teaatheabbey:

          WHERE ONCE WE WATCHED THE SMALL FREE BIRDS FLY
                               CHAPTER FOUR: A HEAVY BURDEN

She didn’t see him the following day, or the day after that even. Instead, she locked herself in the sanctuary of her bedroom and slept for almost three days straight.

At just after nine on the third day, she was woken by a knock at the door. Groggily, she sat up and granted permission for whoever it was to enter. She was pleasantly surprise to see that it was Mary.

“I had Mrs Patmore make you up a tray,” Mary said, closing the door behind her.

“Thank you, but I’m not really hungry.”

“Darling, you must be,” replied Mary, setting the tray down and sitting beside her sister. “You’ve barely touched a thing since you got home.”

“I suppose I’m just too tired,” she said, picking at a piece of toast. “How’s Matthew?”

Mary sighed. “It’s hard to tell. Clarkson thinks there might be a problem with his legs.”

Probable Spinal Damage

“I’m no doctor,” Sybil said. “But the thought had crossed my mind… how has he taken it?”

“Not well, I think it will be a while before he completely comes to terms with what it will mean.”

Sybil nodded and quietly chewed on her toast, immediately understanding what her sister meant. “This isn’t the end of his life, though perhaps just the start of a different one,” she replied. “Does Lavinia know?”

“She came up from London,” Mary replied. “He’s called off the engagement.”

“How terrible. Did he say why?”

“Lavinia said something along the lines of he felt he had to set her free,” said Mary. “He didn’t feel as though he could tie her down, not without… well, without a proper marriage.”

It took Sybil a moment or two to realise what Mary was alluding to, but she soon caught the meaning. “Oh, I see,” she said. “How very noble… how very Matthew.”

Ordinarily, Sybil’s observation probably would have brought a smile to Mary’s face though there really didn’t seem much to smile about at the moment. “I do feel sorry for her though. Lavinia’s a nice girl… Though, on the subject of marriage, there’s something else I think you should know.”

Sybil felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, but decided to ask anyway. “Oh?”

“I’ve accepted Sir Richard’s proposal.”

For the life of her, Sybil still could’t understand what her sister saw in that man. Yes, he was rich beyond reason, but Sybil was of firm belief that a marriage should be founded upon more than just money.

Besides, the man was absolutely odious.

She’d only encountered him on a handful of occasions, but there was just something about him that she didn’t like. Apparently, Mary had her reasons for refusing Matthew’s proposal though she seemed somewhat reluctant to share them even with her youngest sister (whom everyone knew to be her obvious favourite), but why on earth would she settle for someone like Sir Richard?

Perhaps she saw something in him that nobody else did and Sybil could only hope that, in time, she would come to see it too.

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