Laszlo rushed up the steps back to the townhouse, pushing the front door open and looking around, expecting to find Elizabeth there and waiting for him. But she was nowhere to be seen. He left his cane by the door as he heard crying come from the parlour. Emily's wails echoed through the house and Laszlo didn't bother removing his coat as he moved into the room, finding Diana holding Emily and trying to get her to stop crying while Lucy sat on the edge of the piano stool, her hands in her skirt covered lap and her eyes wide and also wet. He had no doubt that the two girls were finding the situation stressful.
Truth be told, Laszlo had been on edge for quite some time, but when Diana had called him to tell him that Charlotte had disappeared, he had lost the ability to think rationally. Sara had been the one to force him to leave, calling Stevie from across the street where he had take refugee eating a baked potato.
"Where's Elizabeth?" Laszlo asked from Diana, his daughter still screaming in her arms as he moved further into the room, Emily reaching out towards him. He took hold of her in his arms, soothing her as he bounced her in his arm and she wrapped her arms around his neck and Diana looked relieved that someone had come to rescue her.
"She went looking for Charlotte. She called the police and they said that they would keep a look out for a missing girl, but she couldn't sit here and do nothing."
"Did she say where she was going to look?" Laszlo continued to push, Emily burrowing her face against his neck and he let his cheek rest on the top of her head for a moment, comforting his daughter as best as he possibly could as she clung onto him.
Shaking her head, Emily looked apprehensive. "She just said that she was going to go and try to find her," she said to him. "She left quickly and she's been gone about half an hour. I didn't know whether to follow her, but I wasn't going to leave the girls here alone."
"You did right," Laszlo promised her, seeing her tuck her straight black hair behind her ears, her cheeks rosy and puffed outwards. She tugged at the blue skirt she wore tucked into her white shirt and bent down towards Lucy, knowing that she was older and more perceptive than her sister. She brushed her hair behind her ear before standing tall again as Laszlo looked around, clearly feeling at a loss as to what was the best thing to do.
"If you want me to stay here then I can," Diana said to him. "I had plans to meet with Joshua this evening, but I can move them."
"I don't want to ruin your evening."
"Nonsense, finding Charlotte is the most important thing right now?"
"Where has she gone, daddy?" Lucy was the one to ask and he glanced down to her as she looked at him, her eyes as large as saucers and her lips parted. Her hair hung in dark curls down her back and Laszlo looked down to her before moving to sit down next to her on the bench, Emily still holding onto him tightly as he managed to move his good arm out to his other daughter, feeling her burrow against his side.
"She…your mother has gone to find her," Laszlo decided to say to her, not wanting to distress her any further. He felt her weight rest against him and he saw Diana adjust her long legs as she sat down on the edge of the couch across from them, one folding over the other. She left her hands in her lap as she bowed her head.
Laszlo knew that she knew what was going on. There was no way she couldn't have heard the arguments that were going on in the household. How would it be possible to have not heard them? He closed his eyes for a moment and did his best to work out what the best course of action would be. He wanted to go and find Charlotte. He wanted to be useful. But he didn't know where to start.
"I need to go out," Laszlo declared, both his daughters looking to him as he glanced between the two of them. "Can you two be good for Diana just for a little bit?"
"I can help," Lucy said to her father and his lips arched for a moment despite the situation. He bent his neck down and pecked her on the top of her head. "I know I can help."
"I don't doubt it," Laszlo humoured her on that matter, uncertain of what more he could do in this situation. "But I need you to stay here and keep Emily company with Diana, which is just as important."
"I can do that," she said determinedly and Laszlo's lips picked up once more and he gave her one final kiss in her hair before standing up, handing Emily back to Diana and kissing her on the forehead. Before he even had a chance to leave the parlour, the front door opened. He heard it creak and he rushed into the hallway, seeing the figure of Charlotte stood there. She wore a light, blue dress with a floral pattern over the skirts and the bodice, her hair tied into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. Laszlo felt himself huff loudly as he stood and watched her.
"Where have you been?" he demanded to know from her.
"Out."
"Out?" he echoed back to her. "Do you have any idea how worried we have been about you? Elizabeth is out there right now trying to find where you'd gone."
Charlotte shrugged her shoulders and Laszlo felt his chest tighten and his throat clench. He could feel a coarse of anger take hold of him, but he knew there was no point in yelling at her. It had done no good so far and no doubt it would start to work now. Instead, he remained rooted on the spot as Charlotte folded her arms over her chest.
"Tell me where you went," Laszlo demanded from her.
"I told you that I just went out," Charlotte retorted, her chin jutted out stubbornly. She had quite the defiant look in her gaze and if they were related, Laszlo would suspect that it was almost the same as his wife's glare whenever she was displeased.
"No," Laszlo said firmly. "We are not doing this, Charlotte. You are not keeping secrets from us."
"Like you haven't kept secrets from me?" Charlotte retorted and Laszlo wanted to roll his eyes, but he remained composed and dignified. This was his job. His job was to analyse people. It was to discover what they were hiding, but why was he finding it so hard with Charlotte? What was going on with him and with her?
"Is this about those awful rumours?" he demanded from Charlotte. "Because that is what they are. They are nothing but rumours and I would hope by now that you know me and Elizabeth better than that…that we have done nothing but look after you."
Charlotte clenched her hands into fists by her side and she shook her head firmly. "No," she snapped at him. "You've done nothing but lie to me…make me think I could be a part of your family…that I could actually be a Kreizler like you, but I'm not. I'm never going to be that because I have my own family…a family you stole me from."
"Charlotte, I don't understand what you mean," Laszlo said to her, his brows knitting together on his forehead. "Your mother and father died in an accident. They were killed. You know that."
"I only know what you've told me," Charlotte huffed loudly.
"Then what is it you think you know?" Laszlo questioned. There was something amiss. He could sense that much. There was something that wasn't quite right and he didn't entirely know how to deal with it or how to get Charlotte to talk. And so he remained stood on the spot, waiting for her to respond. She couldn't look at him. She couldn't look him in the eye.
"I know that you and Elizabeth don't want me," Charlotte said firmly. "Not as much as you claim to."
"How can you possibly know that let alone think it?" Laszlo questioned from her, but she said nothing. Instead, she began to move forwards, pushing by Laszlo. But he grabbed hold of her by the wrist. They weren't finished with this conversation.
"Talk to me, Charlotte," Laszlo almost pleaded with her. He kept his grip firm on her and she looked to him, the glower evident in her eyes. He began to wonder when she had changed from the innocent little girl who would run into his arms whenever he returned home to this young woman who seemed to resent him.
"I don't want to talk to you," Charlotte snarled.
"Stop it!"
Both of them suddenly looked at the new voice that had entered the room, their eyes moving down and to the doorway of the parlour. Lucy was stood there, her hands by her side as Diana came to stand behind her.
"Why are you being so mean, Charlotte? Why are you being nasty?"
Charlotte looked down to Lucy and for a moment she felt her heart break at the sight of the little girl there. But she wasn't her sister, not really. She had been there ever since she had been born. She had watched her grow into a small toddler. She had heard her first words. She had seen her take her first steps. She had been by her side and loved her so much. She still did love her. Of course she did. But she was not her sister. Lucy and Emily were Laszlo and Elizabeth's daughters. They were all biologically related and eventually Charlotte knew that would mean something, despite the two parents claiming it wouldn't.
"Where the hell have you been?"
The front door opened again and Elizabeth stormed in, her dress flowing behind her and her hair ruffled, no doubt from her pushing her fingers through it numerous times. She was doing everything in her power to control her anger, but seeing Charlotte stood there, she felt pain and relief.
"I'm not staying for this," Charlotte complained, snatching her wrist from Laszlo's grip as Diana came to take hold of Lucy by the shoulder, steering her back into the parlour and away from the commotion.
"Yes, you are," Elizabeth yelled at her as Charlotte began to move up the steps, Elizabeth following after her. "You are going to tell me what you're playing at. Do you know how scared we were? Seeing that you'd disappeared?"
"I'm sure you got over it," Charlotte said, coming to the landing and moving along it towards her room as Laszlo climbed the stairs, inches behind his wife. Charlotte tossed her head over her shoulder to look back at the couple, her eyes wide and wet. She was trying not to cry, Lucy's words still echoing in her ears.
"Got over it?" Elizabeth echoed back at her. "I spent the entire day worrying about you, Charlotte…running around the streets of New York trying to find you. How can you say that?"
"Because you're not my mother!" Charlotte yelled at her. "You're not my mother and you're not my father. Neither of you care about me…you took me…you took me from the Institute."
"Took you?" Elizabeth repeated her words back to her once again. "Charlotte, I asked you if you wanted me to adopt you. I asked you and you agreed."
"Because I didn't know the truth," Charlotte retorted loudly. "I didn't know what you were."
"And what's that?" Elizabeth asked from her, almost scared to receive the answer, however. But she had to know. She had to do this. She could feel the warmth of Laszlo's body behind her.
Charlotte said nothing. Her mouth opened, but she seemed to think better of actually speaking. Instead, she shook her head and moved into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her as Elizabeth sighed loudly and moved towards the door. But Laszlo took hold of her by the arm. She turned to look to him and he shook his head for a moment, seeing that she was on the verge of tears. He closed the gap between them, his hands moving to rest on her waist as she took hold of his forearms, trying to push them down from her so that she could go after Charlotte, but failing.
"Take a minute," Laszlo urged from her, seeing that she needed time to calm herself. "Just take a moment."
"What the hell is going on, Laszlo?" she wondered from her husband, her breath coming out in a short pant as she spoke, shaking her head back and forth numerous times. Laszlo also shook his head, not sure of how he should answer that question she posed to him for he didn't truly know himself. He was just as lost as she clearly was.
"I don't know," Laszlo whispered back to her. "I honestly don't know."
…
The rest of the day was a tense affair. Elizabeth tried to put on a brave face for Lucy and Emily, playing with them in the parlour as Laszlo also spent time with them. Diana insisted on cancelling her dinner plans with the young man she was courting, instead claiming that she was happy to spend the evening there, cooking them all a meal. Charlotte not once came out from her bedroom, nor did she speak to Elizabeth or Laszlo when they went up to try and talk to her.
Putting Emily and Lucy to bed together, Elizabeth and Laszlo then retired down to the parlour once more, finding Diana finishing off tidying up. She said that she would get an early night, checking that was fine with the couple. Elizabeth said it was no bother, thanking her for all her help and once again apologising that she had been forced to cancel her plans.
Sitting on the couch, Elizabeth watched Laszlo move to the drink's cart once they were alone. He poured a glass of bourbon for both of them, handing his wife a glass as he sank down to sit next to her once more. She settled into the plush cushions, leaning her head back and tossing the drink down her throat, not bothering with polite sips.
"Do you remember when she was younger and wouldn't speak?" Elizabeth suddenly said, her arm brushing Laszlo's. "We thought that there was something she had seen…some past trauma…and we knew it would take time for her to open up to us. But this…Laszlo…I don't know how to get her to open up. I've tried everything. I've tried yelling, begging, reasoning…none of it seems to work."
"I know."
"I just don't know what more we can do," she said to her husband, her tone almost one of defeat. Of course, it wasn't. She was never going to give up on Charlotte, that wasn't in her nature. She didn't quit.
"At first I had wondered if it was jealousy," Laszlo confessed, swirling the liquid in his glass, watching it slosh up against the sides as his nimble fingers continued to rotate the tumbler. "I wondered if she was jealous of Lucy and Emily. It seemed that she was."
"But now?" Elizabeth pushed him.
"But now…she said some things that don't entirely make sense to me," Laszlo said. "I think that there is someone trying to turn her against us, but I don't know who it could be. Her rage isn't directed at Emily or Lucy. She hasn't lashed out or shown anger towards them. Instead, it is us who she is angry with. It is us who she claims has lied to her."
"But who would be saying these things?" Elizabeth pushed him. "It can't be children at the school, surely? Why would she believe them over us? I know you claim that children can be easily manipulated, but this feels more than that."
"I know what you mean," Laszlo said to her, agreeing fully with that point. He reached out and let his free hand move to sit on her thigh. She reached down and took hold of his fingers, lacing them in between her own. She leant her head against his shoulder as she placed her glass onto the table next to the couch. "But I don't know who it could be…or what could be making her feel this way. The only thing that I can suggest is something you will not like."
Elizabeth peered up to him then. He had removed his tie from his neck, the top three buttons of his shirt undone and his waistcoat ruffled. He placed his own glass down on the table to the side of him before running his hand along her cheek, his thumb brushing over her cheekbone softly.
"What is it?" she wondered from him.
"We ask Sara for help," Laszlo said.
"Sara?" Elizabeth queried. "What on earth could Sara do to help?"
As she asked the questioning, she came to the realisation of what he was saying. Her mouth parted and Laszlo shrugged his shoulders, still letting his thumb run along her cheekbone as his other fingers sat in the curls of her hair by her ear.
"You cannot be serious," she deadpanned.
"On the contrary, I am running out of ideas," Laszlo retorted. "If there is someone putting these rumours…these lies…into her mind then she isn't telling us willingly, Elizabeth. She isn't telling us anything and this has been going for too long now. Do you think I like this idea? I hate it. I hate asking Sara if one of her girls can follow Charlotte, but I don't know what more we can do."
"This feels wrong, Laszlo," Elizabeth said, shaking her head and pulling his hand from her cheek, her fingers wrapping around his wrist and lowering his hand back down. "To spy on our own daughter? It's not what a family should do…we should be talking to her. We should be trying to break through."
"And how much longer do you think that will take?"
"And do you think she will be any more willing to talk to us if she finds out that we have been spying on her?" Elizabeth questioned him back and Laszlo nodded.
"If she finds out," he said.
"No," Elizabeth said firmly and Laszlo knew that tone. "Laszlo, we're not doing that. If I have to follow her then I will, but we are not having someone else do it. This is our business to deal with…our family life…it stays between us."
"If you are certain then I will not push you on the matter," Laszlo promised her.
"Thank you," she said to him, grateful that he had at least done that for her and wasn't going to argue with her anymore. She pecked him on the cheek, his beard scraping against her lips for a few moments before she pulled away and looked over his face, seeing how his eyes were roaming over her, looking her up and down.
"We'll find a way through this," Laszlo assured her. "But for tonight, perhaps we need to get some rest. It's been a long day."
"I doubt I could sleep right now," Elizabeth huffed and Laszlo felt her slip down the couch, her side now pressing against his and he lifted his arm up to let her nestle closer. She let her head fall to rest by his neck, his chin pressing by her forehead. "Tell me what happened at 808."
"Mrs Jones was there," Laszlo said. "And she didn't have any secrets she was hiding from me. She brought her daughter…the youngest…with her. For all intents and purposes they were a normal family. She couldn't understand why Josephine was killed or who would want to kill her. She did raise something, however."
"What was that?"
"She mentioned how it took time for Josephine to come to terms with having a younger sister," Laszlo said and his eyes widened for a moment, almost as though he was trying to force them to stay open and for him to stay awake. He had to confess that, even though Elizabeth might not be tired, he was beginning to feel exhausted. "She worried that her mother might not love her once the baby was born."
"Really?" Elizabeth wondered, moving her hand to take hold of Laszlo's that was wrapped around her shoulders. She ran her thumb over her knuckles. "You don't think that had anything to do with the killing, do you? Or…"
"I had wondered if it was a coincidence or something more, especially with the way Charlotte is behaving," Laszlo said. "But children often get jealous. Besides, Mrs Jones said that it only lasted a week or so and was nothing that concerned her, so I doubt it is relevant."
"So…you have no clues?" Elizabeth asked him.
"At the moment, it is difficult to narrow things down," Laszlo confessed, not knowing what more he could say on the matter. He sighed and felt Elizabeth lift up from him for a moment, kissing him tenderly on the cheek.
"I'm sure something will happen…something to make sense of this," she said to him and Laszlo chuckled darkly and shrugged his shoulders, peering down onto her and looking her in the eye, his gaze softening at the sight of her and he wondered if he would ever tire of simply watching her, knowing that this woman was in love with him. She had such faith in him. She hardly ever doubted him and he had her unwavering devotion.
"I hope so," he said and nodded, bending down and kissing her chastely on the lips. "Now, come along, we should go to bed and if you find you're not tired then I know plenty of ways to exhaust you."
"Such a cad, Doctor Kreizler," Elizabeth mumbled and he kissed her once more, his lips tantalisingly slow as they moved against hers lightly, refusing to deepen the kiss.
"And you, my darling wife, are usually rather insatiable, so allow me to try and at least take your mind off of things for an hour or so," he urged from her, the back of his hand running down her side and feeling her shudder against him. He wondered if she would ever tire of him because he doubted he would ever tire of her. In fact, he knew he never would. He kissed her deeper this time, managing to wrap an arm around her waist and haul her to perch on his lap, a leg either side of his body as they moaned against each other, her fingers running through his hair and messing it up from its place before he managed to wrap both arms around her waist.
She tried not to squeal loudly as he moved to the edge of the seat and stood up. She was about to tell him that he could hardly carry her, especially with his bad arm, but he was already moving towards the staircase, ignoring the ache in his arm as he kept them around her and she clung tightly to him, staring at him with adoration as he gazed back at her with the exact same expression.
…
"You know…you might be annoyed with us…and for some reason you seem to despise us," Elizabeth said in the carriage the following day on the way to John's house. He was holding a garden party or, more accurately, Violet was the one who had organised it and was hosting it. Violet had continued to insist on their anniversary party continuing, but this party was for families, not just adults.
And so Laszlo, Elizabeth and Charlotte found themselves in a carriage on the way to the party. Diana had stayed behind with Lucy and Emily, the eldest girl complaining of a stomach ache. And so Diana had found it best to be safe and keep her at home, Emily also staying behind. She was too young to understand a party anyway.
"But this is Violet and John's day," Elizabeth continued as Charlotte kept her gaze out of the window as she sat on the bench across from them. She looked every inch the perfect high society young woman. She had done her hair neatly into a bun, a few wisps falling down her neck and into her face. Her pale skin was glowing and Elizabeth wondered if she saw a hint of makeup on her cheeks. Her dress was a deep red and black, sitting just by her ankles and the sleeves coming down to her wrists. The neckline was high, sitting just by her collarbone. Elizabeth had no doubt that in a few year's time she would be quite the stunning young woman.
"So," Elizabeth concluded, wondering if she was even listening to her, "I hope that you can at least manage to behave."
"Fine," Charlotte responded and Elizabeth sighed at her curt answer, feeling Laszlo delicately rest a hand on her arm, nodding once to her and promising her that things would be fine.
Arriving at the party, Charlotte stuck by their side for the first few minutes, greeting John and Violet. The hostess was wearing a light pink gown, a feathered hat on top of her head and the neckline quite low cut. She was carrying William in her arms, the boy smiling as always and John and Violet doting on him.
Charlotte finally went off with some girls her own age who were daughters of Violet's friends. Elizabeth let her go, knowing that she would be unable to stop her anyway. Instead, she sipped on a glass of red wine and observed her from a distance, stood under the archway of flowers. Laszlo was conversing with someone he knew from a conference, acutely aware that he had left his wife alone. He was about to excuse himself before he saw Sara approach Elizabeth and he knew she would be fine.
"I was relieved to hear that Charlotte returned home just fine yesterday," she said to her.
"You and me both," Elizabeth said to Sara. "I just do not know what is going on in that girl's head anymore."
"The mind can be a complex thing," Sara offered, sipping her champagne and feeling the midday sun beating down on them, their brows sweating. Some women were seeking shade, fanning themselves with anything they could find and drinking wine. Elizabeth moved her free hand to the back of her neck, brushing away a bead of sweat that had gathered there and scratching her skin for a moment.
She wished she had worn a short-sleeved dress instead of the long sleeved green dress with a heavy skirt and a tight bodice. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she glanced back to Charlotte who was still where she had left her, talking to the other girls on a swing in the shade, the three of them pushing it back and forth with their feet and laughing over something.
"She will tell you when she feels ready." Sara said, seeing Elizabeth's wistful gaze.
"That's the concern, Sara," Elizabeth admitted to her. "I worry that she will never feel ready…or that she will just continue to keep this from me."
"I can talk to her if you think that might help?" Sara said and Elizabeth looked to her, offering a sad smile in her direction. "I don't want to overstep, however."
"Sara, you could never overstep," Elizabeth promised her. "But it is fine. This is something that we have to deal with ourselves…you know…as a family. Besides, I don't know how Charlotte would react."
"Well, you know where I am if you need me," Sara assured her and Elizabeth squeezed her arm for a moment, smiling gently at her and then taking another sip of her wine. "Anyway, I apologise for stealing your husband away from you yesterday. I had thought that he was intending on returning to Vienna sometime soon too?"
"In a couple of month's time," Elizabeth confirmed, looking over to Laszlo as he drank his champagne and then continued talking with the men he was stood with, his free hand in his pocket and rocking back and forth on his heels. Elizabeth continued to watch his side profile, seeing the way his lips arched at something someone had seen. There was a sadness in her gaze as she thought about Laszlo leaving again. It was only for a couple of months, four at the most, but it was still difficult. Yet, she knew he enjoyed his work in Vienna.
Sara noticed the way Elizabeth was looking at him and she had to confess that a part of her had longed for what the couple clearly had. Even after all their time together, Elizabeth still looked at him the same way.
"In that case, I do not want to steal him from you unless necessary," Sara said to the woman next to her.
"Nonsense," Elizabeth said, "he will want to help and I know that he would think nothing of it…helping on the case…as much as he resents the sights he sees, I know that he enjoys helping when he can."
"Isn't that why we went into this?" Sara wondered.
"I suspect so," Elizabeth concurred with her on that point. "Anyway, do not worry about keeping him from us."
"I will try not to," Sara promised her.
Before she could say anything else, Elizabeth startled as two hands came in front of her face, hovering in front of her eyes and bathing her vision in darkness. She felt the warmth of a body behind her and was about to snap loudly before she heard his familiar voice whisper into his ear.
"Guess who?"
Whirling around as he removed his arms from either side of her, Elizabeth's lips quirked upwards and she beamed at the sight of Marcus Isaacson. She wrapped her free arm around his neck, holding onto him tightly as he hesitantly placed his arms around her waist, squeezing her fondly before she pulled back from him and pecked him on the cheek. Looking into his soft eyes, she couldn't help but feel happiness.
"Hello, stranger," she teased him.
He chuckled at that. He had only just returned to New York after being sent to a division of the Washington D.C. police department on a secondment. He hadn't had a chance to visit Elizabeth since he got back, moving head first into the new case he was working on.
"Ah, did you miss me that much?" Marcus teased her and she kept a hand on his shoulder.
"Of course I missed you," Elizabeth said. "But your letters kept me more than entertained while you were gone."
"I'm glad about that, at least," Marcus said to her and she placed her empty glass on a passing waiter's tray before moving her hand from his shoulder and wrapping an arm around them instead as he looked down to her fondly. "And how have things been here? I didn't miss much while I've been away, I hope?"
Sara exchanged a look with Elizabeth who shrugged her shoulders and gave Marcus's a final squeeze before retracting her arm.
"Let's just say we're having issues with Charlotte going through a teenage rebellion," Elizabeth said to him. "But I will fill you in another day if you're free for tea and a walk in the park sometime?"
"For you?" Marcus asked from her. "I'd find a way to invent more time if I could."
Sara laughed and Elizabeth shook her head, knowing that it was harmless conversation. This was the way their conversation had always been. It had always been teasing and Marcus uselessly flirting with her, knowing that she would never stray, her eyes firmly only for her husband.
"Will you ever stop flirting with my wife, Mr Isaacson?"
Laszlo's question came from behind them and Elizabeth turned her head to look at him as he stood by her side and she moved an arm around his waist, his own going around her.
"I live in hope, Doctor Kreizler," Marcus joked and held his hand out, Laszlo taking hold of it and shaking it firmly. "How are you, anyway?"
"As well as can be," Laszlo said to him. "And you? How was Washington D.C.?"
"A different experience," Marcus said, moving his hands into the pockets of his trousers as Elizabeth glanced between him and Laszlo, the two men conversing. "I have to confess that I can understand why you like Vienna. I understand that Europe is a bit more of an adventure than D.C., but it's nice to see something else."
"Indeed so," Laszlo said, but he had to admit that his return to Vienna was something that he was considering putting off, especially considering the situation with Charlotte. He glanced over to the little girl as he felt his wife's arm squeeze him softly for a moment, but he said nothing as he noted that she was sat on the swing, but a young boy was now sat next to her.
Elizabeth felt Laszlo stiffen under her arm and she wondered what was wrong before she followed his gaze. She saw that his jaw was firmly set and his gaze was intense. Elizabeth watched on as Charlotte sat back on the swing, the boy angled towards her and saying something that made her laugh.
"Who is he?" Laszlo wondered, Marcus and Sara exchanging a look between each other.
"I think he is Daniel and Jessica Murray's son," Elizabeth said to her husband, recognising the young boy from a previous party. She had always been good with names. Growing up as a woman in high society, she had to learn and remember who everyone was. "He's seventeen, however."
"Is he, indeed?" Laszlo muttered and looked down onto the kind face of his wife, his gaze meeting hers. "I will be back in a moment."
"Be gentle," she pleaded from Laszlo, not wanting Charlotte to make a scene in the middle of the party.
"As gentle as I can be," was all that he promised her.
Elizabeth let him slip from her grip after he gave her waist a final squeeze. She watched him retreat through the floral archway and over the lush, green grass by the colourful flowerbeds.
"Protective of her, I see," Marcus said. "I remember when I was a young boy, I would flirt with any girl who entertained me."
"What's changed?" Sara taunted him, the three of them watching Laszlo still.
"He's seventeen and she's only a fourteen year old girl," Elizabeth commented. "I know she is going onto fifteen and perhaps is growing interested in boys…I know that I was at her age, but she is still a child…our child…"
"Well, I hate to say it, but I don't think she is particularly happy," Marcus said, seeing that Laszlo was now talking to her and the boy was making a move to stand, tipping his head towards Laszlo politely. Charlotte stood up then and Elizabeth saw that familiar look in her face. She was angry. She said something to Laszlo who clearly said something back to her.
Elizabeth sighed loudly and shook her head. "I'm sorry…I'll be back in a minute," she commented and took off towards the scene, but Charlotte was already storming off. Elizabeth groaned loudly as Laszlo watched her go, muttering something under his breath.
"I take it that went well," Elizabeth dryly said to her husband.
"I simply told her he was too old for her to be talking to and she accused me of embarrassing her," Laszlo said. "It feels as though I can do nothing right."
"Join the club," Elizabeth mumbled back to him, running a hand down his suit covered arm until she could squeeze his hand. "But I better go and find her. I don't want her running away like last time."
"Of course," Laszlo concurred with that sentiment as he watched his wife go after pecking her cheek, knowing that if behaviour like this continued, they would soon become the gossip of town once again.
…
Charlotte had been mortified when Laszlo had turned up and asked how old Lucas Martins was before he had scurried off. She had told Laszlo that it was hard enough getting boys to talk to her when they found out she was Kreizler's adopted child, most of them worried about being analysed if they were with her. He had told her that she was too young to talk to a boy his age, but she hadn't agreed. She was old enough. She was going on fifteen. She was old enough to make her own decisions.
And then Elizabeth had chased after her and tried to talk to her, telling her that she understood what she was feeling because she had been young once. But Charlotte didn't care to listen to her. She had spent the rest of the party completely upset, watching Laszlo and Elizabeth as they stood together and she knew they were watching her. The two of them were no doubt talking about her, both of them too wrapped up in each other really to entertain anyone else.
And so Charlotte was good for the rest of the party. She made no fuss, nor did she do anything else. At the end of the day, they returned home and Laszlo tried to converse with her. She gave grunts and one word answers back, but she wanted to go to bed because that meant Monday would come quicker. Monday would come and she would see her again.
Charlotte went to bed elated, waking up early and changing into her uniform and grabbing her school satchel before leaving on the walk to school. But she had no intention of going through the school gates. Elizabeth still trusted her to walk herself to school, but Laszlo had not been convinced. He had followed her, insisting he had business to conduct in that direction.
He left her at the school gate and she watched him leave before she too headed in the opposite direction. Moving through the quiet streets, she kept her head down and took a shortcut through a few alleyways. She stood in a puddle, water splashing against the back of her legs and she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears.
Moving into the park nearest the school, she took the dirt track down a hidden route, trees covering it in shadows. No one really ventured that way considering it was off the beaten track. But that worked well. She continued along the path, avoiding tripping over the uneven surface as she went. Coming to a small clearing off another dirt track, she saw the woman perched on the tree trunk.
Her blonde hair clung to her face, the locks completely straight. Her nose was crooked and her cheeks pale. She wore a black skirt and a white shirt, the clothing clearly not fancy and very plain. She stood up as she saw the little girl approaching, uncurling one hand towards her: the hand with all of her fingertips.
"Did anyone see you come?" she asked her and Charlotte took hold of her hand, dropping her satchel to the floor and looking up at her.
"I left Laszlo at the school gate. He went the other way to me," Charlotte promised her.
"You're sure?"
"Neither of them know," Charlotte continued to promise her.
The woman seemed to relax then, her shoulders slumping downwards and a smile breaking out on her face. "Good," she said, her breath coming out in a sigh of relief. "Then come here, my darling…it's been too long. I've missed you."
Charlotte continued to smile widely as the woman wrapped her into her arms and Charlotte flung her arms around her neck before speaking in a soft voice. "I missed you too, mama."
…
A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger! Hope you're still enjoying the story and if you have any clues as to what's going on/going to happen, I'd love to know! And anything you want to see to!