Chapter 50
Chapter fifty
Ormdale
In the nursery in front of the weak little coal fire, Una covered her face with her hands. There was a dreadful silence, in which Una felt sick with guilt and shame. Her secret parts had been laid bare. It was just as awful as she’d feared. Worse, even.
“Una,” Violet began in a strangled voice, “are you telling me that all this time—all of these two whole years—you thought—you thought—that Gwydion—that you—“ Violet started again. “You can’t have actually thought that my going away was your fault?”
Una gave a very small nod behind her hands.
Then someone pinched her.
“Ow!” Una shrieked, dropping her hands. “What was that for?”
Oolong started and glared at Violet.
“That’s for being an utter goose!“ Violet cried, jumping to her feet. “That horrible man probably took one look at you and thought you’d be less of a handful as a daughter-in-law!” She gave a wild laugh and began to pace about the room.
“Not knowing, of course, that you are absolutely terrifying and would make his life a misery to him! It would have served him right to take you back to Wales and see Gwydion’s face when he brought the wrong girl! ”
Una swallowed. “So you don’t think—that Gwydion—that he somehow got the wrong idea about me?”
At this, Violet screeched. Then, “Watch out, I’m going to swear!”
Violet threw herself face down on the bed and buried her face in Una’s pillow, into which she relieved her feelings with a series of indecipherable pronouncements.
When she faintly quieted and looked up, her face was purplish. She exhaled, propping her chin in her hands.
“Oh, Loon,” Violet said, “if I actually thought you’d stolen my sweetheart, don’t you think I would have—I don’t know!—said something? Stabbed you? Put a toad in your porridge?”
And of course she would have, Una realised.
“Uncle George was right,” Una whispered.
“He usually is,” Violet said grimly. “And somehow he isn’t unbearable about it.
” Violet flopped onto her back. “Waiting has never been easy for me. I was expecting Gwydion any day, and then his awful father appeared, and Edith and Simon were being such dry old sticks about Elfed! Well, it was all a bit much! And then I thought, ‘What’s keeping me here? I’m of age now!
If Gwydion thinks he can send his father to propose to me, he’s got another think coming!
If he wants me, he can ruddy well find me himself!
’ So I ran off.“ She paused. “And all the time you were left thinking it was your fault?” She sat up suddenly. “You must understand, I never imagined his horrible father had tried to swap us! Did he think his son wouldn’t notice the difference, like that stupid boy in the Bible?”
“Jacob?” offered Una. She wasn’t sure it was right to call a character in the Bible a stupid boy, but Violet was very worked up, and allowances ought to be made.
“Gwydion probably never even knew what his father had done! Ugh! One thing we absolutely mustn’t do, Una, is let any of these men—whoever they may be—to get between us and push us apart, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about them is that they’ll try!
You’re not listening to me, are you?“ said Violet.
Una looked at her glassily. “I’m sorry. I just realised—if I’d talked with you—if I’d come to you straight away and told you what Gwydion’s father told me—“
“And if I’d come and told you I was running away—if!“ shouted Violet. “Stop trying to find a new way to blame yourself for everything!”
Una stared at her. “I’ll try,” she said at last, meekly.
“Una,” said Violet. “You know I’m the last person to actually learn anything from a mess like this, but—we must always talk to each other, after this. Even if we fight like cats. I don’t care! As long as we don’t stop talking again, we’ll get through somehow, I feel sure of it.”
Violet stretched her hand out. Una looked at it, just to check.
“What’s wrong?” asked Violet.
“It’s muddy,” Una said.
Violet looked down at her own hand as if it didn’t belong to her. “I’ll spit on it.”
“Don’t you dare!“ cried Una, and grabbed hold of it grimly.
Then they just sat for a moment, and Una though how strong and warm Violet’s hand was in hers.
Her own hand was now the same size as her sister’s, not smaller and softer.
The four years between them simply didn’t matter as they once had, and everything was different.
It felt like a puzzle finally coming right because you found a new way to look at it.
Violet squeezed her hand. “I’ll go tomorrow, and be back in a day or two. I only have to go to Blackpool.”
“Gwydion’s in Blackpool?“ Una repeated in astonishment.
“Yes, Blackpool! Why does everyone object to it so?”
“Well, it’s Lancashire, you know,” said Una matter-of-factly. Then she shuddered. What on earth had Gwydion been thinking, all this time? Did he even know what his father had tried to do? “Won’t it be terribly awkward for you to fetch him, though? After—all of it?”
Violet smiled in a terrifying sort of way. “Don’t you think he deserves every bit of awkwardness that’s coming to him?”
Una blinked a few times. “As a matter of fact…yes,” she admitted. “I think he does. Even if—if he didn’t want to switch sisters midstream” —Una blushed at this— “he oughtn’t to have trusted his father in such a matter. It was very bad judgement, and bad manners, too.”
“And that is why I fully intend to give him h—“
But Una kicked her sister before she could say the rest of the word.
“Blazes, Una, give him blazes,” Violet said, grinning. “What did you think I was going to say?”
“Blazes isn’t any better than the other one!” Una objected. “At least that one’s in the Bible!”
“What did you say?“ Violet said, opening her eyes wide in mock horror. “Did you just say bl—“
Una seized the pillow and beat Violet about the head with it three or four times. When she had relieved her own feelings in this way, she felt quite calm. Oolong licked her hand in approval.
“I’ll see about getting your old bed back in here, if you like,” Una said.
Violet froze. “You want me back—in here?”
“I’m not sure I do, really,” Una admitted. “But I can’t have you sleeping on the floor outside my room.”
“I think,” said Violet thoughtfully, “that I’m done with that. You don’t need me to protect you any more. At least, not in the way I thought. And besides,” she said, looking at Oolong, “you have a dragon to protect you.”