AC Syndicate: Isolated Files [OS]

Secret of Victoria [Alternative]

[In this short story, Victoria is from a middle-class family]

The day of the reception had arrived. Unenthusiastically, even out of step, Miss Reid was preparing - at least, the maid was preparing her - for this evening. There was still little time left before the hour of departure sounded at six o'clock sharp. As the laces on the top of the dress were tightened to show off her breasts, the brunette from a middle-class family was silent and pensive. She thought about the boring evening she was going to attend again, even if it was at Buckingham Palace. She held back a sigh, imagining once again all the smiles she would have to give.

As Victoria was being pampered, someone knocked on the door. It was Amelia Reid, who entered after getting permission from her daughter.

"Good evening, Mother."

"Good evening, ma'am," the maid greeted respectfully.

"Adele, please leave me alone with my daughter. I need to talk to her."

"Yes, ma'am," the chambermaid opined as she stopped putting make-up on the young brunette. "Miss Reid," she greeted her politely before heading for the door.

With Adele gone and the door closed, Amelia approached her daughter and stood behind her after taking the brush from the dressing table. She put her fingers on the bottom of the brunette's face and encouraged her to face the mirror. She began to style her hair slowly, admiring - or envying - the length and copper colour of the hair. As for the twenty-something girl, she looked at her mother, puzzled by the silence and the reason why she was doing her hair.

"You didn't ask Adele to leave for a simple mother-daughter moment," Victoria began. "Do you have something to ask me?"

"Indeed, daughter," replied the mother, looking at her daughter's face through the mirror. "Your father and I have had a long talk."

Victoria had an idea, which she felt she would not like, but she let her mother explain. If that was what she thought, she wanted to hear it from her.

"We have concluded that it is time for you to find a husband."

If she could, Victoria would have rolled her eyes at this announcement, but the reflection in the mirror stopped her. She suspected it and was saddened that she had been right. But she sensed that it wasn't over.

"And I suppose Father already has an idea in mind?"

"He suggested Thomas Cameron."

"The owners of the Cameron Company?"

"Themselves," said the mother, starting to braid her daughter's hair. "When you were children you got on very well, and your father wouldn't offer your hand to just anybody."

Victoria thought very hard that it was mostly to fix the family business. It took her a few moments before she answered half-heartedly, her eyes downcast.

"I will thank Father for this."

"I knew you'd be pleased," smiled her mother.

Amelia and Victoria remained silent, while the former finished doing the latter's hair, who remained pensive. The brunette was finally ready to join the carriage outside the Reid mansion. The mother left the room, leaving her daughter for a few moments. Victoria enjoyed the solitude of her room before joining her parents in the hall. She looked at herself in the mirror again after looking at her fingers, which she played between them. She gathered her courage and finally smiled when she saw the dress she was wearing. She was sure that her outfit would please the man she loved. This idea made her want to get up and join the parents in the carriage.

The drive was silent. Amelia adjusted her husband's tie and collar while Victoria kept her eyes fixed on the small window to her left. She watched the roofs of the buildings, hoping to see a figure running across the tiles and jumping from one chimney to another. But she saw nothing, only her imagination made her see what she wanted.