"Your son is being disrespectful to me!" Judith said, pouting, and Benjamin's eyes widened, turning to his father, but not saying anything. Harry was used to his wife's outbursts by now, and motioned with his hand for Benjamin to calm down.
"And how did he do it, my love?" Harry asked calmly.
"He was antagonizing me and taking the side of the maid." Judith answered.
"And what exactly did he do? What happened?"
"Well, she took forever to bring me my tea. Then the tea was awful and he wanted to disagree with me without even drinking it!" Judith declared, exasperated. "All this to go against me."
"Mother, you hadn't tried the tea either." Benjamin couldn't help but speak up.
"Haven't you tried it, Judith?" Harry asked.
"I drink tea every day. I know when the tea is good just by looking at it. And that one was awful." She wrinkled her nose. "The truth is, your son has his eyes on the little maid." She declared, and then Harry understood the issue. He didn't deny that he would like his son to marry someone with a name and possessions; however, he wanted the boy to be happy. And Louisa was a good girl.
"I see… Benjamin certainly didn't mean it. And he has not his eyes on the girl. She is only twelve years old, Judith." Harry reminded her. Judith kept moving her mouth, as if she had nothing to say.
Shortly afterwards, Eva came in, excusing herself and pouring tea. She apologized for the bad tea her daughter had served, and left.
"At least Eva still knows her place." Judith commented. She looked at her tea and stood up. "I no longer want to have tea." And with that said, she was off to the second floor.
Harry shook his head from side to side and sat where his wife had been sitting before.
"Your mother sometimes gets intemperate, son. Her nerves aren't doing so well. I'm going to talk to Doctor Watson. He will know what to do." Harry clapped his son on the shoulder, got up and went after the stable boy to get the doctor.
Benjamin leaned back on the couch and threw his head back. His mother couldn't have made it clearer that she sensed the atmosphere between him and Louisa and was definitely not happy about it. At least his father hadn't quarreled with him. Maybe he'd taken it as a misjudgment from Judith. Benjamin prayed that it was like that, or life for the Dubois could become very difficult at Iontach.
When night fell, Louisa slipped out of the backhouse, which was the servants' quarters, and into the main house's kitchen. Benjamin was already waiting for her, there. He held a Pall Mall mallet and handed it to her, before even saying 'good evening'.
"So you are armed, now." He said and she held the mallet close to her body.
"Thank you. So, what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked. She wore her nightgown and a robe over it. Her hair was in a loose braid, with strands around her face. In the moonlight coming through the small window on the door, Benjamin could only see how her eyes seemed to reflect the moon itself.
"Oh, I think my mother didn't like seeing us on the horse together." He declared and Louisa made a face that she wasn't the least bit surprised.
"I could tell." She said, displeased.
"We're going to have to be more discreet." He said and Louisa frowned.
"What does that mean?" She questioned him, and he licked his lips before answering her.
"If we want to be friends, we're going to have to be discreet. No talking in front of her. If I am ever rude to you, it's because of her, okay? I don't want you to get me wrong." He shrugged.
"Alright. I just don't understand why you're being so friendly if you were so harsh earlier." She crossed her arms awkwardly in front of her chest as she held the mallet.
"Sorry for that. I was really rude. But for old times' sake, can we be friends again?" He said, and then held out his hand. She took it, still suspicious.
"Now I need to go back. My mother might notice my absence." Louisa said and Benjamin nodded. They said goodbye, and each went to their own room.
Every day, they greeted each other with a slight nod of the head or a very discreet smile. When Benjamin or she wanted to go to the beach and meet there, to read or talk, they'd find a way to get the message across. Louisa learned how to read and write from the parish pastor. Classes were suspended because the minister had fallen ill.
From time to time, Benjamin would be rude to Louisa in front of his mother, to stop her from thinking they were flirting. And after three weeks their plan worked. Judith had stopped talking down to Louisa and went back to being nice to the girl.
Another three weeks, and it would be almost time for Benjamin to return to Eton. He promised Louisa that he would write to her whenever he could. They enjoyed the last few days by going to the beach early in the morning. Benjamin spotted, on the last day, a pebble in the shape of a heart and gave it to Louisa.
"You keep it for me, and when I get back, you give it back to me." He said and so it was.
For the next two years, Benjamin made it a point to spend his holidays at Iontach. They were pen pals during that time and it was obvious that they were not only friends anymore, from their perspectives. By the time he returned to the estate before going to university, Louisa had turned fourteen, and he was eighteen. She was a girl with a more developed body and many boys had already noticed her. She was eager for Benjamin to arrive. However when he did, he wasn't alone.
The Russells had gone with him. Richard and Emily Russell were the parents of Paul, one of Benjamin's best friends. The Russells were holders of a great fortune. And both Harry and Judith were delighted to learn that, in addition to Paul, the Russells had a daughter, Jacqueline.
Louisa got ready to receive her employers, and when she saw a blonde skinny girl with bright green eyes clinging to Benjamin's arm, it was as if a black cloud had appeared over her head. Benjamin walked past Louisa and completely ignored her, treating her like any other maid. Paul spotted Louisa and winked at her, who was confused and pretended she hadn't seen it.
Judith and Harry were treating the Russells as if they were the King and Queen of England themselves. When Louisa went to bring tea to everyone in the room, Jacqueline quickly noticed that the maid was looking at Benjamin. She then decided to show off to him.
"You can let me pour tea for Ben." Jacqueline said, in a tone that sounded unbearable to Louisa's ears. However, what could she possibly do, besides what she was told? Nothing at all.
Jacqueline served only Benjamin, making it clear that there was a certain connection between the two of them, which made their parents smile, happy with the possible union of the families. Louisa felt her heart being smashed, for Benjamin had never said anything about that girl to her. Paul, on the other hand, couldn't stop looking at Louisa. He was dying to have some fun with her. When Louisa handed him the cup, he made sure to touch her hand. She managed not to drop the cup, despite her shock, but she swallowed hard and quickly withdrew her hand. No one else noticed Paul's subtle movement, except Benjamin, who was immediately cold-eyed.
Louisa withdrew from the room and practically ran her way out of the house, as soon as she was out of the sight of the bosses. Eva saw her running, but had no idea what might have happened. However, she couldn't go after her daughter, as the guests had arrived by surprise and she hadn't prepared enough food for three more people. The plan was that only Paul would be accompanying Benjamin, but Jacqueline had practically invited herself, and clearly her parents couldn't let her go without reliable company. Paul didn't fit that description.
Upon reaching the beach, Louisa let the tears wash away all the sadness she was feeling. Benjamin never said that he loved her or that he wanted to court her. At least not explicitly. But he asked her for a lock of her hair so he could have a piece of her with him all the time. He sent her love verses and recommended romantic books to her. Louisa laughed at herself.
"I am an idiot! He would never look at me like that!" She said to herself. She sat on the gravels and stayed there until the sun started to set. She hadn't realized how much time had passed before she noticed the coloring of the sky. She got up, brushed the dirt off her dress, and went back to the big house.
When Eva saw Jacqueline behaving all loving towards Benjamin, she understood what had happened. She wasn't stupid, and she knew that Louisa had been secretly corresponding with Benjamin. She picked up some of the letters and it was clear the boy was subtly courting Louisa. She just didn't understand why he had come home with another girl, and apparently, the two of them had an intimate relationship.
'My poor Louisa.' she thought.