Enola POV, Autumn 1888
With Enola's hand in his right, and the two freans she hadn't eaten in his left, the Viscount rushed quietly back out the door he had come in, and up a winding set of stairs. "My old nursery is above the library, they share a flue, I used to listen to my mother talking to her friends down there." He exclaimed. It seemed that the nursery hadn't been used in many years, from the layer of dust on the white sheets that covered the furniture. Tewkesbury got down on his stomach in front of the fireplace and helped Enola down next to him. He knew she didn't need the help but felt the need to anyway. They listened. "I appreciate your generous offer, Ma'am," explained Mycroft wearily, "But we have not the funds to pay the dowry befitting a Marchioness." Enola jumped so quickly to her feet that she felt dizzy, or maybe it was the fact that her brothers were currently in a meeting to arrange her marriage to Tewkesbury. He was also unnerved, sitting back on his feels, face looking as rosy as the flowers he grew. "Because of the somewhat urgency of the situation, we are happy to accept a smaller dowry, in exchange for control of her education during the engagement." The dowager replied calmly.
Incensed, Enola stormed back down the path she had come, into the library with Tewkesbury hot on her heels, "You are arranging a marriage for me, and you do not think it involves me?" She almost screamed. She looked at Sherlock and the dowager, pleading for them to understand the insanity of the situation. She turned to her friend, who seemed not to feel the same anger, but a level of sadness. "As I explained to your brothers, Tewkey has a distant cousin who is heir to the Marquisate after Whimbrel." The dowager explained, "He has heirs and thus can put pressure on Tewkey to abdicate, especially after his close call with scarlet fever. Marriage and the promise of heirs is the easiest way for us to retain our hereditary estate and his seat at Lords.
Enola's anger turned to fear and back again "Close call with scarlet fever?" She repeated as if to make sure she had heard the dowager correctly, and then turned to the viscount, "You told me it was mild and nothing to worry about. Please tell me that it is not you who told a lie, but your mother." He looked down at his feet, admitting, "My mother didn't lie, I was unconscious for over a day with fever." Enola was about to speak her betrayal, which served as a thin veil for the panic, which was spreading over her, Mycroft interjected, "It matters not that the viscount was ill, as he appears healed. What matters is that we need to discuss the finer details of the extremely advantageous marriage offer you have just received." The room became silent, as everyone but Enola decided it was best to listen.
"Tewkey, Enola, please sit if you must be here for this." Sighed the dowager, "The engagement should happen as soon as possible, but I would prefer to wait until the viscount is nineteen, the age he would have entered his first season, to marry. For the almost two years until then, I would like to hire a governess to finish Enola's schooling." The thought of having a governess was too much for Enola, "I am the first lady detective in London, most likely the world, I do not need a governess to teach me airs and embroidery." she asserted, "As for the marriage offer, I see it only as advantageous for everyone but myself." And with that, she ran out the door, towards the fresh air of the Basilwether estate, and away from the people who sought to control her life. "Enola!" both Sherlock and Tewkesbury shouted as she ran, the latter following her.