Next Christmas Will Be Different - A Short Story by Pauline Barclay

Author:Pauline Barclay
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: short story, christmas, story about family

Shocked to her core, Celia jumped off of the bed, her mind still grappling with and failing to grasp the earth-shattering news about David. ‘Pack! Why? Where am I going?’

With a small shake of her head and a look that said, ‘Not in front of the servants,’ her mother did not enlighten her. Dumbfounded, she watched Lizzie follow her mother into her dressing area then, in a tone that froze her heart, heard her say softly, ‘Please, Celia, just let Lizzie pack your things into your trunk.’

The unexpected gentleness in her voice brought fresh tears to Celia’s eyes as she stared at her mother, who looked ill and exhausted and had clearly been crying. In that moment Celia realised that Mama was on her side and had tried to help, but had failed. She has never been able to stand up to my father, thought Celia, certain that he was behind this. Was it surprising her mother’s efforts had been in vain? She has argued and lost, and that means so have I.

Frozen with shock, Celia watched in silence as Lizzie scurried around, pulling clothes from the closet and the heavy chest of drawers. She could not believe this was happening to her. She wanted to scream and shout, but then, hadn’t she been doing that for days, and where had it got her? She shivered and rubbed her arms, becoming aware that the room was icy cold. Just as her mind registered that fact she saw that her mother was also shivering, but from the look on her face it was as much from fear as the freezing temperature. It was the same expression she always wore when Papa was angry about something.

Wondering what lay in store for her, Celia began to tremble. Whatever fate awaited her, it could only have been arranged by her father. He had not even troubled to speak to her and she knew he must be in a towering rage. With this knowledge, her body took on a numbness that rendered her almost immobile. ‘What is going on, Mama? Tell me, please,’ she begged, but again to no avail.

Several moments passed, and apart from the swishing of fabric as it was being pulled from coat hangers, the only other noise in the room was the wind snapping the drapes at the open window. The longer the silence lasted, the more fearful Celia became. She had hoped that the hours and days she had spent alone since talking to her mother had meant that something was being arranged with the Gillespies. She had dared to hope Mama was wrong and that Papa, although enraged to learn the truth, would support their marriage. But as the days crawled by with no message from David, she had become increasingly confused and frightened by his silence, tiny doubts creeping into her mind as she heard again the contempt in her mother’s tone. Had David, having had his way with her, shunned her because of her ‘loose behaviour’?

Despite her

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.