Victoria's POV

I woke up that morning to the sound of Kate humming softly as she set my clothes out for the day. She had been my lady in waiting for years now and we had been… Well, I suppose friends since we were young. She's the daughter of one of the other servants and we became close after her mother passed away. Though I rarely associated with her when there were other people around, I did care for Kate. She was a shy girl with her beautiful dirty blond hair always up in a bun when she worked. Her hazel eyes always looked very sad and withdrawn, but she had a genuine kindness in her that I rarely saw in others. Especially here in London.

"Good morning, Kate," I said as I sat up in my bed, rubbing my eyes.

"Good morning, Lady Victoria," she replied, giving me a smile that warmed my heart. She always smiled at me like that, even when I did not treat her the way she deserved to be treated.

"Are you still going to have time to play for me this morning?" I asked, stretching as Kate set a simple red gown on the edge of my bed. Kate had taken to playing the violin when we were children. I remember the first time I had discovered her playing, I was ten years old and she had picked up the violin my father had tried to force me to play. She played it so naturally even then that I begged my father to pay for her to get lessons. In turn, I took to the piano, promising to learn to play it as masterfully as I could if it meant father would pay for Kate's violin lessons. Not that I would ever admit to such a thing. Ever since then, I would listen to her play for a little while in the mornings when I read or studied. It was a very calming time for me, a good way to start off my day.

"Not today, I'm afraid," she replied with a soft smile, though she looked nervous. "We have to prepare for our trip to the Caribbean and the ship leaves at noon today."

"Oh, yes, right," I said, getting out of bed and walking over to the where Kate had set the red gown. "You will bring the violin along, won't you? I would still love to hear your playing while we are away."

"Of course, my lady," she replied, walking over and helping me undress. "I asked the cook to prepare your usual breakfast this morning and then your mother suggested that we go into town to meet with Lord Prescott so that we can go window shopping before the ship arrives."

"All of my things have already been packed?" I asked, smiling at the thought of seeing Nathan. He was my best friend and I hadn't seen him for a few weeks because he had been away visiting his uncle to talk about some business that I didn't care to listen to as he explained it before he left. I was happy that I would be able to see him before I left for the Caribbean. Father had some business he needed to attend to around our estate there and I always loved going to the islands, so I always went with him. I loved the atmosphere in those places. The air was always so bright and felt less heavy than the atmosphere in cities like London. Plus, I loved the beaches there, they were always so beautiful. The people were strange, but their legends were fascinating. I had spent many nights with the servants there when I was a child. Our cook on that estate was a local woman who knew so many stories that she still hadn't told them all to me yet, even years after our nightly story sessions had begun. Kate never liked the stories, though. She was easily frightened by those sorts of things and would often ask me to pray with her before bed after we listened to the stories.

"Yes, my lady," Kate replied, pulling me from my thoughts. She was helping me put my gown on now, straightening the skirt out after she got it laced up in the back. "Does that fit alright?" She asked. It was a new gown that I'd never worn before, so I was sure she wanted to be sure that it wouldn't have to be altered.

"It fits fine," I replied, becoming impatient. I wanted to see Nathan and hear about his trip. He had been in Paris, where I had always wanted to go but had yet to. I had studied French all my life and had always wanted to explore France from border to border, but I had never had the time. Father had me busy learning all about how to be a business woman and how to rule the art world with an iron fist, while my mother had me busy learning how to be a lady and all the right things to say to the all right people. With all the things they had taught me, I wouldn't be surprised if they were preparing me to take over the art world after they retired. Not that they ever would. Father had even gone as far as hire someone to teach me how to use a musket and a sword. Even though I would probably never have to use those skills, he said that self defence was always a good skill to have just in case.

"Are you alright, Lady Victoria?" Kate's voice pulled me from my thoughts and I smiled at her a little, trying to look more energetic than I felt. I had been having strange dreams lately. Dreams where I was at sea and there was a storm and some woman with brilliant blue eyes and freckles, but it was hard to remember all of it. I would always push the dreams to the back of my mind whenever they woke me up in the middle of the night and I did the same whenever they somehow managed to push themselves back to the front of my mind during the day.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," I replied, putting on my shoes and walking over to my vanity. I sat down and Kate picked up the hairbrush in front of the mirror, running it through my long, light blonde hair. I had always hated having it long, but mother insisted that a lady kept her hair long no matter how insufferable it was. If it were up to me, I'd cut it all off without a second thought.

I felt my tense shoulders loosening as Kate brushed my hair. She was so gentle about it that it always made me feel more relaxed. I sighed softly, and let myself lean back in the chair that I was sitting in.

"Are you excited for the trip?" I asked, wanting to fill the air with something besides the strange silence that often lingered in the morning. I was an only child and my parents had never been the loudest people, so it was usually quiet in the house unless we had guests or when Kate was playing the violin. In a way, when I really thought about it, Kate was like my sister. She had always been there for me, even when I told her to leave me alone. She was like the sister I had never asked for but had sort of always needed. Not that I would ever admit that to anyone aloud. Nathan was kind of like a brother to me as well. I would take care of him when we were young and he needed someone to look out for him. We were the same age but it was almost like I was his big sister. When we were children, he would come to our estate and we would play hide and seek in the garden and he would always try to cheat. Kate would play with us sometimes, but Nathan would always poke fun at her until she cried and then I would have to tell him what a horrible gentleman he would turn out to be and then he would start crying. Then I would be comforting two crying children until Nathan finally apologized and we would go back to playing.

"I do love the ocean," Kate replied, pulling me from my memories. I often lost focus when I hadn't gotten enough sleep. "It's nice to to draw the things I see when we're there. Are you excited, my lady?" She asked, braiding my hair.

"I'm excited to see what has changed since we were there last," I replied, watching Kate in the mirror. She was quite a beautiful young woman. I had no doubt that she would find a husband someday. I hoped that he would be good to her. That he would be sweet to her and never let anyone hurt her. Because she was hurt here more often than I would like to admit. My parents and some of the staff were very cruel to her. I had talked with father about it some time ago, but nothing had changed. I hoped that time would take her away from here to some place that deserved how radiant her smile was when it was genuine. She looked up and met my eyes in the mirror, blushing when she saw that I was staring at her.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked. I smiled and shook my head, looking down at my hands folded in my lap.

"Nothing's wrong," I replied. "I was just thinking."

"What about?" She asked, still braiding my hair. She was trying to make it as perfect as possible. I paused, wondering if I should tell her the truth. I didn't want to bring up anything that would upset her, but I also wanted to talk with her about something that mattered. She was one of my closest friends, if not one of my only friends. We spent most of our time together. I wanted to be sure that she was alright. Partly because I cared about her, but also partly because her mood affected mine as well.

"How has everyone been treating you as of late?" I asked, watching her in the mirror but flicking my eyes away when she looked up at the mirror to look at my face. She hesitated, looking back down to continue with my hair.

"As they always have, my lady," she said softly, the hint of a frown on her face.

"So not as well as you should be treated," I replied, watching as she met my eyes with a look of shock on her face. She closed her mouth because it had been hanging open, looking away for a moment. "Kate, if anyone is cruel to you, please tell me. I don't want you to be so sad. It's really a damper on all of the things that we'll be doing while on our trip." The last part felt cruel to say because I felt like I was making her feelings seem like they were only valid because they affected me, which wasn't the case in the slightest. She just deserved better, but I couldn't give away my soft hearted intentions so completely.

"If that is what you want, my lady," she replied, finally finishing with my hair. I stood and turned to face her, grabbing her chin gently with my fingers to lift her gaze to mine.

"I want you to feel safe here, Kate," I told her, making my voice gentle but firm so that she knew I was serious. "You deserve to feel safe in your own home." She just nodded, looking at me with wide, hazel eyes. I let my fingers fall from her chin and we walked out of my room and down the hall. I found the stairs, walking down them and then down another hall until I had reached the dining room. Mother and father were already there, waiting for me. They were always early to breakfast. Mother looked up at Kate and I as we entered and gave me a small smile and a curt nod.

"Good morning, Victoria darling," she said, sitting up in her chair. Father continued to read his paper, reaching over to a cup of morning tea and sipping it idly before setting it back down on the small saucer.

"Good morning," I replied, sitting down just as a servant brought out my food.

"I'm going to check that everything is prepared for the trip, my lady," Kate said, giving me a bow before exiting the room. I ate my breakfast in silence, wanting to hurry so that I could go see Nathan, but also not wanting to rouse suspicion. My parents had already tried to get me to marry Nathan more than once and I had refused each time, saying that marrying Nathan would be no less revolting than marrying my own brother. That always made my mother cringe and forget the idea completely for at least a short while.

Looking up at my mother, who had picked up a book that had been next to her plate, I wondered if I would look like her when I was her age. My parents were both further along in years than most parents, but they both looked far younger than they really were. I had gotten most of my looks from my mother. The blonde hair and the cold stares that could kill a full grown man. But I had gotten my green eyes and tight jaw from my father, who always looked like he was dealing with business rather than anything fun or pleasing in any other way. My father was all about business, it was all he ever really talked about. My mother was similar, but instead of business that had to do with art and money, my mother spoke often of business that had to do with men and marriage and all things that came with being a young lady born into a rich family.

After I had finally finished my breakfast, I excused myself and found Kate in the study, scribbling away in a small, leather bound book. I stopped in the doorway, watching the way the light caught against her skin. I hadn't realized how pale she was. Was she always so pale? And she had these dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn't been sleeping. I cleared my throat to get her attention, feeling impatient. She jumped a little, looking up at me in surprise.

"Are we ready to go into town?" I asked her, giving her a soft smile. I had this sudden urge when she met my eyes. Like I needed to protect her, like she was my little sister and I needed to make sure that nobody ever hurt her again. It was strange and one of the only positive emotions I'd ever felt so strongly. If one could really call it positive. She closed the small book and set it on a side table, getting to her feet.

"Yes, my lady," she replied, looking at the floor as she walked toward me. We made our way out of the house and were just outside the outermost gate of my family's estate when I finally spoke.

"You should call me Victoria," I said, breaking the tense silence that had grown between us. She looked up at me in surprise, her mouth hanging open a little. I avoided her eyes, keeping my gaze straight ahead. "Just because I don't like when you sound so formal. We are practically sisters, after all." I managed to sound nonchalant, which was very satisfying to me. I wasn't giving too much away.

"If that's what you want, m- Victoria," she replied, her voice soft. But I could hear the smile at the edges of her words and it was hard for me not to smile as well. Making Kate smile was a nice feeling. I planned to do it more often from then on.