A Better Man
Chapter Four
Hello Again
"I've been bringin' trays up to that young thing for the last three days, and it's the strangest thing; she will not come out of her room, but I've heard nary a wail from her since she arrived!" Henry overheard two maids gossiping in the study as he made his way to breakfast, nothing on his mind but reading the paper and drinking coffee. It was astonishingly easy to not think of Eliza when she kept to her room so often; out of sight, out of mind, as they say.
"Positively inhuman, I say. When my William went off to fight, my mother had to force spirits on me, just to calm me down!"
"I fainted dead away at the train station when Arthur left."
"Shameful; you would think ice water ran through her veins, instead of blood!" Henry paused, and thought about making his presence known to the silly pair. There were many adjectives he could use to describe Eliza; dispassionate was not among them. In fact, their catty gossip made Henry feel insulted for Eliza, and empathy was something he thought he could never have for the girl, or anyone for that matter. Still, this was not his house, and the servants were not his to kerb. However...
Henry cleared his throat loudly, catching the attention of the two young maids, who blushed furiously at being discovered. He granted the both of them the most disapproving and imperious stare that he could muster - it was a look that he usually reserved for the girl in question - before turning on his heel and stalking away in a manner that he admitted was a bit melodramatic. So what if Eliza wasn't keeping the house awake with her wails of injustice? One needn't tear at ones' hair and clothing, and throw themselves on a figurative funeral pyre to prove that their grief was genuine. The mere fact that Eliza would not come down to face the rest of the world proved that she was hurting. Pickering had even hired on a few girls to help run the flower shop while Eliza was indisposed, though where the man always seemed to find money to throw at her was beyond Henry.
"Mother, you ought to have Mrs. Lewis speak to those silly maids she has insisted on hiring. I'm afraid I caught them saying some very malicious things about Eliza."
Eleanor set down her section of the paper, and raised her eyebrows at her son - Colonel Pickering reaction was nearly identical from his side of the table. "Henry - you said malicious things about Mrs. Enysford-Hill not a fortnight ago, I wouldn't dare think you would care about such a thing."
"It isn't right; Eliza's not well, and they are talking as though she doesn't care a jot whether that boy lives or dies. Ridiculous women."
Eleanor smiled at her son thinly veiled outrage. "You are right, Henry - I will have Mrs. Lewis speak with them directly." She glanced up at the ceiling. "I do wish Eliza would come down, though. It may do her good to sit with all of us, and take her mind off of things."
"I mean no disrespect, Mrs. Higgins, but Freddy may not come back from this alive - I daresay that may be a hard thing to take one's mind off of," Colonel Pickering commented. The papers contained nothing but doom and gloom, and before Eleanor's remark, he had pushed his respective section of the paper aside, giving up on it altogether.
"It will not hurt to try, though, Colonel. It breaks my heart to see her so dispirited, and I feel so utterly helpless as to what I can do for her."
Pickering nodded. "So do I; but we must give her some time to be alone."
"Good morning." Three heads turned in unison to see Eliza standing near the entrance of the room. She appeared fresh, and well-coiffed, if not a little pale. Colonel Pickering stood up at once to come to her side and gallantly lead her to a seat at the table.
"Mrs. Eynsford-Hill, you look lovely this morning."
Eliza smiled at Pickering's compliment. "Please, Colonel, you must call me Eliza." She settled into her chair, and accepted a cup of coffee, blushing at the scrutinizing stares she was receiving. "Is everything alright?" She inquired.
"Of course, my dear, we are just happy to have you back with us," Eleanor replied.
"Thank you." Eliza stole a glance at her pocket watch. It had been a gift from Freddy, and was wrought with an elegant floral design to commemorate the opening of her flower shop. Eliza gasped at the time. "I am afraid I must leave; I have to get back to my shop. It's shameful the way I've neglected it!" She stood up, as did the rest of the party.
"Eliza, we've taken care of all of that; please sit down and let us have the pleasure of your company a little while longer," Eleanor pleaded. Eliza gave her a puzzled look, but obeyed.
"Taken care of? Am I not to mind my own place of business?"
Colonel Pickering cleared his throat nervously, and her eyes were instantly upon him, searching for answers. "You see, Eliza, the Hun have become rather bold as of late, and we thought it best for your safety if we had others look after things for you - people who do not live so very far from the shop, I mean."
Henry gauged Eliza's reaction. He had come to know every nuance of her expression, and he was certain that she would protest at the blatant act of mollycoddling. Indeed, her jaw tensed, her nostrils flared, and her eyes narrowed, all for a brief moment; astonishingly, that moment passed, and she said nothing, only nodded.
"Freddy requested this?"
"I am afraid so, Eliza," Pickering confirmed.
"Very well."
Henry nearly smiled at Eliza's barely concealed indignation. He found he could read her like a book, and The Book of Eliza was turning into a quietly simmering tempest. How he admired her spirit. He wondered how long Eliza would be able to keep up this reluctant acceptance of her freedom being compromised thusly.
The temptation to pick her brain was far too great. "I say, Eliza - have you been keeping up on your reading?"
Eliza cocked her head to one side and looked to Henry with a confused half-smile. "I confess I have not."
"Well, if you would care to join me in the study after we are done with our coffee, I have several new books that may interest you."
"Oh?"
Henry frowned at Eliza's disbelieving expression. "Have I got something on my face?"
"Not at all, Professor."
Henry said nothing in reply, but finished his coffee, and stood up. "I will be in the library."
Eleanor chuckled, lovingly. "I think it is wonderful that you and my son seem to be setting aside your differences," she explained, once Henry was out of earshot. "I thought he would never forgive you for marrying young Frederick."
"I cannot imagine why he was so put-out by the match," Eliza retorted.
"Oh, you cannot?"
Eliza furrowed her brow. "I suppose Freddy was not who Henry would have chosen for his creation, given that he called me a 'consort battleship' at one point."
Eleanor shook her head. "Henry is a mystery to us all, my dear." Pickering nodded in agreement.
Eliza hesitantly joined Henry in the library, some time later. She left the door open for proprieties' sake, and crossed the room to a heavily upholstered wing-chair.
"I cannot say that I'm not a little bit shocked at your request, Professor."
Henry waved the statement off. "Don't let's quarrel anymore, Eliza, now that we're under one roof again."
Eliza nodded. "I should like us to be as friends again, Professor. It is wise to be friendly with one's jailers."
There you go, my girl! Henry thought, a bit triumphantly. He felt validated that he had guessed at her frustration, and proud that she found it as stifling as he imagined it must be. Henry very much liked his Eliza with fire.
"Jailers? My goodness, Eliza, it's not as bad as all that!" He was baiting her, wanting to see more of her passion, because it was alot better than hearing about her wasting away silently behind closed doors.
"Oh? How easy for a man to say; you may come and go as you please," Eliza hissed, mindful of the open door, and curious servants.
"Come, Eliza, we are only concerned for your well-being."
Eliza rolled her eyes and snorted. "Has it ever occured to any of you that I lived alone from the age of thirteen up until you so graciously picked me off of the streets?"
"Yes, and that was before you had people be genuinely concerned as to whether you lived or died; now that people do, you are honor-bound to respect their wishes to not have you die in the gutter."
"Honor-bound to be a charity case?" Eliza stood up, and walked over to the shelves, where she mindlessly scanned the selections before her, without actually paying attention to the titles.
Henry stood beside her, picked out Rudyard Kipling's 'Kim', and handed it to her. She accepted the book, and flounced rather petulantly back into the chair, before opening it, and making a show of reading.
"Make a real effort to read the novel, don't just page through it angrily." Eliza rewarded his command with an icy glare. "You are not a charity case, Eliza; Pickering and mother regard you as family, and treat you as such out of loyalty, not pity."
"I wouldn't even dream of obeying their ridiculous edicts, if it weren't for Freddy."
There was an awkward pause at the mention of Freddy's name.
"He was right to make sure you are taken care of while he is away."
Eliza studied him. "Surely you would not set up such an elaborate prison for your wife?"
Henry gave a start, and sat down at the chair directly across from Eliza. "What a silly hypothetical."
"Would you?" Eliza pressed on.
Henry met Eliza's very direct gaze, and smiled sheepishly. "I suppose if I were stupid enough to fall in love, I would want to take every measure possible to make sure she were to be safe. I daresay it would be a hard thing, being out on the front lines with no idea how she fared... agonizing, even." His voice was as soft as it had been when he had imparted the importance of conquering the english language to Eliza all those years ago. Back then, Eliza had been quite struck dumb by the tenderness in his tone, and had briefly allowed herself to imagine that very voice, making love to her. The thought had cost her a full night of sleep, before she arose the next morning and decried the entire notion to be ridiculous, especially as he had immediately reverted to his acerbic, slightly high-pitched tones the very next day.
"Well, it's a good thing you are too old to serve, and too self-involved to fall in love," Eliza jabbed. Henry gasped in mock indignation, and soon the pair found themselves sharing a very rare laugh together. That is how Pickering and Eleanor found them, as they happened upon the library. The sight warmed both the older pair's hearts, as they were beginning to despair at Eliza ever laughing again, let alone with Henry.