Chapter 33: Tea time- Part 1

Heidi turned the page of the book that was laid in front of her on the table as she read the next paragraph, murmuring to herself, she dipped the feathered quill in an inky black bottle and began to write down in the book.

“Is that the best you can do? Please write the words neatly, Ms. Curtis. Even my horse can write better than that.”

It would be better if Mr. Warren marries the horse, thought Heidi while trying to write the words continuously. Heidi who had been having ample amount of time these past few days had suddenly found herself with an educator due to which she had to spend most of her time in a closed room learning what the lady had to teach her. It was her fourth day with the tutor who visited thrice in a week, this being the second week. Unfortunately when she was a child, her mother had been happy enough to see her write and it hadn’t mattered then if the words were split or linked to each other but it did now. Especially to her educator, Ms. Eveline Moate.

Eveline Moate, was a woman in her early twenties, who specialized in giving lessons to young blooming girls in the elite society. As Heidi was a human, Lord Nicholas and Warren had decided to get her a human tutor. The woman now drank her tea from the cup the maid had previously brought in to the room, her slender fingers placed the saucer down while her teeth clicked seeing the girl’s handwriting.

“I don’t think people care about it-”

“Ms. Curtis,” her tutor interrupted her a little exasperated with her, “I have been told that you haven’t taken interest in your education before but it would be wise to take it up now. The vampire world is no less to a human one. As silly as you find it, it is important than you learn how to write because it isn’t just your appearance next to Mr. Lawson but also the fact that it is the lady who is responsible in sending letters out to the people in and out of your circle. We will first start with the basic things before leaping into books. So I suggest to stop talking and continue writing.”

When the tutor left for the day, Heidi sighed while continuing to write the last page which was asked before her tutor had left. At first she had been happy and eager to learn instead of sitting idle in the mansion with nothing to do but as the woman had said, she had started with the basics and even though it was tiresome Heidi made sure to follow not wanting any complaints to reach either Mr. Lawson or the Lord’s ears.

Now that she was here, this was all she could do. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes at the fear of what news would be sent to the Duke who held old Howard in his mansion as a prisoner. Remembering the night she was taken back to Woville after trying to escape, her hand stopped moving on the book and she set the quill down. Though Howard held no ill feelings against her even though she was the reason he was in the current state, it didn’t mean she wasn’t guilty about it. She had grown up knowing the man and had witnessed to see his black hair turn white as years passed. She wasn’t the kind to sacrifice someone for her profit and she was never raised by her mother to be selfish. At the thought of her mother, she wondered what she would have advised if she was still alive.

She had no one to ask or to depend on in this world. Whomever she had depended on were taken away from her, not quickly but eventually. As a child, the fear had been instilled into her mind which had carried itself as she grew up. That evening, Heidi was alone at the table during dinner as the Lord and Mr. Lawson had gone out for different reasons which she was not aware of.

“How do you like the food, Ms. Curtis? I asked the cook to prepare everything you might like,” said the butler, pouring a glass of water and drinking it himself.

“I think this one is tasty and even the fish, though I have to say I have never eaten fishes like this,” she replied picking the white meat on her plate and placing it in her mouth and after swallowing it she said, “Thank you for being thoughtful, Stanley. I don’t think I have been treated to food like this since my mother passed away.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” the butler bowed his head, “She must have been an admirable woman.”

“She was,” Heidi smiled fondly thinking about her mother. Even though Helen wasn’t her biological mother, Heidi didn’t consider her any less from her own mother. She was an orphan and as far as she could remember she didn’t known her actual family. There were times when she would wonder how life could have turned if she weren’t an orphan and if there was still a chance of finding her blood related parents, but even she knew it was impossible.

“Mother loved us a lot. I think all mothers do but she would go an extra length by picking up a day for each of us, preparing food that we liked so that none of us left out. She…also had this little stick…”

“Stick?” asked Stanley in puzzlement.

“Haha…yes, when we would step out of line. We siblings got our fair share as children.”

“Ah!” the butler responded, “If I may ask, why didn’t your father remarry? Surely handling three young children would be difficult.”

“Oh, it’s not like that. It’s been only two years since she passed away and my father held my mother very dear to his heart. I don’t think marrying another woman has crossed his mind,” she smiled to see the butler nod his head understandingly and in flow she asked, “What about your mother?”

“My mother wasn’t as commendable as yours miss,” the butler replied with a smile.

When a maid entered the dining room with a small tray in her hand and placed the last course of the meal next to Ms. Curtis’ bowl, the butler heard the lady murmur a thanks. Her eyes seemed to look at it carefully, taking in the white creamy texture in the glass. Seemingly, she had learnt to use the silverware as she picked the little spoon in her hand.