Page 39 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
No such magical thing had ever happened to her in the past, but suddenly, everything seemed to be happening altogether.
“Who are you, fairy godmother?” she whispered into the empty room, staring at the ceiling.
Just as the words left her mouth, the door to the attic suddenly opened, and to her surprise, Amelia stood there, her mouth agape as she looked at Eliza’s room.
Eliza’s eyes widened at the unexpected surprise, not used to having anyone barge in on her in this manner. She should have locked her room, but now it was too late since Amelia had already seen everything.
“Beth?” Amelia whispered, closing the door behind her. “Where in the world did you get all of these things? Have you been stealing!?”
Eliza’s eyes widened at the accusation, and she stood up from her bed, pulling Amelia inside. She made Amelia sit down on the bed and sat down beside her, knowing she had no choice but to tell her the complete truth about these gifts.
“Do you really believe I could steal, Amelia?” Amelia was still looking around in wonder and Eliza could clearly see greed in her eyes as she stared at the treasure that belonged to Eliza.
“Of course not,” Amelia replied quickly, “but where else could you be getting these things from?”
“I will tell you everything, but you must swear to secrecy and that this will remain between the two of us?”
“I promise,” Amelia quickly agreed.
“I have a fairy godmother.”
“A what?” Amelia was confused.
“I am afraid I do not know who it is, but someone has been sending me gifts. They are waiting for me in my room when I return almost every day, and they all come attached with a note,” Eliza picked up her goose feather pillow, extracted thenotes she had been keeping safely, and handed them to Amelia. “See. They all simply mention that it is a gift from my fairy godmother.
When I found the first one, I was naturally worried and even tried asking the guards and footmen if they had seen anyone outside my window, but no one had seen anyone.
I even waited for Lady Leicester or Lady Victoria to somehow come here and accuse me of stealing their things as a ploy to humiliate me, but none of that has happened either.
I do not know who this person is, but I am very thankful to them for taking care of me in this manner because I have come to believe that this is not a trick, and someone truly wishes me to have these things.”
Amelia went through the notes before handing them back to Eliza, a rather artificial smile on her lips. Eliza could feel the anger emanating from her friend, and it was evident that she was jealous.
However, Eliza could not understand the emotion. If the situation had been reversed and it was Amelia who was gettingthe gifts, Eliza would have felt nothing but happiness for her friend. But Amelia was clearly trying to hide her true emotions behind a mask.
“That must make you feel rather special,” Amelia said, sounding odd. “I am quite pleased for you.”
Eliza wished to scoff because it was clear how unhappy Amelia actually was.
“Why don’t you pick anything you would like to have?” Eliza quickly said, hoping this offer would curb Amelia’s unhappiness and jealousy. She had no desire to lose a friend over these things, and if sharing her thoughts with Amelia might be helpful, Eliza would do just that.
“Truly?” Amelia’s eyes were shining.
“Of course.”
Amelia stood up immediately, looking around the room while Eliza remained seated on her bed. She stayed quiet as she watched Amelia pick up more things than was polite, but she hadno desire to interject and make her feel inferior or possibly even more jealous.
Amelia picked up several of the sweets Eliza had come to love, along with a few underthings and a nightgown. Eliza felt as if she wished to pick up everything she saw but had to control her urges. Her greed was evident through her actions, yet Eliza was not going to act like her.
She understood that Amelia came from a family with no means and no money, and all this luxury was new to her. She could not blame the poor girl for wishing to have it all.
Despite that, Eliza would have happily shared everything with her if she had not appeared jealous, but her jealousy had almost been the undoing of her friendship.
Eliza felt as if she needed to stay careful from now on. She could no longer trust Amelia with everything in her heart.
***
Eliza made her way towards the woods, finding a little time for herself after completing her last afternoon chore. She enjoyed walking here since she knew the woods like the back of her hand, and they were so well concealed behind the house that no one would be able to find her here unless someone came looking.
