Chapter 3
“MissIris?”
Iris could hear someone calling into her dreams, disturbing her rest, but she wasn’t quite ready to wake up just yet. It had taken her long enough to get to sleep, she didn’t want to leave it too soon. Iris knew that she wasn’t awake, that what she was experiencing wasn’t real, but it felt lovely all the same. She was sitting in a castle atop a hill, staring down at a lovely reddish garden while she waited for her love toreturn...
“MissIris?”
This time the voice was combined with a shake that rattled the brain in Iris's head. Something drastic had to be going on if someone wanted to disturb her, so with great regret, she pried her eyes open to discover what was going on. The bright light streamed in so hard and fast it caused an ache all over herbody.
“What is going on?” she murmured through the sleepy fog. Iris rubbed her head hard as she pushed herself into an upright position. “Daisy? Is everything alright? What ishappening?”
All of a sudden her heart sunk. The last time that Daisy had such a strange expression on her face it was because she suspected that Iris’s father was about to deliver some very bad news. Iris desperately prayed that whatever was happening now wouldn’t be so terrible again. She wasn’t sure that she could cope with another round of bad news when she was still reeling from the lastlot.
"Daisy, tell me," she warned while sitting up straighter. "I need to know what is going onnow."
“Miss Iris, do not worry.” Daisy waved her arms frantically, she didn’t mean to cause such alarm in Iris. She probably should’ve guessed that she would be still very much on edge after what happened the previous day. “It is not something to worry about. Your sister is here to see you. She is waiting downstairs rightnow.”
“Which sister?” Iris askedtentatively.
“Elizabeth,Miss...”
Without even bothering to get dressed, Iris tore from the room at top speed, knocking her bed covers to the floor as she raced away. She loved Olivia very much, she always had done, but she never seemed to understand why Iris fell into depression. Having faced terrible circumstances her whole life and getting through them with her head held high, she felt like her sister should be much stronger than shewas.
It was an expectation that Iris had never quite managed to get her headaround.
Elizabeth didn’t hold the same judgments about Iris. She simply loved Iris for who she was. The understanding wasn’t fully there, but the love and support always would be. Maybe it was because they were closer in age so they had grown up with a tighter bond, or maybe she just had a kinder, more open heart. Whatever it was, Iris adored having her come to visit and this was a perfect time for it. If she had ever needed her sister’s advice, it wasnow.
She finally spotted Elizabeth standing at the bottom of the stairs in a pale blue satin dress that fell past her ankles to scrape lightly along the ground. Her pale brown hair was twisted up into a very elegant looking chignon with jewels decorating it, and she had white gloves pulled up to her elbows. Iris had never seen her sister look so elegant before. She was used to seeing her dressed up like a lady, but now she had the poise too. And the tight expression Iris often saw on the society ladies... that certainly didn’t goamiss.
“Elizabeth!” Iris gasped loudly while falling into Elizabeth’s open arms. “I have missed you so much. How areyou?”
“Yes.” Elizabeth’s voice was as taut as her mouth, which suggested her mood did not match her words. “I am well, and how are you,sister?”
Iris pulled back and stared into her sister’s eyes. The deep blue was like an ocean of morose sadness that she truly did not want to dive into herself. If this was what life as a married woman would be like, then it certainly wasn’t what she wanted for herself. Elizabeth used to be joyful and carefree, it was such a shame to see that stripped fromher.
“Shall we go to my bedroom?” Iris urged quietly. “We can talk more freelythere?”
“Actually, I think it might be best for you to get dressed and we should have a walk in the gardens instead.” Elizabeth gave her sister a pointed look. “Then we can have true freedom when wespeak.”
Iris nodded slowly. Elizabeth wouldn't have suggested that walk outside knowing how little Iris liked it, if she had known that anyone else would be out there. It was clear that whatever she needed to discuss was so private that she couldn't risk their father hearing at all. It wasn't likely that he would be eavesdropping, but in the outdoors, there was absolutely no risk of accidentally listeningeither.
“Of course, wait here and I shall get dressednow.”
As Iris bounded back up the stairs to her room, and she pulled on the first slip dress she could find, her mind raced over the endless possibilities. Despite the fact that Elizabeth was not happy in her marriage, there wasn’t anything she could do to change that now, so it had to be something different which she wished to discuss. Could she be having a baby? Did she want to tell Irismoreabout how that had happened, filling her with an even deeper horror of the prospect? Or could it be something about another person entirely? Elizabeth wasn’t much for society gossip, despite the fact that most other ladies seemed to relish in it, so if she had something scandalous to tell Iris it would be veryimportant.
Oh for goodness sake, she couldn’t stand it any longer! There was no point in allowing her imagination to get the better of her, she had to just find out the truth. It probably wouldn’t be anywhere near as bad as anything she could concoct in her own mind anyway. Without bothering to tie up her hair or even check her appearance, Iris left her bedroom and found her sister oncemore.
Elizabeth did not say another word to Iris until they were outside and far enough away from the house that not a single soul could hear them. Even so, she glanced around to check that there were no spies, before she opened her mouth to finally put Iris out of hermisery.
“Iris, I have heard thenews.”
Oh. Iris’s heart sunk. She knew that her betrothal was something that she needed to discuss eventually, but Elizabeth knowing already made it that much more real. What if that meant everyone knew? There certainly wouldn’t be any escapethen.
Not that there was much chance of itanyway.
“Father is sick? He isdying?”
Ah, that made moresense!
