Small Ambitions

Realisation - 2

Elisabeth was woken by the sunlight hitting her face. She yawned, shielding her eyes from the light. Slowly the events that transpired yesterday started coming back to her. She groaned, getting up and walking towards her wardrobe. She changed into her outfit for the day, a simple dark green dress. She sauntered over towards her vanity. Living in a small village, she didn't really have access to the cosmetic products of the large cities. She only really used her mirror to do her hair properly and dab on the only perfume available in town. Mr. Darcy imported it from one of the big cities. It was extremely expensive, and so her grandparents would get her a bottle for her birthday. It was floral, and she always dabbed on a bit for work. Mr. Darcy had noticed, and had given her family a small discount on the perfume. 

She walked downstairs, turning a right into the living room. There, her grandfather sat, waiting for breakfast while smoking his pipe. He seemed to be lost in thought. Her grandmother walked into the room, carrying the same large metal dish she was carrying yesterday. She was red-eyed, and had bags under her eyes, same as her grandfather. She suspected her grandparents hadn't gotten any sleep. "Good morning Elisabeth, did you sleep well?" She asked, smiling meekly. Elisabeth nodded. "I slept well, thank you." She tried to smile, and walked over towards the table, serving breakfast to both her grandparents, and then herself. It was a heavy breakfast, as they all ate lightly during the day. For her it was because of work, and her grandparents had gotten used to it from the times her grandfather had worked. They all ate in silence, the only noise being the clinking of utensils against the plates before them.

"I read the letter." Her grandmother suddenly remarked. Elisabeth looked up from her breakfast. "I'm not going." She started. "It doesn't feel right. I barely-" "You should go." Her grandmother looked at her solemnly. "What?" Elisabeth muttered. "You should go." Her grandmother continued. "Go to the executor. Listen to what he has to say." Her grandfather nodded slowly. "But- are you sure? Why?" Her grandfather sighed, putting his utensils down. "Elisabeth, how many men in this town do you see that don't work?" It was true. Now that she thought about it, almost every man, excluding your children, worked. Even some elderly men. Most people simply couldn't afford to stop. Only Mr. Darcy's father and Mr. Williams, the former mayor, had stopped working. Unlike Mr. Darcy and Mr. Williams, her grandfather was never a succesful businessman or born into money. Indeed, he had been a lumberjack, just like many other men in the village. One of the main things that brought in a little bit of money for the village was the fact that they were surrounded by a large forest. Sadly, one day her grandfather had gotten his leg crushed by a tree that had fallen the wrong way. It was a miracle he survived, but his leg was crushed. 

"Your uncle has been financially supporting us for the past few years." Her grandfather continued. "We wanted you to have a job, in case you weren't able to find a suitor in time and we-" He put his head into his hands. "I know we couldn't ask it of you, but you couldn't support us all with what you make at Mr. Darcy's store." Her grandmother sniffled. "You know you mean the world to us, and that we wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't absolutely necessary." Elisabeth looked between her grandparents. They were the ones that had taken care of her for most of her life. They had raised her, taught her, and even helped her with getting her job. They meant the world to her, and she knew she meant the world to them as well. She rubbed the sides of her head. "I'll do it." She signed. "But I'm returning immediately after I've received the money." Her grandparents smiled meekly. "And we wouldn't want anything more from you." Her grandmother said, getting up. Her grandfather followed suit, grabbing for his cane and slowly making his way over to them. Elisabeth got up as well, and hugged her grandparents. "Once you're back, we'll all go to the coast for a while, have a nice vacation. Promised?" Her grandmother said, embracing her. "I promise." Elisabeth said, smiling.

Elisabeth walked along the boardwalk, back towards the general store. She opened the door, seeing Mr. Darcy standing at the counter among the many shelves of the store. "Good morning Mr. Darcy." She mumbled. "Good morning Elisabeth! We got some new supplies and the boys already filled them up, so I need a recount of what the stock in the back is." "Yes Mr. Darcy." She replied, walking into the back of the store. She grabbed the book and her piece of graphite. 'Letterpaper - 22 bundles'. 'Envelopes - 41'. 'Sealing wax - 34'...