The Broken Daylily

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A sister's visit

Madilyn had tried to make contact. Thomas had denied it.

Twas a month after the hunt – the last social gathering they went to together. Madilyn had not left the house ever since, and only a few times had she had a visitor – Elizabeth or Mary. Thomas had an ongoing traffic of visitors, but mostly it was Hugh. They would hide themselves in the study and rarely see Madilyn.

She had knocked on his door sometimes and announced the most ridiculous things – like that she had planned their meals for that week.

Thomas knew he was not very kind when he merely nodded and send her away, but she always came at the most disturbing moments. When he was working on the case, he became more and more frustrated because he did not find anything. And those were the moments she would come knocking. So yes, he would get mad at her and send her away. And yes, afterwards he would feel guilty.

But she kept coming. Not every day, but once ever two or three days. And she would not stay long. Just to announce something – like that she would need larger stays than expected. But that would mostly be all the words they would converse. Or rather, that she would tell him before he brushed her off.

But one day, he could not ignore her knocking. Twas not her knocking, but twas she who had send the butler to his study

"Lady Madilyn has requested your presence in the parlour," the man said. "She wishes you to meet her sister."

Thomas' head shot up. "Her sister?"

"Lady Adelaide, my lord. Your wife's older sister."

"Right," he said, nodding his head. "Adelaide."

He stood up and walked to the door, then wondered out loud: "how come she is here? Did I miss her calling card?"

"No, my lord," the butler admitted. "She did not send a calling card."

He turned to look at the man. "Why not? A daughter of the Hayes family follows the rules of the ton precisely. Why would lady Adelaide not?"

"I do not know, my lord."

Thomas nodded again, then turned around and walked to the parlour. Upon opening the door, he saw a woman very different from Madilyn. Her hair was auburn, instead of blonde like Madilyn's hair had turned into – the sun seemed to change it. The woman's eyes were smaller, but they had the same bright blue colour. Their noses also had a similar shape, but their lips were different. Over all, he must admit he found Madilyn more beautiful than her sister – but the latter was not ugly at all.

"Thomas," Madilyn said when she noticed him, "this is Adelaide, my sister. Adelaide, that is my husband."

He walked to the woman and kissed the top of her hand. "I am pleased to meet you," he told her. "I have heard a lot about you."

"Truly?" the woman asked. "I hope it was nothing bad."

Thomas smiled and shook his head. "Of course not."

As he took a seat on a chair far away from the two women, he heard lady Adelaide say: "My apologies for not attending your wedding."

"Tis alright, Adelaide. I understand." A short silence fell before she corrected: "we understand."

Adelaide gave her sister a brave smile, then changed the subject. "How is your music going?"

Madilyn merely shrugged. "I have not played much. I did not have a lot of time," she lied easily.

"How can you not have a lot of time when you are pregnant?"

"And how would you know? You have never been pregnant."

"No, but I can assume."

"I have played a few times," she admitted. "But not many. I do not want to disturb my husband while he is working."

"You did not find it a worry when Mother and Father asked you to stop."

Madilyn sighed and looked away from her sister. "Tis different now."

"Please do not tell me you will stop," her sister begged as she moved to the edge of the coach. "You are so good. You must pursue it."

"I cannot, Adelaide," Madilyn told her sister. "I am pregnant now and soon I will have a child to care for."

"I am certain your husband has enough money for a nanny," she said with her eyes on Thomas.

Before he could react, Madilyn said: "I want to be the one to care for my child. Not a nanny I do not know."

"Do you really, or is it an excuse?"

Madilyn sighed again and threw her sister a mean look. Then she said: "enough about me. How are you?"

"Quite good," she answered while nodding her head. "My husband is out of the house a lot, so that is good. When he comes home late, I pretend to be already asleep. And then I wake up early so I can avoid him."

"You should not have to live like that," Madilyn said with a pity look. But Thomas wondered if that was not exactly how she lived – avoiding her husband.

Adelaide shrugged. "Tis too late now. I am married already. I cannot take my words back."

Thomas felt a stab in his heart. Though Madilyn had not been the one saying it, he knew she thought exactly the same. Avoiding her husband, wishing she could take away her words that bind her to him, feeling defeated.

She had been trying to live a better life. She had tried to befriend her husband and be friends with his sisters. She had been trying to make their situation better. And what had he done? Brush her words off and ask her to leave.

Had she also not said she went to ruin her virtue so that she did not have to marry a man she did not want, for she had seen what it had done to her sister? But was he now not exactly the kind of man she wanted to avoid? Was he not being the man he would roll his eyes at and say he would never do that to his wife?

His expectations of his marriage had been different, tis true. But did that give him a reason to treat her badly? Had his sister not encouraged him to do what Madilyn was doing – become acquainted? Was he not disappointing everyone – even himself?

He mentally shook his head and tried to listen to what Madilyn and Adelaide were saying, but he could not forget his thoughts. Was he causing her destruction?

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When the night started to fall, Adelaide stood up. "I should go now, before..." she moved her head, indicating to her sister what she wanted to say. Madilyn understood, and nodded her head as she stood up and hugged her sister.

"Send me a letter when the child is born," Adelaide said. "I will come visit as soon as I can."

"Even if the child is not born yet," Madilyn added. "Come visit."

She gave her sister a smile, but it did not reach her eyes. "I will try."

After one last hug, the lady curtsied to Thomas, then left, leaving him and Madilyn alone in the parlour. Three empty cups of tea were on the table, reminding them of the long time they had spent here – reminding Thomas of the long time he had had to think over his past actions toward Madilyn.

He walked to her. "Did she come unannounced for the same reason why she did not attend our wedding?"

Madilyn looked at her hands, then nodded. She remained quiet and Thomas expected her to say something. But after a while, she lifted her head and walked out of the room.

Twas only when he was alone that he realized he had never seen Madilyn talk as much as she had done with her sister. He truly did not know his wife.