Partners In Crime

Chapter 7

The arrival of the forenoon did not appear to be as painful as any other day, instead, I was delighted to acknowledge the wonderful mood I had woken up into, realizing how much I had forgotten the feeling of good sleep. 

I got up and went to take care of my hygiene. It wasn't long until a knock disturbed my solitary.

"Lady GS, may I come in?" I heard one of our maids' voices.

"Go ahead," I spoke up.

"Glad to see you're all awake and ready to begin the day." She walked in with a tea set, pouring me a cup of fresh tea after settling everything on the small table.

"Thank you, Rosie." I smiled at her, to which she smiled in return. 

"Lady Sofia wanted me to notify you of the guests that will be arriving for dinner." She stated. I shifted my attention towards her and asked if she knew who it might be, with a head shake, it was understandable that she did not.

"I appreciate you telling me," I said before dismissing her.

Surprised but not at the very least bothered, I proceeded to brush my hair.

Strangely enough, it has been a while since we've had company for dinner. Still, from weeks to months ago, it was never rare for Sofia to invite one of her business associates for dinner; therefore, my expectations were nothing but little. 

Nonetheless, I drew out a presentable crimson dress and placed it on the wooden rod which was built into the walls of my room, as a special spot for attires awaiting to be worn later in the day.

In the meantime, I wore a minimalistic dress and made myself downstairs. 

After greeting our staff, I peeked into the dining room from where Sofia's and SoSo's voices could be heard. Oddly enough, they were having a nice conversation as opposed to a disagreement, thus making it more bizarre. 

I disregarded them and began walking outside where I could see Rosie watering our beautiful garden. 

"Lady GS, you worried me." She jumped as I, silently, stood directly beside her.

"No need to worry, I am simply acting upon my boredom," I stated.

"Have you ran out of books to read? Usually, I notice you all absorbed into a novel. If so, would you like me to visit a local library?" Rosie questioned. 

Is that truly all I do?

"No no Rosie, it's alright. I merely made an agreement with someone to recline from studying and reading, at least for a little while." I replied while sniffing a variety of different flowers.

"As you wish m'lady," Rosie replied.

"Are you in need of assistance?" I asked, trying to feed the lack of enthusiasm. 

"As long as you desire to help, I could provide you with a watering can and you could water these beautiful specimen along with me." I felt relieved that my existence could be useful for anything other than reading and studying. 

----

It was a simple task that took no more than half an hour at most, but it was enough for me to occupy myself as we waited for dinner time.

To further try and make use of myself, I followed Rosie and struck small conversations with her. She is relatively young, about twenty-four years old, yet she had many stories to share. It was fascinating to hear tales about commoners, their life, their childhood, and anything relating to such topics, considering how I was raised into a noble family, with a different upbringing. Our stories would have little to no aspects to compare.

Additionally, these stories provide supplemental information that, eventually, will come in handy.

"My mother worked at the local pub, while my father provided transportation service" Rosie pulled me back into reality as I started to dissolve in my musing.

"I see." Was the most appropriate response that I could come up with.

"After they died, I had to take care of myself, and then your family was kind enough to provide housing for me, as well as, earnings. I am beyond grateful to the GS family." she finished. I could see her starting to tear up. Empathy overcame me as I, myself, shed a tear. 

"We are certainly glad to have you here. You are part of the family now, and that will never change." I stated while comforting her.

After moments of the console, Rosie notified me that our guests should be arriving any moment. 

I let go of her embrace and made my way to my room.

----

With the help of two maids, I was able to get ready relatively quickly. 

Moments later, I heard our heavy doors open and close which informed me that our guests have finally arrived. 

As I walked down our bifurcated staircase, I could see my sisters lined up near our entrance.

"There you are, I was starting to grow worried that you've been relentlessly studying again and forgot about dinner." Sofia proclaimed as she grabbed my hand and led me to the rest. 

The moment I was able to catch a glimpse of our visitors, a wave of shock conquered me.

There stood William, Louis, and three gentlemen that I could not recognize. 

William was dressed in a fancy black suit, and all I could distinguish at that moment was that William looked fantastic in black.

Regardless of the surprise, I was able to regain my composure and greet our guests the way my parents always taught me, respect and class.

"Thank you for having us over, it has been a long-waited moment for our families to finally collide." One of the unfamiliar gentlemen spoke up as he reached his hand for Sofia to shake.

"I apologize for the wait Colonel, there were certain deeds that had to be taken care of. We are beyond happy to have you and your brothers over at our residence." Sofia replied while shaking his hand.

Colonel? I see. It appears as though the gentleman with emerald green eyes is the third and oldest brother of the Moriarty family.

"Please follow us, let us sit down and not stand there like some uncultured swine," Grace stated as she started walking towards the dining room.

Grace had always cherished table manners, in fact, it is one of the characteristics that she is looking for in a suitor. But, there is only so much that a man can do to prove himself worthy of Grace and her graceful manners.

As we walked towards the dining room, Louis greeted me individually.

"Good evening Lady Y/N." Louis took my hand and kissed it.

"It certainly is good, Sir Louis." I chuckled.

Though the conversation with Louis was pleasant, I couldn't help but look around the room in hopes of finding William. 

Louis is a wonderful gentleman who dispenses warm waves of kindness and generosity, yet William held a strong rope of attraction that kept pulling me in. 

I found William conversing with Sofia, Claire, and SoSo, so I decided to let them introduce themselves.

Finally, as everyone got seated behind the table, the real conversation had begun.