The Earl gave her a sympathetic look over his morning porridge and scratched his head. The Countess had covered her face with her hands that were glimmering with rings.
“Marion, darling, you know I would do anything for you. But I cannot abandon my seat to start a journey that is doomed to fail. There is no way of knowing where to start looking for them, or if they are even alive,” he finally said, apologetically.
“Mother? You will come with me, won’t you? I deserve to know the truth!”
“Sweetheart, I so very much wish that were possible. You know my health… A long journey would be the end of me,” she said hysterically, trying to keep the sobs down.
“Very well. I will go by myself. William will come with me, I’m sure of it,” Marion said.
“No, daughter. I simply must deny it. You are not allowed to go and that’s the end of it,” the Earl said, this time with a stern voice that he used when he gave orders to his men.
* * *
Marion rose up from her seat. Without a word, she turned around and headed up to her room, leaving her parents to glance at each other with worried looks.
There was a ball in the manor in honor of her birthday in the evening, and she wanted to think before she had to head to the ballroom and be kind and full of smiles. If she wasn’t Lady Marion Bewforest, then who was she?
And from Scotland, no less! I’ve heard the stories from Scotland. Can I really be one of them?
She hurried through the dim corridors.
She reached her room and threw herself on the bed. She buried her head into one of her silk pillows and let hot tears pour out of her eyes. She was sobbing from the bottom of her heart, while her entire life flashed in front of her eyes. All the birthdays, all the promises, all the loving words—all a big fat lie!
If they could lie about something like this, what else are they hiding? And why would my parents abandon me? Why would they do that?
Marion was muffling her cries into a pillow so Rose Keenan, her old governess, wouldn’t hear. Miss Keenan was like family, which is why she had stayed at the manor even years after Marion didn’t need a governess anymore.
But Marion still preferred her not hearing her sobs. She would have asked too many questions.
The sobs started to quiet down as the hot flush of anger became just plain old irritation. She wiped her face and thought about the ball. There was a brandnew red gown with delicate slippers in her wardrobe, waiting for her to put them on and dazzle each and every person who looked at her. Marion’s warm complexion and dark brown, long hair matched perfectly with the tones of the gown.
Her best friend, Edith Hall, would be arriving today. Marion looked forward to meeting her, as she would surely know what to do. She’d comfort her with understanding words and make everything better.
Edith was the exact opposite of Marion in many ways. Marion may know how to hold an interesting conversation, how to bat her eyelashes to make men notice her, and how to keep her Ladylike grace wherever she went. But for Marion, it was all a learnt behavior. For Edith, on the other hand, it was in her nature.
She was the sweetest young girl in England and her blonde curls and blue eyes attracted everyone. Men gravitated towards her and her shyness, and women loved her because she never said a bad word about anyone.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted Marion’s thoughts. She quickly sat up and composed her face to cover any traces of sadness and anger.
“Come in, Rose,” Marion said.
“Lady Marion, time to get ready for your ball! We must make sure you look absolutely dashing, of course, you always do. The Earl of Brookville is coming. I bet you will be happy to see him, won’t you?” Miss Keenan went on while she fetched a bowl of water and a hair brush.
The Earl of Brookville was certainly a handsome man. He was young and wealthy, qualities to which Marion was not opposed. He had been wanting to court Marion for a long time and to Marion’s happy surprise, her father had given him Marion’s hand.
“Why, of course I will,” Marion said. “Do make me the prettiest girl in the room, Rose, will you?” She spoke with a gentle smile and let Miss Keenan go on about the ball.
I’d best push this out of my head until I’m alone.
Marion egged Miss Keenan on by asking her questions to keep her talking.
In a few hours’ time, Marion was ready and she was admiring her own image in the mirror. Her long, dark brown hair was combed and flowed like a waterfall over her shoulders. The dark eyebrows seemed to bend over her deep brown eyes like a bird’s wings. The red gown looked stunning on her, and she couldn’t help but feel a little bit better about herself.
Marion waved Miss Keenan out the door and soon followed behind her. She was headed to the ballroom, where most of the guests would already be. The excitement of the ball cheered her up a notch—she couldn’t resist a nice ball with happy people and great food.
The ballroom was on the first floor, so she descended down the cold stony spiral staircase, holding up the gown to keep herself from tripping. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard wonderful music coming from at the end of the corridor. People were chattering and laughing.
She hurried towards the happy voices and entered the ballroom. As soon as she did, everyone turned to look at her. She felt her heart leap—she loved the attention.
“Happy Birthday, Lady Marion!” everyone yelled in unison.
“Thank you everyone, thank you very much for coming to celebrate my 21st birthday with me. Please, enjoy the
