The Duke's Daughter (Editing)

Chapter Twenty Two

      "Put the flowers there, please." I instructed a servant. Any moment Elisa and Henry would arrive and Livingstone wasn't ready for their arrival.

   "It looks fine, darling." Lady Woods assured me, "Don't over work yourself." She rubbed my shoulders as she walked towards the hall.

     Giving a heavy sigh, Clare advised me that Elisa and Henry surely had just arrived at that moment. I fixed my hair quickly and walked towards the door to find a very slender and pale Elisa holding on to her husband. She looked so sickly but Elisa still managed to smile weakly when she saw me.

      "Lenora?" She squeaked. I walked towards her and gave her a warm hug.

      "Are you alright?" I asked concerned.

   "There was a nasty illness going on after you left the hospital," Henry responded eyeing Elisa carefully, "She managed to survive it, but it's taken a big toll on her."

      "Elisa?" Lady Woods voice said behind me.

    "Hello Mother." Elisa smiled. Lady Woods took Elisa in her embrace. I knew Elisa was bound to tell her mother about her marriage so I decided that I'd go on my way and see if anything was in need of preparation. The ball, after all, was that evening. 

   "Is there anything you need help with?" I asked my mother who was with a few servants in the kitchen.

  "No I think we are doing quite well here. Aren't we Tillie?" The cook smiled warmly at my mother's words, "You should probably start to get ready. The ball is in a couple of hours."

   "I would, but I'm waiting for someone to arrive."

   "That Woods boy?" She didn't even look at my face, "Olivia is talking to him. He's arrived an hour ago."

   "And nobody said a word?" I asked shocked.

   "Olivia took hold of him and said not to say a word." 

   "Olivia..." I whispered. And with that, I made my merry way to the courtyard to let some steam out. I just wanted to know if Drew heard of anything about my boys. Why can't she just--

   "Lenora?" A deep voice asked behind me. Drew. 

   "Drew?" I turned around to see him smirking.

   "I knew you missed me."

   "If only that was the reason."

  We walked along the river quietly. Not saying a word. I suppose we just didn't want to bring up the true pressing matter. It scarred us both in different ways, but we still felt each others pain. "Olivia won't get mad if I talk to you, will she?" I asked softly.

   "From what I have heard, you put her in her place." He chuckled. I blushed a little bit, "She knows that you were never interested in me. Olivia only wanted to push your buttons."

     "I suppose."

     "She's jealous of you."

     "What?" I stopped in my tracks, "There's nothing to be jealous about. She's ten times prettier than me and has more bachelors flocking her way and she's engaged."

   "Life shouldn't always be about what's on the outside," Drew said, "And either way, you're much prettier than her. Inside and out. Olivia could only wish to be just like you."

     "Thank you Drew." I smiled warmly as I blushed even more than I could have imagined.

     "The dress looks lovely on you, Duchess Percy." Clare said as I looked at myself in the mirror. The cream and gold dress ran down like a waterfall. The sleeves were lightly ruffled just as the bottom tips of the dress along with beautiful pearl accents making it look even more elegant.