Class or Love?

II

     ÉLISABETH TURNS THE corner heading to her room, when inside, the door shuts behind her. Her ears pick up the muffled sound of giggling and when she looks up Madeleine is sitting on her sofa. Élisabeth slightly jumps as a result and Madeline bursts out laughing. "I am sorry, I did not mean to scare you. Much." She sits up straight now, folded hands within her lap. "I just wanted to talk with you about the play tonight. Are you not excited?"

     Élisabeth smiles now, but the smile does not reach her eyes. "Of course." She's not. Élisabeth should be though, she adores plays but she just doesn't feel like going. At least not yet.

     Madeline tilts her head and her smile falters at her sister's answer. She doesn't comment on it though, instead, she goes straight to the reason why she's there. "Anyway, I am here to help you find a tenue for tonight. It must be suitable and lovely."

     She gets up from the couch to the wardrobe to flip through her sister's dresses. There is one that catches her eye. It is a dress made by one of their French tailors. It is a silk dress in a cream color. The sleeves are long and at the wrist, there are cream-colored bows. She holds it out for Élisabeth to see. "Ooh, this is parfait for tonight. All the men will admire you tonight."

     Élisabeth gets up and takes the dress from her sister, moving in front of the standing mirror, holding it up in front of her. "I'm not interested in meeting anyone or any man for that matter."

     Madeleine appears in the mirror behind her sister, trying to hide the few strands of hair that are sticking out of its updo. "In that case, you are going to end up a spinster or even an old maid at that. Do you not find that dreadful?" Élisabeth does not answer, instead, she picks at the fabric of the dress. "You need to get yourself out there, Lizzie... You need to find a proper suitor and get married."

     Élisabeth's cheeks puff out slightly as she turns her head to the side. "I have plenty of time to get married." That is a lie. Élisabeth – the both of them – have about four years until they are considered spinsters. It sounds like a lot of time, but it's not. Her gaze shifts back to the dress she is holding and thinks about Arnaud. What if they happened to get married? Élisabeth would like that very much. In fact, she would love it. Élisabeth then clears her throat bringing herself back to reality and places her dress back. "Enough of that. How about we enjoy the outdoors and have some tea in the back?"

     Madeleine agrees and goes to ring the bell that was by Élisabeth's fireplace. A moment later a footman comes in and greets her. "Can you set up a tea area outside for my sister and I?" The footman nods his head. "Thank you. That is all." Once more he nods and turns on his heel to complete Madeleine's request.

     Madeleine is quick to head out the door, she's curious about what the back of the house is like. Is it a plain field area or will there be flowers there too? There has to be room for them to play croquet some days. Élisabeth, with less enthusiasm, follows her sister closing the door to her room. Fresh air would do her good, hopefully.

     The two sisters are now outback lounging in the wrought iron chairs sipping at their tea and eating tea cookies. There was a large field area perfect for croquet and picnics. It wouldn't be a yard without some flowers. There were Aster flowers in yellows and whites, Azaleas in yellow and orange, and beautiful tall Carnations. Élisabeth would love to paint the scenery back here. The sisters now find themselves reminiscing about the times they had back in France. Madeleine recalls the story of when they were at the park and a small dog chased after Élisabeth because he wanted the piece of meat she was eating. Élisabeth now laughs fondly recalling that moment. She recalls not being mad at the cute dog, giving him the piece of meat, and petting him in the end.