The End of Wythwood Boulevard

Part XVIII - Stirring Up Trouble

15th May, 1830.

Lenore had come round again, this time while Carolyn was out on an errand, which wasn't a wise decision on her end. Going out and leaving the house unattended after she'd been so dramatic about Elsie's personal life for weeks seemed like a very poor decision for the woman to make. And, as the Clarke siblings had decided, was also quite funny.

"She's going to come back and catch you, you know." Elsie was dusting off the top of the piano, one of the many things she'd been told to do while her mother was out. "And then we'll both be in trouble."

Lenore had made herself comfortable, sprawling out on one of the sofas, holding up one of the books that had been left out on the table. "Who bought these?" She scoffed, "They look very.. hail to the king." She tossed the book back onto the table, before quickly becoming restless again.

"You're not confined to this one room, you know," Elsie turned to Lenore, laughing at her antics, "You can wander." Lenore shrugged, walking out of the parlor for only a minute before she returned.

"Your brother scares me sometimes." She said, raising her eyebrows slightly as she turned towards Will's office door. "He scares all of us," Elsie sighed, "Especially when he's been in his office for days like that."

"Days? My God, he's got to be going crazy in there." Lenore shook her head before walking back into the parlor, straight over to one of the windows. "She's not back yet." She said, immediately noticing Elsie's concerned expression. Really, how long could the woman keep this up?

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"I just can't keep living like this," Elsie sighed as she sat down on one of the several chairs in front of William's desk, "She won't let me do anything."

"That's not true," Will sighed, still enveloped in his work, "She lets you.. clean." Elsie immediately rolled her eyes, he really was going crazy, cooped up in here. "She forces me to." She retorted, all remaining happiness quickly emptying out of her voice. "And I'm not even getting anything out of this."

William sighed, putting his head in his hands. He had clearly given up on all hope of getting any sort of work done while his sister was present. "If you don't like it, then you can leave. It's as simple as that."

Leave? Elsie couldn't just leave.. could she? I mean the idea was very appealing..

Now, it seemed, she had something new to think about.

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"And then, he suggested that I just leave." Elsie threw her hands up, which prompted a very startled reaction from her older sister. "I just don't see why you haven't stood up for yourself," Melanie had propped her feet up on a small stool she'd gotten from the corner of the room, exhausted from all of the walking she'd done that day.

"Well, maybe I don't want to," Elsie turned to leave, "maybe I will just go." Melanie sighed, returning to her sewing work as her sister made her way back downstairs.

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Elsie was lying flat on the floor when her mother arrived back home, using her arms to shield herself from the sun. "My God, what are you doing now?" Carolyn nudged Elsie with her foot, obviously internally fearing the worst. "Being angry because you've just kicked me," Elsie rolled over, "Among other things."

"You're being dramatic." Her mother made her way into the kitchen, not bothering to talk to her daughter any more than was necessary. "Well, perhaps if I wasn't being treated like a caged animal, then I wouldn't act like this."

Elsie made her way quickly out the front door, throwing herself backwards into one of the porch chairs, a frustrated sigh escaping her mouth.

"I can't keep living like this.." She said again, this time to herself.

"Rough times?" A voice came from the front walk, causing Elsie to look up suddenly. There stood Adam, the young man she'd danced with at her mothers party only weeks before.

"Oh, finally, someone sane," Elsie stood up, racing to greet him, "What on Earth are you doing here?" Adam laughed, "I was in St Ives' earlier, went to pick up a few things for my studies.. that man that owns the place asked if I would be able to run an errand, to drop off a few books to an important customer. Now, I've been led to you."

Simon. Of course it had been Simon.

"Thank you!" Elsie smiled, immediately snatching the stack of books from him. "I ran out days ago, I was almost thinking of sending for more."

Adam smiled, offering a friendly wave as he walked off, probably to return to retrieve his own books from the Whittock boy.

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She'd been brought a wide selection of books this time, some containing secret notes from Lenore, clearly written with Simon's loopy penmanship. Elsie made sure to go through all of the books, making sure she wouldn't miss anything.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all, with people supplying her with everything she seemed to need. Except for Lady Whittock, that is. Elsie hadn't seen her feline friend for several weeks now, and she honestly couldn't wait until she was allowed to leave the house again. The first thing she needed to do, she decided, was to pet that adorable little monster of a cat. As soon as she was released from this prison, that was what she was going to do.

And also see Lenore, that was also a priority. And Simon, too. But.. mostly Lenore, and Lady.

Even though Elsie had just seen Lenore earlier that day, she already missed her terribly. Being apart from her for any length of time seemed to be unbearable now, but Elsie was willing to put up with this feeling as long as she was able to keep the hope that she'd be let free soon.

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But, in the meantime, Elsie would just have to make do with what she had. If she built up enough of her mothers trust again, she would be released, and would immediately run back to her safe place.

Back to the bookstore on St Ives' Street.