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minervajeanlupin · 7 years ago

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Ms. Maria Reynolds Walked Into My Life (2/?)

Other Chapters: [x]

To say that Maria Reynolds was confused in the morning would be an understatement. When she awoke and looked around, she immediately realized she wasn’t in her bedroom and started to panic. The only way this could have happened was if she was at the house of someone she had just slept with, which would be bad as the mornings after were always awkward for her. The men (and a few women, though that had only been before she had gotten married) would try to make uncomfortable small talk or want to go for a second round, which she rarely had energy for.

She was completely confuddled, and more than a little frightened, when she remembered what had occurred last night, how Mrs. Hamilton had caught her husband and her in bed. She flushed slightly, embarrassed at what the woman, who had looked so kind and pretty, must think of her.

But her disorientation was only heightened when she went downstairs after mustering up her courage.

“Hello Maria.” Mrs. Hamilton called cheerfully as she made breakfast in the kitchen. “Did you sleep well?”

“H-hello Mrs. Hamilton,” Maria said nervously, unsure of why the woman hadn’t thrown her out of the house in a rage yet. It wouldn’t be the first time. “I slept well, thank you.” The woman wrinkled her nose.

“Don’t call me Mrs. Hamilton, it sounds too formal. Call me Eliza instead,” she invited. Maria nodded, still deciding to tread carefully. Alexander walked in from another room and Maria tensed up, not sure what to expect.

“Oh, hello Maria. And good morning, Betsy.” He kissed his wife on the cheek and she smiled. “I have to go to work soon, but why don’t we all have breakfast together first?” Maria blinked, unused to such generosity, but made her way to the table once Eliza nodded in agreement.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. Breakfast wasn’t nearly as awkward as she had been expecting. The food was amazing, and though she was much poorer than the Hamiltons than she’d like to admit, she remembered her manners and was polite. The Hamiltons talked to each other but it didn’t feel like they were discluding her. She liked hearing them talk together.

Once breakfast was over, Alexander left with a promise to start on her divorce case as soon as possible, to which Maria thanked him profusely. She helped Mrs. Hamilton clear the dishes in a house that suddenly seemed much too quiet without Alex’s energy.

“Did you sleep in that dress?” Mrs. Hamilton asked her. She nodded. “Well, that won’t do. You can borrow one of my gowns.”

Maria followed Eliza up, still unable to believe that someone could possibly be this kind (and attractive, as well. The Hamiltons were a dangerous duo). Eliza pulled on her gowns from the closet, a simple but elegant white dress.

“Do you need help removing your corset?” she asked. Maria shook her head, blushing. She wasn’t actually wearing a corset, as she knew from experience that it took a lot of time to get it off and the men her husband forced her to be with never had the patience to remove it properly.

She took the dress from Mrs. Hamilton and their fingers touched briefly. Maria wasn’t sure why, but she felt her heartbeat go faster at such a small touch. She assumed it was because she was still nervous around the other woman.

Maria quickly walked into the nearby closet, trying to clear her head as she pulled on the gown. She walked outside to where Mrs. Hamilton was waiting, feeling strangely uncomfortable in such a nice dress. Maybe it was because Mrs. Hamilton was staring at her, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

“You look good in that dress,” she finally said and Maria ducked her head, embarrassed. “Much better than me at least.”

“I’m sure that’s not true, you always look good!” Maria exclaimed, finally speaking up in shock. Mrs. Hamilton, no, Eliza, smiled at her and Maria felt butterflies in her stomach.

“But you should keep the dress. Really,” she said, putting up a hand to stop Maria’s protests and stuttered thanks. “It’s the least I could do.” Maria looked at her, amazed. Who was this woman?

“W-why would you want to help me?” she asked. “Not that I don’t appreciate it in the slightest.” She quickly amended when she realized she sounded ungrateful. Eliza smiled gently.

“Because you deserve better Maria,” she said simply. Maria stared at her. The two of them were sitting much closer together than she realized, gravitating to each other like magnets. There was a silence and Maria couldn’t help it any longer, she knew it was the wrong thing to do, but-

All her panicked thoughts melted away as their lips met. It was so different to the kiss she had shared with Alexander last night: it was soft and gentle, Eliza cradling the side of her face like she was afraid she was going to break. They moved away a little after they broke apart, but stayed in each other’s space, their eyes still closed.

“Maria…” Eliza murmured. That broke the spell. Maria eyes’ flew open and she quickly stood up, realizing what she had done.

“I have to go,” she muttered, her cheeks flaming red. Eliza stared at her retreating back, shocked, until Alexander soon returned from his meeting.

“Eliza? Are you okay?” he asked.

“I… I think I may love someone of the same gender as myself as well,” she said. Though she was surprised, she wasn’t afraid. She knew she couldn’t tell anyone else, but Alexander would understand, having experienced something similar with John. Sure enough, he broke out into a smile and looked amused.

“Join the club,” he said.

Maria creeped into her house nervously. She unlocked the door carefully and closed it behind her, taking care not to make any noise, pretending she wasn’t afraid to be inside her own home. But as she was about to climb the stairs, she heard a voice.

“So. You’re finally home.” She turned and saw her husband sitting on a couch nearby, empty bottles littering the floor near his feet. That wasn’t a good sign.

“Y-yes,” she said uncertainly, not sure what to say.

“And how did it go?” he prompted, his words slurred. Her hands shook and she hid them behind her dress.

“He… he didn’t want to do it,” she said, hating the way her voice cracked, showing how afraid she really was. James got unsteadily to his feet and she shrunk away.

“He didn’t,” he said flatly. She shook her head, her movements nervous. “Then why didn’t you convince him?!” he said, his voice raised. She flinched at his loud tone.

“You earn no money, you’re utterly useless, and you can’t even do this?” he snarled. He took a step forward and she stepped back at the same time, a cruel dance that would never end well for her. She saw his hand raised and made a split-second decision; she ran under his arm and fled through the door. He tried to grab her as she went, his fingers catching on her dress and tearing it to shreds.

Eliza was humming peacefully, writing a letter to her children and Angelica, as they weren’t going to be home for at least another week. She finished it and left it out to dry, smiling fondly when she saw her husband immersed in a book. She leaned over and kissed the worry lines on his forehead, which straightened out as he looked up at her and smiled.

“Everything okay?” she asked, moving to open the door as she heard someone knocking on it.

“Yeah,” he said, following her. “Just researching for a case.”

“What case?” she asked as she opened the door. Then she saw who it was and gasped.

She hadn’t seen Maria Reynolds since that first day they met, but she couldn’t forget her. She was disappointed Maria hadn’t come to see them again and had made up her mind to visit the woman should yet another week pass with no sight of her. And now, standing on their doorstep and breathing heavily as though she had run a great distance, wearing the gown Eliza had let her borrow in tatters, was none other than Maria herself.

“That’s the case,” Alex said, astounded.

“Maria, come in!” Eliza said immediately. “Are you okay?” The woman was shivering slightly though it was a warm day. Eliza swore that if she ever met James Reynolds, he was going to regret ever laying a finger on Maria.

“Y-yes,” Maria stuttered. “Thank you.”

The walked inside and went to the parlor.

Maria sat on the couch with Alex and Eliza sitting next to them. She had been thinking of them all week long; she just couldn’t forget them. It wasn’t the first time she had fantasized one of the men she was forced to sleep with rescuing her from her abusive husband, but it certainly was the first time she had been attracted to his wife as well. She didn’t even know you could be this attracted to two people at once, but Eliza and Alex made it hard not to: they were both so different but still amazing, resilient, attractive people. They fit together so perfectly, it was clear they were meant to be together.

Which is exactly why they’d never even consider having a relationship with her.

“You don’t have to tell us, of course, but Maria… what happened?” Eliza asked gently, resting her hand on Maria’s. Maria took a deep breath and, in a wavery tone, regaled them with the entire tale. They couldn’t mask the horrified looks on their faces when she was finished.

“Oh, Maria,” Eliza sighed and went over to hug her. Alexander watched them for a second with tears in his eyes before writing something down quickly.

“Okay, Maria, from what I’ve heard, you are most likely going to be able to get a successful divorce,” he said. She smiled at him gratefully, before he continued.

“But you may have to delineate these stories again at the trial, and your husband is going to be there… will you be okay with that?” Maria shivered slightly, already able to imagine those threatening and discerning eyes staring at her while she was talking about what he had done, promising her silently that it wouldn’t end well if she continued. This divorce could end up badly for her if it didn’t work. But she trusted Alex. She knew he would do everything to get her a successful divorce.

“Yes,” she whispered. “If it helps, I’ll do it.” Alexander smiled.

“I’m proud of you.”

She ended up staying the night there, as they insisted she couldn’t go back to her house after what had happened. She stayed awake for a long time, staring up at the ceiling, wondering when their home had become more familiar than her own.

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