Lillian barely slept that night. The snatches of rest she got were haunted by dreams of Mr. Austin, so she kept herself awake in order to try to escape the overwhelming despair. The steady drip of melting candle wax was the only sound she heard, other than her own never-ending thoughts. Slowly she paced the room over and over, replaying every memory, every word, every look she had shared with Austin. Surely he had loved her. Certainly there was more to him than Oliver had said. He had to be wrong. She wouldn't let herself think otherwise.
The warm rays of sunlight began to break through the pale mists of morning. Dawn found her wandering slowly through the countryside, heeding neither mud nor thorns. Her feet came upon the lane that led to Meryton (a/n: sorry, I couldn't come up with a good name), the nearby town, and she subconsciously began to follow it. It was mid-morning by the time Lillian came upon the humble buildings of Meryton. A skittish, talkative young woman sighted Lillian, and began to call and chase after her. Lillian contemplated running away and hiding when she saw that it was Olivia Gardner, the greatest gossip she had ever known.
"Oh, Lillian, how do you do? Why, dear, look at you! You're six inches deep in mud! Oh, didn't you just love the ball? I thought that it was perfectly divine, especially the young men. Who was your favorite?" Lillian's face grew irritated and confused as she didn't know which question to answer first. However, Olivia kept chatting on, not noticing that the conversation was completely one-sided.
"I absolutely adored Mr. Long. He is so handsome and rich. Did you hear about Mr. Austin being engaged to Miss Fitzgerald? She's positively exquisite! And so accomplished and wealthy. It's a good thing that that friend of his saved him from that lady with no fortune."
The realization of what Olivia had just said suddenly hit Lillian. She immediately stopped in the road and grabbed her companion. "Who saved Mr. Austin? And who was the lady!" she asked loudly and urgently.
Frightened by Lillian's strange behavior, Olivia stuttered, "I . . . I c-can't seem to recall exactly. He had a rather strange name, something like Oglethorpe . . . or Oaktree . . ."
Lillian's eyes flashed as she gulped and whispered, "Oken?"
Olivia lit up with recognition. "Yes, that's the fellow! He saved that poor Mr. Austin, and just when he was about to propose! Could you imagine! Now, what was the lady's name?" she wondered aloud. But when she turned to Lillian, no one was there. Olivia jumped in surprise, and whimpered, "Hello? Lillian? Is everything all right?"
Lillian ran as fast as she could away from Olivia and civilization. The last thing she wanted was to see people at the moment, especially nosy ones. No one would ever find out that she had intentions of marrying Mr. Austin, and she would make certain that no one would ever find out about her past. She'd do whatever it would take to keep it a secret, and Oliver was going to pay for what he had done to her. Of that she was certain.