Ada & The Earl (The Woodhouse Series #1)

Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

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*Belgravia, London*

"Happy Birthday!" My family cheered and I smiled at my family, grateful for them trying to keep things as normal as possible, despite my house arrest. 

It had been over a week since everything had happened in Nottingham and we were all trying to find a new normal. London was beautiful this time in the summer so I joined Florence on her morning errands around the city to take in all that I had missed in my time away. Emerson and Theodore had agreed I was not allowed to go anywhere alone and while it did frustrate me that I was being treated like a child, I was in no position to argue.

Theodore went to Scotland Yard every day to try and find a way to clear my name and even informed me of anything that happened, but I still felt like he was holding back.

We all had dinner together every night, often something I helped prepare to see as I had a lot of spare time and conversation was always light-hearted and never about what was happening with the case.

But while I put on a happy face during the day, surrounded by my family, at night, when I was alone, Louis was always on my mind.

Passionate dreams took over my mind and while I did all I could to dismiss them, deep down, I liked them and encouraged them. I couldn't stop my body from wanting what it did.

I missed and wanted Louis but no one in the household could ever know how I truly felt.

While I hadn't said much to Florence and Charlotte, they were aware that there was something more. My brothers would wage war on the Earl if they ever discovered the extent of what Louis and I had shared.

Today was July 4th - my official birthday was tomorrow but my family had agreed we'd celebrate today as the 5th was a working day and everyone would be busy and tired to pay me any heed. It was Sunday, and everyone had gone to church, except for me and one of the maids who were Catholic just like me. She had set up a small altar on the lower ground floor where the servants lived and I joined her for two hours in prayer. I prayed for strength and patience in these difficult times and I prayed for Louis.

When the others returned from their service, we had mid-morning tea and cakes and I opened my presents as the maids offered to prepare my favourite dishes for dinner. 

I was gifted new paints, books, canvases, sketchbooks and tools, clothes and jewellery and was grateful for it all. 

Now, sitting before the easel, I continued on my painting, revelling in the peace and the golden July sun.

A flower arrangement created by Florence sat on a small round table with a white doily underneath and I mixed my paints to replicate what I saw.

The lavender in the vase reminded me of the lavender fields in Cornwall and Mama singing me a song;

"Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,

When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen:

Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so?

'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so..."

"That's lovely," Florence's voice came from the doorway and I looked up to see her smiling at me. She came to me and admired the painting. "That's also very lovely. You have a good eye for colour."