Absurd
This is a short story of what happens at the end of season 2, episode 7 Harmony when Eloise is written about in the latest issue of Lady Whistledown. I wish that we could have seen more of how her family reacted after they had found out! Please enjoy!
"Eloise! Eloise wait!" She heard one of her brothers call from the bottom of the staircase. However, she did not. She could not bare to see the disappointment on her families faces. Eloise stumbled against her bedchamber door, fumbling with the doorknob though she could hardly see through tear filled eyes. Everyone knew. Truly it was not what everyone else in the Ton thought of her, though that would put her family through another great deal of pressure; it was the idea that she had lied to her family, and they have found out in quite possibly the worst way. She did not know if she was more embarrassed because she was the talk of the new Lady Whistledown issue, or the fact that her family knew that she had previously idolised the mysterious writer.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door.
"Please, I wish to be alone." She managed to croak out still in floods of tears.
"El, its me." She instantly felt a feeling of relief knowing that it was her 'favourite' brother Benedict. Eloise moved slowly and opened the door allowing him to enter. They both moved to sit on the end her of bed.
"Why didn't you tell me Eloise? You know that you can trust me."
"How could I Ben?" Eloise jumped up and yelled in frustration. Benedict did not react as he knew that she needed to let off what ever emotions that she had been bottling up. "I know you love me dearly brother, but you cannot honestly tell me that you would have not been concerned, knowing that I were meeting a boy of the lower class unchaperoned at all of hours of the day, especially late in the evenings! It is not like it is just a silly little smoke in the garden at nightfall that you would be hiding from Mama and Anthony!" She quickly realised that she had been shouting at the top of her lungs in anger and that most likely the whole house now knew that this mysterious man was of the lower class and that she also smoked occasionally. Oh her Mama would be furious! Eloise slowly and hesitantly made her way to sit back down next to Benedict, not making eye contact with him.
After what felt like hours, Benedict finally spoke up "Do you love him?" his sister was taken by surprise at such a question.
"Of course not! We were merely just acquaintances who became friends with each other and enjoyed each other's company. I liked to share my thoughts on new books that I had read, as did he with me." Her mind wondered to happy memories from not so long ago, laughing and giggling with each other. She pictured his smile and his gentle eyes, how she missed staring into his eyes for those brief seconds which felt like hours. Her mind was soon snapped back to reality when she heard her older brother let out a small chuckle.
"What ever is the laughing matter?" She sneered.
"I am sorry to break this to you sister, but I do believe that you may be in love with this boy.
Eloise quickly shot off of the bed again and started pacing back and forth "Absurd!"
That word quickly hit her like a ton of bricks, and she froze in place. All the memories that evening, her last encounter with Theo came flooding back to her. That was the awful word she had used to describe their meetings, to describe him, their 'relationship' with each other. Without consciously knowing, her fingers slowly drifted towards her lips. She closed her eyes trying to relive that small, short moment when she felt that it was just her and Theo that existed in the world in the small printers shop. Theo leaned slowly towards her and then…
"Oh, Eloise you didn't" Benedict once again snapped her back to her own senses.
"No, we did not do anything brother." She replied quite firmly.
With a tilt of his head "Then why?" Copying the action with his fingers that she had previously done.
"Ugh" Eloise sighed out loud. She was secretly grateful that it was the more lenient of her older brothers that had come to check on her. She moved to sit back don next to him once more, lightly slapping her palms on her lap.
"If you must know, as I do believe that you will pry it out of me one way or another. Yes, we nearly shared a kiss NEARLY! But that was all." She breathed a sigh of relief, finally gals to be able to get it off of her chest and to tell someone that she trusted. But before Benedict even had time to respond Eloise had yet again jumped off of her bed and started pacing.
"However, I soon stopped the notion as I realised that the entire situation of us was absurd."
There was that word again.
"And that is what I had told Theo, that it was…absurd." She spoke the last word barely inaudible.
"So…his name is Theo?"
Eloise then realised that Lady Whistledown had never mentioned Theo's name and that it was the first time that she had said it since that evening.
"Yes." She chuckled softly. She sat back down. "But we had a disagreement after what I had said to him, I told him that I was only trying to protect him, and I have not seen him since."
Eloise could feel the tears brimming her eyes. She squeezed them tight, letting them fall. Benedict said nothing but comforted her by pulling his sister into a gentle hug.
After what felt like half an hour, possibly even an hour of comfortable silence Benedict finally spoke.
"Eloise, I cannot tell you what to do, not would you let me" They both let out a small chuckle "However, what I can do is advice you that you try and let this go just for now. Just while it is all still fresh in people's minds, I am sure another 'scandal' will come along within a few days, and everyone will forget about this. It will be hard I understand, but I am here if you need me. If you still wish to visit Theo once this has quietened down, then I am more than happy or accompany you as a chaperone."
"But brother, he is of the lower class, it is forbidden." She sniffled through her remaining tears.
"If you love him, then do not let someone as silly as class stop you and get in the way. I cannot speak on behalf of the family Eloise, but I will support you, no matter what decision you decide to make."
Eloise did not know what to say. She knew he meant every word that he had said.
"Thank you." She replied and hugged him slightly tighter. "I believe that I am alright for now brother, thank you again, for everything."
"You are welcome, El." Benedict replied with a slight nod of his head. And with that, he backed away through her bedchamber door closing it behind him.
When he turned around, he was shocked to be greeted by two women with ears pressed firmly against the wall. With a stern look he ushered them follow him away from Eloise's bedchamber and around the corner where they cannot be heard by her.
"Mama, Lady Danbury, what is the meaning of this? Can the poor girl not have any privacy?" he whispered to them quite harshly.
"I am sorry my darling" his Mama Violet replied to him, looking quite embarrassed that they were caught "I mere just wanted to know whether Eloise had been" Violet leaned in and whispered "compromised. But now I know that she has not been which is an absolute relief! Can you imagine Eloise and a man- actually please do not imagine anything! She does not even know of the sort." Violet soon stopped as she realised that she was rambling on about acts that should only happen in a marriage.
"Please Mama, please be kind to her. She does not understand the full extent of her love to this boy. She is heartbroken."
"I know son, I know. However, I fear that Anthony will not understand it the same way that you and I do. Thank you darling, for looking out for her."
With that Benedict nodded his head and bided the two women a goodnight.
"What are we going to do Lady Danbury?" Violet asked.
"In all honestly my Lady, I feel you must wait this one out. I do not feel ball will fix this particular event. I am sorry I must be getting off, good night, Lady Bridgerton." Lady Danbury left to be escorted back to her carriage that waited for her outside.
Violet leaned her back against the wall, her hand placed on her forehead. She felt all hot and flustered, yes, she was upset that this has happened and that her daughter had indeed been sneaking around let alone with a lower-class boy, but she also felt some joy knowing that she was happy and felt in love. Violet knew that she must do something, somehow.
"Oh Eloise" She whispered to herself "My dear Eloise, this is just absurd."