Romancing The Nights

chapter four: departure

The two separate occasions Ella had been to the City were vastly dissimilar.

Her first vacation had been over an extended period of time due to her sister's wedding five years past.

There had been an altercation of sorts, and Sophie had to postpone her nuptials several times before becoming a bride.

That evening Ella had drank as much as a group of voracious men, and had subsequently fallen flat on her face when the bride and groom were announced for the first time.

Providentially for her she had been young, and the audience had established her behavior as childish gaucheness.

Her mother, however, had sent a withering look in her direction, afraid of what her new son and his family would assume of her motherly duties.

The most recent getaway had made up for a terrible first experience in the City. Ella had accompanied Jane, a fervent aficionado of the ballet, and they had stayed with a great-aunt.

Their great-aunt Mildred had been quite a zealous lady in her youth, and was a frivolous woman whom had allowed them to do as they pleased, and it allowed the sisters to enjoy some youthful entertainment.

The entirety of their two week stay, Ella had been courted and admired by the handsome Jonathon Hayes. He had taken her dancing, to the theatre and extravagant dinners, alas, they were not meant to be. When they returned home, Ella's attention had been captured by Henry Watercrest and any thoughts of the younger Hayes man strayed from her mind.

Hopefully during her stay with the van Barons, her interactions with males were kept to a minimum.

"What are you thinking about Ella?" her Father asked, their journey laborious and tiresome. They had set out during the darkness of the night, hidden from the eyes of society.

"That surely we have been travelling for two days?" she replied, exhausted. It pained her so, leaving her sisters and brother, especially Jane whom had been acting so strangely in the past month.

Ella had assumed it was the pressure that Jane faced in finding a husband, but maybe she was erroneous and there was something worse that was bothering her sister.

Their carriage stumbled across a sudden deep pothole, sending a jolt through the occupants. Ella managed to hit her head on the roof, while Matty stumbled forward into her arms. He sent a cheeky grin in their Father's direction, the elder Malone had managed to fall onto his backside and he was struggling to sit up.

"Need a hand there, old man?" asked Matty, his eyes glistening with laughter and mischief.

"Who are you referring to as old?" Lord Marcus replied with a smile on his handsome face. He had insisted that Matty accompany them on their six-hour journey. Matty was going to be the heir to the Malone business and Lord Marcus had to distill the tough values in his son during his early days. There was no time like the present.

It was not long before the City came into view, and Ella could not help but feel a deep sorrow for this would be the last time she would appreciate her family in a long time.

~~~

The van Baron estate occupied an isolated piece of lush green land, ideal for the exceptionally private Louis van Baron. The manor was an incredible sight, even for Ella whose standards were as high as the hill it stood proudly on.

It was midday, and every detail of the manor was visible, from the polished stone that it was built from to the large silvered framed windows. For a private man, Mr. van Baron had a very open and inviting home.