A Daughter's Duty

Chapter Eighteen

     "What about this one, m'lady?" A seamstress asked, holding a veil in front of Cordelia's brown eyes. "It is all the talk in London. Just in from France..." she said, trailing off as she grabbed an alternate veil from her trunk. 

      "What do you think Lizzie?" Cordelia asked, turning towards her friend on the armchair behind her. 

     "You look beautiful as always, Delia, though I still like the first one better," Elizabeth said, reaching for the veil that was spread out on the bed beside her. When Cordelia said yes to William's proposal, she knew there was no world in which she would be getting married without her best friend by her side throughout the entire process. She already had to walk down the aisle without her mother in attendance, Lizzie being absent would be too much to bear. 

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     As soon as she had told the news to her father and Lord and Lady Bishop, Cordelia had set off for Elizabeth's family's estate. When she arrived, Lizzie was in the drawing-room, entertaining her mother's guests from America. "Lady Cordelia Gardiner here to see you, ma'am," Cordelia heard the butler announce from behind the door to the room. 

     "Tell her I am busy," Elizabeth replied coldly, and Cordelia struggled to remain composed from her position behind the grand doorway. The butler turned back around to usher Cordelia out of the room with a shrug when Cordelia pushed past him into the room.

     "Please Lizzie, it would mean the world to me if you would listen to what I have to say," she said, trying not to be intimidated by Elizabeth's cold stare. 

     "I'm not interested in anything you have to say to me," Elizabeth replied, staring down at the ground. 

     Cordelia's heart sank. She had come over to apologize to Elizabeth, imagining all of the different things she would say to her friend, but she had never imagined that Elizabeth would be so mad as to not even hear her out. "You're right, Lizzie, why should you hear me out when I haven't done a thing to deserve it? I should be going, you ladies have a marvelous afternoon." With that, Cordelia nodded to the women around her and was waving goodbye to Elizabeth as her friend opened her mouth to speak.

     "You're right, you haven't done a thing to deserve my reception. You should be going, you should g-" Elizabeth stopped speaking when she eyed Cordelia's hand. A large ruby diamond the size of a cranberry rested itself upon Cordelia's slender finger, and it was impossible to ignore when the brilliant sunlight caught it. 

     "You should tell me right now where you got that ring!" Elizabeth exclaimed, shooting up from her chair and shouting at the top of her lungs. She grabbed Cordelia's hand and inspected the rock on her finger at a closer angle.

     "Aren't you mad at me?" Cordelia asked, stunned at her friend's sudden transformation. 

     "Mad at you? How could I be mad at my best friend? Especially when she has such important news to share," she smiled up at Cordelia and she knew in her heart that all was forgiven. Elizabeth linked her arm through hers and escorted her out of the drawing-room, leaving the foreign visitors to gaggle amongst themselves at the spectacle the two women had made. The two walked to Elizabeth's favorite spot, the greenhouse, and sat on a bench while they caught one another up.

     "Charles? Why were you thinking of him when William proposed," Elizabeth asked, still not letting go of Cordelia's ringed hand. Cordelia sighed, struggling to piece together the words to explain to her friend. 

     "I've never forgotten him, Liz. How can I?" She exclaimed, shooting up from her chair and running a hand through her curls.

     "If you can't forget about him, then why did you say yes to William?"