially here in his home. "It is barely seven feet off the ground."
Allie made a face, but knew he was right anyway. It was still rather difficult, though, wasn't it? She hadn't done anything like that since she was, perhaps, eight. Nate wouldn't have minded if she'd continued running around like a savage, but unfortunately society did and her governess had forced her to act like a lady. She didn't think she was capable of climbing a single branch anymore.
"How have you been?" She asked, filling the silence that had overcome them. It was a vague question with quite a few possible answers, but she was sure he knew exactly what she meant by it.
"It has been difficult." Richard admitted with a hard gaze, taking a seat in the chair beside hers, the two feet of space between them somehow seeming like a mile.
"I have had time to come to terms with the fact that, soon, he shall be.....gone. However, every time I think it has settled in, I see him struggle to do something he once did with ease or fall asleep even when not tired. He is so tired and almost listless these days and it is heartbreaking. We used to ride nearly every day and play cricket with men from the village and now he simply cannot anymore. He tries to be as lively as he can for my sake, and teases me in an attempt at reassuring me that things are still the same, but I can tell that nothing is or will be the same, even his mind."
Richard let out a deep sigh, pain filling his eyes that she wanted to erase at any cost. To try and bridge the mile between them, she reached out and took his hand, the feel of his surprisingly rough fingers now somehow as familiar to her as her own, from all the times they'd danced or he'd kissed her hand or even held it, like the last time she'd had to comfort him. It was an odd thing, to be so comfortable with someone, but it was nice.
"I promise you that you will be alright, even if it does not feel that way now. You are strong, Richard, incredibly so. I have no doubt that you will be able to withstand all of this strife and rise from it. It will take time, and you surely won't be unharmed. You'll bear a few battle scars, but you shall be alright. Later, you shall be good and then better and, finally, when you have finally allowed yourself to truly breathe, you shall be whole again." She said to him, praying he'd look her in the eyes soon.
"You're more poetic than I'd assumed." He commented drily, making her breath hitch as he laced his fingers through hers, staring down at their woven hands as if mesmerized. Suddenly, however, he looked up and his blue eyes had steeled to something more serious. "But, thank you. Everyone has been telling me that everything shall be okay and that I shall be alright, but you're the first person who's said it whom I have actually believed."
"Although I can't promise you much, I can promise that I shall always be there to reassure you when you require me to." She swore, causing him to lift her hand to his lips and press a kiss to her knuckles, an intimate gesture that she was certainly not expecting.
Seeming to realise what had occurred, Richard immediately dropped her hand as if it had burned him and running it through his hair, as if to find something to do with it. "I apologise, Alexandra. That was not something I ought to have done. I overstepped."
"It's alright." She promised, managing a smile. It was a wonder that she did not blush the moment he had done it, but his embarrassed apology was enough to bring a slight flush to her cheeks.
"If you are certain." He replied graciously, before asking, "What do you think of Kensington Place? Is Exeter to your liking?"
"Everything is beautiful." She told him truthfully. What she'd seen of the county while travelling to his home had been arresting in its beauty, and the manor house itself was lovely. "It is peaceful here, and calm. It's exactly the sort of place you could sleep easy and without worry."
"I can certainly agree with you on that point." Richard replied wistfully, his eyes fluttering shut as he leaned back in his chair, at ease. "Growing up in a place like this was wonderful."
"I can imagine." She agreed with a little laugh, imagining a young Richard with flyaway hair and bright eyes running through the corridors and grounds, playing alone or with friends, clambering over walls and onto trees. It was a happy picture, one that she wished any future children of hers might be able to live through. Nate had had a similar childhood, one that hadn't been afforded to her when her parents had been alive and which she had quickly lost when more girlish pursuits had taken her fancy.
There was a sudden shrill, sharp twang that filled the air, and Allie jumped slightly before recognising it as the sound of a bell. But what purpose would a bell serve?
"That's the luncheon bell." Richard explained, chuckling at her reaction. "I'm surprised you don't have one at Somerhall."
"I think we may have." Alexandra furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember. "A long time ago. Then, mealtimes became standard, I suppose and we all simply know when to go down. Nate is very particular about his food, and gets far too hungry if he's forced to wait too long." She laughed, recalling how anxious her brother would get when he was hungry.
"That is certainly something I can picture your brother doing." Richard laughed, rising to his feet and stretching before offer her his hand. "Shall we?"
Allie grabbed his hand and let him pull her to her feet, taking his arm. He led her to the bedroom door and was about to open it when it swung open, revealing a maid she didn't recognise. With a blush, she dropped Richard's hand, imagining what it must look like to the maid, whose eyes immediately widened to see Richard in her chamber with her.
"Master Richard, Lady Alexandra!" She stammered, curtsying. The entire situation probably appeared awfully wrong and Allie could not meet her eyes as Richard brushed off the situation, greeting the maid with an easy smile, taking Allie's arm again and leading her out of the room.
"Oh, that was do embarrassing!" Allie whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as she struggled to hold back the urge to bury her face into Richard's shoulder. "I cannot even imagine what she must have thought."
"It's alright." He said soothingly, "Mary has been a maid in the household for years. Even if she thought something was amiss, she would not gossip about it, just like most of the staff here. You needn't worry about such things here."
"If you're sure." She said doubtfully as they reached the dining room together, causing Cassandra to give her a suggestive look.
She hoped Richard was right when he said she needn't worry. If she had behaved so thoughtlessly not only at London but at Somerhall too, they'd have been the subject of quite a bit of gossip and deprecating whispers that questioned her integrity. Hopefully, the same would not occur here.
With that, she allowed a footman to serve her a generous helping of roast vegetables, turning her ear to Richard's father, who was starting up a conversation about politics.