Eternal Flame ~ A Pemberley Fairy Tale

Chapter Twenty-one - part 2

Liz wasn’t surprised when William didn’t join her for breakfast the next morning. She expected he’d be in bed, nursing a hangover after his night with the men from the estate. Instead she sat with Kelly, going over the plans they’d made for the wedding breakfast.

Last night had opened Liz’s eyes to the realities of life at Pemberley. Not only did everyone know what everyone else was doing, they were all determined not to miss out on the celebration. William had attended their weddings and it would never have occurred to them to miss his.

After she’d finished eating Liz remained in the breakfast room, staring at the rose garden outside the windows. As they were well into autumn, only two of the plants were still in flower. A few of them bore cherry-red rose hips, while others were already bare, their sharp thorns the only decoration.

The thorns reminded her of Mrs Ellis, William’s prickly secretary. Liz hadn’t seen her since she’d returned to Pemberley. She didn’t even know whether the older woman lived in the house or somewhere else on the estate. Violet and her friends hadn’t included her in their impromptu planning party the previous evening, but she didn’t want the secretary to feel left out. Although William and Mrs Ellis were not blood relatives, she was part of his family and Liz hoped she would accept her plea for help with the wedding as a metaphorical olive branch. 

After checking Mrs Ellis’s office and wandering around the house for fifteen minutes, hoping to run into her, Liz asked Mr Reynolds who suggested she might try William’s rooms on the top floor. She climbed the stairs and peeked around the attic door, expecting to find the older woman working at the desk, but the chair was empty. Instead, Mrs Ellis was sitting on the sofa, looking through an old photograph album.

“Hello. Do you have a few minutes?”

The secretary turned the page beneath her hands. “I was just coming to look for you, Miss Pargeter. I wanted to show you something.” She held out the book. “Can you see here how happy he was?”

Liz moved behind the settee, looking over Mrs Ellis’s shoulder. The photographs of William were very similar to those in Mrs Reynolds’ album, except in each one he was standing with a pretty young woman with long blonde hair. In some they were walking hand in hand, laughing. One picture showed William with his arms around her waist. Two of the images had the couple dancing. The young woman looked about the age Liz was now. “Is that you with William?”

“Yes. Are you surprised that I was once so young and pretty?”

“Not really. Mrs Reynolds already showed me a photograph taken on your wedding day.”

A cloud seemed to pass over her eyes and she sighed. “Marriages do not always turn out as you expect, just as visitors are often more than they first appear. I’d hoped the unfortunate portent of your Christian name was a coincidence. I knew, of course, what…I should say whom William waited for. At one time I thought…well, I suppose it doesn’t matter now.”

Since finding out about Mrs Ellis’s past and her connection with William, Liz had been curious to know more about their relationship. When she’d asked him he‘d changed the subject. She moved around to stand in front of the sofa. “No, please. Tell me. I’d love to hear about your life.”

The secretary faced her. Her words were hesitant to begin with, growing stronger as she continued. “William is the closest thing to family I have ever known. He was always honest with me, from the moment I was old enough to understand why he never changed or grew older like my friends' parents. As I moved from being a child to a young woman I would have given anything to be the one he was waiting for. I began to believe his saving me from the fire was fate and that it was only a matter of time before he realised we were meant to be together. It was many years before I accepted the truth, that one day someone might arrive at Pemberley to take my place in his heart.”