devoted - 𝐓𝐄𝐖𝐊𝐒𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐘

01

"Happiness depends upon ourselves"

Alice had just woken up from a good night's sleep— unaware of what events are about to take place, she got up and opened her curtains to see workers trimming their bushes and some sweeping dry leaves, their estate was quite large that you could easily get lost in there if you dont know the way around it, luckily she grew up here.

The girl smiled warmly as she walked over to the big glass doors to her balcony and opened it letting the wind in, she sighed softly taking in the beautiful morning. After alice had savoured the pleasing aura of the morning she walked off to her bed still in her nightgown and fixed her bed.

The housekeepers were the ones who were supposed to do these things but she forbid them from doing so but they still checked up on her room every once in a while— especially Mrs. Caroline.

Alice cleaned her room before the housekeeper came in, Mrs. Caroline the oldest housekeeper and the head housekeeper of the Charlesʼ Estate and definitely the most loyal one and the closest to Alice, Mrs. Caroline was definitely of age and needed to rest most of the time.

"Oh Darling, you didn't have to do this its my job to do it for you!" Mrs. Caroline said giggling and hugged Alice as she walked inside the room closing the door behind her, they treated each other like family like Mrs. Caroline was like her Mother since she hadn't known her mother because her mother had vanished from unknown reasons when she was a baby, reasons Alice's father didn't want to disclose of to avoid their hurting, the only family she had was her father, her brother Charlston and Mrs. Caroline.

And she was happy with that, she didn't want to even know who her mother was because the pain is unbearable the way she waited for her mother to come back was unfortunate, nobody knew where she went nor her family, since her mother didn't come back and probably didn't care about them anymore and would never ever return, soon she forgot about her.

Alice smiled at Mrs. Caroline "It's alright, I've got nothing to do anyways, where is Father and Charlston?" she asked walking over to her mirror as she picked up her hairbrush and started brushing her hair.

Mrs. Caroline replied gathering all the used clothes that were neatly folded "I believe they were at the pond talking about something with the Lady of Basilwether" Mrs. Caroline slightly shrugged setting the clothes down in a separate basket ready to take them elsewhere.

"The lady of Basilwether? Isnt that the mother of Lord..." Alice paused for a bit snapping her fingers trying to remember the name "Tewkesbury. " Charlston finished for her as he came inside the room smiling warmly.

"Good morning Mrs. Caroline, Alice" he said with smile on his face his hazel eyes glimmering with the light that shone from the windows.

"Ah, Charlston my dear" Mrs. Caroline greeted and hugged him, Charlston hugged the old woman back.

Charlston smiled as the two pulled away from the hug and said "Go get ready, father is waiting by the pond and wants to inform you about something. " Her brother said as he fixed his hair and left.

Alice nods, slightly suprised that her father even wants to talk to her, Alice reminded her father of her mum the same eyes and hair and distinct features, all from her mother; he once told her when Alice asked about her mother when she was a child.

"Well, I better get these to be washed and ready to use again." Mrs. Caroline gestured to the basket she was holding and left the room closing the door behind her.

Alice huffed and picked out her dress and shoes from her closet wearing it. Then headed to the pond somehow nervous. Her brother was the first to head there since he had a duty given by their father.

As Alice goes down the grand staircase, she greets some people and guards that were walking by, always, everyday, all of the people in their estate loved Alice, she wasn't afraid to speak up whenever something wrong was taking place, and most of all— she never let a man make her feel "belittled". Her father disliked that about her, she was labeled 'too much' by her Father for being that way.

Sure, the peerage found her ideology as a small threat to the House of Lords as she was a former Lord's daughter, they found it quite offensive to them and disrespectful but Alice couldn't care less about it, she didn't need to prove anything to any of those men. She should have the freedom to speak up, freedom was limited to women and women of respect and nobility were a luxury.

The expectations carved at Alice's mind but she never let it get to her.

She was approaching the pond, she clearly saw her father waiting impatiently tapping his feet in dismay of Alice's inefficiency he was with a woman clearly. Seeing this Alice started to walk faster almost stumbling from her feet.

Her father, Lord Charles was a reserved man, a former Lord. She approached her father and greeted him as well as the woman beside him, but his father simply ignored this and not even dared to make eye contact with his daughter.

"What is father?" Alice asked politely yet a glint of disappointment in her voice indicating her sadness that her father still hasn't accepted her for some reason which wasn't her fault at all.

Why did her Father do this? She was Alice's only parent left yet he still acted as if Alice was invisible to him, but acted different towards Charlston. Alice craved her Father's love, yet she knew he couldn't give it to her, maybe not now but someday she prayed he would.

The sky was clear and the birds were chirping the pond was a calm as the weather was yet her father's aura contradicted it.

What was it that he wanted of her now?