Chapter 17: Charming

After her father’s announcement, Lyall came over to her almost immediately.

“Abigail!” He exclaimed, a broad smile on his face, “Congratulations.”

Lyall leaned in towards her and placed a light peck on her cheek, and Abigail stumbled a little. When had they become such close friends?

“Oh,” Abigail struggled to think, as Lyall stood next to her, his hand on her back. “Thank you, I guess.”

She tried to side-step him, but there was someone to the left of her, and her dress was a little bulky. So she waited for the woman to pass.

“Abigail,” Lyall said to her again, before she could make a clean escape from his side. “Would you do me the honor of a dance?”

And for the first time that night, Abigail silently cursed her sister’s absence. Maybe Olivia was good for one thing, after all. Keeping Lyall away from her.

“Sure,” Abigail agreed, thinking the best way out of this would be through on torturous dance.

Lyall led her to the dance floor, that was already occupied with so many couples, dancing together.

“So, quite an announcement your father made this evening,” Lyall told her, pulling her a little too close against him for her liking.

Abigail took a slight step back and kept herself a little more rigid. He should get the message. It didn’t seem to bother him either way.

“Yes,” she said, her voice neutral.

They began moving in time to the rhythm, but Abigail would be hard pressed to call this dancing.

“So, you must be liking your new life here now, if you need anyone to show you the ropes,” Lyall offered. “I’d be more than willing to clear my schedule just for you.”

Abigail wanted to snort, but felt that might be construed as rude. So she settled for a polite smile.

“I liked my life before, too,” Abigail said, just enough bite in her words to convey she was offended by his implications. That too, didn’t seem to bother him. “And thank you for the kind and generous offer, but I think I’ll manage on my own.”

She would also much rather take advice from a snake capable of speaking, than this man that, yesterday, was clearly giving her sister some implications and reason to have hope, and tonight, after her father’s announcement, was suddenly dancing and offering his attentions to her. Abigail could be naïve at times. But she wasn’t stupid.

“Excuse me,” both Abigail and Lyall stopped moving, to see Mark standing just behind them. “Do you mind if I cut in?”

“Actually,” Lyall started to say, but Abigail already disengaged herself from him.

“Not at all,” Abigail told him, already stepping into his arms.

Lyall seemed to take a deep breath, maintain his composure, and quietly stepped off the dance floor.

Possibly, Abigail thought, to go in search of Olivia. Or maybe another heiress that hadn’t been disinherited yet tonight.

But she gave Lyall no more thought, as Mark’s arms came around her, and they both swayed to the slower rhythm.

“So,” Mark asked her, pulling her close against him. “How are you feeling? Fish out of water?”

Abigail sunk into his embrace, his arms a secure embrace around her. It felt like they were the only thing grounding her.

“Like you have no idea,” Abigail whispered back to him fiercely. “I feel so absolutely out of control of my own body, like I’m just watching all these things happen to me.”

She wasn’t sure anyone would be able to understand that description, but she also knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mark did.

“Yeah,” Mark told her. “To be honest with you, that never goes away. You start feeling more sure of yourself, definitely, and you would never allow anyone else to question your presence there. But you never become so fully sure of yourself in that moment.”

Abigail sighed, laying her head on his shoulder. She had to admit, with him, even in the middle of this ballroom, she felt like she was the same girl curled up crying on a rock. She felt as comfortable here in here gorgeous dress as she had with him that day in her jeans and sweater.

Abigail glanced over Mark’s shoulder at her father, watching her, and she felt a surge of gratitude for everything he had done for her. She had thought she would feel out of place here, and Olivia had certainly tried to make that happen, but her father had honored her more than she could have possibly imagined tonight.

Abigail wrapped her arms tighter around Mark.

Maybe it was more than just belonging to a world, maybe it was belonging to the people in it that made all of this so much more bearable.

“So,” Abigail began again, almost whispering in his ear with how close they were standing. “How does the gardener get invited to this kind of party?”

Abigail felt Mark tense under her, and she very much hoped she hadn’t offended him. Not again, and definitely not here, tonight.

She would hate to do to Mark what Olivia had tried to do to her, however slight and unintentional her actions might be.

“Abigail,” Mark began, pulling slightly away from her. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about my company, actually.”

“Oh?” Abigail asked excitedly. “It’s a full-fledged company? That’s exciting. You must get to work on so many gardens. Oh, but then that would be more like a landscaping company, wouldn’t it?”

“Actually,” Mark told her, moving slightly slower with the music, so they were barely swaying now. “The company is-”

Abigail and Mark were suddenly interrupted by an older couple.

“Excuse me,” the woman said. “I’m Lila Hanover,” the woman introduced herself. “And this is my husband, Dekker.”

Abigail shook hands with both of them, and Mark silently excused himself from their company. Abigail started to excuse herself as well, to go after him, before the woman stepped a bit closer to her.

“We’re major shareholders on the board, both in our own right,” Lila said again. “We supported your father in his decision not to allow Olivia to inherit, though we didn’t support him with his election of you.”

The woman didn’t seem hostile, but as Abigail had learnt, that was very decieiving.

Abigail swallowed hard, was this another attack? Had Charlotte and Olivia been only the beginning? Was she meant to overcome every single person in her father’s empire.

“After tonight, though,” Dekker said, as his wife smiled next to him, “We are happy to say that we might have been wrong.”

Abigail smiled, “About me or Olivia?” She questioned teasingly.

“Oh, dear Lord,” Lila said, exasperated. “Olivia is spirited, and intelligent, that is completely unquestionable. But she lacks decorum and restraint. She would be a powerful asset to the family, if only she had a degree of self-control.”

Abigail raised her eyebrows in surprise, this was the first person that had spoken so candidly and truthfully about Olivia to her. Her parents seemed to have taken extremes when it came to her sister.

“Olivia would have made a wonderful leader,” Dekker sighed. “But her mother spoiled her. You seem to have her intelligence, without her need for attention, or penchant of making hasty decisions in bad taste.”

“I hope to live up to your very high expectations,” Abigail said slowly.

“They are high indeed,” Lila agreed. “But we are reasonable. If we are willing to admit that there are good qualities in Olivia then we are more than willing to give you a chance at the helm.”

“Under supervision, of course,” Dekker added on, laughing.

“Of course,” Abigail said smiling, though she had the impression that he wasn’t joking.

They both thanked her for her time taken to indulge them, and started to walk away.

“Oh,” Abigail said quickly, “What do you think of Charlotte?”

Lila’s face turned serious and hard all at once, “I’m willing to admit there might be some benefit in Olivia, but even I have my limits.” Lila took a deep breath. “That woman is a snake, through and through. She is poison itself, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone sleeping in the same building as her. Be careful, Abigail, and make no mistake. If she sees you as the threat you are to herself and her daughter, you are in very real danger.”

Abigail stood in shock at the woman’s words, and they replayed themselves in her mind long after the woman had left her.

Abigail met many more people, each coming to congratulate her, promising assistance and help if she so needed it. Many were excited about the progress the company would make, and the new ways and ideas that Abigail would be able to bring to the table.

A few others shared Lila and Dekker’s opinion of Olivia, that she had been the wrong choice from the beginning, and they had high hopes for Abigail that they were sure she could accomplish.

But all through the evening, Lila’s words played over and over through her head. Like a song stuck on repeat, and Abigail struggled to sleep that night.