Page 2 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
“My Lady,” he began speaking, his voice softer than usual, “someone is waiting for you in the drawing room. You must come at once.”
“Are they here!? Are Mama and Papa here?”
“Miss Eliz-” he began speaking again, but Eliza felt the strings of her patience coming loose, and she ran past him straight towards the house just a few feet away.
She could hear both Mr Baker and Miss Donnell’s footsteps after her, but the exhilaration from the run and the happiness of her prayers finally being accepted was too much for Eliza to bear. Her parents were waiting for her in the drawing room, and all she needed to do was hug them. As tightly as she could.
As she pushed through the large drawing room door, her tiny frame exerting all her strength, the large smile that graced her lips immediately faded.
What are they doing here?
Where she had expected a familiar set of blonde hair and grey-blue eyes like her own, she was met with unfamiliar faces, their expressions grim. Eliza felt as if she had met both of them before, but she could not place them.
The disappointment of not finding her parents waiting for her was too large, and for a few short seconds, she stood staring at them and completely forgot her manners.
“May I help you?” She was suddenly jerked into the role of being the only family member present in the house, the duty of meeting the guests falling on her.
Even if she did not know who they were.
“Eliza, darling!” The woman, her blonde hair tied in a neat chignon, immediately made her way towards Eliza, arms spread as if in an embrace.
Before Eliza could understand what was happening, the woman bent down, her hands resting on Eliza’s bare arms as she held her close. The woman’s dark blue eyes were nothing like Eliza’s mother’s, for her mother’s eyes were as clear as the ocean on a sunny day, while this person had dark blue eyes, almost as dark as the night sea.
For reasons she could not place, Eliza suddenly felt afraid.
Something is not right.
“The last time we saw you, you were barely two years old, and you are almost a young woman now,” the man added, making his way towards her. His raven hair was neatly styled, and his face looked quite a lot like her father’s, but his eyes were more grey than blue.
Who are they? And where are my parents?
“Pardon me, but I have no memory of meeting the two of you. Could you please tell me your names?”
The man bent down as well, almost at eye level with Eliza now.
“I am Edgar Russel, my dear, the Earl of Leicester, and this is my wife, Beatrice Russel. Surely you cannot say that you have no memory of meeting your one and only uncle?”
Uncle? Eliza had never been more confused.
“You are my father’s brother?” she asked, her eyebrows scrunching.
“Yes,” the woman, Beatrice Russel, replied.
She took Eliza’s hand and led her towards the sofa, where she made Eliza sit down before sitting beside her. Footsteps reached just outside the drawing room but stopped there, and Eliza knew someone was standing there. She was sure it must be Mr Baker or Lara and just the semblance of their presence gave her strength.
Her heart, on the other hand, was still gripped in fear.
“I am afraid my parents are not here if you have come to see them,” Eliza quickly said, unsure of the purpose of this unannounced visit.
“We have come bearing news, my child,” Beatrice Russel said, her dark blue eyes suddenly filling with moisture.
Eliza’s heartbeat accelerated.
“What news?”
“Your parents’ carriage met with an accident while returning home to you. We live near the accident scene, and when we got the news, we went to see and recognized the carriage.”
Accident? Eliza felt a faint ringing in her ears as her head began to spin.
