Page 1 of A Lady’s Fairytale Come True
Chapter 1
Olivia leaned back in her chair in the small parlour of her family home. She looked out of the window, grey-blue eyes peering through the dirty glass at the crowded streets beyond. She wished they could have a nice home out in the country, like the ones she often read about.
But Olivia couldn’t deny that this was far from the idyllic life she would ever have, so instead she continued braiding and unbraiding the dark brown locks of her hair. She was bored. But she could handle boring. She didn’t mind it too much.
Listening to the voices in the nearby kitchen, Olivia knew that her sister was trying to wrestle up something for dinner. Louise had called for Gemma to get a few things from the small family garden that was at the back of the house. Louise always tried to prepare decent meals, but lately it was mostly vegetable soup.
It wasn’t that their father didn’t try to provide well. He always did his best. But middle class in London was still far from an easy life. That was all, beside the fact that their parents had never been what one might expect for two people in love. No, they had generally been caught up in their own, separate interests.
Whenever Olivia had watched Mr. and Mrs. Digby communicate, she was left with an emptiness. There had to be more to life than this. There had to be something better than marrying for the sake of convenience and then raising children one couldn’t quite provide for.
And all of it had shifted to an even darker place when Mrs. Digby passed away. Now, more than ever, it was difficult for her father to provide.
Perhaps the imaginings she had was why Olivia was always labelled as a dreamer. From an early age, she would make up stories in her head and share them with her sisters. Stories about poor girls marrying nobility, about a life filled with love, the stuff of fairytales. Her younger sisters, Gemma and Louise, loved to listen, but her mother would scoff and tell her that it was a nice sentiment, but the world simply didn’t work that way.
But when she stole away an ink pen and paper at night, sometimes Olivia would write down these fantastic stories. And when she did, the sense of excitement would always be marvellous within her. She loved to see the words forming the life she wished she could have.
Even if it was nonsense…
But reality was not the same. Olivia, the oldest of the three girls, was now at an age that required her to find something new. It could be employment or it could be a husband, but whatever it was, it had to relieve the burden she had become on her family.
With her mother gone, it was up to Olivia to find a means to help her father. She was good at a great many things, but finding the right employer for her skillset would prove vital. After all, there were no knights or earls standing by to take her hand and she was determined not to have a marriage like her parents had.
So Olivia was left with no other choice than to work.
“Olivia!” called Gemma in a pouty voice.
Olivia rushed to the kitchen where she found her two sisters with arms crossed, glaring at one another.
“Oh dear, what is it?” she asked.
“Louise says I am useless,” the younger griped. At a mere ten years old, Gemma considered herself quite the important member of the family.
“Louise…” Olivia said in warning, trying to keep the amused expression off her face as her gaze shifted to the middle sister, a full sixteen years of age.
Louise was also trying not to laugh at their youngest sister whom they heartily indulged. She was a sweet child, rarely given to these tantrums. But now and then Gemma and Louise would argue when things needed to get done. As Louise was in charge of cooking at the house, this was one of those times.
“Forgive me, Gemma. I did not mean to hurt your feelings. It’s just that I really need you to bring me the good carrots and I have shown you a number of times how to pick the right ones,” Louise explained in a slow, indulgent voice.
“Gemma, you must forgive your sister,” Olivia instructed.
“All right then, I forgive her,” Gemma replied in a pompous tone. The child pranced back towards the garden, leaving Louise and Olivia to themselves.
“Do you need help?” Olivia asked.
“No, no, I am fine,” she replied, stirring the full pot of steaming soup.
“I’ve nothing else to do, really. I am happy to assist you,” Olivia remarked.
“Well then, if you can chop those mangled little carrots, I should be very grateful,” Louise said with a laugh.
Olivia picked one up and chuckled as well. They really were quite possibly the worst in all the garden that Gemma had managed to bring them.
If this was the best they had to offer, no wonder the family was doing so poorly, Olivia thought. She hoped that things would get better for them, but that seemed unlikely.
She laboured in the kitchen with Louise, humming to herself. Her sister joined in and after a short while, Gemma came back with a few more grimy carrots for Olivia to wash and chop.
By the time dinner came, the three girls were ready to eat and their father joined them in his jovial manner.
