Chapter 8

As Mrs. Olivia Mills waited for the servants to bring her tea, she sat in the drawing room, patiently awaiting the return of Rosamund Swire and her son, Cody. She was anxious to see how the picnic had played out that day, but knowing her son, things probably hadn’t gone as planned. It was difficult to tell if he already knew what they were trying to do or not, but either way, he had been resisting them both at every turn.

Moments after her tea was brought in, she heard the bell at the front door. Olivia looked over toward the doorway of the room in anticipation of her impending visitor. The butler finally walked in, introducing the guest as he did. “My lady, Ms. Rosamund Swire is here to see you.”

Olivia looked up and smiled, nodding to let him know that it was okay to leave. She then indicated the seat opposite her. A maid leaned forward to pour the two ladies tea before Olivia dismissed her as well. “So, my dear, how was your picnic?”

Without sitting down, Rosamund sighed and shook her head. “You would not believe how he treated me!” she whined, throwing up her hands like a helpless child.

“Whatever do you mean?” Olivia asked, unconvinced that her son would have been so overly rude. Cody could be a bit hard-headed at times when he thought his heart was leading him in the right direction, but he had always been a gentleman.

Rosamund paced back and forth briefly, her eyes darting between the floor and Olivia. “It certainly seemed as though he had no desire to be there. He looked so bored and upset the entire time. I do not think our plan worked, not even a little bit.”

“Well then, that means we need to come up with another,” Olivia said, sighing as she bit her lower lip and racked her brain for ideas. “But please, sit and drink tea with me,” she said, extending her hand toward the chair one more time.

Rosamund did as asked, but once she was seated, she did not seem to care much for the tea. After a sip, she slid the cup back onto the table, causing it to spin slightly until it came to a stop of its own volition. Olivia watched silently, more focused on how to fix their current predicament than how to fix the woman’s damaged ego.

Minutes later, Olivia was still void of ideas, slowly going through the motions in her mind. Leaning forward in her chair, she stared at Rosamund intently as she took a long sip from her tea. Steam billowed from the cup that she held firmly in her hands. Looking down at it for some time, she watched the steam carefully as it slowly rose toward the ceiling, but what caught her eye had nothing to do with her tea or its steam. Rather, it was the chandelier that stood out.

“I did consider that we were going to have to start over with our plans,” Rosamund said, “but it took us long enough to think of a way to get him to even entertain the idea of a marriage arrangement. Now that it has failed, how can we possibly talk him into something like that again? Perhaps if he wasn’t so enthralled with that maid…” she said, her voice trailing off as she sat back down and hid her face behind a teacup. It felt like ages before she spoke again, but when she put her tea back down on the table, the words finally came. “I have a feeling that the maid might be a bigger problem than we had initially thought.”

“Hmm.” Olivia was still piecing things together, trying to make sense of the threads of a scheme slowly forming in her mind. Maybe Rosamund was right. They needed to figure out a way to change how Cody felt about Misty, but what options were left? “Well, that could certainly be the case, but if so, then we need to think of something else quickly.”

“Yes, but what can we do to get her out of the picture? It doesn’t seem to matter that she’s nothing but a lowly scullery maid or what have you,” Rosamund said, her voice gradually getting louder the longer she spoke.

Olivia leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced back over at Rosamund and smiled. If Cody was able to see that Misty just did not fit in with their way of life, then maybe he would actually understand, and that was what mattered to her; because at the end of the day, Olivia wanted nothing more than to see her son happy. “We need to show him that she will never be a suitable wife. Once he accepts that, his heart will be yours for the taking.”

Rosamund walked over toward the fireplace and looked at the collection of photographs that lined the mantle above it. Looking back at Olivia only briefly, she chuckled as she studied the images. “Do you truly think that there might be a picture of Cody with me up here one day?”

Olivia swallowed the lump that was forming her throat, but said nothing. To be honest, she really did not have an answer. It was definitely possible, but her son wasn’t the average, typical man. He was strong-willed. “I think anything is possible, dear, but probable is another matter entirely.”

Rosamund sighed, gently placing the photograph that she held back onto the mantle. She then turned and locked eyes with Olivia. “So, now that we know what we have to do, how do we go about doing it? How do you convince a man that his future wife is not suitable?”

Olivia laughed briefly, but then turned serious. “Well, for starters, you never tell a man such a thing! Instead, we need to show it to him.”

“And how do we do that?” Rosamund asked, running a hand over her hair.

Olivia looked back up at the chandelier. It was beautiful and opulent, but that wasn’t why it kept pulling her attention to it. “I have the answer. We should throw a ball.”

Rosamund turned toward her and paused, her face twisting with confusion. “A ball? What good would that do?”

“Have you ever seen a maid go to a ball as anything other than a servant? It would be like dropping a fish onto land and watching it squirm and flop,” Olivia said, confident that such a plan would work.

“Oh, I see,” Rosamund said, her eyes narrowing. “Yes, that would surely work. Surely that will be enough to show your son what sort of woman she is.”

Olivia sipped her tea before elaborating on her plan. “I cannot say with certainty that it will work, but once Cody sees how graceless and out of place the maid is amongst our guests, he will realize she is inappropriate. The question that we are left with, however, is whether or not you should be in attendance.”

Almost immediately, Rosamund’s happy demeanor evaporated, sending a palpable tension into the air. “Why shouldn’t I be invited?”

Olivia wasn’t sure that Rosamund would be able to keep her wits about her if things didn’t go as planned. I’m not saying you won’t be invited. I was just curious if it might be a hindrance instead of a benefit.”

“If you think that I will cause a scene, I promise you that will not be the case. I shall do exactly as you tell me to. I admit that I might speak without thinking on occasion, but if this ball is our last chance, then I shall do my best to make sure it comes to a suitable conclusion.”

Olivia nodded. “Well then, you shall help me keep an eye on her, and if need be, we can help the little maid stand out a bit more than usual among those who will look down on her as we do. All it will take is one outburst or rude comment, and then I shall be able to use it against her. My son might still defy my wishes, but I cannot imagine that the maid is worth so much to him already.”