Chapter XXXIII.

*Mr Theodore*

In Veursau, a couple of days later, Theodore walked alongside his mother and aunt as they all made their way out of the graveyard. They left his father's funeral.

"Oh, my Gabriel... I don't know what I will do without him... how am I to live without him?" Victoria wailed ever so slightly through her tears.

"I am sure everything will be fine eventually, Victoria. You will manage, I know you will," her sister spoke out as she embraced her sister.

All the while, Theodore, who couldn't help but roll his eyes ever so slightly at his mother's words, viewed such a scene with slight ridicule. He knew she loved him for his money. Nothing else.

However, out of respect for his father - not that he has much, to begin with, he kept his mouth shut.

All of a sudden, a man approached Victoria, Theodore and Marissa but only pulled Marissa aside, saying, "May I have a quick word?". Leaving Theodore and Victoria all alone.

It was a family friend.

"I'll find you two in a few minutes..." Marissa spoke out, turning back to them.

Turning to her son, she let a small smile grow on her lips. "But at least I'll have my son here with me... Here is Veursau, with Elisabeth... just as your father wished...".

Theodore paused at his mother's words. "Here, in Veursau?...".

Victoria's smile dropped ever so slightly. "Why yes, Theodore. You don't think of leaving me here all alone to fend for myself?".

"I've never said anything like that, Victoria... However, you must understand, my life belongs back in Veurause.".

"What nonsense are you speaking of, Theodore? Your place is here, in Veursau..." his mother replied, staggered. "Your place was always here. This is your home city...".

Theodore couldn't help but laugh at Victoria's words. "It's funny to me how... how you never once thought of that when I was with Aunt Marissa all these years. You were too busy to even remember me... Didn't care enough to see me...".

"This will be your new home, Theodore. You will be living here as soon as we've finalised everything for your father's funeral. You will get married to Elisabeth and you will begin your own family..." Victoria's voice grew a bit stern. "You won't have to worry about that scullery maid of yours, Ms Clarke. She'll be married to Mr Pavel. He proposed and she accepted his offer of marriage...".

Stopping upon hearing the surname, he let Victoria's words dwell in his mind. 'Married? Tamara getting married to Pavel?...'.

Nothing his absence from her side almost immediately, she turned and looked at her son. "Do you understand, Theodore?".

"Does Elisabeth know any of this?". He disregarded her question.

Victoria let out a laugh. "Why yes, she was the mediator of them both...".

Theodore felt his stomach turn.

He kept his eyes on his mother for a second longer before backing away. Looking left and right, he rushed off into the crowd, leaving his mother all alone. "T-Theodore!? Where are you going?!?".

His stomach swirled with fear and regret. Most of all, he felt jealous. For the first time, he admitted it to himself that he was jealous. He accepted it.

'I have to go back... I want to go back, back to Tamara. I can't let her go to him,' he thought to himself as he reached the cobbled road of the street.

There, he was greeted with carriages upon carriages all in a queue. All empty.

Rushing a the coachman of one of them, "Excuse me!!" Theodore began.

Gaining the man's attention, he looked at Theodore. Furrowing his brows, it seemed as if the coachman recognised Theodore. "Mr Baraville??". Almost immediately, his features softened. "Please accept my condolences...".

Slight awkwardness filled Theodore - the reason being his complicated relationship with his father, but he accepted the man's condolences. "Thank you...". Taking a sharp breath, he proceeded to ask the man what he wanted, "However, I really need to ask you a favour. I will pay however much needed...".

"What can I do for you, Mr Baraville?".

"I would like you to bring me to Veurause...".

---

*The next day*

Back in Veurause, both Diana and Elisabeth were alone in the Oxford household.

And by now, Theodore, Marissa and Victoria should have arrived in Veursau, Diana assumed.

With the two women seated in the living room, each had a piece of china in their hands, sipping freshly brewed tea from it.

"It seems like you'll spend a few more days in Veurause with me," Diana spoke out, smiling ever so slightly at Elisabeth.

"Yeah..." Elisabeth responded, nodding as she tried to force a smile on her lips as well.

Outside, the evening sun was slowly getting ready to set down below the horizon, which meant that the duties of the day had come to an end. Not that there was much that was done.

However, a knock on the door of the room, where the two women sat, broke the mere serenity that began to descend its way upon the home.

Opening the door, Mr Norke peered his head through the gap. "Ms Diana, you have a visitor.".

Placing her cup on the table, she stood up. "A visitor? At this hour?? Who could it be?".

Just as Diana was about to make her way to the ajar door, it opened again and inside strolled Daryll Hemshire.

Instantly, upon seeing him, immense surprise filled Diana. "Mr Daryll?".

And it wasn't only Diana who was astounded, Elisabeth felt dumb-found.

"Good evening, Ms Diana..." he greeted her with a curtsey. Turning his attention to Elisabeth, he did the same, muttering, "Ms Elisabeth...".

"What a pleasure to have you here... would you like to have some tea?" Diana offered.

"No, no, thank you very much for your offer," Daryll responded, with a slight sense of confusion developing within him. The warmth inside the Oxford household was something he least expected on a night like this.

"What may I help you with then, Mr Daryll? If I may ask, what business might you have in the Oxford household at this time?" Diana asked, trying to get answers as to why Daryll Hemshire stood in her living room at this time of hour.

Her words made Daryll furrow his eyebrows. "But... don't you know, Ms Diana?".

To such a question of his, Diana has a similar reaction, the smile on her face slowly reduced to nothing. "I- I'm sorry. Don't I know what? You are confusing me, Mr Daryll. If there is a reason for your visit, I most certainly wasn't made aware of it by my mother before she, Victoria and Theodore left for Veursau.".

To such a quarrel passed around between Daryll and Diana, Elisabeth froze in her seat. She felt her heart thump against her rib cage. The palms of her hands began to sweat ever so slightly, so she slowly wiped them off her dress.

"I was told to make myself present by Ms Victoria as in the morning I'd be accompanying them on their journey to Veursau," Daryll explained, keeping his eyes on Diana, but upon finishing his sentence, he switched to looking at Elisabeth.

She was the one who brought him the letter from Victoria.

"I received a letter from Ms Elisabeth actually, written by Ms Victoria, telling me as such..." Daryll furthermore said.

Diana paused before turning around, and with that, she looked toward Elisabeth. "Elisabeth?..." she called out her name.

Catching her attention, she looked up at Diana.

"May I have a quick word with you out in the hallway?".

"Why so, Diana? Why is there a need for such? I can promise you-" Elisabeth was interrupted.

"I didn't ask for your input, Elisabeth. I want to talk to you. About why this hasn't been brought to my attention. And I'm assuming neither my mother knows of this..." Diana spoke, her voice becoming a bit stern.

"But how could you be so sure of that?" Elisabeth inquired. She knew what Diana said was true. Marissa knew nothing of this.

"Had she known, she'd have mentioned something to be before leaving, Elisabeth... That's how I know I'm sure of it...".

Elisabeth gulped ever so slightly before standing up. With that, she walked into the hallway.

"Please seat yourself wherever you like, Mr Daryll. I'll be very quick.". And with that, Diana joined Elisabeth's company in the hallway.

"As of recent, I felt as though something was off with your behaviour. But I brushed it off as nothing.". Diana paused for a second, taking in a deep breath. "This grabbed my attention and proved what I felt before. Now, it's obvious to me that something's not right. And I feel as though you are hiding something from me. I want to know what is it.".

Elisabeth quieted down as a result of her being confronted. She felt her stomach drop to the ground, the plan that both Victoria and she had began to break into pieces.

Elisabeth tried to make up any reason to try and recover the failing plan she was a part of. She wanted to think of some lie, something believable but nothing came to her mind. And the lump in her throat only got bigger, which only made speaking more difficult from here on out.

That is, it made lying difficult to be more precise.

All that was done was, Elisabeth cleared her throat before she only further lowered her gaze now to the ground.

Diana was about to speak up, but Elisabeth's voice caught her off guard.

"I'll be going back home... so... so what is the point of me staying quiet?...". Though she muttered those words to herself, they caught Diana's full attention.

"Staying quiet?... Tell me more, Elisabeth.".

Letting a rush of air through her lips, she cleared her throat once more. "However... I-..." Elisabeth began as her eyes instantly moved to Diana. "I need you to do me a favour, Diana. Please. I will tell you everything, just as long as I don't have to face Victoria on my way back home...".

"Sure, but we will discuss all of that after you tell me the reason why Mr Daryll is in my living room...".

To Diana's words, Elisabeth began talking.