A Proper Lady (The Complete Opposite Of)

Chapter 1- Teatime

"Sit straighter!" Came the whispered rebuke from Felicia Littlefield and Laura had no option but to oblige. Shifting slightly to make the change in her posture a subtle as possible, Laura thanked her mother for arranging the seating plan for her first meeting with her betrothed. She knew she should be excited- she was 16, well above the traditional age of betrothal- but something in her heart was saddened a little by the fact that she was to be married off to a man she scarcely knew to be his wife and to bare his children. 

Lost in her thoughts, Laura failed to notice that her perfect grip on her teacup was failing, and the small porcelain cup was shaking violently to the point where it was spilling over the sides and spilling on to her dress and table. The withering look from her mother finally made her notice. Laura looked down in shame- her mother's withering look was enough to make a grown man shrink away with his tail between his legs, so to speak, but Laura had so often received this look from her mother that she could barely remember another. 

"Excuse me, father, mother, Mr Ellis, I do seem to have spilt my tea." Her father obliged, Mr Eliis (the man she was due to marry is three weeks time) smiled kindly and nodded, her mother sent her a look that said "better, but not good enough." Thanking the occupants of the table, Laura left, thanking The Lord for the invention of carpet as she pushed her chair back, not making a sound on the soft surface. It would have been a sunny day if the industrial revolution wasn't at its peak. Smog clouded the airship filled skies, tainting all the air on the ground. Yet the windows of the grand tea shop were open and the gauzy curtains blew about in the spring breeze. Making her way to the powder room, Laura focused her mind on not tripping up, falling over, walking in to another table, walking in to a waiter or causing a scene that would make a reporter a little bit richer. In her focused state, she forgot where the powder room was, or rather, she knew exactly where it was, just not in relation to her current location. 'Blast it' she thought, not daring to speak aloud in case her mother was in close proximity and Laura just couldn't see her. Her current predicament perplexed Laura- she knew exactly where was ordinarily. 'Don't lie to yourself, you're hardly ever on this planet to know where your feet are going!' Came the harsh voice of her conscience, sounding oddly like her mother; hurtful but right.

Laura took in her surroundings- she was at the back of tearoom, guessing by the lack of people and worn patches of carpet. This meant that to get to the powered room, she needn't go far. She found narrower section of the tearoom which widened at one end. Going through it she realised that instead of going through to powder room door, she'd in fact just missed it in her deep thinking. Slipping through the door, she found a cushioned seat and plonked her self down. Today, Laura decided, was going to be a rather long day.

Returning, Laura made her way back to the table with a slight semblance of grace, if it weren't for the people around her dodging her and her blinkered vision. Sitting down she apologised for taking so long, her mother went to make a pointed remark, as did her father but words that received Laura back to the table were from Mr Ellis: "It is forgotten, Miss Littlefield, do have another slice." His smile was wide but with no teeth peaking out, as he slid a piece of the cake that Laura had been longing for another taste of for so long, but couldn't as not to look greedy before her husband to be. 

"Thank you Mr Ellis, you are too kind." She politely started to eat the slice of sponge without devouring it in three bites as she wanted to. Silently she thought that her parents could have done so much worse when finding a man to burden him with her- he was polite, he was charming, he was only 7 years older than herself (considering that she overheard her parents discussing marrying her off to 40 year old business man when she was 15) (She wasn't eves dropping though- that'd be wrong) (honestly) (most defiantly not) (ok, she was- just drop it!)

Time and conversation began its usual river flow straight over Laura's head as she finished her cake. Thankfully, the others who were seated were not staring at her in wait of and answer, but were in fact only just starting to address her.

“Mr, Mrs and Miss Littlefield, I bid you all good day. This afternoon tea has been most delightful and I hope to repeat this at the some point in the near future.”

“Thank you Mr Ellis, you are too kind,” came the deep voice of her father. The man she was supposed to marry walked away from the table, leaving the Littlefield family members to themselves. 

Once home, the elder Littlefield’s rounded on Laura “Why were you so long going to the powder room” “How did you manage to spill so much tea on yourself in the first place” “Did you like him” “Why were you slouching- Proper ladies never slouch!” “I saw the way that server looked at you, and you looked back- you know that isn't in anyway going to help us seal this arrangement with Mr Ellis.” “You did well not to fall over on the way up the steps into tea room- that would have been a total embarrassment.” Laura stepped back a blinked several times. 

 “Excuse me; I didn't hear any of those questions as full sentences. Would you be so kind as to repeat them slowly in a fashion that I have a higher chance of understanding, please.” Her parents looked at each other and exchanged a look that Laura knew all to well- it was the ‘She’s never going to survive’ look. The one they shared during her first dance lesson, and her second, and third and still share if the can bring themselves to watch any more, and when she started speaking, and when she started wanting to go outside and play in the mud. Laura was used to it- she was a disappointment. She had successfully managed to get every possible suitor to all but run away, screaming in terror. All but Mr Ellis that is; he was nice, kind charming and everything Laura wasn't. He was tall against her 5’ 6’’ frame. He had straight hair of a fair blonde colour, while Laura had a mass of curly black hair tumbling down her back. He was cool and collected; Laura was skittish and clumsy. He made up for all the parts she lacked, but she made up for the fact he had no personality. He was all ‘please and thank you’s but no motivation, no drive no soul. He did what he was told perfectly, which what was made Laura anxious about her up and coming wedding; he had no visible faults, she was a mess of society outcast.

Laura lay awake that night, disgruntled. She had to marry Mr Ellis, there was no question, but her parent’s choosing had always been too stuffy and uptight for her. His name was Benjamin, of all the things to be called, he had to have the same name as the cat she secretly adopted as a girl. Her parents’ had truly scalded her for indulging in such frivolities at the time, but in her heart, she still held a place for the scraggy alley cat. But L that wasn't the most of Laura’s worries- she was to be wed in three week- three weeks. She was seventeen in three months and she was to be wed in three weeks. The number three swirled around Laura’s thoughts as she tried in vain to drift off into sleep. Another thought that entered her sleep-dazed consciousness was that she was expected to become a parent. Her, Laura Littlefield, as a parent, raising children while her husband did who knows what, earning money to feed the family- the thought scared Laura no end.

It was early morning before sleep overtook her, a darkness darker than the night ebbed at her vision before Laura was finally asleep. Not five minutes after the temporary darkness claimed her, did a more permanent one come upon Mr Benjamin Ellis.