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Isabel couldn’t understand why there was a timeline on mourning. You couldn’t turn it on and off just like that. She wouldn’t be able to recover from her father’s death for a long time. Even now, the thought of leaving her room and knowing her father wasn’t there left her shaking.
Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, Isabel left her bedchamber. It wasn’t so bad. She went to the stairs and down to the foyer. Again, not too bad, but she was trying hard not to look at the paintings lining the walls. She didn’t want to see a portrait of Viscount Dunley staring down at her.
Lady Dunley was in the morning room, sitting holding a cup of tea with an array of food across two coffee tables. She was looking out into the garden, looking very graceful and serene. Even when she was wearing black. She looked around as her daughter entered, and her face lit up, her eyes sparkling.
“Oh, Isabel, dear! Good morning!”
“Good morning, Mama.” Isabel crossed the room and kissed her mother’s cheek. “Is the breakfast still warm?”
“Yes, it’s just been laid out. I thought as it was just the two of us, we could have it in here.” Lady Dunley patted the space on the settee beside her. “Come and sit with me. I’m glad you decided to come and join me.”
Isabel didn’t reply. She simply smiled and took her seat, reaching for a plate. She knew she needed to eat, but her appetite was not great. Even after six months, she couldn’t find the fortitude to eat properly. Isabel was aware that she had lost a lot of weight lately, but trying to get and keep that food down didn’t help. She would end up wasting away if she didn’t try.
Picking out a few pieces of food, Isabel got herself a fork and began to eat in tiny bites. Everything tasted off, but she made herself eat it. She didn’t want to upset Cook any further. He worked so hard to make sure their food was the best, and both mother and daughter were struggling to eat. Lady Dunley had slowly got her appetite back, but Isabel was still not at a point where she was comfortable getting her food down.
“How’s the food?” Lady Dunley was looking at her keenly. “Is it to your liking? I know you’ve sent your tray back half-eaten lately.”
Isabel winced.
“I take it Cook wasn’t too happy about that.”
“He’s a little upset, but I know he’s fond of you, so he can’t be too upset.” Lady Dunley nibbled a piece of toast. “He’ll be happy to see you downstairs.”
Isabel was silent, munching slowly. She was starting to be able to taste the food. Maybe she would be able to eat dinner later. That had been the meal Isabel had really struggled with. Time had passed by to the point she didn’t know what the time was. Even if the main thing she did was sit on the window seat and stare into the garden.
“Oh, I received a letter from Mr Sidney this morning,” Lady Dunley said as she picked up her teacup. “He said his son has returned from abroad.”
“Richard’s back?”
“Yes. He came back yesterday in the early hours. Gave the butler a surprise when he went to see who had come into the house. He thought someone was trying to steal the silver.”
Isabel giggled.
“I’m sure that was interesting. But I thought Richard wasn’t due back for another week.”
“Apparently, they finished earlier than expected, and so Richard thought he would surprise his family.” Lady Dunley smiled. “Mr Sidney is glad his son is back.”
Isabel was glad that Richard was back. It had been four years since he had left to travel across Europe and explore places that hadn’t been touched before. He had promised to write to her in the meantime, but Isabel hadn’t held much hope in that. Her friend was not good at writing letters and keeping in contact was very difficult. He could get absent-minded.
But Isabel was looking forward to seeing him. Richard Sidney had been a sweet young man, very kind towards her. They had bonded over their love of nature, and Isabel liked to surprise Richard with her newly-found knowledge that she looked up just for him. It was like having a kindred spirit.
She hoped Richard would remember her now. They were neighbours, so she wasn’t far away at all now, but whether Richard would remember to come and visit her was anyone’s guess.
Seeing him would be a way to cheer her up. Isabel needed something to brighten her day. A smile from her childhood friend would certainly help.
#
For a moment, when he opened his eyes, Richard wondered where he was. He wasn’t sure what was going on. Surely, it was hotter than this, there was activity going on outside the window, and there were shouts of the stall workers in the market down the street.
Then he remembered. He wasn’t in Italy, in the townhouse just off the main square. He was at his ancestral home in the middle of the Devon countryside. A stark contrast to what he was used to. It felt strange to have absolute quiet; Richard did feel like he had gone deaf.
He was sure things were going to be very different. Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland ... all of those countries had charm, beauty, and so much activity. Richard had not been left bored, always finding something that captured his attention.
England had charm and beauty, but there was a lot less interest. After scouring pretty much all the county of Devon and the coast, Richard had wanted to do so much more and see everything.
Four years away from home, and already he wanted to go back.
But he needed to get up and make an appearance with his family. He really needed to make an effort with them. While his father had approved of him going on a tour around Europe, he would want Richard to be back and show his face now and then. Thomas, on the other hand, wouldn’t really care. He didn’t care much about what his younger brother did.
