Page 155 of The Sisters of Sea View
She rose swiftly and went to find Sarah.
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[A] false step in one daughter will be injurious to the fortunes of all the others.
—Jane Austen,Pride and Prejudice
Viola walked upstairs to see how Emily was doing after the upsetting encounter with Mr. Stanley. Approaching the small room she and Sarah shared, Viola heard her sisters talking within.
Emily said, “Do you really think that’s why Charles withdrew from me?”
“I think it very likely,” Sarah soberly replied.
“Because of one sister? That hardly seems fair.”
“Like it or not, it reflects poorly on the rest of us. The humiliation and disgrace extend to us all. Some would see it as a proof of family weakness.”
Viola pressed a hand to her mouth to cover a gasp. Betrayal snaked through her veins and twisted her stomach until she thought she would retch. She had known or at least suspected that Emily blamed her for Charles disassociating himself from their family, but that Sarah should lay the blame at her door as well? Categorize her flaw as a disgraceful family weakness?
Sarah went on, “What else besides this wretched business could have caused his withdrawal? When such terms of cordiality had marked the whole of our acquaintance?”
“I suppose you are right. ... This must be the reason.”
“I love her,” Sarah said. “Yet I cannot deny how materially the credit of the rest of us must be hurt by her false step.”
Emily groaned. “If this becomes generally known, who will willingly connect themselves with our family?”
The two continued to talk, but their words faded to a dizzying buzz like swarming bees. A false step? That struck her as unjust. But the rest of it? The humiliation, the proof of family weakness, the disgrace? Oh yes, Viola felt all of that and more deep in her soul.
When Viola entered the major’s room a short while later, she found him flipping through theGentleman’s Magazine—the etchings and brief captions had proven easier to read than heavy columns of newspaper print. He glanced up at her once, then again, quickly setting aside the magazine.
“What is it? What’s wrong? You look very ill indeed.”
Viola made a face. “Thank you,” she dryly replied, and then walked to the desk. “Where shall we begin today?”
“With you sitting down and telling me what has happened.”
Viola hesitated. Should she confide in a man she’d been acquainted with for little more than a month? Yet the desire to unburden herself weighed heavily on her heart. She sat in the chair and turned to face him. “It’s only ... I overheard Emily and Sarah talking. I knew Emily resented me, but it’s even worse than I thought. When I think of what they said...”
“Tell me.”
“I can hardly bear to remember it, let alone repeat it.”
“I begin to lose my patience. Just tell me. Confession is good for the soul and all that.”
“Very well.” She sighed. “I’ve long known Emily blames me, at least in part, for her hopes being dashed with a certain young man—a neighbor from May Hill. And when Emily is hurt, she can lash out, and often speaks without thinking. But Sarah...” Viola shook her head, feeling miserable all over again. “Sarah never says an unkind word about anyone unless it is true. And barely then.”
“Go on.”
“She said I reflect poorly on all of us. That my humiliation and disgrace extend to us all. She called it a proof of family weakness. Said she could not deny how materially the credit of the rest of them must be hurt by me. She also said something about impropriety—a false step—although I may have misheard that part. My heart was beating so loudly!”
His eyebrows lowered thunderously. “You must have misheard.”
“Perhaps. But one thing I know Emily said—‘Who will willingly connect themselves with our family?’”
Viola stared blindly across the room, shame washing over her anew.
She mastered her emotions by degrees and took a deep breath. “Do forgive me. I should not have told you all that. It was just so ... shocking, though I suppose it should not have been.” She rose and returned to the desk. “Well. You are not paying me to pour out my familial woes, but to read to you. Correspondence or newspapers first?”
