Page 38 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
Despite that, she had no confidence to stand up against her family in outrage at what they had done to poor Eliza.
“Would you like a biscuit, Lady Margaret?” Eliza asked kindly.
Margaret shook her head no, realizing how Eliza had never been unkind to her even once. She had never been unkind to anyone, the goodness of her heart apparent to everyone in the house.
Margaret wished she could do something for her cousin, but she was entirely powerless against her family, a prisoner in her own home. She could do nothing even if she tried, and that pained her immensely.
Chapter 10
“Beth, what are you doing!?” Amelia stopped Eliza from pouring the tea, holding her hand from turning the pot towards the cup.
The sudden action forced Eliza to look down at the cups in the tray, and she realized how they were all overflowing with tea, the excess falling into the tray.
Eliza had not even realized she had not been looking and had caused such a mess. She quickly stopped and stared at the tray in horror, unsure of what had got into her.
This was certainly not the first time she had made this mistake since, for the past few days, she had found herself to be quite scatterbrained. She could not blame herself as her thoughts had been elsewhere, but now the other servants were beginning to notice.
“Pardon me,” she sighed, “I was not looking.”
“Are you quite alright, Beth?” Amelia asked, already removing the cups from the tray to clean it while Eliza stood at one end, simply staring.
“I think so.” She shrugged, unsure of how to answer the question.
She certainly could not tell Amelia that her thoughts were constantly on the stranger from the ball who had made an impression on her, which was simply not leaving her mind.
A few days had gone by since the ball, but he refused to leave her memory, his touch still lingering on her wrist as he had pulled her close. She still remembered the warmth she had felt while being snuggled against him underneath his coat, as she had slept soundly.
She simply could not deny her attraction to the man, even though the thought troubled her conscience.
But just as she could not stop thinking about the stranger, she could not stop thinking about George either. His kindnature, cheerful manner, easy conversation, and warm eyes drew her in like no one ever had before, and she always looked forward to spending time with him.
Eliza went to the woods every single day, hoping to run into him, and felt almost disappointed when he was absent. She was drawn to George, his laughter bringing her happiness.
This had been troubling her immensely for the past few days, and her mind was constantly occupied with these stressful thoughts.
Twice already, she had mixed up the family’s morning tea and had once even forgotten to add cream to Henry’s coffee. She had also been forgetting little chores assigned to her and had been spilling and breaking things.
It had been so extreme that Victoria’s insults no longer bothered her, and Eliza listened to them with no attention or interest. Everyone around her had noticed this, and several other servants had been concerned about her health.
“Why don’t you go up to your room and rest for a while? You have not been yourself for a few days now.”
Eliza nodded at Amelia, even though she knew Amelia hated to do anyone else’s chores, but the offer was too good to let go.
Amelia must not have expected Eliza to agree so easily because her expression immediately turned sour, but Eliza ignored that entirely and quickly hopped up through the servants’ stairwell to reach the attic.
Once inside her room, she left it unlocked since hardly anyone ever came up here. The attic was all the way at the top of the house and was both dark and gloomy, with several servants even claiming it to be haunted. Hence, Eliza never felt the need to lock her door since she knew no one was going to look for her.
Oh God, what is happening to me?
She propped down on her bed, staring at her room, which hardly looked like her own anymore. Since the mysterious fairy godmother had started sending her gifts almost every day, Eliza’s room had transformed, no longer appearing dark and gloomy.
It was now filled with mildly scented wax candles, sweets she had come to love and treasure, new bed sheets and soft cotton covers for her bed, hardcover books of fiction as if the fairy godmother knew her love for books, high-quality underthings, silk night suits, a brush, perfumes and about everything a young lady might require.
On days when Eliza did not have enough to eat in the house because Aunty Beatrice had the habit of being offended and forbidding her food, the fairy godmother would even send her food as if she somehow knew Eliza’s troubles.
It almost felt as if these things were sent by someone who knew her closely, but why did they feel the need to help her?
She had too many questions and no means to find answers to even one of them, and her confusion only increased. She had also wondered if this could be a trap of some kind and if she would eventually get caught for having these things, but the idea seemed rather ludicrous.
