The Glass Rose

Chapter Thirteen

"What do you think they want from you this time?" Sherlock asked Adelaide, making her look up from her book. She looked out the window of the carriage, realizing they were almost at her childhood home. With a sigh, she shut her book and placed it in her lap.

"I have no idea, but I'm afraid to find out. I appreciate you for coming with me. It makes it a little bit easier."

"What kind of friend would I be to let you enter a lion's den without backup." The carriage slowed to a stop. "Speaking of, I believe we've arrived." Sherlock climbed out of the carriage to offer Adelaide a hand to help her out as well. "The plan is we go in there, we play along with the game they're wanting to play and then we get out of here as fast as we possibly can. My guess is they're going to want to talk about how they forced you to get engaged to an awful person and we are going to say that you really should get headed out and get home. We're going in so they can't hold your absence against you. How does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect." Adelaide smoothed out the invisible wrinkles in her dress as they approached the door. She couldn't figure out why her palms were sweating so much inside of her white gloves. Sherlock politely knocked on the door and the blonde took a deep breath.

"Mr. Holmes? To what do we owe the pleasure?" Sherlock politely removed his hat and held it in his hands.

"Hello Mrs. Evans, I am pleased to meet you again. I had some business in town, so when Miss Evans mentioned that she would be returning home, I thought it would be proper to accompany her to ensure she made the journey safely." Adelaide had to fight with every ounce of her being to not laugh at how formal her close friend spoke. Her mother found it charming, but she wanted nothing more than to make fun of him for how he spoke.

"How kind of you! Adelaide is so lucky to have such a kind gentleman as her friend." She looked away from him and towards her daughter for the first time. "Hello Adelaide, dear."

"Hello Mother." She weakly croaked out. Her mother let out a small sigh before embracing her daughter.

"It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you as well." Her mother let her go and smiled gently at her.

"Come in both of you. It's just about time for tea." The two followed the woman into the house and to the sitting room where the rest of Adelaide's family who were at the house sat. Luckily for the blonde, it was just her older siblings Caroline and Lawrence, and her younger brother Oliver. It appeared that the two siblings of hers that despised her failed to make an appearance much to Adelaide's relief.

"Oh, Adelaide!" Caroline quickly shot across the room and wrapped her arms around the blonde, pretending as if she hadn't just seen her sister. "I've missed you so much. I'm so glad you're alright. I'm so sorry that you got hurt."

"It's not your fault, it's alright." Before Adelaide got the chance to greet her other two siblings, her father stepped out of his study.

"Adelaide. I would like to speak with you in my office alone." Adelaide looked to her older sister, but she shook her head indicating she had no clue what it was about. She carefully made her way across the room and into her father's office and sat down politely in one of the chairs. "I'm sorry to hear that you were attacked, I thought Mr. Edwards was a fine gentleman." Before the adoptive daughter could even open her mouth to respond, he continued. "However, we are back where we started. You are still unmarried. I have found another young man that your mother and I have deemed suitable for you and you will marry him. Him and his father will be here in a few days for the engagement party and then the wedding." Adelaide at last snapped out of her shocked state.

"What do you expect me to say to that? Please don't do this to me again. If you ever loved me you wouldn't put me through this."

"Oh, daughter, don't be so dramatic."