Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty - One

London was a little more daunting now that she had returned for such a morbid reason. She put on a brave face though for Celeste. It was her first time to the mystic and magical city. She deserved to be excited.

She was excited as they rode through Hertfordshire. Ebony was looking forward to when Celeste saw the Tower of London and the Thames. Never had either sister seen such a river in their lives.

It was late afternoon when the carriage pulled up outside Ethridge. Celeste’s jaw was practically on the ground when she saw Ethridge Manor for the first time.

“This is your house?” Celeste gasped. “You actually live here?”

Henry chuckled. “Yes. This is home. Come, we’ll get you settled in a room. No doubt my mother has planned some sort of elaborate family dinner to welcome you.”

The footmen quickly swarmed the carriage and collected the luggage and helped them down the steps. Celeste wasn’t sure what to do when she was offered the arm of a footmen so she ignored him and jumped down herself. That made Ebony laugh. It felt good to smile when she knew she would be crying in little over a week.

Just a week. A week until the trial. And then everyone would know every intimate detail about her. It was enough to be ashamed inside her head but she knew it would be nothing compared to the stigma she would receive after the trial.

“I don’t want to cause your parents anymore hassle. Celeste will sleep in with me,” Ebony said quietly to Henry.

His brown eyes softened as he took her hand comfortingly. “It’s no trouble. If you only ever learn one thing about my mother it shall be that nothing is ever too much trouble.”

“I insist,” Ebony said firmly. “We shared a bed until Vernon separated us. Please.” Truth be told she wanted her sister to distract her at night so she could go to sleep hearing of what an eight year old child found wonderful. Her own thoughts were too depressing.

“Alright,” Henry agreed. “But if you ever need your privacy we can move her.”

They crossed the threshold of Ethridge Manor and Celeste continued to be in awe. Celeste would never take something like this for granted. Both she and Ebony were used to living like something less than paupers. Having nice things to wear and a comfortable bed to sleep in was a privilege.

Almost immediately Emilia appeared at the top of the stairs with a wide smile on her face. “You’re back!” she exclaimed. She ran down the stairs at the speed of a woman half her age. She enveloped Henry into a tight hug and kissed his face at least twenty times. Henry looked quite embarrassed at his mother’s affection.

“Mama, please,” he muttered.

Emilia pulled back. “When your baby is grievously hurt and then he decides to traipse across the country, you see how you react when you see him again,” she challenged.

“Mama, I’m not a baby.” Henry rolled his eyes.

Ebony muffled a giggle as she took Celeste’s hand in hers.

Emilia scoffed. “All my children are my babies,” she countered. “How are you Ebony?” she asked, turning her attention to Ebony. “Are you alright?” She must’ve realised that their return meant the summons had reached them.

“Yes.” Ebony nodded, though her answer was a lie.

Emilia saw through her. “We’ll have a chat later, you and I. I think I need to tell you a little story.” She left the subject with an air of mystery about it. Ebony couldn’t help but be curious. Emilia then knelt down before Celeste and smiled warmly at her. “Now, you must be … oh, what is your name again? Celine?” She feigned ignorance.

“No.” Celeste giggled and shook her head.

“No? Hmm, then is it … Cecilia?” she guessed again.

Celeste laughed harder. “No, that’s not it.”

Emilia pouted and folded her arms across her chest. “No? Alright, tell me.”

“Celeste!” Celeste exclaimed.

“Celeste,” Emilia repeated. “I like that one best. Welcome to Ethridge, Celeste. Treat this home as if it were yours. If you need anything, just ask. My name is Emilia, I’m Henry’s mother. We’re having a little dinner party tonight so you can meet all of Henry’s nieces and nephews. You’ll have so many friends by the time you go to bed.”

Celeste had never had friends before. She’d never had to opportunity to. Ebony so wanted her to enjoy this, to revel in it. She’d been through and seen far too much for an eight year old girl. “I’m going to have friends?” she asked excitedly.

Emilia frowned and cupped Celeste’s pink cheeks. “Oh, bless you, child. Come with me. I’ve had some things sent over from my dressmaker for pretty, little girls like you.” She stood up and offered Celeste her hand. Celeste eagerly took it and Emilia took her upstairs.

Once they were out of ear shot Ebony let out a tense breath and she began to cry. Henry immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. He didn’t say anything, he just tried to soothe her. She was glad he didn’t say things like ‘it’s going to be alright’ as it wouldn’t help her in that moment. Her mind, body and soul were in turmoil and all she wanted to do was just fall apart for a few moments.

When he spoke, she’d thoroughly soaked the collar of his shirt with her tears. “Try to forget it for an hour or two,” he whispered. “If my family are good for anything, it’s providing you with an excuse to laugh. Do you want to go upstairs and change?”

Ebony pulled away from his shoulder and nodded. “I’m so sorry,” she said, attempting to brush away the dampness on his collar but with no success.

“Don’t apologise,” he replied immediately. “You have every right to be upset and scared. I don’t want you to be because I know you’re strong enough to get through it.”

Ebony offered him a small smile. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. You consistently surprise me.”

Henry grinned. “I’d do anything for a diamond,” he replied simply, reminding her of his belief that she was much more than simply cut glass.

Ebony hadn’t seen Celeste in over an hour. Nor Emilia. They were still in a room upstairs when Henry’s family began arriving for dinner. She was received as if she were just another member of the family. She was hugged by nearly all of them and was introduced as ‘Aunt Ebony’ to all the children. That, she felt, was quite incredible.

The littlest children were taken upstairs to be cared for by a maid while the older children – Will, Millie and Amy – were permitted to eat with the adults.

Henry never left Ebony’s side as they chatted with William and Kitty outside the dining room. William was telling both her and Henry about his upcoming trip to the Caribbean. The details of the mission were secret but it was no secret that Kitty was unhappy about his leaving. William just put an arm around his wife and squeezed her.

“Mama!” their son, Will, exclaimed. “Mama, it’s terrible!”

All four adults looked down at the boy who looked positively terrified. “What’s the matter, darling?” she asked, concerned. “What’s happened?”

“Mama, I’m dead!” Will smacked his head with his hands and knelt down on the ground.

Kitty frowned. “Of course you’re not dead. What are you talking about?”

Will glared at his mother. “Mama, this is not a joking matter!” He spoke as if he was much older than his eight years. He’d turned eight in March, as he’d so proudly told Ebony. In his mind, eight was eighteen and he was officially an adult. “If I’m alive then how do you explain that?” He pointed to something behind them all. They all turned around to see Celeste holding Emilia’s hand as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Celeste looked absolutely beautiful. She was wearing a pale blue, silk gown that hugged her little figure. The hem finished at her ankles which showed off the lacy petticoats she also wore. Her shoes matched her dress and had the littlest of heels with a bow on top. Her pale blonde hair was how she usually wore it – down and straight – but Emilia had added a blue bow. She looked so happy.

“That’s my sister,” Ebony told Will. “Her name is Celeste. But how does her presence mean you are dead?”

“She’s not your sister … she’s an angel.” Will’s blue eyes became glassy as he stared at Celeste. He looked truly bewitched. Smitten almost. Kitty, William and Henry all burst out into fits of laughter but Ebony just watched her sister. Seeing her so happy made her know that regardless of what was to happen, she’d made the right decision to bring her to London.

At that moment Celeste noticed Will staring at her and she looked away awkwardly. She wouldn’t know what to do with a boy. She probably thought he was gawking instead of admiring. Celeste immediately came to the safety of Ebony’s side and hide behind her, peering curiously at Will.

“Hello, Celeste,” Kitty said kindly. “My name is Kitty and this is William. And this here is our son, Will,” she introduced, bringing her son to his feet. “How old are you, sweetheart?” she asked.

“Eight,” Celeste replied nervously, her eyes flitting from Kitty to Will.

“Will just had a birthday himself. He’s eight too. Perhaps the two of you will be friends?”

“I’ll be nine in August,” Celeste said immediately. “So I’m older than him.” She was clearly unsure about the attention she was receiving.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be friends, Celeste,” Ebony said soothingly.

Will immediately grabbed Celeste’s hand which made her jump.

“Gently,” Kitty said under her breath to Will.

Will smiled apologetically. He handled Celeste’s hand gently and kissed her knuckles like a proper gentleman. A slight blush appeared on Celeste’s cheeks as he did so. “It’s lovely to meet you, Miss Celeste,” he said politely.

Celeste looked up to Ebony for reassurance. Ebony nodded encouragingly, letting her know it was alright.

“It’s lovely to meet you too,” she replied politely, still sounding a little shy.

“Let’s go inside, shall we?” Kitty suggested. “I’m sure everyone is hungry.”

The dining room had been set for a large party and individual place cards had been written. Down one end was the children, Celeste with them, and then the adults would fill the rest of the seats. A full cutlery set had been given to each place setting and Ebony was a little cautious – she still hadn’t mastered the aristocratic dinner. Silver tureens filled with fruits lined the table for decoration and finely dressed footmen were filling the wine glasses with deep purple liquid. Ebony was seated five seats from Celeste and she was glad she could still see her. If she knew Celeste, she knew that she would disregard the twenty other forks and just use one for each dish. The thought made Ebony chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Henry asked as he took his seat beside her.

“Just a thought,” she replied. Looking around the table and seeing all the smiling faces and the animated conversations let Ebony know for sure that this was what she wanted. She wanted a big family that was always in each other’s business. She wanted complete faith and trust, but most of all she wanted acceptance.

The dinner was delicious as per usual. The Ethridge cook, Mrs Norris, had spoilt them all for choice with her buffet style of serving dinner. Platters of gorgeous smelling casseroles, roasts, stews, soups and vegetables were on offer and Ebony wasn’t ashamed to say she’d tried everything. She was proud of the fact that Celeste had too, and Ebony was right, she’d only used the one fork. She was happy to see her conversing with the other children. Her shyness had evaporated and it appeared as though she’d been their friend since infancy. Will’s fascination with her hadn’t disappeared. He had quite the crush on Celeste. Ebony thought it was quite cute.

Ebony’s favourite though, was dessert. Sweet apple pie, lemon tarts, slices, jellies and miniature cakes had been prepared and were served. The apple pie though, wasn’t as good as the pie that Catherine made. She was looking forward to tasting it again … should she be fortunate enough to be invited to their Christmas festivities.

Henry was right. His family did provide one with an excuse to laugh, and for a few hours, she had forgotten her troubles.

After dinner, the men retired to Sebastian’s study and the women gathered in the drawing room for some tea. Millie and Amy were perfectly happy playing together on the floor so that left Will and Celeste to spend some time together by themselves. Ebony thought it very cute seeing them sitting together on the piano stool. They were even holding hands. In a few years such a display would be quite inappropriate but now, no. They were innocent and it could be labelled ‘cute’.

When the night was ending though, it was time to remember. Each one of Henry’s siblings went home, taking their children with them. Will left Celeste with a peck on the cheek which only made her blush. Ebony thought he was very smooth for a child. Smooth yet polite. If his intentions remained honourable, when they were old enough, and if the interest was still there, he could have Ebony’s permission to court Celeste.

“Time for bed, I think,” James announced as the residents of the big house stood in the foyer. He took Alice’s hand in his and led her up the stairs.

“Bon nuit, everyone,” Alice said lethargically, waving to them all.

“I think I will retire also,” Henry said. He leant over and kissed Ebony’s cheek. She was quite embarrassed as it was in front of his watching parents. “May I escort you to your bedchamber?”

“No, I want to have a word with her before she retires,” Emilia said. “How about you take Celeste up to bed,” she suggested.

Ebony remembered that Emilia had wanted to talk to her.

“Of course,” Henry agreed, and took Celeste’s hand. Sebastian followed them up the stairs, giving his wife a kiss and wishing Ebony a good night.

“Walk with me, darling,” Emilia said, looping her arm through Ebony’s. “How are you really?” she asked, as if there hadn’t been any interruption from their last conversation.

Ebony didn’t need to lie. Emilia was ever so kind and considerate. She was too nice to condemn her, at least she hoped. She was led into the library which was completely dark. Emilia lit a few lamps so that the room had a nice glow.

“Not good,” she finally replied. “I’m … I’m frightened,” she admitted.

Emilia frowned sadly and motioned for Ebony to sit down on one of the red velvet upholstered settees. “I know exactly how you feel,” she said quietly.

“With all due respect, milady, I don’t think you do,” Ebony sniffed. She knotted her fingers in her hair as she lay back on the settee.

“This is the reason that I wanted to talk to you, Ebony,” Emilia said calmly. “I do know how you feel. I know how it is to feel powerless. To feel worthless and unwanted. To feel as though you deserve the treatment. To feel as though it’s your fault. If only I hadn’t said that or if only I hadn’t looked at him that way or if only I’d just kept my mouth shut, he mightn’t have noticed me today and this wouldn’t be happening.”

Ebony’s mouth opened slightly as Emilia spoke. It was as if she’d stolen the words directly from her memory. Every single thing she’d just said was exactly what she’d been thinking and feeling over the past two years. “How did you know?” she whispered.

Emilia’s brown eyes warmed as she smiled at her comfortingly. “I wasn’t always this happy yet slightly overbearing mother, Ebony,” she told her. “Before all this, before James and Kitty had been born and before Sebastian had arrived in town I was still the Countess of Ethridge, just married to the previous Earl. I was his property to be passed over and ignored when he pleased and to be used and ravished when he wanted. But not when I wanted. I never did. And he knew it. So he beat me into submission. And then he beat me because I couldn’t have his child. And then he beat me because he’d had too much to drink and then he beat me because he felt like it. And then he died. But everything wasn’t perfect after he was gone. I was left with scars both externally and internally. I felt like I was ruined. I felt like I was damaged and unworthy. I felt like I was dirty. And I brought out my hatred of myself through hurting others verbally. I was … I was quite horrible to Sebastian when he came to London to be the new Ear. But he saved me. He brought me back to life and he helped me forget my first husband. And then he gave me my five precious gems and I haven’t looked back.” Emilia did look afraid or damaged, in fact she looked happy. How could she be happy when everything so horrible had happened to her?

“I suppose you do know how I feel. How I am,” Ebony admitted. “But how can you not feel … dirty?”

“One day you’ll realise that it’s not your fault. It might be tomorrow, it might be in a year from now but you will realise it’s not your fault. Your captor is the one who is on trial for his crimes against you. He is at fault. I hope you’ll realise that because the sooner you do, the sooner you can move on. When I realised it I was able to entertain the idea of happiness. I’m just grateful that Sebastian wanted to put up with me. Henry has a good heart. He’s being a gentleman but he does want a chance with you.” Emilia pulled Ebony into a comforting hug. Ebony knew it was Vernon’s fault. She didn’t feel so dirty anymore but she did

“I’ve given him the chance,” Ebony said quietly. They’d kissed and held each other – what more could there be? She certainly would not permit another physical encounter unless she was sure she was in love and there was a wedding ring on her finger.

“Perhaps you’re not ready to. I think that after you see Vernon punished for what he did to you, you’ll be prepared to give Henry a chance. A proper chance. I can see it in his eyes. He’s treading on eggshells around you, dear. If he had his way the two of you would be at the church in the morning. But he’s waiting for you to let him know it’s alright. I’m not asking you to go upstairs and ask for a proposal, I’m just asking you to let him know when it’s time.”

Ebony hadn’t thought about it like that before. Henry hadn’t asked her to court him. He hadn’t spoken to her about marriage or children or their future. He really was being cautious around her. He was so courteous. She didn’t deserve him. That thought stopped her. That was the type of thinking that brought down her self-belief and esteem. Maybe, just maybe, she did deserve him. Maybe she was worthy of him. Maybe she did deserve to be happy.

“Thank you,” she said gratefully to Emilia. “And I’m so sorry about what happened to you.”

“I’m not,” Emilia replied happily, rising from the settee. “A little pain for a lifetime of happiness. I would happily pay the price two times over if I got to have my wedding, my marriage and my children all over again. They’re all grown up now and they don’t need me anymore. If I can do this one last deed to help Henry go off on his own into the world then I will. You will know the feeling when Celeste, and your own children are grown.”

“I think you are a wonderful mother,” Ebony said sincerely. “If I am half as good a mother as you then I shall be very happy.”

“I try my best. They don’t always appreciate it, but I see the products of my meddling all the time. Why, if I hadn’t intervened then none of my children would be married. When you and Henry are holding your first born then I shall think it a job well done.” Emilia looked quite pleased with herself. “Get to sleep, my dear. I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast.” With that she disappeared out the door.

Ebony could see it. She could see herself lying in a bed holding a newborn baby. She had tight brown curls and nice brown eyes. She was a girl, that’s what Ebony envisioned. And then there was Henry, who was looking at her with an unbelievable look of bliss. She wanted that. She could almost touch it. Almost. There was just one thing for her to face first.

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Hope you liked it!

Oh, I have to tell you all something that happened today :S But first, let's journey back to 2001. I was 7 years old and best friends in the world with a girl name Samantha. She and I were like twins. Anyways. We both had a monster crush on this guy named Sam, I know right :P Anywyas, so the first time I was ever kissed when by Sam outside our classroom in front of Samantha. He just came up to me and kissed me. I was like 'Whaaa??' and Samantha didn't talk to me for about 2 days. She only forgave me after I agreed to let her marry Sam and be the bridesmaid :P Samantha is no longer my best friend, we're still friendly and play netball on the same team but after I found out the reason she was being horrible to me come Grade 3 was because she was jealous of my hair (I had gorgeous, long blonde hair :D)  we sort of parted ways. But anyways, that was the first time someone kissed me. The first time I kissed someone was in 2007 when I was 13. His name was Andrew and he was GORGEOUS! Coincindentally Samantha had a monster crush on him at one point ... God, I'm a bit of a slu - actually no, I'm not. He kissed me just as much as I kissed him :) Plus I never said a bad word about Samantha :P Anyways, sorry I keep getting off track. We were in my friend Anneliese's bedroom, can't remember why, and yes, one thing led to another and we started kinda making out. Today I was at the supermarket picking up some bread and stuff and I ran into him. I haven't seen him since then as he went off to another high school and we made other friends and stuff. But he is SOOOO GORGEOUS still. Oh, god. He is so hot it was painful to look at him. And what did I look like? Gross. My hair was in a messy bun and I hadn't bothered to put my contacts in so I had my glasses on. I was wearing my daggy jeans not the ones that make my legs look good and a lame hoodie and he looked soooo good. He flashed me a smile and said 'Hey' and uhhhhhhhhhhh. I just wanted to get out of there. I got into my car and checked my teeth and they were good :P I then nearly hit him with my car as he was taking his trolley back to the trolley return. Kill me :P He was wearing red shorts that made his butt look cute ;)

Anyways, now you know the story of my first kiss :P

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