"OH, YOU POOR THING! LET AUNTIE BETSY TAKE A LOOK AT YOU!"
Victoria was startled from her thoughts by the loud voice and stared with wide eyes at the heavyset woman who had entered the glade. Her clothes were improperly bright as was her smile. With every boom of her voice you could feel kindness radiating from it.
"Auntie Betsy?" She hesitantly questioned. The older lady's smile grew. "OH EVERYONE CALLS ME THAT!" she announced proudly before looking critically at the younger Victorian. Victoria was feeling very uncomfortable from her gaze. It was like Auntie Betsy could see right into her very soul. After a minute the other lady smiled broadly.
"WELL LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE A LOVELY LITTLE THING YOU ARE!" Victoria looked at her in disbelief. "I'm absolutely disheveled!" She cried out showing off her ruined clothing. Auntie Betsy smiled at her cunningly for a moment before speaking. "Messy appearance can never hide true beauty."
Victoria stared back with large eyes full of confusion. Finally she spoke. "I-I don't understand." The hesitant question caused the older lady to smile broader. "Well as my Great Aunt Millie used to say there's two types of beauty. "True beauty…. .and False beauty."
Victoria's eyes seemed to get even larger at the cryptic meaning. Silently the orbs begged the brightly covered woman for the answer. Auntie Betsy smiled. "Any girl can have a pretty face. "Take Lydia Squans for example. Stunningly beautiful and sings like an angel."
Victoria looked down at the grass. Another Emily. She thought sadly thinking of Victor's wife. All too well did she recall the night so long ago when Victor snuck in to see her. Over and over again she had wished she had gone after him at the rehearsal. Or that they had met just before their marriage insuring their union. No murderous ex-husband…No dead bride. Just Victor and Victoria…two halves of the same whole…together forever as it was always meant to be.
Her wistful smile turned bitter. Instead the wondrous first kiss with her beloved Victor was interrupted before it begun by his "WIFE." The sight of a dead woman appearing in her room had frightened her more then she had let on and she forced herself not to hold Victor's hand. She had regained her courage however when the corpse had laid claim on HER Victor. The very idea was ludicrous! The whole town had known they had been engaged for over a year. Her mother lectured her continuously since then. Pull your hair back….your corset must be tighter….and so forth.
Every flaw expertly hidden. Every lesson reluctantly shouldered. As the day had grown closer she had grown more and more anxious over her prospective husband to be. Since the moment she laid eyes on Victor, she had known he was hers. Unfortunately for her the dead woman wore his ring.
How she wanted to scream. The smug and haughty look the corpse had given her made her blood boil. She wanted to rip it from the bony hand and coolly explain to the cadaver that Victor was HERS. But that ring…..As much as she hated the thought she couldn't help but wonder if the living could marry the dead. Another mistake on her part. Her hesitation had caused him to be gone forever.
"NOTHING BUT A MONEYGRABBER SHE IS!" The loud boom of Auntie Betsy's voice had brought her back to reality, cheeks turning a dark shade of red. Almost frantically she inwardly tried to recall what the older woman had been talking about.
"Unfortunately not many can see underneath the surface of a pretty exterior. If they did they would realize beneath all the false beauty Lydia is one of the ugliest people you will ever meet." Auntie Betsy said solemnly. Before Victoria could comment she continued. "But true beauty….it takes a real person to see it."
Auntie Betsy offered her a smile, which after a moment Victoria returned. For a few minutes there was silence. Then something was thrown into the clearing. Auntie Betsy looked disapprovingly at the clearing entrance.
"You younglings should know better then that!" She scolded. High pitched giggling was her answer. Auntie Betsy shook her head smiling before she picked up the crumbled garment.
Imagi's Ramblings: For those who wondered where I went, let me just say that REALLY REALLY overfilling a waterbed and turning it into a balloon is BAAAADDD. Pulling the hose out of the wrong end is WORSE. And it is REALLY REALLY not fun to accidentally reenact a scene out of the Titanic. Fortunately the damage was only a replacing a bed liner and eventually repainting the ceiling. It could have been a LOT worse. So now that I'm out of hot water I decided to update. :) Sorry for the wait everyone and thanks again for the reviews!:)