Against Their Wishes

Chapter 7

 After a couple days, Olivia’s mistake at the ball was forgiven, and life returned to relative normalcy. Olivia’s mother only made a few more snide remarks before letting the subject, and Olivia had the luck of not speaking to her father on the subject. At the moment, Olivia and Lucy were making their way through the streets of the village, peering into the shop windows. Lucy, sensing that her friend needed an outlet for her pent up emotions, suggested the idea, and Olivia readily agreed. Knowing that her parents would not allow her to use the carriage, Lucy made the short trip over so they could ride together. On a normal day, the girls may have found themselves walking into town just for the feel of the sun and the summer breeze, but it had rained incredibly hard the previous night and the roads and trails were quite mud-covered.

“Lucy, dear,” Olivia began as she wrapped her arm through Lucy’s, “thank you so much for including me on your outing. I do not believe that I could have remained in that house for one more moment. The tension in the air was thick and quiet. It was slightly unnerving for me.” Lucy patted her hand in understanding.

“Were your parents incredibly upset with you, Liv?” Lucy inquired.

“Mother was quite upset with me, although that night I believe the alcohol led her actions.” Olivia did not hide from Lucy her troubles with her parents. For many years, Lucy had been aware of the antics of her parents and the coldness they feel towards their only daughter. Many times, Lucy served as the only place Olivia could go to express her pain at being made to feel like a burden upon her parents. Although Olivia had a brother, Richard acted in much the same manner as her parents. Despite that Olivia was the elder child, Richard had always been favored and thus took on the role of the elder child. He treated Olivia coldly and except for the few years he was untainted by the cruelness of the worlds, he never put forth the effort to form a healthy relationship with his only sibling. No, Richard left home at eighteen, and after three years, a word had yet to be uttered between the two Knight children.

“Oh, honey, I am sorry to hear that. I must ask you, and please do not become angry with me. What were you doing dancing with that stranger at the ball? He was a stranger, was he not?” Lucy asked softly, trying to reduce the criticalness of the question. Olivia paused on the street, turning to face her friend.

“I am embarrassed to admit that I was not thinking clearly. I spent the night telling the intrusive ladies of the ton about my romantic personal life. I spent the night lying, Lucy! It was all so draining, and not once was I given the opportunity to dance, and you are aware of how much I enjoy dancing! Gregory refused to join me on the dance floor, and when that man asked me I was flattered and I excited. I didn’t take the time to consider how my actions would be seen amongst the watchful eyes of ton.” Olivia glanced down at her feet, away from the searching eyes of her friend. She pushed a stone around on the ground with the tip of her shoe, suddenly realizing the foolishness of her actions. She had realized before that what she had done was not the brightest of ideas, but until she spoke it aloud, she had yet to grasp how shortsighted her actions truly were.

“Liv, it will be alright,” Lucy exclaimed whilst giving her friend a squeezing hug. “The whole seen lasted but a mere minute, and I am sure that the whole incident has been forgotten. I could hear people whispering throughout the night about your impending marriage, and although they were surprised that it proved to be true, they still believed your story. I even heard a few people say that they knew that your relationship would come to this,” Lucy smiled.