OLIVIA
Chapter Sixteen
Olivia hummed to herself as she
adjusted the large vase on the dining room table. She had spent the morning
cutting and arranging flowers throughout the house as a surprise for Cal and had
planned a special dinner for him. He was due home anytime and she wanted
everything to be perfect.
Marietta came into the room at
that time and smiled in appreciation. "Glory be, ma’am. Mr. Hockley should
be right pleased when he sees this."
"I hope so, Marietta."
She gave the room one more cursory glance. Satisfied with the results, she
turned to herself. "I have to go get myself ready before he arrives,"
she said as she headed for the door. She wanted time to make herself as
beautiful as possible for her husband.
"I nearly forgot why I came
in here, ma’am," Marietta said, stopping her. "Your sister is here
and waiting for you in the parlor."
"My sister?" she asked
in surprise. What was Emma doing here? Giving Marietta a look of puzzlement,
she quickly made her way from the dining room to the parlor. When she opened
the door, Emma turned to her. It was quite clear that she had been crying and
was very upset.
"Emma, what in the
world?" She rushed over to her. Emma burst into more tears as Olivia
enveloped her in her arms. "What is it? Why are you crying? What’s
happened?" Olivia asked as she soothed her.
"It’s Mother!" Emma
cried out her answer in a muffled voice. "I can’t stand it any
longer."
"Stand what? What’s
happened?" she asked.
"She’s impossible, that’s
what!" Emma stomped her foot and pulled back. "She’s ruining my
life."
Olivia took her by the hands and
led her over to the couch. "All right. Let’s sit down and you tell me what
has you so upset. What has Mother done?"
Emma swiped an agitated hand at
her tears and took a deep breath. "I don’t know where to start."
"Then start at the
beginning," Olivia suggested.
"It…" She sniffed.
"It started last summer, but no one knew except for me. I met someone…a
boy. He’s so sweet, Liv. His name is Joshua."
Olivia smiled. So, her sister was
growing up after all. She supposed it was about time. She was sixteen now and
had grown into a lovely young woman. She also knew how their mother could be
and she could only guess at what had Emma so upset.
"He’s smart and handsome,
too," Emma continued. "He’s much more mature than any of the boys
Mother is always trying to push on me, but he’s…he’s not of our social
standing. He works in the stables, tending to the horses. But, Liv, I don’t
care about any of that. I love him just the way he is."
Olivia was starting to see a
picture form. She knew how fiercely Constance Barlow held dear her society
position and the mere thought of anything or anyone tarnishing that image was
completely unimaginable. She squeezed Emma’s hand, smiled sympathetically, and
tried to reassure her nonetheless. "I’m sure it’s not as bad as you
think."
"It’s worse than bad! Mother
is sending me away. She’s sending me to Europe to a boarding school. I don’t
want to go, Liv! I can’t!" she cried, and covered her face with her hands.
Olivia was shocked that her
mother would go such extremes because of Emma’s infatuation with a boy. There
had to be more to it, but her sister was in pain and she wanted to help her.
She gathered Emma into her arms and comforted her. "I’m sure Mother was
just upset when she said that. We’ll work it out. You’ll see."
"She won’t listen." She
shook her head. "She’s adamant about it. What am I going to do?"
It was at that time that the door
to the parlor opened and Cal came in. The smile on his face faded when he saw
the scene before him. He looked from Olivia to Emma as he stepped into the
room. "Have I interrupted something?"
Emma turned from him, embarrassed
at being caught crying. Olivia patted her arm and whispered for her to go wash
her face and to compose herself. Emma nodded and brushed past Cal on her way
out. When the door shut, Olivia stood and came over to him.
"I’m sorry, darling. She’s
very upset. I wasn’t expecting her tonight, but I hope you don’t mind."
"I had hoped to have you all
to myself, but I suppose I can wait," he answered with a small smile.
"What has her so upset?"
"Apparently she’s been
seeing this boy that my mother doesn’t approve of and she’s decided to send her
a boarding school in Europe. As you can see, Emma is not very happy about
it."
He strolled over to the bar and
poured himself a drink. "I’m sure you’re mother is doing what she feels is
best for Emma. There’s no reason for you to become involved in this."
"How can I not be involved?
She’s my sister and she’s come to me for support." She came around to
stand in front of him.
"Olivia…" He sighed.
"We have enough to worry about with our own children and our own lives.
Now, let your parents handle your sister."
"But--" she started,
but was interrupted when Cal held up his hand and shook his head.
"I don’t want to hear
anymore about this subject. You can’t drop everything because your sister is
having a small crisis. It sounds to me like your mother is doing the correct thing,
especially if this young man is not up to our standards."
Olivia stared at him for a
moment. "But, Cal, she doesn’t want to go. I don’t want to her to go. I
can’t just stand by and let this happen."
"It’s not your place to
decide her fate. It’s your parents’." He loosened his tie as he spoke.
"Now, I’ve heard enough about this. Let’s go to dinner."
She didn’t want to argue with
him, but she was hurt at his dismissal of her feelings. She had hoped things
would change. However, it seemed that the more things changed, the more they
stayed the same. She decided to not push it further for the moment, but she was
not finished discussing this. She wouldn’t let her mother send her sister away.
There had to be a way to fix the problem.
Cal held out his arm to her and
escorted from the room. Emma met them on their way and blushed when she saw
them.
"I’m sorry for barging in on
you like this," she said. "I don’t want to bother you, so do you mind
if I go up and see my niece and nephew?"
"Aren’t you hungry?"
Olivia asked.
"No, I’m really not."
Emma shook her head. "I’d rather go upstairs."
"If you’d rather." Cal
nodded. "Oh, by the way, send Mrs. Ryan down when you get up there. I need
to speak with her."
"Sure," Emma answered,
and turned to make her way up the staircase.
"Cal," Olivia said
quietly as they continued to walk toward the dining room. "I have
something to tell you about Mrs. Ryan. I…" She stopped and faced him.
"I dismissed her today. She’s gone."