Page 13 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
It had been nothing short of torture. But she was glad that it would soon be over.
“Everything has been finalized. The kitchen is stocked with all necessary items, and the cook and other kitchen maids will begin preparing everything early tomorrow morning for it to be ready before the masquerade begins in the evening. I will make sure of it myself.”
“Good.” Edgar nodded, sipping his cup of tea, “and I hope you remember the most important thing about the evening, Beth.”
Eliza felt as if something was stuck in her throat, but she quickly swallowed past it, forgetting about the hurt that had taken root in her heart. She had other, much bigger things to worry about than Edgar’s behaviour towards her.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I must stay away from the party and ensure no one from the ton sees me.”
Edgar was too scared someone would recognize her, so whenever such an event was hosted at the estate, he asked her to stay away from anyone who might come too close and discover her identity.
Eliza knew how baseless her fears were since she could not remember anyone close enough to remember who she was, especially since she was just a little girl the last time they would have seen her.
She was stuck with being a servant in the house that no longer belonged to her.
However, Edgar’s fear was representative of his guilt, and Eliza enjoyed his misery over thinking what might happen if someone did indeed discover Eliza’s true identity. She wondered the same, but the idea seemed too good to ever become a reality.
“Yes,” Beatrice replied, smiling cruelly. Her very existence made Eliza feel terrible about herself, and she wanted nothing but to stay as far away from Beatrice as possible.
“And if anyone does ask about you, which is unlikely yet still a possibility, you are still very much alive but have moved to France to live with family while we are taking care of the Grafton Estate behind you.”
“Absolutely.” She nodded at them, simply wanting to leave.
“Oh, Edgar, I almost forgot to tell you!” Beatrice suddenly turned towards her husband, beginning to look excited, making Eliza curious about the matter. She had still not been asked to leave, so she stood there because they would have made her apologize for no reason if she had left of her own will.
“What is it?” her uncle asked, appearing disinterested already.
“The neighbouring estate, which has recently been bought by the Earl of Eastwood, is finally occupied, and from what the servants tell me, a handsome young man resides there. Do you think the earl might have a son?”
“That,” Edgar nodded. “Or the man is the earl himself.”
“My goodness, yes!” Beatrice was even more delighted at the prospect, “Why did I not think of that. The estate might belong to the young man himself since no one knows who theearl is and has never seen him around much. Oh, it will be lovely if Victoria can somehow meet him, and he falls in love with her, and the two begin courting even before the Season begins and our daughter makes her official debut in society.”
“Do you think this might be a possibility?” Edgar sat up, turning to look at his wife.
“Of course!” Beatrice vacated the sofa she had been occupying and strolled around the parlour leisurely, “It would be so lovely to see our Victoria married to an earl who is both young, handsome, and wealthy. You must make introductions with the young man, and when he attends the masquerade ball, you must make sure he and Victoria are formally introduced.”
“I will do just that.”
The pair must have suddenly realized that Eliza still stood there as they stopped talking and began to look at her. She stayed put, flustering under their gaze, and blurted out, “I came across the stable hand of the Eastwood Estate, the right hand of the earl’s valet.”
Oh God, why did I say that?
She did not know what had got into her, but she had suddenly become nervous and said the first thing that came to her mind. Although, George had not left her mind since she had first met him in the woods three days ago. She could not deny that she had enjoyed seeing him, unsure of why that had been the case.
Something about him had simply made her feel comfortable and at ease. For a reason that Eliza could still not discern, his smile had almost felt too familiar, as if she had seen it before. It somehow reminded her of her childhood, the smile being too intimately known to her.
Alexander, her childhood best friend’s face, suddenly came before her eyes.
She quickly shook the thought away, knowing full well that it was entirely fruitless. Alexander was nowhere near her and certainly never to return.
After they had moved away from beside them in the countryside, Eliza had lost all contact with both him and his mother, and her life had gone completely downhill. She knewthat by now, Alexander would have turned into an impressive noble lord.
George, on the other hand, who was right before her, was just a kind, handsome, stable hand.
“What do you mean you came across him?” Aunty Beatrice asked, her eyebrows rising in horror, “Beth, I do not want you going around meeting strangers.”
“Especially no one who had anything to do with the Earl of Eastwood,” Uncle Edgar chimed in, appearing just as horrified as his wife.
