Chapter 11 #2
Charity sighed and gestured for Augusta to sit down. It did no one good to argue, though she had a feeling that an argument could no longer be avoided.
“It was not something that we had decided, or that was final. It was just something that I was considering, and I thought that it would be a good idea, and it might keep you both safe,” she said.
“Oh, that is just lovely,” Augusta shook her head. “First, you move us here, without any consultation from us, and then you send us away? Are you tired of us already?”
Charity looked at her sister in disbelief.
“How can you even suggest such a thing?”
“What else am I supposed to think?” Augusta asked, “I can only come up with my own conclusions, since you decline to provide any. Is it because we do not entirely approve of your husband? At least, I don’t. Do you want to send me away so you can marry him in peace?”
“Augusta,” Charity mustered up the last of her patience. “I think you’re being very unfair right now, and I urge you to think clearly. Because this is just ridiculous. I would still want you at the wedding, because I am not marrying in secret, not now, not ever.”
“But then…” Augusta sighed, frustrated. “I just don’t understand why it’s so difficult for you to tell me. You’re hiding things, and you refuse to tell me. Why were you so scared for our well-being? Enough to send us away?”
Charity could hear the faintest trace of hurt in her sister's voice, and it broke her heart that it had come to this.
“You know that I am older than you, right?”
“Yes, you love to remind me,” Augusta rolled her eyes.
“And by virtue of that, can you please understand that there are some things that I must keep from you for your own good?” Charity said, feeling helpless.
“Was it Uncle who gave you that bruise?” Augusta asked, “Or was it, Duncan?”
“I am not telling you,” Charity said.
“So you’ve decided to be just like our uncle?”
“You are being ridiculous.”
“But uncle would treat us just like this,” Augusta went on. “He would not tell us anything either, so tell me why staying here with you is any better than being back with him?”
That hurt Charity more than she let show.
“Mind your words, Augusta,” she said. “You don’t know the full extent of what he is capable of.”
“Because you’re protecting me from it?” Augusta scoffed. “I suppose that is all rather convenient for you, isn’t it? I would like to know what he is capable of, if he is such a danger.”
Charity stayed silent, but Augusta had not yet finished speaking.
“I understand if you want to keep some things hidden from Matilda. She is too small to know anything about the world, but do you really think the same of me?”
“I think you’re more emotional than rational,” Charity nodded. “And that is no fault of your own, only something that has to do with your age.”
“There you are bringing up my age again,” Augusta said, thoroughly frustrated. “It’s like you refuse to see me as anything but a child.”
Charity felt for Augusta, but she did not know how she was going to bring herself to tell her what had happened exactly.
How would she let her know that an attempt had been made on her life? And that their uncle would do anything possible to have access to their wealth?
She should not be worrying about any of these things, and Charity felt as though it was her responsibility to protect her from these things.
“Augusta, if you want me to treat you like an adult….”
“Yes, I do!” Augusta cut in. “It is about time that you do.”
“Then you must stop pushing me for answers. When all is revealed to you, you will understand why I’ve been so on edge.”
“And why does it have to be in the future?” Augusta demanded. “Why can’t it be right now that you tell me?”
“Because you’re far too emotional right now,” Charity said. “And I don’t want you to be more troubled than you are already. When you’ve settled in the estate, and things are normal….”
“Things will never go back to being normal,” Augusta said in an accusatory voice. “That much is very clear to me.”
“Augusta….”
“Are you not going to tell me?”
Charity felt as though she was being pressured into something that she did not wish to be a part of.
She wished that she had Duncan’s sense of knowing how to handle situations but she found herself failing here.
She didn’t know how to handle her own teenage sister, and that was a failing of her own.
“Augusta, I will tell you later. When you are ready,” she said. “But right now, I can’t tell you anything. That is the end of this conversation.”
Augusta did not react kindly to that. She stormed to the other side of the room, and for the rest of the night, avoided her sister entirely.
The conversation with Augusta had left Charity feeling all manner of unsettled and she needed someone to speak to.
She surprised herself when that person was Duncan.
“I thought you would be sleeping by now,” Duncan said, looking at her with curiosity when she stepped into his study. He then noticed the expression on her face. “Is something the matter?”
She sighed dramatically and plopped herself down on the sofa.
“I need advice.”
“From me particularly?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Any sort of advice,” she went on. “But yes. From you.”
“Should I consider myself flattered?” He teased. He seemed to be in a good mood tonight.
“You can be, if you like. I suppose there is no one else in this house I can trust or speak to regarding this,” she admitted.
“Then I am right to feel flattered,” he chuckled and then took a seat in front of her. “What are you overthinking now?”
“It’s not so much overthinking as…” she sighed. “I need to know what to do with Augusta. She is being… well, she eavesdropped on our conversation earlier and demanded to know why I wanted to send her away. She seemed rather hurt about it.”
“I can understand that,” he said. “She hates being told what to do, and I suppose she looks at you as being a motherly figure. So she has more expectations from you.”
Charity took a while to answer.
“I don’t know. I can barely manage myself,” she sighed. “Let alone be a mother figure to her. I constantly worry that I am letting her down in some way.”
“You are doing the best job that you can,” he said. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“It’s easier said than done,” Charity admitted. “Besides, I just…I need you to teach me how to handle her when she gets difficult. I don’t have all the answers for her, and she can get very argumentative.”
“Yes. You both have that in common.”
Charity shot him a look, to which he only smirked.
“Come on now. Don’t take it so seriously,” he said.
“Tell me how to convey my message to her without her getting mad or upset at me?” She sighed. “I feel like I am at my wits' end here, and our relationship has never before been this strained.”
“Your relationship is evolving,” he said to her.
“It’s normal to have some growing pains.
Besides, you must also not be so hard on Augusta.
I can understand that she is being difficult, but these are also extraordinary circumstances.
Not only does she have a deranged uncle, but she is also going through the grief of losing both her parents, not even a year ago.
That sort of thing can take a toll on a person. ”
Charity paused to ponder what he had said.
She had never really looked at the situation from a grief perspective before.
In fact, she had not given herself the same grace either, let alone her sisters.
“I suppose so. She was closer to our parents than I was.”
“Still. Grief is grief,” he said as though it were a fact. “I’m sure you’re grieving in your own way.”
Charity bit down on her lip.
“Yes, I suppose I’m grieving a love that I never experienced,” she noted.
Duncan looked at her in surprise.
“Sorry. I suppose that was too macabre.”
“No, no. Macabre is alright with me,” he said. “It would be alarming if you were overly positive about everything.”
“I suppose I would know how to handle her better if I had grown up with her,” Charity sighed. “Perhaps then she would learn to understand my decisions instead of challenging me on them.”