OLIVIA
Chapter Nine
"Olivia." Cal’s muffled
voice carried into their suite. "Are you ready yet? Our guests are
arriving."
Olivia placed a shaky hand on her
stomach as she stood from her dressing table. She didn’t realize she would be this
nervous, but she was. She had never hosted a party before, and she was sure she
was going to mess something up.
"Olivia?" Cal called
again.
"Yes, I’m here. I’m almost
ready," she answered. He opened the door to the suite from the sitting
room and immediately appraised her appearance. Her long, blond hair was pulled
back in loose curls that Marietta had then woven thin ribbons through. Her gown
was made of pale orange gossamer that was intricately beaded all the way down
to the small train that fell past her feet, which were clad in satin slippers
the same pale orange color as the gown.
"You look lovely this
evening, my dear," he said, leaning against the door frame. "I
approve."
"Thank you." She smiled
at her husband. "You look very handsome as well." And he did. If
there was one thing she could say about Cal, it was that he was an extremely
handsome man, especially when he was dressed in a tailored tuxedo as he was
now.
"Are you ready to go
down?"
"Yes, I think so." She
turned to look at herself once more. "Oh, my goodness, my stomach is doing
flip-flops and it has nothing to do with the baby." She laughed anxiously.
"I’m so nervous, Cal. What if I do or say the wrong thing?"
"Nonsense, Olivia." He
pushed himself to standing. "You’ll do fine. You’re a Hockley now, and the
Hockleys never do or say the wrong thing."
She turned to see if he was
teasing her, but he looked so serious she didn’t think he was. She lifted her
lace shawl and placed it around her shoulders.
"Come now. We mustn’t leave
our guests waiting." He held out his arm to her and waited for her to take
it. Once they left the suite and were on their way down the hallway, he turned
to her and said in a quiet voice, "Remember to smile, and above all else,
never talk to any one person for too long. Move around, be polite, and you’ll
do just fine."
"Yes, Cal." She nodded,
taking another deep breath.
They descended the staircase and
made their way to the ballroom, where soft music could be heard coming from
inside. Two servants were stationed on either side of the enormous double
doors, and when they saw them coming, they immediately stepped forward to open
them. Both men gave a slight nod towards them as they passed by them to enter.
"Here we go," Cal
whispered in her ear.
Several people turned at their
entrance and smiled at them. Their parents and her sister were already there
and waiting for them. It wasn’t long before more guests began to arrive, and
Olivia was ushered from person to person, always smiling, being gracious and
feigning interest in every conversation she had.
Everything seemed to be going
smoothly and her nerves were beginning to settle. All of the guests were
laughing and seemingly having a good time. Even Cal seemed to be relaxed and in
a jovial mood. Several times she would feel as if she was being watched, and
when she looked around, she would find him staring approvingly at her.
Sometimes they would pass each other and he would nuzzle her neck while
whispering in her ear how pleased he was everything was going well.
Her sister, Emma, also appeared
to be having a good time as she danced with several handsome young men. Olivia
amusedly suspected her younger sister was finally growing up and finding out
that the opposite sex wasn’t as bad as she had once thought.
The party was in full swing now,
and after a rather boisterous dance with an inept if not enthusiastic partner,
Olivia decided that she needed a breath of fresh air. She looked around for Cal
to go with her, but didn’t see him anywhere. After several minutes of
searching, she decided to go alone.
As soon as she opened the terrace
doors and stepped out, she could feel a cool breeze blowing. It was just the
thing she needed. She walked over to the railing and spread her hands across
the top of it, feeling the smoothness of the wood against her palms. It was so
tranquil out here; it was actually one of her favorite places to go to be
alone.
She had only been standing there
a few minutes when she heard muffled voices coming from her right, behind the
tall bushes that surrounded the terrace. One was obviously a female because of
the high-pitched tone, but she couldn’t make out the other. Not wanting to
eavesdrop on the conversation, she turned to go back inside.
"Did you see Cal tonight?
He’s certainly quite pleased with himself," the woman’s voice quietly
laughed.
"Be quiet, Lorraine. It’s
none of your business," a man’s deep voice chastised the woman.
"Don’t be such a spoilsport,
Harry, dear. It’s all anyone’s talking about. Do you suppose she knows the real
reason he married her?"
"I wouldn’t venture a
guess." The man sighed heavily.
"I don’t think she does. She
seems far too naïve and trusting to be aware of it."
Olivia’s heart was pounding in
her chest. She was frozen in place. She should have fled as fast as she could,
but she couldn’t. It was as if an invisible hand was holding her there.
"I hear old Nathan gave him
ten million for marrying her and he’ll get an additional five million for every
son born to him. You know what that means for the poor girl, don’t you?"
The woman laughed again.
"Lorraine, I didn’t come out
here to gossip about Caledon Hockley and his naïve little bride."
"I know what you came out
here for, Harry Jameson," she teased flirtingly. "I just think it’s rather
wretched of his father to threaten to disinherit him if he didn’t marry. I find
the whole business rather distasteful and unpleasant."
"I don’t presume to know why
Nathan Hockley does anything he does, nor do I care. What I do know, my lovely
Lorraine, is that I’m growing weary of this conversation. Now, come here and
let me show you why I brought you out here." With a giggle and rustle of
bushes, the conversation ended.
Olivia felt as if something hard
had slammed into her. Why hadn’t she gone inside? Why did she have to hear the
painful truth of it all? With tears running down her face, she now knew that
her marriage was a sham, and it had been from the first moment Cal had come to
see her. He really hadn’t cared for her at all. She wanted to run as far and as
fast as she could away from there.
A wave of dizziness crashed over
her, sending her reeling backwards, and she felt herself falling. Blackness
closed in all around her, pushing the light farther and farther away. She tried
to fight it, but it completely consumed her as her limp body crumpled silently
to the ground.