Chapter Seven

Lady Rebecca would never claim that she was overly fond of her daughter's best friend, Victoria Oliver. In her opinion that girl had many qualities that made her irritating. She was a pain in her side from the moment she met her. It never occurred to Lady Rebecca that she would find herself in a situation where she could empathise with the maid. But fate had other plans for the meek maid, it seemed that were destined to have something in common, they were both widowers.

Unfortunately for the elder Valentine she was the only one in Blackwater when the letter had arrived on the doorstep, the letter that would finally break the wife of Beck Oliver. It had started off a normal day for Lady Rebecca, she was currently on stage four of the daily routine; meaning she was lounging on one of the many sofas in the main hall, sipping on a glass of sherry while she wallowed in her own self-pity. When she was complaining out loud about the disastrous manner in which Caterina chooses to run a private house, there was an urgent rap on the door, causing her to scowl in annoyance. With the sudden loss of most of her male staff, was she to answer the door?

"Absolutely absurd." She mumbled to herself as she waddled over to the front door.

It was then she received the letter from the war office that was addressed to a Mrs. Oliver. Carefully she took the crisp letter from the young boy's hand, curtly thanking him as she slammed the door in his face. Grumbling the whole way to the terrace, she searched for the young maid, ready to condemn her for allow her personal letters to be received by a Lady. That girl would never learn that Lady Valentine was not someone to be messed with, especially since she had been kind enough to let her stay, even after the amount of incidents she got herself wrapped up in with Caterina when she was younger.

Eventually she found the young maid outside, angrily beating one of the mats from the parlour, expelling the dust that had been caught in its fibre for years. Lady Rebecca hated the outdoors, just stepping out of the shadow into the sun made her made her hiss like an alley cat who was scuffling with a rival. Hastily she marched over to maid, coughing slightly as she neared the cloud of dust. Sewing her fingers together, she used it to swat the floating cinders away from her face.

"Tori." She ordered, "This came for you at the front door."

Immediately the young girl snatched the letter from her old mistress, her eyes shining with hopeful anticipation as she tore into the letter.

"I must have another word with Caterina about the staff situation." Lady Rebecca added snidely, "This whole letter business is just one facto—"

The heart-wrenching screech from the girl beside her made her stop mid-sentence, the sight of the girl made her hand fly to her mouth. Lady Rebecca realized the horror of the situation, she had experienced just a year ago, at this moment Tori resembled herself, when her husband had fallen to the ground. The girl was shaking so much that a gentle breeze could have sent her crashing onto the grass, streams of tears where rushing down her face at a blinding speed as she stared at the letter. Her legs seemed to bend in, like a ruler under too much stress, the force intensifying until eventually it snapped. Then her legs caved in and she fell, straight into her Ladyship's arms.

Lady Rebecca let out a sort of strangled cry as she held the maid in her arms, patting her cheek slightly she saw that the girl was responding, her eyes were hazy, far away from the manor. Willing her to walk back to the terrace, Lady Rebecca sat her on one of the metal seats before screeching for someone to bring her a cold drink. Suddenly all of these maternal instincts that she had tried to repress for so many years came flooding back like a tsunami wave. She found herself actually caring for the girl who had gone a horrible grey colour; who stared at the letter, unable to keep her eyes from it.

"Tori, what has happened." She ordered as she grabbed her shoulders, "Tell me. Do you want me to call for Caterina? Do you want to see your daughter?"

Tori's head jerked slightly, indicating that she did not want to see anyone. She began to mumbled incoherently and it took her a moment to figure what she was saying. Finally after some time she muttered one word that she understood. That one word that shattered the earth.

"Dead."

That single word held so much power, once it had actually escaped her lips there was a cruel sense of finality that washed over her. She had lost him. For months she had kept herself going with the thought of him returning to her, she would run to greet him as he would open his arms to envelope her in a tight embrace, then her ear would naturally rest against his chest and she would hear the consistent beating of his heart.

She could not hear what Lady Valentine was saying, everything had become foggy to her, the only thing that she could see clearly was the letter and the lines:

It is with my sincerest that I regret to inform you that your husband Pte. B. Oliver, No. 68792 of this Regiment was killed in action on the night of the 21st instant. Death was instantaneous and without any suffering.

She felt horribly anesthetized, she imagined that someone could break every bone in her body and she would feel nothing. She could not even find solace in the fact that he had passed without any suffering; she did not have a body to bury, the letter had explained that it was impossible to retrieve his remains, his deathbed would forever be where he fell; a soldiers grave. Someone lifted her, taking her into his strong grip, he began to carry her off. She occasionally could hear him grunting in angst but she did not bother to look at who it was. He began to lead her down the path she knew all too well, the one that twisted and curved until it stopped at their cottage... No, now it was just her house. The screeching of her child brought her back, the wails becoming more extreme as they opened the door. Looking into the eyes of her daughter she felt breathless, she had nothing to show her, no photo of her husband that she could pass down to Natalie, she would never know her father.

Roughly she forced herself from the arms of her carrier, who she now recognised as Sir. Shapiro. She glared at him, her teeth clenched. Frankly he was the last person that she wanted to see. He was a painful reminder of what she could have had.

"Get out!" she roared at him as she forced him out the door.

Banging it shut, she placed her forehead on the uneven wood and began to wail, trying to match her daughter's screams.

"Shut up Natalie!" she bellowed at her daughter who was wriggling in her cradle, "Just—leave me be."

Collapsing on to the bed, Tori screwed her eyes shut and tried to remember what kept her tethered to the earth besides Beck. Her mind was so scrambled; she had to get out of this dark depression she was quickly sinking into, before it consumed her. But every time she tried to think positive, her sorrow twisted it like putty, completely changing its sentimentality into something sinister. She thought of her best friend Cat, but that led her to think about how her life was just better than hers, while she seemed to gain anything she wanted without any consequences, Tori lost it. She then thought of her daughter, how that was still a piece of Beck, his essence would live on in her. However that just made her think about continuing to raise a daughter alone and how she was just so tried. She was just so emotionally exhausted of pretending she was okay when she wasn't, raising her alone was too difficult. Tori was being sentenced to a life of solitude, she would be a widower until she was withered and white-haired. Only then would she be reunited him.

Pressing her head into the pillow, she screamed as loudly as she could. She could not stand it.

The end was too far away.

Aren't you all lucky that I am on study leave! Look at all of these chapters you are receiving! ;D

I thought that Tori deserved a chapter all to herself so I could give you all an inclination for the darkness that is going to take over her character. I had an idea when I was writing this chapter but I am not sure if I want to go through with it.

But! Look how nice Lady Rebecca was being for once! Yay she is actually a human with feelings! :D

Hmm decisions, think it could work, it's just going to be very depressing.

Anyway leave me a wee review to let me know what you think!

Love xoxoxo