Emmy

CHAPTER TWO

The carriage drew close to the house shortly after the sky went pitch black. Emmy always thought that to call her home a house was an understatement. It was as big as two mansions and it's hundred windows sparkled with candlelight that could be seen from miles away. The outside torches reflected on the light brown bricks that made up the outside of the house. Even from the outside, and in the dark, the house screamed elegance and grandeur.

This house had been home to the Longford family for two generations so far: Emmy's grandfather and then her father. This house was all she had ever known. She had grown up in it as the house grew in splendour with each passing year. This was home.

She stepped out of the carriage and thanked the driver before heading inside. The warmth of the hallway fire greeted her pleasantly. A servant took her shawl and rose, and another servant showed her into the dining room.

The dining room was bright with candlelight and full of noise: talking, laughter and giggling. It all came to a standstill when Emmy walked across the room and took her seat.

"What time do you call this Emmy?" her younger sister, Millie, asked. "We're all practically starving just waiting on your return from Prince Alexander." Millie exaggerated her last words for extra emphasis. All attention was now drawn to Emerald indefinitely.

"You don't have to make a song and dance about it Millie," Adelaide, their older sister, replied angrily. It seemed jealousy and hunger did not mix well for Adelaide. 

"Girls! That is no way to talk to your sister," their mother said. She turned lovingly to Emerald. "You should be happy for her good fortunes."

"We are mother," Adelaide scowled as she took a sip of water. 

"I am happy for you Emmy," Millie said as she walked round the table to give her sister a big hug. "Just not when I'm hungry." Laughter rose around the table.

"And boys?" their mother questioned as she looked at her two sons, Arthur and Henry. They had not been happy to learn that their sister had been called on by Prince Alexander, their friend. They would have been apprehensive about any man meeting with their sisters, but Prince Alexander stood out to them as odd. They believed he wasn't that interested in their sister, but they didn't want to break her heart with the rumours they had heard. 

"We are mother," Arthur said, smiling at his sister.

"Indeed," Henry concurred. "We're happy for you."

Adelaide eyed her sister, wondering what the Prince saw in her which she did not possess herself. Adelaide was twenty-four, six years older than Emerald. She had wavy, blonde hair that reached her petite waist and a gorgeous smile. She knew she was pretty, which made her single status all the more harder to bear.

She had previously been engaged to a Duke almost six years ago. They had been happily in love until he was called to war in Europe. As he left England he said he would marry Adelaide when he returned, but days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. He wrote to Adelaide of their fond memories and of where he was stationed or fighting from. His letters were Adelaide's lifeline as she clinged to his memories, but after two years his letters suddenly stopped. She feared for the worst, and her fears were confirmed when his mother appeared four months after the last letter. He had died whilst engaged in battle; apparently her name was the last words he spoke. 

Adelaide agreed to mourn for a year, but it quickly turned into years, and only now was she beginning to think about her future as a wife with someone else. However, this proved to be a a difficult situation, as men saw her as verging on the side of old for marriage. She attracted older men than she cared for, which was why seeing her younger sister gain attention and love from the Prince made envy grow inside her as Emerald could have all that she had ever wanted.