The Lady Will (Hopefully) Avoid Her Doom

4 - Encounters

As Elizabeth and Maria began to make their way back to Elizabeth's bedroom, a sense of unease gnawed at Elizabeth. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone else had been in the room during her conversation with Oliver. There had been no servants around, and she hadn't seen anyone, but at one point, she thought she'd glimpsed a lanky silhouette near Oliver's desk. Was it just her imagination? As she walked, staring at the floor and trying to piece together the mystery, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hello, Elizabeth," the voice greeted warmly.

She looked up and saw that the man who had just spoken to her was a tall, athletic-looking middle-aged man with silver hair and purple eyes that mirrored her own. This must be Elizabeth's father, Duke Isaac Carrington.

"Oh, hello, Father," Elizabeth replied with a smile, trying to mask her lingering unease.

"I've heard about your accident from this morning. How are you feeling?" the duke asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Oh, yes. I'm doing alright. Thank you for asking."

"Good. But how many times have I warned you not to engage in such dangerous activities? I don't know what I would have done if you had been seriously injured. You need to be more careful with your safety," Duke Carrington admonished. He took Elizabeth's well-being very seriously, as any good father should, and always lectured her whenever she acted in a way that could jeopardize her safety. He had already cautioned the original Elizabeth countless times about the dangers of climbing trees. It began to feel as though it was his daughter's sole mission to shave as much time off his lifespan as she possibly could due to the excessive stress and worry she caused him.

The Carrington family was somewhat unique in that the family head-Duke Carrington-was not particularly concerned about ensuring his daughter acted in a manner befitting a lady of her status while at home. When the duke admonished his daughter for climbing trees, it was always a matter of personal safety rather than her acting "unladylike." He simply could not bear the thought of his precious daughter experiencing any pain or suffering.

"I apologize for acting in a manner that is not befitting a lady such as myself, Father," Elizabeth said, trying to navigate this new dynamic. She wished her first encounter with the duke had not been so random so she could have been more prepared for it.

"Oh, okay," her father responded, full of confusion. Usually, Elizabeth would call him overbearing and tell him to leave her alone. While Duke Carrington found himself feeling slightly pleased at the notion that his daughter might not hate him, he also found her out-of-character response to be quite worrisome. "Are you sure you are alright? You seem different."

"Different how?" Elizabeth asked, curious to get a glimpse of how the original Elizabeth would have acted. She'd thought her response was appropriate, but perhaps it was not.

"Well, normally, you respond negatively to most things I say," Duke Carrington began to explain. He sighed. "Instead of listening to what I have to say, you usually tell me to 'back off.'" He frowned, having hurt his own feelings by remembering his past interactions with his beloved daughter. She, like the present Elizabeth, had not been aware of just how much her father loved her. She'd simply thought he was only interested in using her for extra political and social power.

"Oh, I see. Unfortunately, I have been suffering from amnesia since the accident due to a minor head injury, so I lack many of my memories," Elizabeth explained. "I do apologize for my prior prickliness, though, Father." Elizabeth felt uneasy as she gazed at the duke's expressionless face. What is going on in his brain right now?

After a few long moments of silence, Elizabeth's father spoke. "So, you're not actually fine at all," he concluded, his face filled with stress and worry. "How could you not tell me about this?" Duke Carrington was hurt that neither of his children had bothered to tell him about something so important, and he was upset by the thought of how much his daughter must be suffering because of her amnesia.