A few days passed and Eileen, Ruth and Tamara helped Agath pack her clothes. She said she was due to move in with Daryll and his family.
"You will come to visit us, yes?" Ruth asked, having a hand around her dear sister.
Agath nodded to her words. "Yes, yes I will, my dear sisters.".
Ms Hope knocked on the door before coming in with a pile of washed and ironed clothes for Agath. "Here are some more things you might need, dear Child.".
Leaving them on her bed, she headed toward the door, but just as she was about to leave, Ms Hope turned and looked once more over the sisters that remained. Tamara, Eileen, Ruth and Agath. Within hours, there'll be one less. "You take care of yourself, dear Agath. And do come by to visit us often. It will warm my heart as much as it will of your dear sisters and parents.". With such said, Ms Hope quickly left the room so as not to let the girls see a tear roll down her cheek.
It wasn't long before the sisters each went into their rooms and the evening concluded to an end.
The next morning arrived and it wasn't long before Daryll's carriage arrived. There, Daryll himself disembarked before he made his way to the main door. Knocking, he was let in and escorted to the living room of the house, where his fiance waited for him.
Tamara stood by the window beside Eileen, both out of the way, gazing at how Daryll and Agath interacted. They hugged, each smiling before Agath broke into tears as she looked over at all her sisters.
It took minutes to help Agath calm down, and when they were ready, Ruth, Tamara and Eileen along with their parents and Ms Hope all walked both Agath and Daryll out to the carriage.
With Daryll securing Agath's baggage in the back of his carriage, she turned before giving her family one last hug. Despite trying her hardest, she broke into tears once more. "I love you all. I will come and visit when I can.". Pausing, she looked at her fiance. "We will come and visit when we can.".
With Daryll holding the door open for his future wife, he let her in before he took his place beside her. And with the door closing, the Carriage set off, taking away another Clarke sister from her home.
Looking at the carriage until it rolled past the and out of side behind the hedge, the family headed back into the home.
Immediately, they felt the silence look over them, a heaviness weighed on their chest.
"I'll miss her..." Ruth whispered through her lips, trying her best to keep her tears at bay.
"We all will," Tamara responded before giving her sister a hug, Eileen joined a second later.
---
Later that evening, with each sister in her room, Tamara was behind her work table in her room. With a page in front of her, she was writing a letter.
A mere knock caused her to pause what she was doing and look back at the door. When it opened a little, Eileen's head peered through the gap made. "Hey, Tam...".
"Eileen," Tamara responded, standing up once she left her feather beside the page. "Is everything okay?".
"Yes..." Eileen responded. "Well... I don't know...".
"What's the matter?" Tamara inquired, furrowing her brows in slight worry.
"I am more so worried for Ruth, for myself, I'll manage," Eileen began. "It's inevitable that... that you'll get married, is it?".
Tamara released a mere sigh through her lips. "We'll all get married someday, Eileen.".
She nodded to her words. "I... I guess, we're not ready to say goodbye to each other, are we?". And for the first time in years, Tamara saw tears begin welling in Eileen's eyes. Immediately, she rubbed them away, trying to laugh it off as something ridiculous. But her smile reduced to nothing when her tears came back.
"Eileen..." Tamara voiced lowly as she embraced her dear sister. "And when we all do get married, we will all see each other. We will all remain the Clarke sisters. Us 6. You, Abigail, Gertrude, Agath, Ruth and me.".
To such words, Eileen gripped Tamara that bit stronger as she couldn't help but break down completely.
Without either knowing, Ruth walked to the open door. Sneaking up behind them, she joined the hug.
"One day, one day we will have a full, Clarke hug," Tamara whispered to her weeping sisters.
---
The next morning came around and Tamara, Eileen, Ruth, their parents and Ms Hope all had breakfast.
With mere chatter and gentle laughter circling the table, it helped numb the hurt from Agath's departure the evening before.
"We only have to wed off Tamara, Ruth and Eileen, Ann-Marie. Our work has been cut in half now," Noah spoke out, gently chuckling as his gaze was brought to his wife.
His wife chuckled along, despite the pain beginning to spread in her chest again.
"Don't say it like that, Mr Clarke. I don't know what I'll do when the rest of your girls are wedded off," Ms Hope responded, keeping a melancholic smile on her lips.
"That's easy, we'll just make more then," Noah responded, his eyes returning to his wife.
The whole table gasped at his words.
"Father!" Ruth exclaimed, giggling in shock. "We are eating!".
"Noah..." Ann-Marie spoke with wearyness in her voice before a small smile of disbelief developed on her lips. "Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I am finished with my food!".
Noah's smile receded ever so slightly when he saw all the women stand up from the table. "W- wait, I didn't mean to...".
"Too late to excuse yourself now, Father," Eileen bantered with Noah as she collected her and Tamara's plates.
With the table cleaned, the family sat in the living room, each tending to the other, and mere conversation was passed around.
It wasn't long before a knock was heard on the door.
"I'll get it," Ms Hope spoke out, rushing to the door.
Mere chatter was heard in the hallway before Ms Hope reemerged into the living room. "Ms Diana Oxford for you.". And with that, with her introduction, Diana walked past the wooden doorway and into the view.
"Good afternoon! I- I hope I am not interrupting anything," Diana spoke out. However, her voice carried a sort of reserve, something about Diana didn't seem quite right to the Clarke sisters. So immediately, Eileen and Tamara rushed to her, with Ruth behind them.
"Diana!" Eileen exclaimed. "Diana? Is everything okay?".
"I... I don't know how to apologise to you, my Dear Clarke sisters. When I found out what had happened. What damage Elisabeth and Victoria caused, I wanted to eat myself alive.".
A small, sheepish smile evolved on Tamara's lips and she took Diana's hands into hers. "There's no reason to. Everything has been resolved now... Agath is happier than ever with Mr Daryll.". 'She is happier than ever thanks to Mr Theodore's help.'.
"He is very lucky to have someone like Agath now in his life," Diana spoke out. "I feel very guilty I didn't have time to say goodbye to my dear Agath.".
"I am sure she will be around, she will come by when she can, she said," Eileen spoke next.
"And I have no doubt in that," Diana replied, a small smile growing on her lips.
A small, pleasant moment of silence was shared amongst the women as Ann-Marie and Noah silently observed the interaction between the women.
"I've actually come to invite you to a party, a ball if we were to be formal. But you know as well as I do, my dear Clarke sisters, that no formality exists between us.".
"Only sisterhood," Eileen added, smiling ever so slightly.
Diana nodded her head before embracing the sisters in front of her with a big hug.
"We would love to come, Diana," Tamara responded.
"Would you like some tea, Diana dear?" Mr Hope asked. "My apologies for interrupting.".
Being a little hesitant at first, Ms Hope saw her reply simply by the return of her smile. "Please, if it's no hassle.".
"Hassle? Never!" Eileen responded, then turning to Ms Hope, she asked, "Ms Hope? Do you need some help with the tea?".
"No, no, dear. You just enjoy your time with dear Ms Diana. I'll have it all ready before you know it!".
The sisters sat Diana in the living room before they all embarked on more conversations. Noah and Ann-Marie joined for a word or two before deciding they should give their girls some space.
Tea had arrived and all the girls sipped their drinks while conversing with one another. It didn't seem long before the old grandfather chimed, marking a new hour.
With Diana looking at the clock, she made a sheepish smile before standing up. "I am afraid I must get going, my dear Clarke sisters. Thank you for your hospitality as always.".
With the sisters all walking Diana out and just as she was about to embark on her carriage, Tamara let out a slight gasp. "Diana, wait. I must fetch something for you...".
But before Diana had a moment to retort, Tamara was already gone.
However, with Tamara's absence ensuing, Diana was struck with an idea. "Ruth? Eileen? Can I ask you to help me with something, it's to do with the party. But you mustn't tell Tamara, as it's a surprise.".
In Tamara's room, Tamara looked at her table, however, she couldn't find what she was looking for. She felt her stomach sink ever so slightly.
So, she picked up a few books she had by her table. Opening them up, she couldn't find the page she was looking for. It wasn't until her gaze was darted to the ground, by her desk that she saw what she was looking for. 'What is it doing on the floor?... the wind must have blown it down...'.
With the folded page in her hand, she hurried down the steps where she found her sisters conversing with Diana.
"My sincere apologies for the wait, Diana.".
"No need to apologise at all, Tamara!". Immediately, Diana looked at the folded page Tamara held.
As if Tamara felt she was about to ask a question, Tamara spoke up before her. "Would you be able to pass this on to Mr Theodore?".
The smile on Diana's face only grew that bit more. "Of course.".
Diana was about to speak up, she was about to give a little away of what Theodore said to her, but after a second thought, she decided against it. She decided to speak about something else. "Thank you, Tamara...".
In response, Tamara furrowed her brows. "I- I don't understand, for what am I being thanked for, Diana?".
"For being yourself, Tamara," Diana spoke back. "I know it's ridiculous to hear as such. But we are missing more of that in the world.". She paused before looking at the rest of the Clarke sisters. "And it's not just you, Tamara. It's the rest of your sisters too. I am so honoured to know you all. I just hope our friendship will continue on and on.".
They all exchanged their final hug before Diana climbed onto her carriage. With her closing the door, the carriage set off.
With the folded page in her hands, she smiled once more at it. She didn't want to know what it contained. All she knew was that it was intended for Theodore.
That itself was enough.