Chapter 1
"Would you look at that,Miss Iris, the sun is shining so brightly and the flowers are all in bloom. Are you really telling me that you would rather be inside, watching me make the beds than out in the gardens surrounding your home, soaking up thesun?"
Iris glanced towards the large window in her bedroom that allowed the natural light to shine brightly across her lovely ivory bedspread, with a small sense of longing in her heart. Maybe she would like to be out there with the sun rays beaming heat down onto her slender shoulders, the idea was a lovely one, but that just was not possible. Nottoday.
Today she had to stay in the room in isolation, with her fancy oak wood four poster bed, her lovely pale coloured wardrobe which contained all her fancy, barely worn, dresses, and her long decorated mirror. Her safe haven, the only place in the world where she truly feltsecure.
"You know how it is, Daisy," she sighed mournfully while fixing her gaze back on the deep blue carpet below her feet. "I am far more comfortable with you up here than I am down there. Especially when my father has so many guests visiting him." Iris folded her arms across her chest and she shuddered lightly. "They will all want to look at me, I cannot stand so many eyes on me atonce."
“Well, ofcourse, they will want to see you." Daisy chuckled. "You are from the famous Warwick family, a home with such wealth that it attracts the attentions of all people in polite society. You are also the youngest daughter to Robert Warwick, who probably should be betrothed already since you are nineteen years old. If you were out there, in the world, you would have offers of marriage falling at your feet every single day. Especially when you take a look at yourself. What man wouldn't want to make you hiswife?"
Without even meaning to, Iris flicked her gaze to the mirror in front of her, and she examined her appearance closely. Maybe she did not look much in the simple pale blue slip dress she had on because it slipped over her slim frame comfortably, but with her fair hair tumbling down her back in slightly messy waves, her curvy hips, plus her soft, pale porcelain skin, she knew that she could look wonderful if she tried. If she wore any sort of makeup around her large blue eyes, they sparkled, but Iris did not enjoy the sensation of strangers looking into them. That was the same reason she did not paint her lipseither.
She could look lovely if she wanted to, but shedidn’t.
Ever since Iris unexpectedly lost her wonderful mother to Smallpox when she was only thirteen years of age, she hadn’t spent a lot of time outside, and certainly never away from the grounds of her home. She was extremely close to her mother, she viewed her as her very best friend, and she was also the one person she naively never thought that she would have to say goodbye to. Even when she got sick, Iris allowed herself to believe that everything would bealright.
When the disease finally claimed her mother, it came as a massive shock to all the girls, but Iris especially. She took to her bed and found herself quite unable to move. She could not get up, even for the funeral. Her mood was so low that she actually wished for death herself, just so she could be back with her lovelymother.
When it became obvious that Iris would not be able to shake off her depression anytime soon, her father confined her to the inside of the home where she could feel how she pleased in peace, without threatening the family’s reputation. He did not allow her to attend society functions, even her own sisters’ weddings, to ensure that the gossip was kept to a minimum. As a Warwick, appearances had always been extremely important to Robert, and Iris felt that it was even more important because he had not managed to produce any sons to continue on with the familyname.
“That is what I’m afraid of,” Iris murmured gratefully. She did not want to attend any society functions, much less get marriage proposals. She was grateful to her father that he kept her inside, even if he didn’t mean it to be a nice thing. She wasn’t ever sure of his intentions because he didn’t speak to her very often atall.
“You are only saying that because of what happened to your sisters.” One of the negative side effects of spending so much time with the servants was that Daisy could now see right through her. She also didn’t hold the same boundaries as most serving staff did with Iris, they had become very close friends. “It will not happen toyou.”
“Olivia was widowed at only seventeen years of age. Now she is in ruins, with children to care for. No one else will marry her so she no longer has any hope.” Iris grew impassioned as she spoke. This was a subject that she felt very strongly about. “And Elizabeth is incredibly unhappy with her arrangement. She does not have any feelings for her husband, yet she is expected to produce an heir withhim.”
One of the positives of having older sisters was that Iris had been warned of what was expected from her on her wedding night... although she wasn’t sure that she liked the sound of it one bit. She imagined that it would be even worse with someone that she did not like at all. Her sympathies for Elizabeth wereendless.
“That is marriage these days,” Daisy shrugged, unperturbed. “One of the disadvantages of being a wealthy lady. You marry for political reasons, or convenience reasons. You do not wed for love.” Daisy glanced out the corner of her eye at the lady she held a lot of love for in her heart. She was well aware of Iris’s sensitive nature and fragile heart, and as the family did not seem to take the duty upon themselves, Daisy felt obliged to toughen her up a bit for the world she would eventually have to face. “I know you have fancy notions from the story books you read, but romance does not count for anything in yourworld.”
“But it does in yours?” Iris asked with wide eyes. She was desperate for answers, she needed to know how the other half lived because she was so discontent with her ownlife.
“Sometimes it does, sometimes not.” Daisy’s lips thinned and she returned her gaze back to the folding that she was doing. There seemed to be something behind her eyes, but Iris couldn’t tell what it was. “You seem to think that I have more freedom than you, but it simply is not thecase.”
“How so?” To Iris, the shackles of society felt like boulders resting heavily on her shoulders. She had spent a lot of nights lying up at night imagining how her life would be if she did not have the Warwick name. Sure, she would not have the money or the dresses, or even the lovely house to live in, but she also would not have the expectations. To her, that felt like a dream cometrue.
She could find the man of her dreams, just like the girls in the books that she adored so much. That was a freedom she desired more than anything else in the world. It wasn’t the concept of marriage that she abhorred, she only wanted it if it came with love. Maybe that was naïve, but Iris could not help what shefelt.
"Because, Miss Iris, much as I do not mind working in your home since I adore you so much, the work is not always easy. It is an unfortunate side effect of this world that we need money to survive. Now, again, I am not complaining because I know that I am paid well, but still, it limits what I can do." Daisy raised her eyebrows at Iris, wondering if she was getting even a word of this. "I am one and twenty years of age, if I were in your shoes then I would already be wed to some Lord, or a Duke maybe. As it is, I am still here, cleaning up after the Warwick family. Unwed, no romance, nonothing."
This shamed Iris. She felt her cheeks flame a bright red at the slight accusation on Daisy’s tone. It hit Iris that maybe everyone wanted what they did not have. She was not the only one who wasn’t totally happy with what life had handed to her. She wondered if Daisy thought that she was spoiled, that she did not know what shehad.
She hated the idea that Daisy would think anything bad about her, she was the only friend that she had in this large, emptyhome.
“You are beautiful too, Daisy. Youshouldbemarried.”
Daisy twisted her head away, totally disbelieving Iris’s comments. She had fair hair too, but she always wore it tied back so Iris wasn’t sure how long it was, and a nice figure. She wasn’t as slender, and her cheeks weren’t as lovely, but Daisy definitely had a pretty quality to her. If she was dressed up like a lady, Iris was sure that she’d pass for one withease.
“Now, Miss Iris, you should go for a ride on one of the horses. You need to get outside, to go for fresh air.” Daisy changed the subject rapidly to prevent any further debate on this sticky subject. Nothing good could come from it. “That is an activity that you can do alone, your land is large enough for you to remain inside. You won’t need an escort, or to face your father’s guests. It’sperfect.”
"Maybe I should," Iris replied half-heartedly. The idea was a nice one, but she wasn't sure if she could face it. Her stomach twisted up in tight knots at the idea of leaving the bedroom that she adored too much. "Afterlunch."
“Let me guess, you will be dining with me?” Daisy asked with a smirk. “Shall we take lunch in your room again? The same as we have done for the last sixyears?”
Iris giggled, glad to know that Daisy wasn’t annoyed by the arrangement. Iris had questioned her on it once, she did not want to take her away from the other servants if they were her friends, but Daisy scoffed and insisted that she would much rather spend time with her, and that was the last they’d ever spoken ofit.
“Of course, that is the onlyway.”
