She had made her mind about one thing though. She would go back to Thomas’s estate and get all her stuff and move to the Lovelace’s chateau for the time being. She was really just waiting for the right time. Thomas generally left home for work around 9 AM and she had decided to start from the Lovelace’s by 9.30 AM to make sure that she did not bump into him. That would give her enough of a window to pack all her belongings. Elisabeth thought the best thing for her to do was work on making the event a grand success by putting in all her efforts into it. That was the only thing that gave her a sliver of hope in such dark times.
Elisa was seated on the porch just outside the main when she heard the door swing open and saw Adelaide coming out, still trying to grind out the last bit of sleep from her eyes.
“How did you sleep last night?” She asked as she looked at Elisa’s eyes. “Never mind. I know the answer to that question.” She conceded.
“I am going to get all my stuff shifted to the chateau today. Is that alright with you both? I need to place to stay for a week until the event is over which I am hoping will be a success. That should leave me with enough money after we split the earnings, to buy a new home wherever I want.” Elisabeth declared.
“That sounds like a plan! You could use my share too if you want and pay me back as you see fit. I only agreed to split the profits because you insisted on it.” Adelaide wanted Elisa to keep the money.
“A deal is deal, Adel. There are no shortcuts in business. I should know!” she said, smiling, after what seemed like ages.
Elisa had her breakfast and then had a hot shower set up for her by Lissa. She then changed into something more presentable than the gown she had been wearing since yesterday. She surprised to find the almost all the clothes that she found in Adel’s closet were made by her. Adelaide wanted to go with her to Thomas’s estate, lest she meet Thomas and the situation turned ugly again. Elisa had a lot of convincing to do to deter her from going. She finally agreed but only if she made the promise to come back to the chateau if Thomas was still present there. Elisa agreed to keep that promise.
It was already 9.45 AM by the time she left the Lovelace’s and she was absolutely certain that there was no way that she would bump into Thomas there as he must have be immersed in his work by now. After riding the carriage for about half an hour, she reached Thomas’s estate. She knocked on the door to see that Martha opened it. She had obviously understood everything that went on in that house that day. She hugged her as soon as she opened the door and this made Elisa feel better.
“Are you here to collect your luggage, Madam?” asked Martha meekly.
“Yes, I am Martha.” She responded.
“Your bags are all packed and ready to be taken away, Madam! Mr. Thomas had me go through each and every corner of the room and pack in everything that you had brought to the house.” Martha looked down as she said that.
“Well, I did not realize that Thomas cared so much about me!” There was sarcasm in her voice.
She wanted to check her room one last time to see nothing got left behind and so she excused herself from Martha and asked her to come to her when she called her name so that she could help load them on to the carriage.
As she conducted a final check of her room, she heard some noise coming from the sewing room that was adjacent to her room. She pushed the door aside and stood stunned to see Thomas arranging what looked like gift boxes.
“Don’t leave Elisa.” Pleaded Thomas as she turned around to leave.
Elisabeth stood her ground.
“This is my Christmas gift for you. I have been working on this since the last few weeks. Thankfully, I have been successful in completing the list just in time for you to see it.” Thomas tried to force a smile.
“Why should I be interested in whatever you have to say or show?” Asked Elisa scornfully.
“Please, Elisa. Indulge this one last time. You are, however, free to leave as you please. I understand I do not have any hold over how you react especially because of the way I have always treated you. If you could just look at these gifts and allow me to speak honestly, I would like to come clean.” Thomas looked at Elisabeth with eyes that seemed to look right into her soul.
Elizabeth decided that spending a few more minutes won’t harm anyone. She also noticed a visible change in the manner of speaking. He also said something about coming clean. That alone interested her to stay on for a few more minutes.
She opened the first of the boxed with the glittering gold wrapping paper around it. As soon as she lifted the box she knew what she was looking at. She snapped back to look at Thomas who was still looking down. Only a few people in London knew that she was looking to find a bolt of “Muga Silk”. And to think that Thomas actually took the note that she wrote him when she returned the flowers seriously, puzzled her.
She moved on to the next box and found a musical doll of the same kind that she had as a child. That piece of her favorite toy broke on the day her grandmother died and looking a brand new one just like that in front of her really made her eyes swell up.
When she lifted the next box, she found of photograph of her grandmother with one of her oldest fabric suppliers. The photo must have been a few decades old as her grandmother looked much younger than she remembered and even her vendor looked nothing like the frail old man that he had been reduce to now. The photo made her smile and brought back sweet memories of her childhood. She could not for the life of her, figure out how Thomas managed to get all these gifts together.
The last box that she lifted had her favorite flowers – oriental lilies. They were extremely hard to find and really expensive even if someone did manage to find them.
Elisabeth was stunned imagining the amount of work that Thomas must have put in gathering all these items. While some items were extremely rare others were really personal. She could not wrap her head around the fact that Thomas had gone to such lengths to find gifts for her. She cleared her throat as if to indicate that it was now his turn to speak. She tried to keep a straight face as Thomas looked at her and began speaking.
“I was told that I should rely on my heart and not my mind when I am speaking to you. And I am going to try and do that now. It is quite possible that you will hear certain things that you may not like, but I still want you hear them. At the end, I will pose a very important question that will give you all the rights to make a future as per your liking.” Thomas began.
Elisabeth nodded in agreement as the pace of her heart beat kept increasing.
“I had only started getting involved with you so that I could break you and Adelaide up. I was trying to fix my friend’s family and initially my only intention was to serve as a distraction. But since the time I first kissed you, I have not been able to stop thinking about you. My beginnings are as humble as yours. I had nothing, no parents, no inheritance and a family business which was running into losses. I had to become way too mature way too soon.” Thomas’s eyes swelled up as he continued after clearing his throat. “I made all of this with my own hands. Maybe that is why I kept creating a class divide in my mind whenever I thought about you. I did not want to lose the good name that I had made for myself. But while doing that I forgot to look at this from your perspective. I know now, why you detest the sound of the word mistress. A single woman fighting a lonely, losing battle against all the sharks in the business must have been really hard for you. And to have someone in a ball look at you judgmentally because you were a mistress, might have been the reason why you so vehemently opposed the idea. But even after Adelaide and Robert got back together, I could shake off the feelings that I felt for you. I had thought it was just sexual tension between two people. But when I saw you leaving the other day, I realized that I had to share the rest of my life with you. I do not care about the society or the classes or any other thing except one, your happiness. Elisabeth I want to be the one to take care of you for the rest of my living life. I know the hurt that I may have caused you and willing to put in th
e effort to make it up to you. I have already kept your bags ready so that you can leave as you please. But here is my questions, do you want them moved to Lovelace’s or to the empty lady’s suite upstairs?” Thomas bent his and took out a small box from his pocket, which had the most beautiful looking ring inside it.
“Elisabeth, will you marry me?” Thomas asked as he looked into Elisa’s deep eyes forlornly.
Elisabeth was stunned by the complete turnaround in Thomas’s behavior. She could not feel the wall around him that she used to feel earlier. She knew that this was the inner Thomas that she fell head over heels for.
“Yes”, she said nodding her head as tear trickled down her cheeks.
“No more crying” Thomas said as he wiped the tear off her face and kissed her on her lips long, hard and with passion.
* * *
Chapter 35
There was standing ovation as the event finished on a high. Adelaide was the last of the girls that she had selected to carry her dress at the event. Almost all the gowns made everyone’s head turn. The cuts, fringes and trimming that was used by Elisabeth were unconventional to say the least. Some designers who had come to attend the event would have scoffed at the mere idea of such a design. What Elisabeth was doing was more dangerous and cutting edge, which got all the woman in the room really excited. Elisabeth had managed to feel the pulse of the market and add to it a complete different dimension of aesthetics that were as pleasing to the eye as they were magnanimous. The highlight of the event was the evening gown that she had made for Adelaide to wear. Most of the vastly experienced designers there had barely even heard the name of “Muga Silk” before. The crowd rose up in jubilant appreciation as Elisabeth came out thronged on both sides with all the girls who had worn her dress tonight. And standing right there with her was her best friend, business partner and confidante – Adelaide Lovelace.
After everyone had left, they four of them went out to the porch and as the guys seated on the chairs, the women sat themselves down on the arm of those chairs. It was a great night. And they were just getting started.
Thank You
Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing to read my books out of the thousands that merit reading. I recognize that reading takes time and quietness, so I am grateful that you have designed your lives to allow for this enriching endeavor, whatever the book's title and subject.
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Morris Fenris
Author of ‘Cuddlesack Queens: A Hat Trick’.
Hat Trick Page 53