Please take good care of Amy. The little girl deserves the world. And take care of yourself because no matter how old you grow up to be, you will always be my little girl.
With love,
Mother
Ophelia sighed, closing the letter, as both confusion and sadness filled her heart. She was joyous upon the news of her family and how well they were doing. She missed her mother asmuch as her mother missed her, and Ophelia was certain she would meet them all soon enough. Till then, they had letters to communicate.
However, what confused her was the news about the Sommer household. Mrs Bailey had already told Ophelia that both of Amy’s parents had passed away, leaving her uncle as her guardian, but Ophelia could not comprehend it. Amy is Edward’s niece, the daughter of his sister, so why is he so cruel towards her? The mere remembrance of Edward’s attitude towards Amy was enough to sadden Ophelia, and she decided not to think about it.
“Miss Jennings?”
“Yes, Mrs Bailey?” Ophelia asked, letting her thoughts go.
“Is everything alright at home? Your spirits suddenly appear glum.”
“Oh yes, everything is perfect,” Ophelia replied honestly, “my mother and siblings are good and doing well. They all miss me very much.”
“You bring such a light to everyone’s life; I am sure they do.” Mrs Bailey smiled, “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Of course,” Ophelia nodded.
“For the past few days, I have noticed that you have begun to look rather sad. I might simply be misinterpreting or reading too much into it, but is something wrong? Is it because you miss home, or is something else the matter?”
Ophelia sighed, wondering what had given her away. She did not really want anyone to find out about her feelings, but she had clearly not been able to conceal them. Although, Mrs Bailey was an extremely observant woman, and Ophelia was not surprised she had already discerned her mood.
“It is not because I miss home, no.” She shook her head. “But you are right. I have been feeling rather down lately.”
“Will it be awfully private to ask why? I do not wish to intrude in your personal affairs, but as the housekeeper, it is also my duty to ensure everyone in the house feels their absolute best.”
“Mrs Bailey,” Ophelia began, unsure how to structure her words, “I do not know how to explain this, but I have been feeling as if Lord Cavendish hates or seriously dislikes Amy. He never comes to see her himself, and just last week, when she laughed in front of him, he asked me to immediately take her away and never bring her to him again. He has been unnecessarily harsh towards the poor child.”
To Ophelia’s surprise, Mrs Bailey neither looked alarmed nor rushed to dismiss her claims. In fact, her smiled turned slightly sadder as if she had almost been expecting it.
“Truth be told, I knew it was only a matter of time before you noticed it,” she replied, her expression one of pure sorrow.
“So it is true, and I have not just been imagining it?”
“I wish it were not true, Miss Jennings, at least for Miss Amy’s sake, but you have judged it rather correctly. Lord Cavendish has been distant from Miss Amy since her birth. He has never paid much attention or cared for the child in any way. We tried our best in the beginning, and I breached our boundary and blatantly asked him to be better with her, but he simply refused.”
“But why?” Ophelia questioned, her confusion growing.
“Honestly, I wish I had an explanation.” Mrs Bailey sighed. “Lady Margaret, Miss Amy’s mother and Lord Cavendish’s sister, was an extremely kind and sweet young woman, and Lord Cavendish loved her immensely. The two of them, not being much far apart in age, were extremely close growing up, and Lord Cavendish protected her with his life. Although, something happened …” Mrs Bailey stopped speaking.
“What happened?”
“They grew apart once Lady Margaret got married, and the rift grew as the years passed. He only met her again when Miss Amy was soon to be born, but his sister died, and since then, he seems to despise the baby. He never explained or showed any reasons for disliking Miss Amy, but everyone in the household was well aware of his feelings. Hence, we decided to keep Miss Amy away from him since that would be better for both of them.”
Ophelia’s heart broke.
Her eyes fell on Amy, sitting on the sofa between her and Mrs Bailey, playing with the toy in her hands. She reeked of innocence and everything pure. Tears stung in Ophelia’s eyes as she realized how a small angel like her did not deserve such hatred. It was demonic.
“You are right; we should keep Amy away from him. That will be better for both of them,” she accepted. “I will take Amy into the gardens for a walk. She has started to enjoy the outdoors and crawling on the grass.”
“You must!” Mrs Bailey replied enthusiastically. “Should I ask a maid to set up a picnic blanket for you, so it is a little easier?”
“Oh, that will be delightful!”
Ophelia waited as Mrs Bailey sent a maid running to the gardens with instructions while she took Amy in her arms and lazily walked towards the garden. Amy seemed content and wanted to get down on the floor, having finally learned how to crawl. Now that she was growing, she had also become more curious about things, and Ophelia always needed to be around her to make sure she did not hurt herself walking about. Luckily, no such incident had happened as of now.
