The Emerald Viscountess

~33~

"Where are we going?" Eleanora asked incredulously as she entered the carriage. She eyed the two bouquets of flowers in Anthony's hands as he took his seat in the carriage.

"It's a surprise," he answered flatly.

Eleanora beamed. "A surprise?"

"Not a good surprise," he retorted, causing his wife to furrow her eyebrows.

"That is an utterly odd description. It's not a good surprise, and yet you are bringing flowers."

Once they arrived to the destination, Eleanora gazed out the window of the carriage. It was a dreary lot of land, located in one of the less wealthy parts of London, and she couldn't help but get a familiar feeling of the location. But the specific spot they arrived at, she had never been to before.

Eleanora turned back to her husband. "Why are we at a cemetery?"

Anthony pursed his lips, not answering. Without a word, he exited the carriage, and helped Eleanora, before she looped her hand around his arm and followed him to a pair of headstones.

"Nora, it had taken me many months for me to find the location of your parents. I've been through many contacts, but I've finally found the spot. I understand this will be overwhelming and emotional, so take all the time you need," he explained as he led his wife to her parents' graves.

When Eleanora's eyes fell on two graves that showed her parents' names, she let out a quiet sob. They resided beside each other, and were positioned askew from the many years of rain and change in the ground. She knelt down, not worrying about stains on her dress, as she placed a hand on her mother's tombstone, before placing it on her father's.

"I shall leave the bouquets with you. I'll be at the carriage until you're ready-" Anthony said, making his way back.

"No - stay, please," Eleanora insisted, causing Anthony to stop in his tracks. He returned to his position in front of the graves and Eleanora stood up and stood beside her husband. He put his arms around her to comfort her as she quietly sobbed and her shoulders shook as she stared at the gravestones.

After what felt like a millenia of standing in utter silence, minus the quiet sobs and sniffles, Eleanora knelt back down in front of the tombstones. She placed each bouquet of white peonies in front of each grave before standing up and facing Anthony.

Eleanora's chin quivered. "It's only just occurred to me . . . I can't remember their favorite flowers."

Anthony took her in an immediate hug as she once again sobbed into his jacket, smoothing down her hair in a gentle manner. "They are still proud of you, nonetheless. The effort of placing down flowers is a loving gesture in itself," he reassured.

I'm sorry in advance for ending the book on such a sad note 😭 ending of the book?! yes unfortunately, until s3 comes out and i can take my inspiration from there. i hope you guys enjoyed this book for what it is, i've put my heart and soul into creating eleanora and have grown fond of her, and hope you guys have too. any stranger things fans out there? specifically fans of eddie munson?! might start working on a fic of him, hopefully it won't take as long to write and publish like this fic took. pls give me feedback if that's what y'all would like and be interested in ☺️