watsonma@hotmail.com
Everlasting
Love
II
The mansion was beautiful. No. It was much more
than just beautiful, she thought. It was the ancestral home of her family.
She had never visited it before. But it already felt like a gilded cage
to her. The house had everything one could ever dream of, except emotion.
It was beautifully decorated with much effort and great expense, but there
was no human quality anywhere. The place had no personality.
She again felt the emptiness left by the loss
of her parents and the beautiful house that had always been filled with
laughter and happiness. The Duke looked up from his dinner at the enormous
dining table, at which they sat on opposite ends, and saw her eyes get
that far away look that indicated she was again thinking of her parents.
His heart seemed to soften a bit and he said to her, It will take some
time, but I'm quite sure you'll be able to adjust and think of them with
happiness instead of the heartache you feel now.
Serena was startled out of reverie by her uncle's
comment. She was grateful for the effort he had just made to make her feel
comfortable. Maybe the man did have a heart. Was that understanding she
had seen in his eyes or was she just deluding herself? She looked at him
curiously and watched as his emotions faded and his stern exterior returned.
As soon as dinner ended, her uncle rang for the
maid. I suggest you have some rest and tomorrow we shall discuss your
life and just where it will go from here, The Duke said. Serena was amazed
how quickly her uncle switched temperaments. She wondered if he was always
like this.
Darien stared out at the view of the vast meadows from his bedroom at Thornwood Manor. He had spent all day yesterday with lawyers going over his family's estate and all his father's holdings. He was reminded of just how much he disliked lawyers. It had been rather tiring and he was not looking forward to today or any day hence. The death of his parents had forced him to assume the title of Lord Westmoreland Duke of Westwood.
He had been responsible before but now there was so much being placed on his shoulders the greatest burden being that of marriage. Now with the death of his Father he was being pushed to produce an heir to the title and if that weren't reason enough for marriage, it was of course one of his parents' last great wish for him to marry as soon as possible.
The new Earl of Lancaster stared out of the window of the French Manor. His face was drawn and his eyes held a great deal of pain. He had been completely unprepared for the news when it came well over a week and a half late due to bad weather on the English coast. His parents were dead and his sister was now a ward of his Uncle.
His parents had been great people. Only two weeks before, he had been sent off on his honeymoon to France. He wished he could have been there with his sister for the funeral, she was probably in a far worse state than himself. He at least had the comfort of his new wife Elizabeth.
Darien opened the Invitation and read the text. He had been invited to the home of the Duke of Muncaster for a week and half long hunting expedition. Normally he would never accept such and invitation from anyone especially at this time in his life; he had a greatly underdeveloped interest in hunting.
However, being a Duke had its obligations. Besides it was a chance to get away from the actual business of being a Duke. His Father had been excellent in keeping things in order and now he must do the same.
He rang for his secretary and a small harried man harried with messy brown hair and glasses, rushed into the room books in hand and papers sticking out. He was trying his best to get himself in order but only managed to drop a few more papers and paint an even more humorous picture of himself.
Darien barely hid a smile as he watched the man, who although they were approximately the same age, managed to look more nervous than normal, and thus older. "Melvin," Darien said, "Please calm down. You're making me nervous."
"Sorry your Grace."
"That's fine. All I wanted was for you to return this invitation with a affirmation of my attendance."