Lillian's Deceit

4. New beginnings

Chapter four

One week earlier

In Essex Lord Hartwick was now standing at the one place that he believed would make him unrattled, would destroy him again. But standing inside the castle that should've brought memories and a face that was the cause of it, there was none. Nothing, only silence as his thirteen-year-old brother was overly excited, his smile reaching his ears as he gazed at the place. Evan realised how long it had been for his brother to come home again, god hell the boy was nine years old then. "John, follow the maid, you could use a bath before your tutor arrives," Evan said which soon left him alone at the huge entrance, all the once furniture was gone, moved as he wanted.

A new start.

And by God would he make one. He was more than relieved to not feel any hesitation or regret of what he had done, it was more than about time. About time that he could move on, about time that his brother needed a motherly figure in the house. The Hartwick estate was once empty and lifeless, but he vowed that it would change.

He after all changed.

The servants were already back in work and household was rattling with footsteps that went left and right, perhaps bringing out all the furniture was not the most clever idea. Bloody hell! The whole place echoed now. Seemed that he took great measurements in the word erase , mayhap nothing would even move him by the furniture's but again, Evan never did anything hypothetical.

Ophelia, the oldest cook that had resided  welcomed him with a warm smile, "My lord, should I prepare anything? You must be tired from the long journey," she asked as the delicious smell of food hit his guts, after days of as striding on a carriage he was exhausted, "Bring a trade to my study," he told shortly before heading straight to work that awaited him. Three weeks of courting a lady that he knew was perfect for everything that he needed, and if that couldn't be more beneficial, she was the daughter to a great man that he stood close to, although not in age but rather perspectives and pursuits, without a second thought he knew Eleanor Windsor was more than suitable for him, she came with a big dowry not that he needed the money after building up his estate and running the work as an earl should do, he had lived of in luxury. But since he needed a wife, she was the one. The English blood that went through the family was related to the king and queen; she was an outstanding lady that any aristocratic man wanted. She was the society belle of London in years in row and he quickly understood why, her elegant and proper behavior showed how a true lady out to be. Although her father did not talk much of her apperance when he first thought of courting her, the woman was beautiful even some worded her enchanting.

He was pleased with her personality, an innocence that could not be a fraud. Her shyness and quietness once irked him, but once he reminded himself that was what he needed she was perfect. She would be the Countess of Essex, she would be his wife, carry his children, and most of all bring a homely feeling to his brother, he had meet her, and so far, nothing seemed to be a problem. She held not one scandal attached to her name, she would never bring shame upon his name, that would be enough. They would form a bond, one that wouldn't touch his heart, would move him— he would be faithful, a husband. But more than that he could never give, that was already taken to the grave.

No, he will not think of the past. Not when he would be married in less than a week, Which was rather quick if you asked anyone, and he had anticipated for the lady to want a lavish and luxurious wedding that would stay In weeks of the newspaper of England. After all that was expected from a society belle. Well to his utter shock she specifically told she wanted a small wedding, and intimate. He remembered the panic flicker in her eyes for a second, but he didn't let himself ponder to much on it, after all it made it easier for him because he wanted the process to be done fast. A smile formed in his lips as he with purpose did not tell her where their honeymoon would take place, he imagined her reaction and hoped everything would go according his way.

With that in mind he sat down on his chair, the one place in the house that he asked to not be touched, his study. It held to much information for anyone to move and touch, his grand- grandfathers work, one that couldn't be spoken in admire when it came to his father. The previous earl was a drunken man who gambled more than working, who got into debt rather than earning money, and most of all, he was the great example of why one ought to never follow his footsteps.

His death did not only leave that, but it also left a handful of responsibilities for Evan, the biggest being his thirteen years old brother John who Evan was eighteen years older. The big gap resulted that he missed to see what he needed, although he always made sure the boy lived good, Evan wanted to be different for him. Not that he wasn't a good older brother, but with their mother's death only a year after their father Evan realised how it had affected John, how he would sometimes catch him stare at the portrait that hung above their dining table, at their beloved mother. And God if that didn't pain Evan.

Which now led him to wed. Four years ago he told himself that he would never go through it, the pain of loosing his wife, he never wanted to experience it again.It had been five years of pain that could never be reduced. 

He considered to drink again, his gaze caught the strong Scottish vale that his father stocked, he would be a married man in a week, one drink couldn't hurt. He glared harder at the vale, the saying that the apple don't fall far from the tree... by God he would make sure it never referred to him. He was nothing like his father.

And with that knowledge he poured the drink and celebrated for the first time in for so long, for new beginnings.

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