Page 63 of A Lady’s Fairytale Come True
Olivia rested for a while longer, on her own. But that evening, she heard her father arriving home.
The house remained quiet, but Olivia knew that Louise was trying to explain to him at least some semblance of what had happened so that he might be gentle with her. That was simply Louise’s way of things.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard Gemma’s voice loudly agreeing that. “Olivia needs to be left alone now.”
And it seemed she would remain alone forever. But after a time, she left her room and made her way out to meet her father.
Louise ushered Gemma away, promising to read her a story before bed.
Olivia sat across from her father, who looked at her with compassionate eyes, so far from what she deserved. She knew he must be disappointed in her. But Louise had explained and he could be soft with his daughters when he wished to.
“Your sister has explained,” he said gently.
“You must be terribly displeased with my behaviour,” she replied.
He sighed and looked at her sadly. “I admit that I am not happy knowing that you have continued to disobey me. No father wishes for his children to disregard him like that. And I am upset that you rallied your sisters into this affair. But I have also seen a great change come over you in these recent weeks. One that left me doubting myself,” he confessed.
“Why would you doubt yourself?”
“Because I am quick to determine a man’s character by his wealth. And while I am deeply saddened to see how you have been wounded, I must say that this whole affair did the opposite of confirming my beliefs,” he told her.
Olivia didn’t understand at all. How could this confirmation cause him to think otherwise? It had drawn her into believing the same as her father, that wealthy men must see her as some sort of sport, that they are cruel and detestable.
“How? How did it not confirm what you already thought? He did exactly what you believed he would,” she said, letting the tears stream down her face.
“No, he did not. Yes, it is true that he hurt you in the end. I did fear that. But what I never expected was that he would make you happy,” Mr. Digby said. “And, for a time, he did that as well.”
Olivia couldn’t grasp this. But she could ruminate on it later. In the meantime, she had something else she needed to say to her father.
“Whether he had been true or not, it was wrong of me to disrespect your wishes. I apologise, Father. I ask for your forgiveness for my terrible actions,” she sighed.
“It is yours, my dear. I forgive you. And I ask that you forgive me for my harshness. I love you and I was only concerned for your wellbeing,” he said.
“Rightly so. I was an even bigger fool than you gave me credit for,” she laughed bitterly.
“You are not a fool. You are a young woman with a tender heart. You met a man who seemed to be everything you ever might have hoped for. He seemed kind and good and true. I cannot fault you for believing him, for loving him,” her father said, tenderly.
“Why are you being so kind to me? I did everything wrong. I did everything against you,” she said.
“Yes, but whether you believe it or not, I was once young. I had dreams and affections and I too know what it is to be jilted by love. So did your mother. So will the earl. It is as much a part of life as love itself. We all get to face this. But you have gone about it and learned from it. Or so I hope.”
“I have. I shall never fall for such tricks again,” she swore.
Olivia considered something for a moment though, something she would not tell her father. It had been a trick. It had been a cruel game. But it was not started by the earl. No, it was started by Lady Kirby. And Olivia wished to know why. It was unfair that she should have to live with the consequences of this when she had done absolutely nothing to deserve it. What was the dowager’s reasoning behind this?
A ripple of anger boiled within her, but Olivia determined that she would deal with that later. For now, she would simply sit in the quiet of her father’s company.
She poured herself a cup of tea and refilled his. He seemed sad along with her and Olivia had never imagined that he would be so compassionate upon learning of her betrayal and all the things she had done against him.
But he was being merciful and for that she was thankful. Olivia knew she didn’t deserve it. But she had always admired her father’s mercy and grace for others and had tried to emulate it.
Of course, that grace was what had led her to giving the earl a second chance. But not again. She had learned her lesson. She knew now. And while she would never speak with him again, it would not do her any harm to confront Lady Kirby about things.
Olivia shook it from her head. No. She had decided to sit in peace. She had decided to give her thoughts a brief rest from all of this pain she was feeling.
“Father,” she began.
“Yes, my dear?”
