Will and Testament // Sequel to the Rosie Grey series

Chapter Six

"Isabel," Mother said, her voice so low that it may have been mistaken for a growl were the room not so silent.

"What? No one else will tell me and I think I have a right to know."

"This is not something that should be discussed at the supper table."

"Then when is the right time to discuss it? I have been asking for an explanation for a week and so far no one has given me one. I've asked you, Mrs Smith, Uncle Christopher and yet no one has told me something that I feel I deserve to know about."

Mother looked at me, her fingers wrapping around the base of her knife and her fingers shaking a little. She exchanged an undetermined look with Father who shook his head a little, but I didn't know why. Even if they thought me to be rude or speaking out of turn, I had to know what had happened to create such a deep divide between the family. Grandmother's behaviour and general attitude suggested that Mother and Father were both involved in some way. If they were involved, then by extension, I was too.

I glanced between them all with Mother and Father exchanging glances whilst Grandmother looked rather pleased with the way the evening had gone. Aunt Matilda appeared indifferent to it all, almost as if she had expected it when she arrived that evening. With no one giving me an answer, I drummed my fingers on the table and ignored the plate of food that had started to go cold in front of me. It can't have been that difficult of a question and yet no one would answer it.

"Your mother is right, Izzy. This isn't a conversation we should be having during supper," Father said.

"Then perhaps you should have offered me an explanation the first time I asked!" I tore the cloth from my lap and threw it onto the table, ignoring it when it fell onto my plate. "I'm not a child!"

"If that's true, then stop acting like one. We could have had you eat your supper in the kitchen but, as you keep telling us, you are no longer a child and we thought it more appropriate for you to eat with us. It seems, however, that we may have been wrong."

"Fine, but at least I wasn't the one who ruined Grandfather's memorial. That was you. All of you."

I pushed my chair back against the floor, the painful scraping sound breaking the silence and causing Mother to wince at the noise. My eyes caught Grandmother's for a few seconds and I could see the slight trace of a smile on her face; she appeared to be enjoying every second of what had unfolded. No one followed me as I stormed up the stairs, taking them two at a time and flinging open my bedroom door so hard that it collided with the wall.

Slamming the door behind me, I tore the ribbon from my hair and threw it onto the floor, but of course, it made no sound. My heart thumped away in my chest, pounding against my ribcage so hard that it felt like it might rip right through me. I ran my fingers through my hair, my fingers twitching, and I paced back and forth across the floor of them to try and calm myself down, but not even the pacing could stop the thoughts spinning through my head and the anger I had welling up inside of me.

Darkness started to fall over my room as the sunset moved in, a slight slither of moonlight breaking into my room. I continued to pace back and forth across my room and eventually, I flung open my bedroom window to allow some cold air to enter. It swirled around and I immediately took a deep breath, allowing the air to flood my lungs and offer me the slightest bit of clearance.

The shake in my hands started to still, my heartbeat slowing to a reasonable rate. I took a deep breath of the cold air that flooded in through the window and leant back against my bedroom door. Slowly, I slid down the door until I hit the floor. Pulling my knees into my chest, I wrapped my arms around them and then buried my face into the skirt of my dress, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks.