1
“Must you watch your sister make a fool of herself?” Emily’s maid-in-waiting asked as she made up Emily’s bed.
No, she didn’t have to watch her sister make a fool of herself—of them both. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop her from gazing disdainfully at Eliza.
“I must, lest she get a scandal that falls on both our heads.”
Solemnly, the maid nodded in agreement and continued to tidy the rest of the room.
Through the thinly veiled, satin-curtained windows, Emily continued to watch with dismay as her sister shamelessly caressed the new stable boy’s broad shoulder.
What had ceased to amaze Emily was Eliza’s lack of concern for her or her own reputation. After all, it was every lady’s duty to remain a chaste and pure soul until marriage. Eliza carried herself as though she were the only one who would face the consequences of her lascivious behavior.
It made Emily wonder once again why the Lord had thought to give them the same face. They were clear opposites in every way but their looks.
Emily had always made an effort to be the exemplary debutante. A young woman who would make her parents proud. She took care of household chores, no matter what they were. She honored every minute of her lessons, retaining every bit of information she received.
When she sang, she put her heart and soul into each and every note. On numerous occasions, her performances had led to words of adoration from every tutor who stepped foot in this house.
Emily had always strayed away from lewd behavior. Her main goal was to keep her reputation as spotless as her white ball gown. But alas, all of her efforts to be perfect for her parents proved futile.
No matter what Emily did to get her parents to look her way, to pay attention to her, it was for nothing. All Emily received was a simple smile and a pat on the head before she was cast back into the shadows of her sister’s reckless behavior.
Moving toward the door, Emily looked back at the only woman who truly knew her and paid attention to her—Emily’s valued lady-in-waiting, Cloy.
Cloy, unlike Emily’s mother and father, had seen her silent cries for attention and had given her all the love and care she gave her own children. Although her parents loved and cared for her, what Emily had needed had always been pushed aside for Eliza.
When Emily walked to the dining room to have her first meal with her mother and father, she found once again that the room was empty. The sting of rejection she had felt as a child had numbed to a dull ache by now.
Looking up from the table before her, Emily could see her mother and father talking to her sister down by the pond. She couldn’t tell if they were scolding her sister or not, and frankly, she didn’t care.
Anger boiled in Emily’s veins, surprising her with its fury.
She was done being pushed aside. Done being unseen and unnoticed.
From this day forth, Emily vowed to herself that she would never again be cast aside.
