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‘He hasn’t purchased that house for me,’ Sissy snapped. ‘We are renting it from him just like we used to rent it from Mr Lauder.’
Maud nodded but didn’t answer.
‘We are,’ Sissy insisted.
‘Then I am sure Norma is relieved and delighted that you don’t have to move after all,’ Maud soothed. ‘Now, I must be on my way. Both of you must come and take tea with me the day after tomorrow. I will make us a cake.’ With a gentle pat of Sissy’s arm, Maud shuffled off home.
Sissy watched her leave before she hurried toward her own home. She had just passed the grocery shop when the grocer stepped outside with a few packages in his arms.
‘I am sorry about that, my dear,’ he began without preamble. ‘I don’t know what has gotten into her of late.’
Sissy eyed the man warily.
‘Here, take these. Conley Bridge is a long way away. It might be best if you try to keep your head down for a bit, eh? The gossips will lose interest.’ He dropped the packages into Sissy’s basket before she could even open her mouth to protest.
‘How much are they?’
The grocer waved her away and slid a look at the shop doorway. ‘I put together your usual order. It is all there. We can settle up next time.’
Sissy, having no more interest in going back into the shop than the grocer appeared to have, thanked him politely and took her leave of him. By the time she reached her front door again she was feeling sick and shaking like a leaf. She was aware of curtains twitching yet again. For the first time since Morgan had mentioned it, Sissy dreaded going on the picnic with him.
‘My dear, what on earth is wrong now? Why, you are pale as a ghost and shaking. Come on over here. Sit beside the fire and get warm. What on earth has happened?’ Norma cried when Sissy stepped through the door and dropped her basket onto the floor.
Sissy had no choice but to take a seat. For a moment, all she could do was sit with her back straight and stare blankly at the wall opposite. ‘It has been one of the most enlightening and disturbing mornings of my life.’
‘What happened?’
Sissy shook her head. She knew that if she had to recount everything that had just happened she would burst out crying. As it was there really wasn’t the time.
‘Morgan’s carriage is going to be arriving any moment now. You must get changed,’ Norma urged when it became evident that Sissy wasn’t going to talk to her.
‘I am not going to go,’ Sissy whispered. ‘I made excuses for you when you chose not to go to their ball. You can go to their picnic but can return the favour and make excuses for me. The picnic is the last thing I am going to go to.’
‘But it is too late to refuse to go now,’ Norma cried.
‘I cannot go,’ Sissy stated flatly. ‘Do you know what they are saying out there?’ Sissy stared at her aunt when Norma pursed her lips and slid an awkward look at the fire beside them.
‘You know,’ she whispered accusingly. ‘You knew they were discussing whether I was Morgan’s mistress or not yet you let me go out there this morning oblivious to it all. You knew, and yet you encouraged me to go to dinner at his home last night and then let me face them all this morning without warning. Why? Why would you do that to me?’
Norma sucked in a breath. ‘I had heard rumours that people were wondering if your connection with him went deeper than it ought. However, I have seen how that man looks at you. I was shocked when he told me that he had purchased this house but also a little unsurprised. I think you should ask yourself why Morgan would do such a thing. I mean, Morgan hasn’t purchased any other houses in the village. Buying this one, for whatever reason, looks odd. Further, you were seen in a passionate clinch with him the other day. Going to dine has just solidified their suspicions, I am afraid.’
‘So why did you accept his offer?’ Sissy whispered, wondering if she had been betrayed in the cruellest way possible.
‘Because I wanted you to spend some time with him, in his house. I wanted you to see his mansion, his estate, and understand-’ Norma paused awkwardly.
‘Understand that it is a world I don’t belong in,’ Sissy finished for her.
Hearing Norma say that she wasn’t good enough was wounding. Hurt stole her words, her peace of mind, her hopes and dreams. It made Sissy feel incredibly foolish for having dared hope for a future at all. Sissy stared at her aunt.
‘You saw Mariette. The spite, my dear, is something you would never be able to stop. People like her would always consider you lacking. While Morgan might protect you when he is around, he couldn’t be around all the time. What would happen if you had to face Mariette’s malice alone? They would spite you just as soon as his back was turned. They wouldn’t care if it destroyed your relationship with him because in their eyes you don’t belong in their world anyway,’ Norma whispered. ‘They will always see you as beneath them.’
‘You must have been pleased when your machinations came to fruition,’ Sissy whispered.
For the first time ever, Sissy truly didn’t like her aunt. It seemed like a cruel, spiteful thing to do to encourage her to dine with Morgan just to warn her that she didn’t belong with him. ‘Have you not stopped to consider that you don’t belong there either? Or were you just too pleased to be able to dine on his good grace and favour to care?’
Norma’s mouth fell open. She stared in dismay at Sissy, but Sissy was too disgusted in her aunt’s behaviour to care. At the base of the stairs, she paused to look at her aunt, who turned in her chair to watch her leave.
‘Tell me, was this something you and Alicia plotted between you?’ Sissy watched Norma blink as if she struggled to understand Sissy’s question.
