The Remarried

Chapter four

I wake up late, and for a moment I don't know where I am. The bed feels foreign and too big, and the room smells too clean and impersonal, like furniture polish and window cleaner.

There is a knock on the door. I pull the cover up to my chest instinctively. I usually don't sleep naked, but my nightdress was among the dirty part of my clothes. "Come in!" I call. My voice is raspy and my eyes feel puffy. Maybe I was crying in my sleep. Crying is forbidden when I'm awake.

"Good morning, Miss." It is the maid from the previous day, Gemma. She walks in, draws the curtains open and turns to me. "I'm supposed to ask..."

"I will have breakfast downstairs, thank you," I say.

Gemma looks a bit taken aback. Yesterday I played the shy, grateful bride-to-be, but after what I heard at night, I'm much bolder and determined to attack even before the wedding.

"Are you supposed to ask any more questions?" I ask when she doesn't move.

"No... no, of course, I... I will tell them..." she stutters and almost runs away.

I smile to myself and get out of the bed.

When I come down, there are only Senator Wintercourt and his wife sitting at the table. My future husband is nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning," I say and sit at the table, opposite to them.

Mrs. Wintercourt looks at my sweater and skirt and frowns. "Gemma!" she barks. "You didn't wash Miss Wellard's clothes last night?"

Gemma blushes. "I did, ma'am," she says quietly. "But they weren't dry yet, so I couldn't iron them and..."

"Enough!" Mrs. Wintercourt stops her before she can go on explaining the whole process. "It's unacceptable!"

I pretend that this whole affair doesn't concern me. It actually doesn't. I am not the one who was supposed to wash the clothes, and if the crime is to wear the same thing twice, then I am not the one to be held accountable.

"What is the big deal?" Senator Wintercourt interrupts them when it's clear that they won't let him enjoy his eggs Benedict in peace. "Miss Wellard obviously needs new clothes, so I don't see why she couldn't just buy them. We have promised Ms. Bonham that she would lack nothing in our house, so we have to keep the word." He turns to me. "Eleanor, I am going to the office after breakfast. You could join me and go buy the things you need in London before I finish work. The driver will just take me to the office and then he will take you wherever you need to go."

"Thank you," I smile. "That is very kind of you."

"It's our duty," he says simply.

I nod and finish my breakfast. Everyone in this house uses the word 'duty' too much in my opinion.

***

When I walk out the door, Senator Wintercourt is already waiting at the car with a man in a driver's uniform and a cap which makes his protruding ears even more noticeable. His teeth are all crooked and strangely-shaped. How they even fit in his mouth is a mystery for me.

"This is our driver, Timothy," Senator Wintercourt introduces him. "Timothy, Miss Eleanor Wellard. Soon she will be a part of our family."

The driver bows his head respectfully. "Miss."

"Nice to meet you, Timothy."

"After you take me to the office, you will take Miss Wellard to the center," Senator Wintercourt says. "She needs to buy some things, and we wouldn't want her to get lost. We've just found her."