The Girl at the Gate by Anita Stansfield

Author:Anita Stansfield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2021-12-03T19:17:51+00:00

Chapter Eight

LETTING GO

Vivian was so lost in her dismal thoughts that she was startled by her grandfather sitting down in his usual chair near her side. She offered him a genuine smile, since it was always good to see him, but she couldn’t think of a thing to say.

Samuel took hold of Vivian’s hand before he spoke in a voice that was especially soft and gentle. “You came home from work early . . . and went to sleep. Are you not well?”

“Just . . . very tired,” she said, wishing that would be sufficient to avoid telling him the real reasons Estelle had instructed Mrs. Thatcher to send her home.

“I see,” Samuel said, acknowledging what she’d said but clearly knowing there was a great deal more she hadn’t told him.

“And who was it that came to the shop?” he asked. “Someone you wanted to speak with privately; that much I know for sure.”

Vivian decided to just answer the question directly and see how the conversation evolved from there. “It was Theo. He came to apologize for . . . a rather ugly exchange we’d had earlier in the day.” Samuel’s eyes widened and his eyebrows raised into high arches that deepened the wrinkles in his brow, but he said nothing; he was obviously waiting for Vivian to explain, and she had no choice but to do so.

“As soon as I arrived at work, I was told Estelle wanted to speak with me in her sitting room. We were discussing whether I should live there with you after you’re married, and I suppose you could say we were contending with our difference of opinion on the matter.” Vivian sensed her grandfather’s curiosity rising over what she’d said, but she chose to look at the fire instead of directly at him while she hurried to get the most difficult aspects of this conversation out into the open.

“Theo came into the room without knocking and interrupted us; he was furious, and—”

“About the marriage?” Samuel interrupted, his concern evident.

“Yes, although in the end he was very much reassured by your insistence to legally make certain that Estelle’s wealth will not be transferred to you.” Vivian looked at him. “I’ve never understood such things very well; I don’t suppose there was any reason to, given the life we’ve lived. But I have to say that I’m awfully glad you are doing this. I do not want anyone—whether it’s Estelle’s family or any member of the staff in the house—to believe for a moment that you are marrying Estelle for financial gain. This will put any potential gossip or rumors to rest.”

“That was my thinking, exactly,” Samuel said. “And we would have told you that yesterday if you hadn’t left so abruptly.”

“I apologize for that,” Vivian said and squeezed her grandfather’s hand tightly. “I admit to being . . . surprised . . . and it will certainly bring some enormous changes into our lives. I want you to know that my own . . .

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