The Selected Enola Holmes

Chapter 7

It was Saturday, and Enola was supposed to go to the Women's Room, but she just couldn't stand it. She needed to think, and she knew that wouldn't happen in the endless chatter floating downstairs. So when her maids/ladies in waiting came, she told them she had a headache and would be staying in bed. Enola just sat across her windowsill, mindlessly playing melodies on her guitar as she looked out to the gardens. She probably shouldn't have, but she was hoping that she could maybe get a glimpse of the man that she could accept both vexed and enchanted her.

Her maids were so helpful, bringing her food and cleaning the room as quietly as possible, that she almost felt bad for lying to them. She had to, though. She couldn't face the queen and the girls and possibly Reese while her mind was still brewing from their last argument. Maybe she should try and apologize? But she wouldn't be doing it for what she said to him. She didn't regret that; it was essentially how she said it that she felt sorry for, if anything. But that's just how she was. She couldn't change that.

But she couldn't help be a little bothered with the idea that she might have helped cause a little dent in the relationship she was forming with Reese. Whatever it was. She, at this point, had accepted that she had feelings for him. Perhaps that, along with the fact that he was dating a multitude of girls at once (one of them being the devil incarnate Lorica ), made it a little worse on her heart where Reese was involved. She was only just accepting these feelings considering she'd hardly ever experienced them before. Let alone in a situation like this.

She closed her eyes but did not sleep. Enola tried to continue to clear up just how she felt. Before she got very far, though, there was a knock at the door. She rolled over, catching Lillian's face as she silently asked if she should answer it. Enola sat up quickly, straightened her hair, and gave her a nod.

She prayed that it wouldn't be Reese. Soon her maids were all stirring around her, trying to heal a sickness that wasn't even there. Her head didn't ache, but her heart did.

***

Little did she know that earlier on, as she played, Reese was at her door watching, listening, and admiring the girl he had grown crazy about. He mentally kicked himself for hurting her and fucking up a relationship that was weeks and subsequently a month or two in the making. What was worse was that he had been the one to make her shed a tear. He couldn't look at her and had to leave before he said something even stupider. He couldn't tell her how he felt about her because he was still under the impression that all she wanted to do was help him. As a... friend . He grimaced at that word.

Though he was happy that they'd formed what was akin to a "best friendship," it wasn't solely what he wanted. Because he knew that from the moment he properly met her that he was a goner. And getting to know her over time only hooked him permanently. Come on, a woman with her compassion, intelligence, skill, and beauty? Someone he could be vulnerable with? And one who isn't scared to be honest with someone who will be a future monarch? He wasn't stupid. He was taken with her, and he knew it. It pained him that she didn't seem to want anything else. But he knew he wouldn't push her. He didn't want her to feel forced to want him the way he wanted her. And he also knew he couldn't lay all his eggs in one basket. Reese needed to choose someone he could ensure would want him even though that someone might not be his ideal choice. The Prince also needed to make sure that the line of succession to the throne was secure. But it didn't stop him from yearning for Enola. He wasn't sure he ever would stop. And it scared him just a little because of how okay with that he was becoming.

***

Enola woke to a hand shaking on her shoulders from Lillian in the middle of the night.

"Wha—?"