Against Their Wishes

Chapter 12 part 1

Nearly a week had passed since the awkward dinner at the Willingtons, and Olivia was in much improved spirits. Her parents had been vacant from the house most of the week, with them citing business out of town. They told her not to expect them for a few weeks, and this suited Olivia just fine. The house was much more peaceful with just her and their staff. She had not heard from Gregory since that evening, and she decided it was for the best. He had driven her thoughts to exhaustion that night, and since then, she decided that if he was not going to care about her, then she would not care about him. Nevertheless, she had thought about their wedding plans. Lady Willington had yet to contact her, and even though this was not how Olivia had envisioned her wedding to go, she at least wanted to make the best of it. She was only going to get married once, and she wanted the ceremony and following festivities to at least be pleasant enough for her and her guests.

At the moment, Olivia was walking on the dirt path towards the church, being that it was Sunday morning. She went alone like she often did because her parents usually had some excuse for not attending. She was in high hopes that she would see Lady Willington to discuss plans for the wedding. She had every intention of inviting her over to her home this time in an effort to avoid Gregory and Vivien. Once she reached the small, white church, she found her regular seat. Glancing around she saw the Willingtons and Vivien seated a few rows in front of her. Deciding she’d approach them after mass, she waited for the first prayer to begin.

An hour later, Olivia was funneling out of the church will all the members, and when she could pull herself apart from the throng of people, she moved to the side to look for Lady Willington. It wasn’t long before she spotted her coming out of the church, and just as she was going to make her way over there, Lady Willington spotted her and walked her way.

“Olivia, if I had seen you, I would have had you sit with us!” exclaimed Lady Willington.

“That is alright, I was not offended,” Olivia assured, “I was going to come and find you after mass though. I was wondering when you’d like to continue with planning the wedding.”

“Oh, very soon, dear. We really need to head into town and get the measurements for your wedding gown!” she declared. At this point, it was only Olivia and Lady Willington talking with the rest of the party speaking with another family of the parish.

“I must admit to you, I am a tad excited about getting my gown. It is what every young girl dreams about, is it not?” Olivia smiled.

“Yes, of course it is! I know I felt the same way. Before I forget to ask, will your mother wish to come with us?” she cautiously asked. Olivia’s smile slipped slightly before she recovered.

“No, Lady Willington –” At her sharp look, Olivia quickly corrected herself. “I mean Beverly. My parents are going to be gone for the next few weeks, and we cannot wait that long,” Olivia explained.

“What do you mean, dear? Where are your parents?” she asked.

“I am not quite sure, but they said they things to attend to. I am not worried about it,” she returned.

“Well, is anyone staying with you while they are away?” she asked with concern etched into her voice.