Chapter 5
"No I haven't yet," Elizabeth replied. She couldn't understand why Laurent was asking this. Maybe he thought that they were to young… or that she was too young, "Why do you ask?" Laurent hesitated for a moment before answering.
"If I know you as well as I think I do, you will want to finish your schooling before you get married." Elizabeth thought for a moment.
"Yes I would like that. But there's no reason why we can't get married while I'm still at school." Laurent smiled and relaxed.
"No Liz. I don't want you to be distracted while you finish your studies." Elizabeth smiled.
"That's the first time you've called me Liz," she said, reaching up and brushing back a strand of his hair.
"Don't you like it?" he whispered kissing her forehead. Elizabeth put her arms around his neck the way Antonia had when they were engaged, but it didn't annoy him the way it had then.
"I love it," she murmured looking up at him with her blue-green eyes. Unable to resist, he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her then picked her up and spun around. Elizabeth's eyes lit up with laughter as she giggled at her fiancée's antics. Her blonde hair swung around behind her as he set her back down on the ground, the fire behind her adding to her radiant glow of happiness.
"You look like an angel," Laurent smiled, running his hand through her silky hair.
"Should I go get ready for dinner?" she asked, glancing at her watch. Laurent checked the clock above the fireplace.
"I suppose you should. I will come and collect you for dinner and we'll go together," he said, reluctantly letting her go.
"I'll see you soon," she said, kissing Laurent lightly on the lips and leaving the cottage.
Elizabeth raced across the lawn, feeling too happy to care if she looked like a fool. Laurent was such an understanding person. She'd totally forgotten about school after she spoke to Todd, all she could think about was Laurent and how good it would feel to be with him forever. At least he understood her well enough to know that she would want to finish school before they got married. And a long engagement would give them time to get to know each other even better than they already did. Humming happily to herself she entered the Chateau and made her way up to the servants quarters to get ready for dinner. She had a quick shower and went back into her room. Standing in front of her wardrobe she tried to decide what to wear. She hadn't really been expecting to dine with the Prince and Princess when she packed to come over and she really only had clothes for her job and the clothes she'd brought for the ball. Sighing she turned to the clothes Jessica had put in her wardrobe. It was a good thing they were the same size, she thought as she pulled out a black evening dress and held it against her. She knew Jess wouldn't mind if she borrowed a dress, and even if she did she wouldn't say anything because of the letter. Elizabeth had a feeling the only reason Jessica was voluntarily doing baby-sitting duty was because she felt guilty about burning Todd's letter. Elizabeth slipped the dress over her head and checked herself in the mirror. The dress fit well, it wasn't skintight but it wasn't frumpy either (although Elizabeth doubted anything Jessica owned could be considered 'frumpy'). Walking across to the dresser she looked through the jewellery she'd brought with her. Finally she decided on the diamond earrings her grandmother had given her and a bracelet Todd had given her. She looked at the bracelet with a smile on her face. She and Todd might be over as a couple but they would always be friends, no matter what. She ran a brush through her hair and decided to leave it down, she knew Laurent liked it when she had her hair down. She brushed some mascara over her eyelashes and put a coat of lip-gloss on. Checking herself in the mirror she smiled; elegant but casual, just the look she wanted. She checked her watch and saw that it was only 6:30. She went to her desk and sat down, pulling her journal towards her. She had enough time to write about her amazing day