Chapter 18
“Good morning, my dear,” Ariadne said, surprising Ella entirely with her early presence at the breakfast table.
Ariadne, in keeping with the rest of the household, was ordinarily a late riser. It was a trait she had needed to keep in check when Ella’s father was still alive, for he did not hold with the idea of keeping the household servants in limbo all morning, waiting for everybody to finally rise and ultimately not finish breakfast until almost midday.
But at Dandridge Hall, thoughtfulness towards the servants was not a common sentiment, and so it was that the staff teetered on the brink of serving breakfast from very early, when Ella arose, until the morning was over, and the rest of the family finally sat down at the table.
“Good morning, Mama,” Ella said quietly, keeping her tone neutral.
While she did not particularly want to greet her mother warmly, she did not want to be obviously dismissive. There was no need for an argument that morning, and she would seek to avoid one at all costs.
“Have you eaten already?” Ariadne said, looking down at Ella’s plate.
Ella had only thus far eaten a little bacon and some toast, but the sudden appearance of her mother had put an end to her appetite altogether; she knew she would not eat again until taking luncheon in her chamber.
“Yes, I have eaten already. I will finish my tea and be on my way.” As much as she sought to avoid an argument, Ella could not resist reminding her mother of the solitary meals she was ordinarily forced to take.
“No, no, you need not leave,” Ariadne said in a manner which suggested she was doing her daughter a great service in letting her stay. “Perhaps we could take breakfast together, my dear.” And she immediately set about loading her plate with bacon, kidneys, and tomatoes.
“As you wish.”
“It is so quiet at this hour, is it not?” her mother said conversationally between bites. “I think I am beginning to see why it is you rise so early.”
“Yes, it is very quiet. Peaceful.”
“Peaceful is the word, my dear.” Her mother gave her a conspiratorial glance before continuing. “And I must say that it is nice to eat a meal without the benefit of a full-blown argument between sisters at the table.”
“Indeed,” Ella said shortly.
She had been sure that her mother’s patience had been waning in respect of her new husband’s offspring, and now she was certain of it. But Ariadne had shown her very little care, and Ella begrudged the idea that she was now expected to commiserate with the woman who was at the root of her misery.
The woman who had married again without need and had done so without thought. The woman who had treated her own daughter like one of the staff in order to appease her husband. Why on earth would she assume that Ella would be so keen to chase after any scraps thrown from her mother’s table?
“And I must admit that I shall be somewhat relieved when the Duke finally chooses one of them. At least that will take one of them away from Dandridge and put an end to the arguments.”
“So, you think that Dandridge will be a much more comfortable place when that happens?” Ella decided not to say anything at all about the Duke.
It would appear that her mother was as convinced as the Earl that the man would be pleased to take either one of the young Belville women as his wife. Well, Ella was not about to dissuade her on it; she would not discuss the Duke at all.
“Oh, I am sure of it. I must admit that their constant bickering is a drain on my energy and quite sets my teeth on edge.”
“Then you are not quite as enamored of them as you were when we first came here, Mama?”
“I would not say that I have ever been particularly enamored of them, my dear.”
“Really? Because your rough treatment of me would certainly have led me to suspect otherwise.”
“Are we to have this again, Ella? Especially when I am doing all I can to build bridges between the two of us.”
“And why is that? Why are you suddenly so keen on my company that you would rise so early even when I know to rise early is not your custom?”
“I suppose I do not want you to take every single meal alone,” Ariadne spoke solemnly, but Ella gave her sentiment no credit at all.
“Then perhaps you might allow me to sit at the dinner table again?” Ella said flatly. “If you are as concerned as you say.”
“I do not think it wise to antagonize your stepfather, Ella.” Ariadne was keeping a tight lid on her exasperation, and Ella could see it. “I think it would be better if we take one step at a time.”
“So, was it my stepfather’s idea that I be kept away from the rest of the family? Did he instruct you to make it so?”
“No, he did no such thing.”
“Then it was your idea, Mama?” Ella had the upper hand, and she knew it.
“No, it was not my idea, as you put it, it was simply a suggestion.”
“Then it was a suggestion which seems to have taken firm root in this household, for I can hardly think that if I arrived at the dinner table this evening that I would be welcome. Or can you tell me otherwise?”
“It is not permanent, Ella. It is just until this business of the Duke settles down, then I am sure that things will return to normal.”
“Normal?”
“When one of the girls is married to the Duke, and the other one is settled with some other suitor, then your stepfather will have no further worries, will he? And then I am sure that his humour will return.”
“I must admit that I had never perceived any particular humour in him, Mama,” Ella said waspishly. “But perhaps humour is as much in the eye of the beholder as beauty is.”
“There is no need to be clever, my dear.”
“Why not? In this household, it is all I have left.”
“If I had realised that you were so determined to be offensive, I would never have gone to the effort of coming down so early.”
“Then at least it will save you the effort of doing so again, will it not?” Ella was suddenly furious.
“All I had wanted was to have a few minutes with you, just to be ourselves again, is that too much to ask?”
“No, it is very little,” Ella said significantly. “It is shamefully little.”
“And what do you mean by that?”
“Surely you cannot be happy in a house where you have to creep down early in the morning simply to be able to talk to your own daughter without fear of recrimination? Is it really so necessary for it to be such a secret?”
As soon as Ella had finished speaking, she could see a look she barely recognised clouding her mother’s expression. For all the world, Ariadne looked as if Ella had stumbled upon the truth.
“Perhaps it would be better if I gave up on the idea of breakfast,” Ariadne said quietly.
“Is it true? Are you really so afraid of him that you dare not speak to your own daughter unless to instruct her on how best to keep out of everybody else’s way?”
“I am not afraid, my dear, just very aware that we should not upset the applecart here.”
“Here in our home , you mean? Is that not what you promised me Dandridge Hall would be once you married the Earl?”
“And I am sure it will be, one day.” Ariadne looked suddenly tearful, and Ella, despite everything her mother had done to hurt her of late, was dismayed to find that she felt genuine pity for her. “But we must take things easily, slowly.”
“Even our own relationship, Mama?” Ella spoke more tenderly to her mother than she had done in a very, very long time.
She knew that things were not right, and Ronald Dandridge had made it worse without a doubt. But had they ever been close? Had Ella ever really loved the woman as a mother? Or had she loved her father so much that there was never room for Ariadne?
“I am just trying to do what is right for both of us,” Ariadne said, and Ella’s pity began to wane just a little.
It was clear to Ella that her mother would never own up to her part in things, however much Ella was hurt by it. But perhaps by coming down to breakfast, Ariadne was making the best effort that a woman of her nature could manage.
Or maybe she was finding herself a little lonely and seeking solace wherever she could get it?
Either way, Ella knew that she was in no position to turn away the hand of friendship if it was offered.
“Perhaps I will have another cup of tea before I finish,” Ella said, effectively putting an end to the conversation and seeking to set off on a brand-new foot.
“Yes, that would be nice,” Ariadne said, always one to take the path of least resistance.
Whilst Ella did not trust the idea of a tentative friendship between herself and her mother, she knew that she would at least have to give it a chance.