Florence and Mr. Belmont

Chapter 17

Florence knew that Henry deserved an explanation. And she would have told him herself if she wouldn't be this instant in a carriage with her mother driving to Caterham to search for Mary. In addition, her father had offered to talk with Henry and spare Florence the most probable outburst of anger. Henry will be mad over himself, but that was no longer her problem. Florence was free. And not only in the literal sense, but also in her mind.

Her mother, on the other hand, saw the topic differently. She was still in denial of Henry's behavior. Although Florence and Lord Alberton gave her many arguments and instances why Henry would be a bad husband, she still showed her disapproval. Lady Alberton refused talking to Florence for the rest of the day, but Florence knew that her mother would soon be over the whole situation.

So now, here they were sitting silently in a carriage. They had left the busy streets of London and were driving through the suburbs. With every minute the landscape became more and more rural. It almost felt like they were driving to their beloved country home Stratford Park.

"Are you still mad at me, mother?" Florence broke off the silence. Her mother looked up from her embroidery.

"I am not mad, Florence. I just cannot understand. Lord Mackelbury would make an excellent husband and you would have everything you ever wanted."

"No," Florence shook her head. "I would be so miserable with him. There would always be something more important than our family. He only cares about himself and -"

"How do you know?" Her mother interrupted her sharply. "How do you know? You don't. Besides, people are not stones. People change. Once he would be a father he would see his responsibility and get mature. Men need their time to grow up. You just need to be patient."

"But I cannot marry someone just because there is a chance that he will eventually change. You are right. People are not stones. But what if he changes for the worse? What if he starts to drink? To gamble? To meet other women?"

"You see, Florence. This is life. There will always be twists and turns. So you can only try to choose the best as possible. When I met your father, I was convinced he is an imbecile. But I trusted my much wiser parents and married him. It was difficult in the beginning. But I've learned to be humble and saw that I was wrong. Now I am happy to have a loving husband, four children and seven grandchildren. I just want you to be happy, too."

The carriage came into a halt. A servant opened the door and said "We arrived in Caterham. If you allow us to find the Smiths, you can wait a few minutes here with the carriage driver. It shouldn't take long, there are only a few houses in the village."

Lady Alberton gave her approval and the two servants left. Suddenly it became all quiet. Florence looked out of the window. They were apparently somewhere in the village's center. The sun was shining brightly and in the distant one could hear another carriage driving by. How beautiful must be such a peaceful country life, thought Florence to herself.

"Is it because of that French boy?" Her mother interrupted her thoughts. Florence looked back at her.

"Pardon me?"

"Is it because of this Mr. Belmont, why don't you want to marry Lord Mackelbury?"

Florence's thoughts black out for a moment. Was it because of him? She supposed that she could answer it with a no and a yes. A no because Henry is Henry and he is just arrogant. Everybody (except her mother) could see that. And a yes because Florence was so blind before she met Olivier. Olivier. In the last days she tried as hard as possible not to think about him. But now she realized how much she had been missing him.

"I take your silence as a yes," her mother finally said.

"I am sorry, mother. I am sorry to disappoint you. But maybe yes, maybe it is because of him. Yes. I know. I will never marry him. Of course. I wasn't even thinking about it for a moment." Of course she was thinking about it. In fact she had done it more than several times.

Her mother did not comment. She just looked at her for a moment longer before continuing her embroidery. Florence heard footsteps and then the carriage door swung open.

"We have found the Smiths," their servant declared. "They have confirmed that Miss Miller is right now with them."

***

St Paul's Cathedral. Olivier crossed off the last item on his unevenly written list of places he wanted to see before leaving London. He had visited the astonishing church this morning and was now looking around his bedroom. He supposed he could begin with packing his trunk. There was no reason to delay it. Arthur had been feeling much better lately and already started to walk with a cane. Adrienne had also started to miss their home in France and agreed to travel back at the end of this week.

Olivier stood up and looked out of the window. London was a bustling city. It was all so different from their quiet village by the French sea. He missed his home. But some other part of him wanted to see more. He had now heard from the people here about Scotland and Ireland. He has read about Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Greece and he wanted to see it all. He wanted to see the world. To experience it all.

He looked at the mess at his desk. Various writings, papers and his quills were spread everywhere. Then he spotted a book. Madame Moreau et le mystérieux Colonel. Florence had sent him the book a couple of days ago. Florence. He had fought about her almost every minute of the day. And it was hurting very much. He wanted more of her, but he just couldn't. He was hopelessly in love with someone he could never have.

His fingers traced along the book cover and started to flip through the pages. To only think that she had also held the book. That her fingers also went through the pages just like him. He knew he was desperate. But for a moment he could feel her a bit closer to him.

Suddenly a small piece of paper slipped out of the book. Olivier unfolded it and started to read:

Dear Olivier,

I am not good with great letters so I will say it straight: Thank you.

Thank you for this book. Thank you for all the lessons about the French language and perhaps life. Thank you for being a true friend. Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for perhaps changing me.

I won't marry Lord Mackelbury. You were right all along - he is a fool. I was surprised how easily my father took the news. It even felt like I was doing him a favor. My mother is still angry with me, but she will be fine. My parents and I have for now decided that we will leave London earlier and settle into our country home. Before we leave I just want to find Mary and make sure she is alright wherever she is.

I don't know why I am writing you all of this. I guess there has been so much in the recent days and I just wanted to tell you about it. I hope you will call on me one last time before we leave. I really would like to say goodbye to you.

Your Florence

Olivier looked at her letter a while longer. His lips turned into a sad smile. Oh, it was bittersweet. He had never received any letter from a friend. And now when he did, it was a goodbye letter.

Olivier sat down and started to reread her words over and over again. It felt so good, hearing from her. He might have missed her much more than he realized.

I really would like to say goodbye to you.

"I would like that, too," he muttered under his breath. Suddenly he knew what he needed to do.