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CHAPTER THREE;
afternoon chats over tea
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The grounds of Bridgerton House were truly amazing. The crisp air offered the perfect backdrop for a slow afternoon outside, with the cloudy but peaceful skies overhead and the perfectly manicured grass underfoot. Ophelia was situated on a rug, Mabel, her corgi, dancing around playfully in front of her, gratefully to be once again in the presence of her owner.
Eloise sat nearby, perched neatly on an outside chair, a book lying still in her lap. She watched the Williams girl play around with the puppy, taking in her smile and her bright eyes. They had sat in silence for a while now, but one question had been plaguing Eloise's mind since the Danbury Ball. "How come you never learnt to dance?" Usually, Eloise had no issue asking her direct and blunt questions; it pissed her mother off to great lengths, but with Ophelia, she made sure to be careful about the words she selected, and how she chose to speak them.
Ophelia turned in confusion, her brows furrowed as she eyed Eloise. "Pardon?" She asked.
"Well, uh, you said...at the ball, you told Anthony you didn't know how to dance. How you were never taught? I just thought it was mandatory for all ladies to learn, you know, so that they can impress a man enough to trap him in a marriage," She forced a chuckle, attempting to make the last part sound light and sarcastic. If Ophelia had picked up on this, she did not let on.
Ophelia considered her answer for a moment. "You do not have to answer if you do not wish to. I was just curious," Eloise added in a hurry, not wanting to make the girl uncomfortable.
"No, it's alright," Ophelia promised, "I just...my brother was a curious man. A fool of a man really. My father left when I was rather young, and my mother died of fever pretty shortly after that. So it was just Alexander and I for a long while. He never cared too much for me, allowed me my space and my time alone," Pausing, Ophelia pursed her lips, as if she were searching for the words to describe such a man, "I believe he never taught me how to be a lady because he always assumed I would pass before him. That he would be the one to carry on the family name, instead of I".
Eloise considered this for a moment. How could anyone be so naïve, she wondered. Surely her brother would have to know there was a chance Ophelia would be presented into society eventually. "I'm sorry he's not here to aid you through all this. I know I am not much company for this spat".
Mabel had since settled on Ophelia's lap, as the young girl stroked her fur affectionately. "You are the most fun to be around, Eloise. Especially during the balls, and the events. I find comfort to know I am not suffering alone".
"Does it frighten you?" Eloise asked bluntly.
Ophelia waited for her to explain herself. "I mean," Eloise closed the book in her lap, leaning forward in her chair, towards Ophelia, "The other night, at the Danbury Ball. You seemed..."
"Overwhelmed?" Ophelia supplied. Eloise nodded once, her eyes focused intently on her girl's beautiful face. "It happens sometimes, my mind, it whirls, and produces the worst case scenarios. Sometimes it can compromise my breathing, as it did that night, and other times my head can spin and my hands shake. I do not know the reasoning behind it, but I must say, it's most unhelpful in situations like the Danbury Ball".
As she spoke, Ophelia looked away, her cheeks flushing with colour. She moved her attention to the dog, who was now sound asleep on her lap.
Eloise fidgeted with the pages of her book as she tried to formulate a response. An awkward silence had settled over the pair, and she hated knowing that she was most likely not helping those feelings Ophelia seems to always be experiencing. "I understand that," She finally managed to croak out. Ophelia looked up, curiously.
"I, uh..." Her anger still flourished from time to time, but having not seen the girl in a short while, she was able to manage it back under some semblance of control, "I had a friend, a very close friend, for a good many years. But, ah, last year, she...she betrayed me-" Ophelia's face twisted into great concern, which was the last thing Eloise wanted. She continued in a hurry.
"It's alright, she did not harm me. Well, at least not to any great extent, we were able to gather back our pride, but the point is, I understand those feelings. I find myself experiencing similar symptoms whenever I am to attend a ball, or promenade with my family. I fear I will see her, and that thought alone, as you said, makes my head spin and my hands shake".
Ophelia offered a small smile in sympathy. "I shall protect you from her wickedness," She joked, which pulled Eloise out of her own mind of misery, and back to the present with the lovely Ophelia. The two broke down in giggles, as the heavens opened up and let the rain fall.
Eloise squealed as the water splashed her skin, Mabel making a run for indoors. Ophelia laughed even harder at the sudden downpour, Eloise finding her way to the girl. "Dance with me!" Ophelia shouted, rising from her place on the ground and beginning to skip around on the wet grass.
Eloise could only stare for a few moments, as she watched Ophelia get more and more saturated from the rain, but without a single care in the word about how she looked. And that was even though she looked a complete fool.
And Eloise loved her for it.
She raced after Ophelia, grabbing her hand as she began to spin the girl around. Shrieks of laughter sounded through the rain, as their feet sunk into the mud and their dresses got ruined. Eloise knew her mother would be in a fit when they returned inside, so instead she focused on Ophelia. How her hair clung to her skin, how the droplets of water made her cheeks flush with colour from her laughter.
She knew these thoughts should come alongside a certain amount of fear. They had Theo. She knew seeing him alone was wrong, yet she continued to do it. Because her heart had told her too. And now her heart was telling her to dance in the rain with Ophelia, to follow her wherever she went.
However, the fear of it all only began to set in later, when she was away from the girl, and left alone with her thoughts.
