Manservant

4

Mr Colby stayed for dinner that night, sitting at the head of the table as usual, even thought it was where Father used to sit.

I wondered why such things only seemed to bother me and not Mother or Felicity. Was the problem with me? Was I deluding myself with hopes that Father was still alive?

"Good, we're all here." Mother clapped her hands together as I sat down and completed the group.

I cocked a brow. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Why, nothing! Nothing at all!"

"You seem excited about something," Felicity piped up.

Mother nodded, beaming as she laid a hand flat on her chest. And that was when we caught the glint of something on her hand. A ring. My eyes went as wide as that stone, and she saw the look on my face. "Girls, Mr Colby proposed me to this afternoon. And I said yes!"

"Wow!" Felicity went, hopping up like a little bunny. "That's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"Congratulations," I echoed numbly.

"I look forward to being a true part of the family," Mr Colby said, lifting his glass and looking round at all of us. "I've come to grow fond of all of you, and hope you'll continue to welcome me."

"Of course!" Felicity replied.

I was quiet for a long moment. And then, even though I knew it wasn't a good idea, I said, "What about Father?"

The room went silent in record time as Mother and Mr Colby turned to stare at me. He did a tight smile for me as he said, "Now, Alicia, I hope you understand that I never sought to replace your father in any way."

I ignored him, looking at Mother. "There's been no confirmation that he's dead."

"Alicia, this really isn't the time."

"Isn't it? You're about to marry another man."

"It's been five years!" she exclaimed, her voice quivering slightly with anger. "What more do you want from me, Alicia? Am I not allowed to be happy? Do you feel so little for me?"

I was stunned for a moment. The hurt in her face looked genuine. Mr Colby just looked smug sitting next to her, and I wanted to slap him.

"No, of course not. It's just that you two only met last month ... "

"I know, I know," Mr Colby put in. "Some people may consider it a short time, but I'm an old man, Alicia, and I genuinely care about your mother, you know. The last thing I want is to waste any more time that I could be spending with all of you."

He sure was a silver-tongued devil, wasn't he?

"Anyway," he went on. "We hope to announce the news at the upcoming party. Of course, the focus of it will be you, so we'll share the news towards the end of the evening. Alright?"

"Sure," I said, when really, it was the last thing I cared about.

"When are you going to get married?" Felicity wanted to know.

"Soon," Mr Colby promised. "Your mother needs some time to plan."

"That's right," she agreed. "I may need some help from you girls from time to time. Will I be able to count on you?"

"Of course, Mother," Felicity was on board.

"Alicia?"

I nodded slowly. "I'm here if you need me, Mother."

"Thank you," she answered stiffly. "I appreciate it."

After that, I said little over dinner, leaving the rest to fill the air with excited conversation about how the ceremony would be like, and what kind of dress Mother wanted and so on. After the meal, I could hear Maia and the others gossiping about the match as they worked in the kitchen.