“Oh,
please don’t go!” I cried, taking my mother by the hands and beseeching her
from the bottom of my heart. “I simply cannot endure one more day—nay,
one more moment of this wretched
isolation!”
“I’m
terribly sorry, my darling girl. I do wish I could stop a bit longer, but as
you well know, I have certain social obligations that I must attend to,” Mother
said.
“You
can’t leave me alone, Mother! You simply can’t!”
Dropping
to my knees, I clasped my hands together under my chin as if in prayer and
looked up at her through the tears in my eyes.
“If
you leave me here on my own, I will most certainly go mad,” I informed her. “The
next time you see me, I shall be wearing a straightjacket, for I will have been
carted away and locked up in a lunatic asylum.”
Mother
sighed.
“Don’t
you think you’re being a tad dramatic, Elsa, darling?”
“I’m
not!”
“If
I were you, I would make every attempt to enjoy a life of quiet solitude. Spend
your days strolling about the grounds or reading or painting. You might find
that you’ve come to cherish the time spent on your own. And after all, you’ve
only eight months left to go. Eight months is not very long at all.”
Flabbergasted,
I replied, “Are you mad, Mother? Eight months is an eternity. It might as well
be eight years!”
“All
right, Elsa. That’s enough.”
She
reached down to take my hands and pulled me to my feet.
“I know
you’ve always been a bit theatrical, and I’ve always found it to be rather
charming, but it’s starting to become tiresome. I haven’t the energy nor have I
the inclination to indulge you at the moment. I do so want to return to Hartford
Hall before nightfall.”
I
buried my face in my hands and allowed the tears to fall freely from my eyes.
How could my very own mother be so hateful? How could she leave me in this big
old drafty house all on my own without a single soul to speak to? I knew
without a doubt that I’d go mad before the mourning period ended. I’d go mad!
Mother
evidently didn’t give a fig that my life was rapidly falling apart. As my body
racked with sobs, I heard her speaking to one of the servants as if she didn’t
have a care in the world.
“Has
Jonah brought the brougham round?”
“Yes,
milady. Mr. Murray says your cases have already been loaded onto the carriage.”
“Very
well.”
I
heard her footsteps increasing in volume as she crossed the room once again, and
I gathered that she was returning to me.
“Elsa
Elizabeth Hollingsworth, I demand you stop this nonsensical weeping at once.”
I
was so shocked by her sharp tone that I obeyed her without a moment’s
hesitation. I looked up to find Mother gazing at me with a stern look in her
eyes and her lips tightly pursed.
“You
must rein in your wits, my darling,” she said in a much softer tone of voice.
“I’m perfectly aware that you thrive when you’re surrounded by friends and
admirers, but it simply isn’t possible for you rejoin society until the proper
amount of time has passed. Think of his lordship, Elsa. I know you were fond of
your dearly departed husband. Don’t you agree that he deserves to be properly
mourned?”
“Richard
would most certainly not wish for me
to be secluded against my will, miles away from all my family and friends,” I
told her.
“Oh?”
She arched a doubtful eyebrow. “He’d rather you bring down a scandal upon yourself
when you appeared in society before it was acceptable for you to do so?”
I
was stumped for a moment, unsure of how to answer that question.
Mother
took my hands and gave them a comforting squeeze.
“Leave
it to me, darling,” she said. “Once I settle back in at Hartford Hall, I shall
see about penning some letters. I daresay I know of a few individuals who would
be happy to pay you a call if they were invited to do so.”
And
with that, my spirits soared.
“Who,
Mother? Who?”
“Well,
to start with there’s my dear cousin
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