Chapter 6
The rest of the day trailed by in fits of panic and anger. I panicked because a desperate part of me wanted to hear whatever excuse Henry had. But needing him so much made me so angry, both at him and myself. Stanley announced that we had been invited to dine with Henry yet again, and that he accepted. Perhaps I was being a coward by avoiding the truth, but would be better this way.
So I kept telling myself.
Stanley rasped on the door and poked his head inside, beaming when he saw me. “You look stunning tonight.” He placed a small kiss on the back of my gloved hand. Stanley wanted me to impress tonight, so I wore his favorite dress and laced up my corset extra tight.
“Thank you.” I murmured quietly, smiling weakly at him. He escorted me to dinner smoothly, mingling along the way to our table where Henry was already waiting with Penelope and her father. As soon as we arrived the gentlemen stood and greeted us.
“Well, don’t you look breathtaking tonight, Miss Ashby.” Grinned Harry, kissing the back of my hand much like Stanley had done minutes before. The only difference was that Harry’s touch actually made me breathless. While I sat trying to catch my breath, Henry was ill at ease in the situation. If I hadn’t been there myself I would’ve doubted our moments in the gymnasium even happened at all.
Dinner proceeded much as it had last night, the men making idle conversation followed by Penelope’s irritating and never-ending curiosity. Then a streak of red caught my attention. To my far right sat Cristina and Annabelle with their families, eating. Cristina caught my gaze and glanced at Harry pointedly. I tried to shrug imperceptibly but was snapped back to the conversation at hand.
“What would be the quickest way to end a wedding?” My hand flew over my mouth to muffle the horrible choking sound that erupted from my mouth. Penelope and her father looked absolutely bewildered by his sudden inquiry, but Stanley’s face showed he had no suspicion.
Good God, he was an idiot sometimes.
“I wouldn’t know.” Said Stanley obliviously, taking a sip of his drink. “Ophelia and I are planning to get happily married.” He smiled, placing a hand over mines. I plastered on an appeasing smile when his eyes met mine. I didn’t particularly agree, but I followed along for the sake of appearances. Harry’s eyes caught Stanley’s movement and became pained.
“Of course.” He smiled tersely, the emotion not reaching his eyes. As Stanley emerged himself in another conversation with Mr. Royce, Henry sent me a pointed glance. He was trying intimidate me.
“I mean, hypothetically, you could just kidnap the bride.” He smiled, laughing off his idea as a joke. He froze and held up a finger as he mulled over another idea, commanding everyone’s attention with his theatrics.
“Or you can ruin her.” Henry commented confidently, smiling as he brought on a round of hearty laugh at the table. He observed my enraged reaction and winked, taunting me. I clutched onto my knife and suppressed the urge to stab one of his dimples with it. He arched an eyebrow at my sour expression and mouthed: You’re being obvious.
I avoided his gaze and found comfort with the idea that once this trip was over I would never have to see him again. Thankfully Henry stopped the insinuations promptly, making the rest of dinner a bit of a blurred lull. I did catch Cristina swaying out of the dining room tipsily, an unusual smile on her face.
“What a shame.” Murmured Stanley, motioning towards her. “A pretty girl, but completely disobedient.” It took a moment to realize I was glaring at him. I wouldn’t let anyone insult Cristina, no matter what state she was in. It frustrated me that men could easily ridicule women over every aspect but would never question their own silly choices.
“She’s a good person, and I’m sure she’s hardly the first person to have a few too many drinks.” I said dryly. From the corner of my eye I saw Stanley’s eyebrows arch in surprise. He would never expect me to disagree with him in public. But if he expected me to remain silent as he publicly humiliated my friends, he had a thing or two coming for him.
“You wouldn’t understand, dear. That girl is much too liberal. For God’s sake, she’s probably living as vicariously as a man! She’s can’t possibly be a goof influence to you. You should refrain yourself from spending time with her.” Understood exactly what he was doing then. He was trying to browbeat me in public. Stanley was trying to assert himself in public at my expense.
“No.” I uttered simply, staring at him coldly. A deafening silence fell over the table as Stanley looked at me blankly. In my mind there was no one but me and a man trying to make himself appear greater by intimidating me. Stanley looked like he was either puzzled at my response or trying to reign in his anger. I prayed for the former.
“Don’t forget your place, Ophelia.” He said darkly, leaning into me. I turned to face him and placed an obviously phony smile on my face, even though I was seething inside.
“I haven’t, dear. Whatever are you talking about?” I said loudly, replacing the silence at the table with awkwardness. I felt a coil of satisfaction as no one dared to contradict me. My victory was short-lived, however, when Stanley rose from his chair abruptly and clamped on to my arm.
“Excuse us.” He choked out, stalking away from the table in wide strides that had me running to keep up. As I glanced back at the table I saw Henry rise to his feet quickly with a concerned look on his face. I was dragged about until we finally reached the cool promenade deck.
“You’re hurting me!” I complained, placing my hand over the pain that was flaring up on my forearm.
“I don’t care if I insult the memory of your dead father; next time you disagree with something I say in public you keep your mouth shut!” He roared, his voice echoing through the empty deck faintly. His face was red with exertion, and his glare was furious.
I’m not scared of him.
“You don’t have any business telling me what to do!” I yelled back, matching his angry tone word for word. My gaze met his steadily as I was fueled by a false sense of courage. Stanley’s face contorted with as he slammed his hand down beside my head, making me flinch.
“I get to tell you what to do because I’m going to be your husband.” He spat out angrily, looking at me darkly.
“Not if I refuse you.” I reminded, pushing against his chest to put some space between us. Stanley chuckled cynically and gripped my forearm once more.
“If the wedding would be to called off suddenly it’s because I would’ve given you the worst beating of your life.” He gritted quietly, thrashing against the wall once more before stalking away. He was almost back at the entrance to the grand staircase when I found my voice.
“…Are you going to beat me?” He froze and turned to look at me. But I didn’t care anymore, I was sick of being manipulated by someone like Stanley just because other people assured me it was ‘right’. What about what I thought was right?
“Go on, then. Beat me. Then I can break off this engagement once and for all! You think you’re man enough to push me around?!Go on, then!” I knew I was making a scene because people had started trailing out on deck to see what all the shouting was about. Stanley realized the scene I was causing, and he was overcome by anger and embarrassment.
I felt the sting before I heard it.
Every person standing on deck knew that it was going to end this way, but there was still a collective gasp. As I tried to wobble back on my feet from the backhand I’d just received, furious murmuring broke out. And then the floodgates broke loose. Mother, uncle, Henry, Mr. Royce, and several others emerged on deck. Mother kneeled beside me and appraised my stinging cheek.
“What have you done to her?” She glared at Stanley furiously.
“She was asking for it.” He replied evenly, not even having the grace to look guilty. Uncle Carlton clearly took Stanley’s side and turned his narrowed gaze on me.
“What have you done now, child?” He hissed impatiently. “Apologize at once!”
“No!” I responded with such vehem
ence I might as well have been spewing venom.
“Insolent child! How dare you deny me? After all I have done to you after your father’s death for you and your mother, this is how you replay me?”
“What exactly have you ‘done’ for us, uncle Carlton? All you’ve ever done is pilfered the money we inherited—” He let out a strangled cry and charged at me like an angry bull. I was sure I’d be receiving another blow when Mother stood in front of me and blocked his path.
“Settle down, Carlton.” She said coolly. “No need to make a scene.”
“Move aside, Ruth! It seems like I need to teach my niece some manners.” He spat.
“She may be your niece, but she’s also my daughter, and I won’t have you treating her so callously. Get a hold of yourself.” She rebuked, tapping the lapels of his jacket with her fan. Was she actually standing up for me? “As for Ophelia, she’ll go to our cabin and reflect on her mistakes.” I felt the burn of betrayal as I realized my mother wasn’t standing up for me, she was trying to minimize the scandal.
The cabin was eerily quiet when I arrived. I tried to place the earrings back into the jewelry box, groaning with anger and frustration as they kept falling out of my hand. All the thoughts running through my mind were making even this simple task difficult. Why would no one stand on my side?!In the heat of the moment I swung the chest off the vanity, reveling as it all came crashing down loudly. It took me several deep breaths to realize what I had done. An utter mess out of everything.
With a regretful sigh, I crouched down and started plucking all the jewels that were scattered on the floor. I was nearly finished when I saw it. My body stiffened as I recognized the necklace. It was a silver locket in the shape of a flat shell that Henry had given me just before he left me. The memories blurred through my mind in a haze of bitterness and melancholy.
One year earlier...
The dark figure moved swiftly through the shadows as I cowered in my bed.
“Don’t be scared.” It whispered, and I recognized the husky voice instantly.
“Henry?” His face was dimly illuminated by the small light on my bedside table as he slid into bed beside me.
“Hi.” He said sweetly, peering at me in the darkness.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered groggily, sitting up and snuggling into his shoulder.
“I...I have a gift for you.” He admitted hesitantly, digging though his pocket. He still hadn’t changed into his night clothes, instead wearing a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
“And this gift couldn’t wait until morning?” I asked, chuckling. He shook his head and cupped something on his lap gingerly.
“What is it?” I tried to open his hand playfully for a few minutes before giving up with an annoyed huff. Henry chuckled and opened his hand, revealing a silver locket in the shape of a shell.
“It’s beautiful.” I breathed, observing it in the dim lighting. Henry smiled gently and plucked the ends of the chain apart, clasping them around my neck.
“I’m glad you like it. Take good care of it.” He murmured softly, pushing my hair off my shoulders to admire the locket dangling in the hollow of my collarbones.
“What’s inside?” I asked, reaching up to open it. Harry’s hands came up and quickly stopped mine.
“Don’t open it yet. Open it later.” He urged, taking my hands and placing them over his heart. He held me close like that for long minutes, placing his chin on top of my head and sighing.
“Henry, what’s wrong?” I asked quietly, knowing he wouldn’t sneak into my room in the middle of the night simply to hold me. He looked at me thoughtfully and gave me a wavering smile.
“Nothing is wrong. I just love you.” He answered, looking intently at my face, as if he was trying to memorize every detail. Henry leaned in and placed a soft, lingering kiss on my lips. It seemed like he had every intention of just giving me one kiss, but he couldn’t help himself. Like a starving child, he leaned in once more, kissing me urgently. His lips were hot on mine, bearing down mercilessly on me for long minutes. By the time he pulled away, my lips were numb. We both gazed at each other for a few moments, gasping for air, before he pulled away and got out of bed.
“Stay with me.” I pleaded, never wanting to lose the feeling of him.
He grinned and shook his head reluctantly. “Not tonight.” With that, he blended back into the shadows and left.
The next morning he announced his courtship with Estefania, the only daughter of a powerful Viscount.