Chapter 39: Compassion

The next day though, as soon as Abigail came home from an eventful but tiring day at work, she found Lyall sitting in their living room. She started to make a beeline towards her room, but Charlotte stopped her.

“Abigail!” Charlotte screamed at her retreating back, and Abigail closed her eyes and sighed.

Slowly, she turned around, “Yes, Charlotte.”

“You must come in and say hi to Mark, and relieve Olivia here so she can go elsewhere,” Charlotte said pointedly, looking at her daughter. “She’s been keeping Lyall company all afternoon.”

Abigail stared at Olivia and Lyall sitting quite comfortably on the sofa together.

Why weren’t they at work? Did they not work for the same company she worked for? Was there a holiday today that she was unaware of?

Olivia and Lyall looked far too happy in each other’s company to bother with looking up at Charlotte.

So, her father passing on the news of the rejected proposal hadn’t seemed to phase Lyall in the least, then. Abigail was both grateful and incensed. So that man had really no true concern or care for her, and was simply trying to marry her for his own personal benefit. Good to know.

“Actually,” Olivia said, interfering with her mother. “I don’t mind entertaining Lyall. I mean, we’ve only been playing together since we were what, five?”

“Four,” Lyall corrected her, tickling her under her ribcage. “You were four, but I was already five. Don’t you remember?”

“Well,” Charlotte said, a bit aggrieved, “That really should come to an end. After all, you’re adults now. So, Abigail, wouldn’t you like to sit with Lyall for a moment, Olivia get up.”

Abigail stared at Charlotte. Why was she doing this? Didn’t she normally favor Olivia over her in everything. Olivia clearly loved Lyall, clearly wanted nothing more than to be in his company, so why was she denying her daughter this when it was so obvious as to what she wanted?

“You know Lyall,” Charlotte said, “Since she’s come to live with us, I’ve only found Abigail to be kind and considerate, and my step-daughter is very attentive to the needs and concerns of each person.”

Abigail stared at Charlotte in absolute shock, and for a few moments, she couldn’t say anything.

“Are you sick?” Abigail blurted out to her stepmother. “Do you need me to go and get the doctor? I’m sure he can attend to you immediately.”

“Oh, do you see?” Charlotte asked Lyall, gesturing to Abigail. “Such care and concern, for everyone and everything. She even helps all the servants with their work. Abigail,” Charlotte turned to her, “Why don’t you go and take Lyall to the kitchens, I’ve heard you often go down there to help with the cooking.”

Charlotte was either making up complete nonsense on the fly, or someone was feeding her very incorrect information. Abigail had never once set foot in the kitchens. She had every intention of often going, but she had never wound up there before.

“What are you even talking about?” Abigail asked Charlotte. “I’ve never been in the kitchens before in my life. I wouldn’t even know the corridors down there except that Olivia showed them to me.” Abigail started to push herself out of her chair. “I really must go and get the doctor, I think you’re having a fever, or, maybe does your head hurt?”

“Nonsense,” Charlotte waved her off. “I’m fine. And the servants have told me that this past two weeks, you’ve been sneaking down to the kitchens to help with the cooking and assist with cleaning the dishes.”

“Actually, mother,” Olivia said, blushing slightly. “Your servants a bit misinformed. That was me, going to the kitchens every night.”

“Are you eating after hours?” Charlotte hissed to her daughter. “You know what that will do to your waistline. And you can’t afford to gain any more weight, look at you already.”

Abigail saw Lyall’s face harden immediately, as Charlotte critiqued Olivia. But he quickly schooled it into a better position.

“Actually, Ma’am,” Lyall interjected, speaking coolly to Charlotte. “Though I don’t believe your daughter has any weight on her that would make her unseemly, and neither do I think that if she had, she wouldn’t be as beautiful as she still is. I think you may have contradicted yourself. Your servants informed you that one of your daughters was going down to assist with the cooking and the chores, Abigail has already stated she doesn’t at all know where the kitchens are and Olivia has lived her since she was five. You’re either confused, or purposefully ignoring facts.”

Abigail bit her lip, glancing to the floor out of embarrassment for Charlotte. Charlotte seemed to suffer none of the same emotion, however.

“Abigail,” Charlotte said, with renewed energy, like she didn’t get offended, and if she didm then no offence could deter her. “Why don’t you show Lyall the new horse that just came in today, I’m sure I’ve seen you playing with the animals around her. Maybe you both can take him for a ride.”

Abigail stared at her stepmother. Did she mean the cat she saw Abigail let out of the living room yesterday? When it got in by mistake?

Abigail blinked, she wasn’t sure how to answer that question. And besides, she was sure that Olivia was the equestrian in the family, given how many medals were on the mantle pieces and decorated all the walls.

They all turned as one to one of the portraits of Olivia on the wall, astride a horse.

“Actually, you know what,” Lyall said, and there was just a hint of spite in his voice as he spoke to Charlotte. “I think I would prefer Olivia to show me. We have been friends longest, and I think I would trust her better with something where my life was in danger.” Lyall turned to Abigail. “You take no offence with my words, I trust?”

“None at all,” Abigail answered. “In fact, I’ll walk with you two to the doors.”

Lyall got up first, and having already been in this house since he himself was five years old, he walked ahead of them to the stables. Abigail and Olivia followed him, leaving Charlotte sitting alone, staring aghast as everyone simply left her all by herself.

As soon as they were out of the living room, Abigail pulled on Olivia’s arm until her sister was walking next to her, and slowed them down till Lyall was ahead and out of earshot.

“You’ve been making sure no more poison gets in, haven’t you?” Abigail whispered to Olivia. “Is that why you’ve been going down to the kitchens lately?”

“Sort of,” Olivia whispered back, glancing back at the living room doors to make sure it was shut. “I want to know who she used to poison us.”

“Do you think she’ll do it again?” Abigail asked her, genuinely concerned for both of their safety.

“Maybe,” Olivia answered. “I can’t take a risk like that again. If I don’t see them prepare the food, start to finish, and I don’t wash the dishes out myself, I don’t eat the food.”

Abigail nodded her understanding, “We could take turns going down,” Abigail offered. “It doesn’t have to be just you.”

“No offence,” Olivia told her sister. “Because I genuinely don’t think that you would try to kill me, or even have it in you to do that, but I can’t eat anything I don’t see being cooked myself right now. I’ll be fine after a few months and then we can rotate.”

They stopped speaking after that, and Abigail felt a deep and intense sadness pull through her. Olivia sounded like she had a plan of action in place, like she knew how long it would take for her to recover from something like this.

Like she had gone through this entire thing before.

Abigail hated making assumptions like this. She had to know the truth.

“Has she,” Abigail bit her tongue, she needed to phrase this gently. “Have you gone through this before?”

Olivia held her head high and sniffed, “A few times, enough to know how to solve it.”

Olivia didn’t say anything else after that, simply looped her arms in with Lyall, who undid it, and put his arm around Olivia’s waist drawing her closer to him.

There was no mistaking in the world for what that gesture meant; comfort.

Maybe, Abigail hadn’t known Lyall long enough before she made a judgement of him.

Abigail guessed Lyall knew about the poisoning, because he was treating Olivia the exact same way Mark had treated her, when he’d found out.

And Abigail felt an intense longing for him, a desire to be close to him again, and she decided it was best to leave Olivia to find her comfort, too. So Abigail dropped away from them even before they made it to the stables, and headed back in the direction where she had ordinarily always found Mark, searching for him.