Remembrance

“I know it and you do, but that does not keep people from talking.” She looked into his eyes. “They do not talk of you, but of her. You will never be hurt by these malicious words. It is a hateful truth but such words will enhance your status as a man, but the same words will make her look as though she is a woman of less than perfect reputation.”

Alida cocked one eyebrow at him. “But then you might not care that people talk of her. Most men would not.”

“I am not most men,” he said, his back rigid. “I would not want her hurt on my account. I will see that she has no reason to be talked about.”

“You are a sweet b

oy. Now, I find that I am very tired and must rest.”

“Yes,” he said quickly and was all concern for her. “I will leave you now.”

Moments later, after Talis was gone, Alida told Penella to send Callasandra to her.

30

From the moment Alida saw Callie, she knew that the girl had a spine of steel. This was no Edith who she could entice with empty promises of a husband and her own home; this was no girl who would do whatever someone asked merely because the word honor was mentioned. Nor would the word death sway her.

On some level, Alida knew that here was the daughter who was closest to herself, but the older woman did not want to acknowledge that. Like any person who was trying to get her own way, anyone who thwarted her was considered obstinate and unreasonable.

Now, looking at Callie, Alida knew that she was going to have a difficult time with this girl. Callie had an inflexible look about her that Alida knew was going to cause trouble.

“Come, sit, eat,” Alida said sweetly.

Callie did not sit, did not eat. Yesterday, all in a dither, Edith had gone to her mother, and when she had returned, she had been a different person. Since that time, she had done everything possible to make Callie’s life hell. Callie had gone from being one of a group of superfluous females to being picked out for ridicule and harassment. And this morning, with embarrassment she could not conceal, Edith had informed Callie that she was to be in charge of a bunch of poisonous weeds, saying that, since she was a farmer, she was to take care of these plants.

Callie well knew that Edith was too weak to make any decisions on her own. Until now, Callie had felt sorry for the woman, drying up from want of love and companionship, not allowed to have the things that every woman wanted. But after the last two days Callie no longer felt sorry for her.

“What do you want of me?” Callie asked Lady Alida, her eyes hard, her anger barely kept in check. She knew without a doubt that this woman was responsible for every thought Edith had in her empty head.

“My, my, but you sound angry. How can you be angry at one who has treated you as her own daughter?”

This was certainly true, Callie thought, since both John and Alida Hadley treated their daughters as though they were diseased lumps they had to abide with. “What do you want of me?” Callie repeated.

Alida dropped all pretense of being the girl’s benefactor. Well she knew that this child was her own daughter, but Alida also knew she had to be sacrificed. Give one daughter up for the good of the others. Besides, what great harm was she doing? All she meant to do was prevent the marriage of these two children. Later, after she got rid of Talis, she’d find this girl a very nice husband.

“You are making a fool of yourself over my son and I’ll not have it.”

At that Callie gave her a hard look. “Then perhaps I will leave your house forever.” As she turned toward the door, she was halted by the words of this woman.

“Then you will go alone. My son will stay here. He cannot be allowed to spend his life with a girl who works on a farm. My son will become a knight; he will marry a lady.”

At those words, Callie turned back, looked hard at the woman, then quietly sat down on the offered chair. Callie knew that what the woman was saying was true. If she wanted Talis, then she had to remain here, had to do whatever this woman said she must. “What am I to do?” Callie asked softly.

“Stay away from my son,” Alida said simply.

Callie paled at those words. How could she stay away from Talis? It would have been easier if the woman had asked her to stop breathing.

“Oh come now, do not look at me as though I am an ogre. I know he is your childhood friend and I have sympathy for what the two of you have been through, living as you did in that hovel. Living with animals, illiterate people such as those—”

“Do not!” Callie said. “They were good to us.”

There was something in the way the girl spoke that made Alida halt her words. Had she been less intent on her goal, she might have realized that she was looking into a mirror and seeing a younger version of herself. Just as Alida would do anything for people she considered her family, so would Callie.

“What do you want of me?” Callie repeated.

“Not much, just to stay away from my son.”

“And to reach this end you have sent me to care for poisonous plants.”