Lord Theodore's Favorite Ritual
Chapter 195: The Visit.

Chapter 195: The Visit.

Noon.

Theodore Mansion.

Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.

***************

Lydias’ hands shook as she pointed her index finger at him. "Of depriving me from meeting my actual father?"

Theodore stood up too, his arms stretched out in surrender. "No, Gooseberry you don’t understand, We have a history"

We?

"You know my father," she observed.

Theodore ran his palm over his face but before he could say anything, a knock interrupted the tense atmosphere.

"Lady Theodore, you have a visitor" the employeds voice drifted to the couple.

"Dorothy, you should be concerned for your head" Theodore growled at the interruption, it was appreciated but he didn’t need saving.

Outside Dorothy was flustered. "I... My lord?" another utterance of mistake, my lord.

"You must indeed have a death wish" Theodore scoffed, as he watched Lydia watch him.

"Forgive me Lord Theodore, what could I have done wrong" she asked and unsurprisingly as it is the lord of the city found it stupid.

"Who is the visitor, Rothy?" he deadpanned finally, he didn’t

Dorothy cleared her throat. "My lady’s sister" Lydia’s heart raced because she immediately thought of Liza her eyes leaving Theodores’

Why was she back to the possessive pronoun calling? "Did you hit your head somewhere?" he asked her from inside the office while Lydia stood growing pale without his notice.

"Pardon?" she asked back, making Theodore groan at how badly their conversation was going.

Lydia was still silent, her countenance veering on the edge of worrying her husband.

"Where is Shade?"

Through the door the young maid frowned and the confusion in her voice was unmistaken for anything as she asked. "Who is Shade?"

Theodore nodded in exasperation,of course she wouldn’t have sensed him. "How did you know someone was at the gates?"

"No, they are not at the gates, they are on the pavement" her answer.

"Oh?" Theodore was completely out of his elements.

"Thank you, guide them to the garden please and have them sip on something hot" Lydia finally said, her thought scattered and incomprehensible to her. Who was Theodore?

"Of course lady Theodore" she said correctly.

"And her head is back" Theodore tethered towards the edge with his wife. She replied. "She gets spooked easily"

"In this mansion, that is unnecessary" Theodore.

Lydia glanced at her husband if he was being ironic because that’s really hilarious, one should be constantly spooked in this mansion but she loved it anyway.

"I have to see Shi’Enz" she shrugged him off coldly.

"You enjoy your day and do come find me if you miss me" he said softly.

She held his gaze. "That is a wonderful invitation I shall oblige to, because I think we have a lot to talk about"

He drew her closer with his fingers wrapped around her neck and lowered his face to her. "Anything you want Gooseberry"

And he meant it with all his heart but he wouldn’t

*

* *

*

Noon.

Flower Garden, Theodore Mansion.

Critic Arley, Critic -Ishire.

***************

Lydia rushed to the doors, her gown flowing after her along with the maid who’d announced the presence of a guest, as she passed the marble floor intent on not asking who the sister was because she wanted to assume it was not the favourable one, perhaps out of fear of disappointment. Her attention was drawn to the side by a movement she stared at the area for a moment before Red sprung out from behind curtains, she gasped before a smile bloomed on her delicate features. She darted, her feet effortlessly carrying her to the feline, she bent and stretched her arms. "Come here my fluffy hero" she whispered to it but her voice held no enthusiasm, it came and she gathered it in her arms, she stepped outside the house and the weather looked rather gloomy. It has been like that for days now, no rain yet it appeared to be near the surface.

"Martha! my word you are here!" Lydia squealed when she reached the flower garden and caught sight of her childhood friend. "Oh how I have missed you" she groaned gathering her in and her arms and ultimately squishing the cat between them

"You still smell so nice" Martha moaned with a smile.

Lydia scoffed. "What do you mean still? You think I bathe with milk here?" she moved to it while Martha followed.

"Not because of the abundance in riches but I just thought..." she trailed off, she had been worried, she had assumed the worst when Lydia didn’t write to her and she had been too scared to write first.

"I was fine," Lydia drawled. "I am, mind you the mansion has its very own lake" she pointed out picking up a cup.

Martha sighed. "The estate has never been in any more worse state than it is now"

"I am sorry you have to be there" Lydia consoled.

Martha shrugged. "If this stunt and Shi’Enz pulled backfires then I shall be on the streets sooner than anticipated" her words.

"That would be delightful, we are disturbingly short of hand around here" Lydia explained truthfully.

Her friend’s eyes widened. "You would let the lord hire me?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "I would hire you" she assured.

"Thank you so much, the mansion is one of your sisters less but it could do without me there" Martha.

Lydia smiled. "Speaking of sister, where is my Shi’Enz?"

Martha sighed, reclining into her seat before sitting upright as she started. "Shi’Enz, I need a woman in loves’ perspective to know what’s wrong with her, I do not think she came here for you" Martha clarified.

"Why then would she... Hound" as Lydia had started to think of reasons why Shi’Enz would be here, she remembered the papers from the muckraker that time and how she hadn’t consoled her sister yet or confirmed.

"I see tea parties and soirees have yet to fry your brains" Martha teased at how good her guess had been.

"That is because I have not been to them" there was a bitter note to the declaration.

Martha frowned. "But why?"

"Well because I was never invited, we are still very much disliked around here" Lydia confided but

Martha was appalled. "That is unfair, you are the most elite person I know" she defended.

"You only know the Statham family" Lydia corrected.

They both laughed as Martha agreed with a nod.

"So what do you think of Shi’Enz’ dilema?" Martha was brought back to light.

Lydia dropped her cup that she’d just sipped from to ask. "How has father reacted?"

"The lord is barely home and he had forbade her from going anywhere, I am sure it is until he finds her a suitable groom"

Lydia shuddered. "Dear lord, what if she is in love?"

"We will know when she gets back, now can we talk about your life?" Martha redirected the subject at hand.

Eagerly Lydia announced. "I have a friend and a business idea"

"The friend is not me?" Martha feigned jealousy.

"No, a fast growing business woman, she is like a sister to me and we look slightly alike" Lydia replied with her enthusiasm back as she talked about Helena.

"Interesting, I hope someday I get to meet her," Martha was saying.

"She is in the mansion ’’ Lydia announced while Red dropped out of her lap.

"Oh to visit?" Martha asked as her eyes followed the cat who narrowed his own gaze on her before strolling away.

Lydia shook her head. "She lives here temporarily"

"I will ask no further question, I will however need to see her"

"She could be anywhere or out for work, how have you been?"

The two continued to talk about Lydia’s business ideas, her dressmaker, her work with redecorating the whole eerie dark mansion, her trip to the awful yet beautiful citadel, the day was a good one in this side of the mansion.

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