Arabella walked down the endless path, parasol in hand.  She didn’t really need it.  There was lots of shade with scattered spots of sunlight.  The tall pine trees loomed above her as they flanked the path.  The morning breeze caressed her pale cheeks and stirred her strawberry hair.  This path was where she and Cliff used to walk when he was courting her.

Cliff.  Her lips pursed as she thought about him.  The love of her life who ended up marrying her older sister, the exquisitely beautiful Rosalind.  Bitterness and resentment rose in her heart as she thought of Rosalind.  Her sister could have had any man she wanted but she set her sights on Cliff who was powerless to resist her.  Rosalind had that bewitching effect on men.  And Cliff was not immune.

She remembered how she had watched Rosalind flirt shamelessly with him when she introduced them and how he had lapped up her attention like an eager dog.  She should have known what the outcome would have been but still, it was a shock when Cliff ended their engagement.  Months later, Rosalind and he got married.  Not wanting to be the subject of gossip for not attending the wedding, she went and watched as the man she loved exchanged vows with her wretched sister.  How she hated her.  She wished she could hate him too but she couldn’t.  In spite of everything, she still loved Cliff and that’s why she was living at Everton Hall now.

Continue reading at Deborah’s Deliberations