Chapter Two
Victoria placed her bags beside the grand staircase, she knew from many years experience that she should drop them immediately. Her aunt had chided her on more than one occasion about "leaving those sort of things for the servants". Heather-bridge had enough servants Victoria remembered from years and years of visiting perhaps the name of five servants yet she knew there were over a fifty. For what reason she didn't know, except that Aunt Ursula was excessively rich and seemed to like attention.
"Silly boy drop that, drop that bag at once!" Aunt Ursula shouted at Henry. "My goodness boy we have servants for those sort of things. Despite your father's blood," she wrinkled her nose as though there was a bad smell beneath her "you are a Wheenlan-Holmes and whilst you are here you are expected to behave as such." Henry dropped the bag beside Victoria's, there was a loud ominous bang. "That boy is quite enough. Dinner will be at six." With that parting remark Aunt Ursula walked off.
Henry and Victoria did not move until Aunt Ursula had left the room, they then ran as quickly as possible up the grand staircase, Victoria was sure the pair where making far too much noise but for once she didn't care.
Victoria loved her brother dearly his brown curls and infectious laugh could make her smile at the gloomiest of moments. However there was a five year age gap and she sometimes felt as though she was Henry's mother as well as his sister. It was an infrequent feeling. Victoria only felt as though she was subsiding her mother for these few weeks. When they had no contact with the outside world and Henry quickly became bored: Victoria always felt it her occupation to keep Henry from finding trouble which he invariably did.
"Children!" A voice shouted as the pair reached the top of the stairs. At the head of the stairs was stood a tall woman with black hair, her arms folded and a scowl upon her face. But she held the scowl for only a few seconds before breaking into a beaming smile.
"Victoria, Henry." She hugged each in turn. "Gosh how you two have grown Henry you are quite grown up," she ruffled his brown curls. "And you Victoria," she scooped the girl's face in her hands "you are a young woman now eighteen you have grown into quite a beauty."
Victoria hugged the woman.
"Lehzen," Victoria breathed "you are unchanged as ever."
"Hardly," Lehzen laughed "I am sure I have a few more grey hairs and a few more lines. Elsa Lehzen, for some reason Victoria never quite knew why she was always referred by her surname, was the only kind face amongst Great Aunt Ursula's staff.
"You two get settled, your bags will be brought up and I will see about some tea and toast." Victoria walked into the room that she always slept in whilst at her great aunt's. It was a sizeable room with an entire wall of bookshelves filled with books mostly 19th century novels and various editions of the bible. Victoria sat on the end of the large bed her toes skimming the floor. She kicked off her school shoes which had been giving her awful cramp as they were now a size too small from when she had bought them last summer.
"Hello Vic," Henry smiled putting his head around the door. "These rooms never change do they? Mine's quite the same as last year so is yours I see."
"Your bags," Lehzen said as she came around Victoria's door. Despite knowing they would get would get into trouble if Great Aunt Ursula saw them the siblings helped her.
"My goodness," Henry said swinging Victoria's bag onto her bed "what is in your bag? It's so heavy."
"Books," she smiled "you know how dull this place can be." She smiled at Lehzen "not you of course." Lehzen looked around for a moment or so before looking back at the Smith children.
"I know what you mean." The three then fell on the bed laughing like children. "I will see about that tea and toast you two get unpacked." Victoria opened her trunk and pondered quite where she would put the large amount of books in there. The rather slow unpacking continued until almost six o'clock when Lehzen entered Victoria's room.
"You ought to get changed Victoria I do not think your Great Aunt will look kindly upon you not being dressed for dinner."
"Thank you Lehzen." Victoria smiled suddenly wondering where she had put the blue dress that now seemed like the only acceptable thing to wear at a place like Aunt Ursula's. A few moments later she walked down the grand staircase her hand resting slightly on the oak bannister she traced the outline of leaves and vines lost in thought. Her daydreams were interrupted a few moments later as her foot left the last step and a loud knock was heard. She looked at the grand door of Heather-bridge as she heard a knock again. Peering around for servants to answer the door and seeing no one she pulled open the door with the large brass knocker in the shape of a faun.
"Hello?" She said smiling at the boy who stood outside.
"Hello," he replied he was fairly tall and a year or so younger than Victoria she estimated but she had always been bad at guessing ages.
"Is this Heather-bridge?" He asked.
"Yes," she nodded. "Can we help you?"
"Yes I have this to deliver to Victoria Smith."
"Me?" Victoria asked curiously.
"If that is your name." The boy smiled and pressed a small brown parcel into her hand.
"But who sent me this?"
"Someone who you will come to know better." The boy said cryptically.
"Victoria!" Came a loud shout from behind her. Victoria whirled around her heart beating furiously in her chest. She desperately tried to shove the package into her cardigan pocket.
"How dare you insolent child. Why are you talking to a boy?" She asked but continued without pausing for an answer. "You are far too much like your mother. You will disgrace our family like she did. Go upstairs without any dinner." Victoria was furious, why did her aunt seem to control every portion of her life? She had only answered the door was it really such a crime? But she took her punishment stoically her hands balled into fists the only sign of her anger.