A Season of Masks and Masquerades

Chapter 55: The Radcliffe Reception

One would have never thought that the wedding of a housemaid's daughter could be as glamorous and extravagant as the eyes could see that day and nor could one believe the size of the audience. For in all her life, Esther had never seen a reception as heavily attended as that of Florence and Leo. 

Florence had always been a dreamer, too big of it for her own reality and yet today all her fantasies saw light like it was all meant to be. Esther couldn't help but tear up at the sight of the beaming smile that adorned her face, not just her lips but her cheeks, her eyes and her voice. It was a moment straight out of a fairy tale, the sort that always ended with a happily ever after. 

She was happy, truly. 

And Esther couldn't wait for the same for herself but her truly happy fate seemed farther than she wished. 

"I did not imagine ever witnessing a love blush on your face, Esthe- Oh, my apologies! Your Grace." Florence had said teasingly the night they returned to London as she examined her ring. Esther attempted a giggle but only a forced smile came out.

"I cannot wait to see my daughter become a duchess, you were made for it, my dear!" Lady Sherborne had told her that morning as she stepped in the Sherborne drawing-room dressed as Florence's bridesmaid in oceanic blue. Esther only smiled in response.

"Be blessed, my dear." her father had said soon after with a warm glee, "the Duke will give you the truest love, I know of it." She again only smiled. 

She had received hundreds of such comments over the past two days, and each one of them did not do less than put a hole in her blanket of bliss. However, she did not correct them, none of them. She only offered another smile, each of which shined smaller than the previous. 

There was no 'truly' in her happily ever after, at least not as of yet. She had to fix this but she couldn't comprehend how.

She didn't know where to start, or who to start with. They were all extremely happy, she couldn't think of breaking their hearts with the truth. The lie had become too big now, the truth too small. 

But smaller the pin, the sharper the pain it gives when it finally hits the skin. Esther only hoped she would be able to prevent it before it could get any deeper. Wounds were deemed to come, of course, that is what lies do, however, a scrap is better than a cut, always.

She wondered how it would have been if she could have just told Florence that she was never going to be called 'Your Grace' and the ring was not from the Duke. However, her imaginary confession was soon followed by a hysteric Florence with a colourless face and that, she decided, would definitely not be the best picture of the new Radcliffe bride. She couldn't do it to her, not when she had just found her first true happiness.

She pictured interrupting Lady Sherborne and telling her- 'No, I will not become the Duchess because the man I am to marry is not the Duke of Dales-', or cutting off her father to say- 'No papa, the duke shall not give me any love for the man who will wed me is only an imposter.' 

In both cases, it sounded bad, not to mention, absolutely lunatic. The more she tried to word it better the worse it got. 

At a point she considered just leaving the sensibility behind and telling a random stranger on the streets the truth, the gossipmongers of London would have done their trick and it would have become the town's latest hot knowledge by the next hour but the consequences of that looked dreadful in her head. Her wedding would be called off for starters and that itself was the worst that could happen. 

Hence she decided to wait until she could have a word with Edward about it. Certainly, he must have spent the past two days in the same agony and God bless, he might have just found the answer she was looking for.