Molly-Jane Walter

Chapter Two

The next morning, I wake to bright sunlight shining in through the curtains in my room. Today is the day; I am going to ask my aunt to send me away to school. I'd be free from her and my horrid cousins. Slipping out of bed, I make my way downstairs to where Laura was in the kitchen making breakfast. The other maids were also bustling around, but I don't want to disturb them from their work, so instead, I address Laura. "Good morning, Laura," I say cheerfully. "Good morning! You're in a good mood this morning. Had a good dream then?" She asked. I nod, deciding to tell her about the wonderful dream I had indeed had. Gathering all the courage I could muster, I tell Laura what I was planning to do. "Do you think that wise? What if she were to decline your request, Molly? I wouldn't want to see you so upset, it would break my heart, surely it would." Laura told me. I take a deep breath. "I know there is the possibility of my aunt declining my request, Laura, but I've got to try. I can't stay here anymore. My cousins torment me, and my aunt treats me as though I am invisible. I cannot bear to suffer so." I feel close to crying, for fear that my aunt really would say that she would not send me to school. One of the maids paused, and looked at me with pity, before she continued to stoke the fire in the iron stove. Laura came over and placed an arm around my shoulders. "Now, now, you don't know that she will say no. All you can do is ask. There's no harm in that, is there?" She asked me gently. I shake my head. Then I had a terrible thought. "Laura...you aren't offended that I wish to go to school?" I had been so self-absorbed in wanting to go to school, that I had not stopped to think if perhaps Laura would be offended that I no longer wanted to be homeschooled. Laura shook her head. "Not at all. There's only so much I can teach you anyways, Molly. Besides, if Mrs. Miller grants your request, you would be taught properly, and you would have more learning time than I could possibly ever give you. And you would indeed make many friends there, I am quite sure of that." She squeezed my hand tightly and said, "Now then, your aunt's been up this half-hour. She's in the Drawing room with the misses Gemma and Katherine and the young master Desmond. Have some breakfast, and while you eat, I'll go in and tell her that you wish to see her. But after breakfast, we'll be starting back up on our English lesson." Laura told me. I nod and begin to eat. Breakfast always consisted of a small cup of tea and porridge. Many a time I had wished that breakfast could be as big as dinner was, but I dared not say anything to Laura about it. It wasn't her fault that breakfast was so small, she was only following my aunt's orders: small breakfast for Molly-Jane, a piece of bread and a slice of cheese for lunch, then a big dinner. Nothing else in between. I had always quietly thought that perhaps the reason why I received such a big dinner was so I would not appear to be a victim of neglect. For surely if my aunt was found out to be neglecting a child under her care, the child in question would be removed from the family. While that would be ideal for me, I would lose Laura, my only friend here at StoneHill. I could not bear to be separated from her, even attending school without her was enough to make my heart beat fast with terror. But Laura knew as well as I did, that to become as respectable a lady as I could, I needed to attend school to be properly educated.

While I eat, I begin to fall into another daydream. I wonder what my life might have been like if my uncle and my parents were still alive. Would I have had a happier life? Would I even be living here at StoneHill Manor if my parents were alive? For a couple of minutes, I daydreamed that I wasn't an orphan, that my parents were simply away on a business trip. I pretend that they had had to leave me at StoneHill, because it was a long journey, and they wouldn't be back for a couple of days. Pretending they were still alive made me feel better. I could pretend that my aunt and cousins didn't resent me, that my uncle was still alive, and that he was out visiting some neighbours. Laura eventually came back, having found me in another daydream. She waved her hand over my face. "Molly! In another daydream are we?" She asked. "You haven't finished your breakfast. Your aunt said that she will see you after lunch, by the way. She doesn't wish to be disturbed until then." Laura told me. I nod and continue eating my porridge.