Winter Gaze
“Well, that was just pure luck that we ended our walk right as the rain started,” Arabella said to her maid.
“You are right, Miss Arabella,” Winnie said. “And even better that it was so sunny before that.”
“It would have been quite inconvenient to shop for gloves in such a downpour,” Arabella chuckled. “And Alexandra is always so prone to getting sick in bad weather. I would just worry about her.”
“You are always so kind to your friends,” Winnie said sweetly. “Perhaps that is why you have so many. Even ladies that you met on the streets decided to join your company.”
Arabella looked out the carriage window at the grey sky raining heavily on the streets of London. It was true, her friends joined her, Alexandra and Kate, of course, but they seemed to be gathering more ladies as they went from shop to shop. Some mamas even rushed their recently debuted daughters to join them.
“I didn’t like how Lady Heringhton talked to her daughter when we met in the bonnet shop. Perhaps that is why the young lady was so eager to join us for the rest of the day.”
Winnie nodded her head, agreeing with her mistress.
“I will make sure to invite her more to our outings.”
“You really are an angel, Miss Arabella,” Winnie said.
Arabella really had a good time and was now looking forward for some luncheon in her home, talking to her sister. Arabella looked out the window with a sigh. She really wished Bridget would join them. But she never did.
And that was exactly what she heard as she entered her house. Even from the hallway, she could hear her father‘s voice.
“Your sister invited you three times this morning to go with her and her friends. And you turned her down without a good explanation.”
Arabella froze at hearing her father talking so harshly. She knew exactly who was the recipient of his anger. None other than her sister, Bridget. It was true. Arabella did ask Bridget to go with her like she did any other time. Exactly like she did any other time, Bridget didn’t even respond. She just shook her head and went back to her books.
“All you do all day,” her father‘s voice echoed in the house, “is sit around with that gloomy face of yours, reading or simply looking out the window. You never talk, you never laugh, and we basically have to drag you out of the house for some functions.”
Arabella tightened her fists and hastened her step to reach the drawing room. Bridget had always been more shy and reserved, but lately she rarely wanted to leave the house. That didn’t mean that her father had the right to talk to her like that.
“Arabella is out there, carrying our name, making friends, being social. A proper lady of the ton. She creates a good name for us. It would be good for you and us if you were to assist her in this endeavor. Not to sit around making everyone as sad as you are.”
“I am not trying to-” Bridget’s voice carried brittle and small through the door.
“That is exactly the problem, you‘re not even trying.”
Arabella took off her gloves and her hat as fast as she could and handed them to Winnie.
“Bridget,” their father‘s tone went even more serious, “if life in London is so appalling to you, then perhaps I should just send you to your grandmother in Wales. Perhaps the change of scenery, or just being away, might help you improve your gloom.”
Arabella had heard enough. She pushed the door to the drawing room. The moment she stepped in, both her father and her sister looked at her. She carefully closed the door behind her.
“I want you to stop, Father.”
“Arabella, you’re back,” her father said.
“And just in time, as it seems.”
Arabella’s eyes found her sister’s. She was afraid she would find them teary, but Bridget rarely cried. She was just sad, feeling guilty of all the things that her father had accused her of.
“How was your walk with your friends?” Oswald asked pointedly, glancing at Bridget.
“It was quite pleasant till I had to return home and hear my own father accuse my sister of things that are not at all important.”
Oswald’s face went rigid.
“You find it of little importance that your sister is idling all day, avoiding human interaction? How is she supposed to secure a husband that way?”
