Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Ophelia made her way down the staircase as silently as possible, not wishing to wake anyone up at that late hour. With her sleeping robe tightened around her, she wondered why she had not been able to sleep during the night. Since the morning of the carriage ride just a few days ago, she had been dreaming of Edward and waking up from that dream just the same.

It was terrible.

Especially now that she had to attend balls with Rosalina and Edward, which went on till late in the night, and she lost most of her time to rest anyway. Ophelia could not help feeling exhausted, every single joint in her body aching.

"I hope some warm milk will help," she whispered to herself in the empty hall, noiselessly walking towards the kitchen.

The entire house was immersed in darkness, only a few candles lit up here and there. Although, after being there for several weeks now, she was as familiar with the London townhouse as she had been with the country house. The servants here were just as welcoming, but everything was different in London, and Ophelia had not been able to make her place with the servants yet.

She was just seen as Amy's nanny, a station above them, rather than an equal.

As she neared the kitchen, she heard someone talking inside; all the lights still lit up even though it was well past midnight. Wondering who might be inside, she hid by the door, trying to listen.

"Don't you miss what the house was like earlier? When everyone used to be here?"

Ophelia recognized it as the voice of the elderly cook. She was a friendly woman but a notorious gossiper, and Rosalina had warned Ophelia never to reveal any private information to her if she wanted it to remain a secret.

"Lady Margaret, you mean?" Ophelia's eyes widened as she realized it was none other than Mrs Connor, the housekeeper.

Everything she had heard about the servants in London being filled with information about their employers was proving to be right. Gossiping had still been common in the country, but Ophelia had never seen the servants, especially Mrs Bailey, involved in it as extensively as the servants in the townhouse.

"Yes," the cook replied, "things were vastly different when Lady Margaret and the late earl and his wife were here. They used to make a happy family, all of them together. It all feels empty now, as if something is missing from the house."

"Happiness is what is missing from the house."

"I think so too," the cook agreed with Mrs Connor.

"I really wish Lady Margaret was still alive and had not died in the consequences that she did. She was born with such promise and beauty, yet she had such a tragic end. It is extremely unfair."

"It is, is it not?"

Ophelia was filled with curiosity at the remarks, Margaret's death turning into an even bigger mystery for her. She could see that Edward's sister was clearly well loved by all, and Edward loved her as well. But Ophelia still felt as if she hardly knew anything about the matter.

Not wanting to stand there and intrude on their conversation further, she emerged from the shadows and entered the kitchen. Both the cook and Mrs Connor stopped speaking the moment they entered, eyeing each other. Ophelia was certain they were wondering if she had heard anything, but she simply smiled at them, completely nonchalant.

"I could not fall asleep," she said when neither of them spoke. "I was hoping a glass of warm milk might help."

"Of course," the cook replied, immediately beginning to fetch a bottle.

"Oh, please do not worry about it," Ophelia quickly interjected, "I can warm it up myself."

"Do not worry, Miss Jennings. I will do it for you," the cook said warmly, already pouring the milk into a pan. "You stand there comfortably."

"Thank you so much." The ensuing silence in the kitchen made her uncomfortable, and she spoke again. "Why are the two of you awake at this hour? Is it not much too late?"

"It is." Mrs Connor nodded. "But we were just discussing how we miss the times when the house was filled with happiness and laughter, and Lady Margaret used to be alive."

The cook turned to pin Mrs Connor with a look, who shrugged as if it did not matter much and turned back to look at Ophelia.

"Amy's mother, you mean?"

"Yes," the cook chimed in, keeping the pan on the burning stove, "Lady Margaret was everything a young woman ought to be. She was beautiful and charming and always laughed. If you had met her, even you would have appreciated her kindness."

"Lord Cavendish told me his sister was the sweetest young lady in the ton, and I truly hope Amy grows up to be just like her mother."

"Lord Cavendish talked about Lady Margaret with you?" Mrs Connor asked, suddenly straightening.

Ophelia graciously took the glass of milk from the hands of the cook, sensing eyes on her. She wondered if she had said the wrong thing or why they even appeared shocked. Was it not normal for a brother to remember his sister fondly? Especially a sister who had passed away?

Ophelia was confused.

"Yes," she said honestly, "Lord Cavendish has discussed his love for his sister with me. He sounds like an excellent brother, and they must have clearly shared a close relationship."

Both Mrs Connor and the cook looked at one another at the exact same moment, clearly privy to something Ophelia did not know.

She could not understand what was happening.

What is this about?

"Oh, Miss Jennings, you truly do not know anything that has gone on in this house in the past few years."

Ophelia's curiosity was piqued. She sat down at the table, sipping her milk while the cook sat beside her. Ophelia could see the sadness in their eyes, as if remembering those incidents was extremely painful. Mrs Connor finally spoke with a loud sigh.

"Lord Cavendish is correct, he did love Lady Margaret very much. While the late earl and his wife were still alive and Lord Cavendish and Lady Margaret were young, the house was always filled with chatter and noise from those two. They would play together and go out riding together. They would be seen involved in all kinds of mischief, and their parents loved them very much."

"So what happened?"

"After the earl and his wife passed away, Lord Cavendish had the utmost love for his sister, and both were inseparable. They respected each other, and Lord Cavendish always took Lady Margaret's advice into account on every matter. Eventually she turned of age, and he escorted her all through the Season, hoping for her to find the perfect gentleman to marry, but Lady Margaret liked no one."

As Mrs Connor stopped speaking, the cook continued.

Ophelia listened to the two of them, completely enraptured.

"Eventually, one day, she informed Lord Cavendish that she had fallen in love with a doctor and wished to marry him. Lord Cavendish was horrified and completely against the match because the man was not of noble blood and below their station. That was the first time anyone had ever seen them involved in a fight, and everything deteriorated after that day."

"He cut her off?" Ophelia asked, completely shocked.

That was the last thing she could have expected to hear.

"No." Mrs Connor shook her head. "He told her he would never support this marriage, but Lady Margaret was firm in her decision and left the house herself. Lord Cavendish tried to stop her and convince her but her only condition was marrying the man she loved, which was the one condition Lord Cavendish refused to agree on. Hence, the two of them parted ways and completely cut ties."

"They did not speak for one year," the cook added.

"Eventually, one year later, Lady Margaret came home one day, and she was half the woman she had been when she had left. Her clothes were simple, and her spirit was down. She did not look like the same young lady she had been one year ago, but she came to tell her brother that she was pregnant."

"With Amy," Ophelia whispered, feeling her heart beginning to grieve for Margaret.

What could have happened in that one year to change her life so drastically? Or perhaps she could have still been the same if Edward had not cut off ties with her.

"Yes." The cook nodded. "Lord Cavendish reconciled with her, but things were never the same again. A few months later, she gave birth but died while doing so, and just two days later, her husband died in a tragic carriage accident. That left Lord Cavendish as the guardian for Miss Amy."

"Lord Cavendish must have been devastated."

"He was," Mrs Connor agreed with Ophelia, "but he wanted nothing to do with little Miss Amy. Lady Rosalina and every other relative offered to take up her guardianship, but he refused even that and took Miss Amy with him to the countryside. But we know he can never love the little girl."

"Why?" Ophelia asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"It is a simple matter, Miss Jennings," the cook said, "she reminds him of her father, who was below their status and not a noble lord. Lord Cavendish can never be accepting of that."

The shock of the revelation was too much to bear, and Ophelia felt as if someone had slapped her.

She had known Edward had his differences with Amy, but she had never known the reason behind those differences was this. How could he be so cruel? How could he judge a child on the basis of her bloodline and hate her simply because she was below them?

Ophelia felt betrayed. As if she had never even known Edward's true face.

"Thank you so much for letting me know. I had no idea." She tried to smile at the pair, but she still could not get over the shock of the matter.

"Do drink your milk, dear," the cook pointed.

Ophelia realized she had completely ignored her glass of milk. Despite no longer having an appetite for it, she downed the glass in one go not wanting Mrs Connor and the cook to be suspicious. Although, she knew that she would certainly not be able to sleep tonight.

"Thank you," she said once again, "Good night. You two should sleep as well; it is rather late."

Both Mrs Connor and the cook nodded while Ophelia quickly exited the kitchen. As she returned to her bedchamber upstairs, she still could not believe what she had heard them say. Everything in her head came crashing down as she realized that she had completely misjudged Edward.

She had been developing feelings for him every day while he would never even look at her.

Ophelia was far beneath his status from what he knew, and if he could subject his sister to such rules, he would only apply the same rules to himself. He was even punishing a little girl because of his hatred towards her dead father, only because the man had been a hardworking doctor instead of a noble lord.

Ophelia entered her bedchamber, finding Amy still asleep in the cradle beside her bed.

She sat by the little girl, staring at her perfect face from up close. She was beautiful.

"Your mother must have been so beautiful, too," Ophelia whispered as tears finally began to fall down her face.

She had no choice but to distance herself from Edward, or else she would only get very hurt.