Chapter Four: Lucky
When Mary, Colin and Lady Catherine rode up to the garden door on horseback, Dickon raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"'Ey, Mary! Colin! Feeling lazy this afternoon?"
"Hello Dickon, this is our Grandmother." She had intentionally avoided his sarcastic question. "We've brought her to see the garden."
"Ah. Hello, ma'am." Dickon reached out a hand to shake Lady Catherine's hand. "My name is Dickon. Perhaps you know my sister, Martha? She works up at the manor as head housekeeper." He grinned with pride.
Lady Catherine took his hand with the familiar wrinkle coming back to her features. "Ah, yes. The servant's brother. Charmed." She added with a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh Mary, Colin, I've got something to show ya. I've just found her this mornin'. Come and have a look." Dickon lead the trio into the garden a down the path until they reached the large tree that held the swing on one of its branches. There was a basket lying near the trunk with a blanket draped over it. Dickon walked over and removed the blanket and pulled out a tiny fox and cradled it like a baby. Around her left front leg, there was a splint and bandage tied snuggly in place.
"Oh, Dickon!" Mary gasped as she walked up to stroke the baby fox.
"Mary! What are you doing?" Lady Catherine said in alarm. "That is a wild animal. It probably has all sorts of diseases. And it might bite you." She said all of this rather hastily.
"She won't hurt anyone, ma'am. She's only a baby. Four days old. Maybe five." Dickon was stroking the tiny creatures stomach. Mary moved forward and began to pet its head.
"Yes, grandmother. Dickon has a way with animals. He can talk to them. The wouldn't hurt anyone that Dickon trusts."
Lady Catherine scrunched her nose and tilted her chin upward to look down at the newborn. "Humph. It's filthy."
Colin then stepped forward to pet the animal. "What's wrong with her, Dickon?"
"She's got a broken leg. I couldn't find her mother, or any of the other pups. I think she got lost. So I though we could take care of her. You know, raise her as our own."
Mary gasped in delight. "Brilliant! What did you name her?"
"Well," Dickon looked into Mary's eyes, "I thought I'd let you name her, Miss Mary." He handed the pup to Mary as he said this.
Mary stared back into his eyes. She looked as if he had just done the sweetest thing in the world for her. "Oh, Dickon. That's so kind of you." She bit her lip and looked down at the baby. "Umm. Lets see. She was very fortunate to have you find her, Dickon. She might have died otherwise. So why don't we call her Lucky?"
"Yeah!" said Colin.
"Okay." Dickon looked into Mary's eyes and smiled. "Lucky it is." He looked down at Lucky. "Hello, Lucky. Welcome home."
The three friends exchanged excited smiles with one another before Dickon took Lucky back from Mary and placed her gently in her basket bed. "Well, I suppose you'll be wanting to see the garden sometime today, Lady Catherine."
"Yes, it would be preferable."
Colin stepped forward and offered his arm to his grandmother. She smiled and took his arm, and they began their tour of the garden. They started with the swing since they were already under tree. "Do you recognize it from the picture grandmother?" Colin asked, pointing at the swing. Next, Colin made his way towards the spot where he had first learned to walk. "And this is where I learned to walk! Mary and Dickon taught me."
"Over here we have our rose bushes. All sorts of colors are blooming right now." Mary pointed in the direction she was walking.
Their tour of the immaculate garden went on for nearly an hour, when finally Lady Catherine began to complain about her legs being tired. "I wish to return to the manor, children. I have some business to attend to."
"Okay, grandmother, we'll accompany you back." Mary said.
"No, that will not be necessary. You two stay here and have fun with your little friend."
After she was out of site, Mary, Colin, and Dickon began to weed the garden.
"I don't think your grandmother likes me too much." Dickon started.
"Don't be silly, Dickon." Said Mary. "She's just.quiet." She grinned at Dickon and giggled. He smiled at her and then looked down at his weeding.
Just then they heard a whimper from the nearby basket, where Lucky had just woken up. Dickon walked over and picked her up. "Hello, there little one. Did you have a nice nap?" The pup made a soft sound again.
"What's the matter with her?" Colin looked concerned.
"She's hungry. We should look for something she can eat." Said Dickon taking a look around. "Did either of you bring any food with you?" Mary and Colin both shook their heads.
"I can go and get her some scraps from the manor." Said Colin. "I'm sure there's plenty of stuff there she could eat."
"Alright. Thanks, Colin." Said, Dickon smiling. "We'll keep working here in the meantime."
After Colin had left, Dickon went to lay Lucky back in her basket bed. Mary sat on her knees next to the basket and looked down at her. "She's so pretty." She said brightly.
"So are you." Dickon looked into her eyes, as she looked up to meet his gaze. Mary looked away after a moment, blushing.
"Dickon. You don't mean that."
Dickon reached over and grabbed Mary's hand that lay on her knee. "Yes, Mary. I do." He looked deep into her eyes for a long moment. He then began to lean towards her, never breaking his gaze. Mary also began to lean in. They were suddenly distracted by the noise of Lucky whining yet again for food. Moments later Colin emerged with his arms full of table scraps.
"This should be enough," he said smiling. His smile faded when he saw the looks on Mary and Dickon's faces. He didn't know why exactly he was bothered. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shrugged it off and the three of them began digging through the sacks of food in search for something Lucky could eat. After lucky was fed, Dickon checked on her leg and changed the bandages. It wasn't long after her food began to settle before Lucky was fast asleep again.
**
When Lady Catherine got back to the castle, she was careful not to draw attention to herself.
"Hello, Miss. Would you like to fetch Master Craven for you?" Martha had entered the entrance hall.
"Um, no thank you, Martha. He has much work to do and I do not wish to disturb him." She did not wait for an answer as she turned and whisked up the stairs. When she entered her room she walked over to the desk and took a letter out of the drawer. It had arrived in yesterday's mail, and she had hidden it in the drawer until she could read it in private. She reached for a letter opener and tore at the seal. A smile spread over her face as she read. Then there was a knock at her door, and she quickly stowed the letter back in the drawer.
"I brought you some tea, miss" Martha said as she entered the room.
"Have you no manners girl?" Lady Catherine snapped at her. "Can't you see that I am busy? Have you no respect? You just come barging in here, interrupting me."
"I.I'm sorry, miss. I thought it might be refreshing. I didn't think.."
"No. You didn't think! Now, leave me to my business girl."
"Right away, miss." Martha nervously curtsied and ran from the room.
As soon as the door had closed behind her, Catherine took the letter back out from the desk and read over it again. "Excellent" She said to herself as she smiled broadly. She then put the letter back in the desk and rose to leave the room.
**
A few weeks later, Mary and Colin were walking back up to the manor for supper, when they saw a strange carriage, which was parked in the gravel driveway. When they entered the manor, they could hear voices coming from the dining hall. They couldn't make out who it was or what they were saying, but they assumed that Lord Craven and their grandmother had already arrived in the hall for dinner and proceeded upstairs to wash up.
Later when they came back down the stairs they could hear the voices more clearly, since the doors were now propped open.
"So, Dominique is sixteen as well?" They heard their grandmother say, before they heard an unfamiliar feminine voice reply, "Yes, only just, in fact."
This struck a chord of curiosity in Mary and Colin. They exchanged glances and hurried into the dining hall. There they saw their grandmother sitting at the table with a strange woman and a young girl. The woman was slender and plain looking. She had long blonde hair that was curled and tied half up. She wore a sky blue dinner dress and a rather expensive looking pearl necklace.
The girl had golden hair the same color as her mothers. Hers was in two pigtail braids with pastel yellow ribbons tied on the tips to match her also yellow dress. She too was petit and rather plain looking, but rather beautiful at the same time. She had pale skin with rosy cheeks, giving her a porcelain doll like quality.
"Ah, good evening Colin. Mary. I'd like you to meet Madame De Mimsica, and her daughter Dominique."
"Hello." Mary and Colin said together as they took their seats. Both had looks of extreme confusion on their faces. "Who are these people?" they both wondered to themselves.
"Archie should be along shortly." Their grandmother began again. "I'm sure he will be delighted to meet you."
"You mean, father doesn't know they're here?" Colin said skeptically.
Lady Catherine laughed, "Oh no dear. That would ruin the surprise."
"Good evening." Lord Craven entered the room, looking rather preoccupied. He suddenly looked up and noticed the extra company. "Oh, Hello." He said awkwardly.
"Archie, so nice of you to join us. This is Madame De Mimsica and her daughter, Dominique. She's Mary and Colin's age."
"Um, Hello." He said, even more awkwardly. "Catherine, could I see you for a moment. In the kitchen perhaps." Catherine looked uncomfortably around. "Of course, Archibald." She stood up and followed Lord Craven from the room. When they had reached the kitchen, Lord Craven rounded on our. "Who are these people and what are they doing in my house?"
"Calm down, Archie. They are just friends of mine. And I thought perhaps you and Madam De Mimsica might have a few things in common. After all she is a widow, and she has a teenage daughter.."
Lord Craven fumed. "You're trying to set me up with that woman?" His voice was so loud that the occupants in the dining room could hear him. He suddenly lowered his voice to a low growl. "How dare you. How dare you invited these people to my house without my permission. And how dare you try to play matchmaker with me when I specifically told you that I did not wish to court anyone."
"Now, Archie. Olivia is a charming woman. Give her a chance."
"Absolutely not!" His voice was even louder than before. He lowered his voice again. "But for the sake of manors I am going to go out there and entertain my guests. But, I'll say this, and you listen good. I want them on their way back to wherever they came from first thing tomorrow morning. I will not be a pawn in your love game. I told you I am not interested. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Good, now if you excuse me I have guests to attend to." , He said bitterly. As he turned to leave the kitchen Lady Craven's face spread into an unmistakable grin of satisfaction.
**
When their father and grandmother had left the room, Mary and Colin shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Madame De Mimsica and her daughter looked just as uncomfortable as they felt.
"You're trying to set me up with that woman?" They all looked up as they heard Lord Craven's words from the kitchen. Madame De Mimsica looked down uncomfortably, and began to twiddle her thumbs.
"So," she said. "Mary, your grandmother tells me you moved here from India?"
"Absolutely not!" They heard coming from the direction of the kitchen again. Mary pretended not to hear her father's shouting. "Um, yes." Mary said uncomfortably. There was a long awkward silence.
"Sorry about that." Lord Craven had reentered the dining room, followed by Lady Catherine. Lord Craven took his seat at the head of the table. He unfolded his napkin and placed it in his lap. "How was the garden today children?" Lord Craven kept his eyes on his food.
"It was fine father. Dickon found a baby fox that's lost its mother." Mary said in attempt to lift the mood.
"A baby fox?" Dominique exclaimed in excitement. "Oh mommy, I wish to go to the garden tomorrow."
"Okay, darling. You can go tomorrow." Dominique settled into her chair and smiled with accomplishment. Mary and Colin looked at each other, absolutely outraged that she had just decided that they were going to take her to their garden. They wanted to protest but they knew their father would not approve of their manors, or lack there of.
Lord Craven looked expectantly at Lady Catherine. "Ahem. I'm sorry but I have a lot of work to do for the next several days. Weeks perhaps. I'm afraid I will not be very entertaining. Perhaps you'd be better off coming back another time."
"Oh, I wouldn't think of it. We will find things to keep us entertained while you work. This garden sounds like quite a big deal. You do your work, and don't give it another thought." Madame De Mimsica said. Lord Craven shot an exasperated looked at Catherine who was smiling smugly. When she noticed he was watching her she quickly frowned and shrugged her shoulders.
"Um, right." Said Lord Craven. "Well. Um, make yourself at home, then." He sounded as if he had given up. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. After they had finished dessert, Mary and Colin couldn't wait to excuse themselves from the table. "Well, we've got school in the morning. Good night, Father. Grandmother." They turned to leave the room before someone could find a reason to protest their leaving.
"Uh, Children." They heard Lady Catherine's voice call after them. They stopped in their tracks. "Dang it. So close." Mary whispered to her brother. They slowly turned to face the table. "Yes, grandmother?" They said gloomily together. They were going to have to sit here and endure this awkward evening. They were stuck.
"Aren't you going to say good night to our guests?" They both sighed in obvious relief and smiled. "Oh yes. Good night Madame De Mimsica. Dominique." They turned and scurried out of the hall.
"What was that all about?" Colin gaped to Mary.
"I don't know. But I don't like this. I think grandmother's trying to make father remarry."
"That woman's going to replace my mother?" Colin said angrily. "I don't like this Mary."
They walked up the stairs to Mary's room. "Father's doesn't seem very happy with it either, Colin. Couldn't you tell? He was furious with Grandmother. You heard them arguing in the kitchen."
"Yeah. And now we have to take that girl with us to the garden tomorrow."
"Maybe we can leave before she notices."
"And I'll have my mum tell your father, if you do." They heard a drawling voice from the doorway. They turned to see that Dominique was standing in the doorway. "You'll take me to that garden or else." She said bossily.
"What are you doing here?" Mary said in a disgusted tone. "How did you find my room?"
"Easy, I just followed the sound of your whining voices."
Mary and Colin glared at her as if they were both about to pounce on her. "Well, what if you're not welcome in our garden? What if we don't want you there?"
"Well then that's too bad." She said. "My mommy says I'm going, and there's nothing you can do to change it." She turned and stomped down the hallway towards the bedroom she would be sleeping in.
"What a nightmare." Said Mary. "What are we going to do, Colin?"
Colin sighed. "Take her to the garden I guess." They both looked at each other with identical looks of disappointment and annoyance.
When Mary, Colin and Lady Catherine rode up to the garden door on horseback, Dickon raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"'Ey, Mary! Colin! Feeling lazy this afternoon?"
"Hello Dickon, this is our Grandmother." She had intentionally avoided his sarcastic question. "We've brought her to see the garden."
"Ah. Hello, ma'am." Dickon reached out a hand to shake Lady Catherine's hand. "My name is Dickon. Perhaps you know my sister, Martha? She works up at the manor as head housekeeper." He grinned with pride.
Lady Catherine took his hand with the familiar wrinkle coming back to her features. "Ah, yes. The servant's brother. Charmed." She added with a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh Mary, Colin, I've got something to show ya. I've just found her this mornin'. Come and have a look." Dickon lead the trio into the garden a down the path until they reached the large tree that held the swing on one of its branches. There was a basket lying near the trunk with a blanket draped over it. Dickon walked over and removed the blanket and pulled out a tiny fox and cradled it like a baby. Around her left front leg, there was a splint and bandage tied snuggly in place.
"Oh, Dickon!" Mary gasped as she walked up to stroke the baby fox.
"Mary! What are you doing?" Lady Catherine said in alarm. "That is a wild animal. It probably has all sorts of diseases. And it might bite you." She said all of this rather hastily.
"She won't hurt anyone, ma'am. She's only a baby. Four days old. Maybe five." Dickon was stroking the tiny creatures stomach. Mary moved forward and began to pet its head.
"Yes, grandmother. Dickon has a way with animals. He can talk to them. The wouldn't hurt anyone that Dickon trusts."
Lady Catherine scrunched her nose and tilted her chin upward to look down at the newborn. "Humph. It's filthy."
Colin then stepped forward to pet the animal. "What's wrong with her, Dickon?"
"She's got a broken leg. I couldn't find her mother, or any of the other pups. I think she got lost. So I though we could take care of her. You know, raise her as our own."
Mary gasped in delight. "Brilliant! What did you name her?"
"Well," Dickon looked into Mary's eyes, "I thought I'd let you name her, Miss Mary." He handed the pup to Mary as he said this.
Mary stared back into his eyes. She looked as if he had just done the sweetest thing in the world for her. "Oh, Dickon. That's so kind of you." She bit her lip and looked down at the baby. "Umm. Lets see. She was very fortunate to have you find her, Dickon. She might have died otherwise. So why don't we call her Lucky?"
"Yeah!" said Colin.
"Okay." Dickon looked into Mary's eyes and smiled. "Lucky it is." He looked down at Lucky. "Hello, Lucky. Welcome home."
The three friends exchanged excited smiles with one another before Dickon took Lucky back from Mary and placed her gently in her basket bed. "Well, I suppose you'll be wanting to see the garden sometime today, Lady Catherine."
"Yes, it would be preferable."
Colin stepped forward and offered his arm to his grandmother. She smiled and took his arm, and they began their tour of the garden. They started with the swing since they were already under tree. "Do you recognize it from the picture grandmother?" Colin asked, pointing at the swing. Next, Colin made his way towards the spot where he had first learned to walk. "And this is where I learned to walk! Mary and Dickon taught me."
"Over here we have our rose bushes. All sorts of colors are blooming right now." Mary pointed in the direction she was walking.
Their tour of the immaculate garden went on for nearly an hour, when finally Lady Catherine began to complain about her legs being tired. "I wish to return to the manor, children. I have some business to attend to."
"Okay, grandmother, we'll accompany you back." Mary said.
"No, that will not be necessary. You two stay here and have fun with your little friend."
After she was out of site, Mary, Colin, and Dickon began to weed the garden.
"I don't think your grandmother likes me too much." Dickon started.
"Don't be silly, Dickon." Said Mary. "She's just.quiet." She grinned at Dickon and giggled. He smiled at her and then looked down at his weeding.
Just then they heard a whimper from the nearby basket, where Lucky had just woken up. Dickon walked over and picked her up. "Hello, there little one. Did you have a nice nap?" The pup made a soft sound again.
"What's the matter with her?" Colin looked concerned.
"She's hungry. We should look for something she can eat." Said Dickon taking a look around. "Did either of you bring any food with you?" Mary and Colin both shook their heads.
"I can go and get her some scraps from the manor." Said Colin. "I'm sure there's plenty of stuff there she could eat."
"Alright. Thanks, Colin." Said, Dickon smiling. "We'll keep working here in the meantime."
After Colin had left, Dickon went to lay Lucky back in her basket bed. Mary sat on her knees next to the basket and looked down at her. "She's so pretty." She said brightly.
"So are you." Dickon looked into her eyes, as she looked up to meet his gaze. Mary looked away after a moment, blushing.
"Dickon. You don't mean that."
Dickon reached over and grabbed Mary's hand that lay on her knee. "Yes, Mary. I do." He looked deep into her eyes for a long moment. He then began to lean towards her, never breaking his gaze. Mary also began to lean in. They were suddenly distracted by the noise of Lucky whining yet again for food. Moments later Colin emerged with his arms full of table scraps.
"This should be enough," he said smiling. His smile faded when he saw the looks on Mary and Dickon's faces. He didn't know why exactly he was bothered. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shrugged it off and the three of them began digging through the sacks of food in search for something Lucky could eat. After lucky was fed, Dickon checked on her leg and changed the bandages. It wasn't long after her food began to settle before Lucky was fast asleep again.
**
When Lady Catherine got back to the castle, she was careful not to draw attention to herself.
"Hello, Miss. Would you like to fetch Master Craven for you?" Martha had entered the entrance hall.
"Um, no thank you, Martha. He has much work to do and I do not wish to disturb him." She did not wait for an answer as she turned and whisked up the stairs. When she entered her room she walked over to the desk and took a letter out of the drawer. It had arrived in yesterday's mail, and she had hidden it in the drawer until she could read it in private. She reached for a letter opener and tore at the seal. A smile spread over her face as she read. Then there was a knock at her door, and she quickly stowed the letter back in the drawer.
"I brought you some tea, miss" Martha said as she entered the room.
"Have you no manners girl?" Lady Catherine snapped at her. "Can't you see that I am busy? Have you no respect? You just come barging in here, interrupting me."
"I.I'm sorry, miss. I thought it might be refreshing. I didn't think.."
"No. You didn't think! Now, leave me to my business girl."
"Right away, miss." Martha nervously curtsied and ran from the room.
As soon as the door had closed behind her, Catherine took the letter back out from the desk and read over it again. "Excellent" She said to herself as she smiled broadly. She then put the letter back in the desk and rose to leave the room.
**
A few weeks later, Mary and Colin were walking back up to the manor for supper, when they saw a strange carriage, which was parked in the gravel driveway. When they entered the manor, they could hear voices coming from the dining hall. They couldn't make out who it was or what they were saying, but they assumed that Lord Craven and their grandmother had already arrived in the hall for dinner and proceeded upstairs to wash up.
Later when they came back down the stairs they could hear the voices more clearly, since the doors were now propped open.
"So, Dominique is sixteen as well?" They heard their grandmother say, before they heard an unfamiliar feminine voice reply, "Yes, only just, in fact."
This struck a chord of curiosity in Mary and Colin. They exchanged glances and hurried into the dining hall. There they saw their grandmother sitting at the table with a strange woman and a young girl. The woman was slender and plain looking. She had long blonde hair that was curled and tied half up. She wore a sky blue dinner dress and a rather expensive looking pearl necklace.
The girl had golden hair the same color as her mothers. Hers was in two pigtail braids with pastel yellow ribbons tied on the tips to match her also yellow dress. She too was petit and rather plain looking, but rather beautiful at the same time. She had pale skin with rosy cheeks, giving her a porcelain doll like quality.
"Ah, good evening Colin. Mary. I'd like you to meet Madame De Mimsica, and her daughter Dominique."
"Hello." Mary and Colin said together as they took their seats. Both had looks of extreme confusion on their faces. "Who are these people?" they both wondered to themselves.
"Archie should be along shortly." Their grandmother began again. "I'm sure he will be delighted to meet you."
"You mean, father doesn't know they're here?" Colin said skeptically.
Lady Catherine laughed, "Oh no dear. That would ruin the surprise."
"Good evening." Lord Craven entered the room, looking rather preoccupied. He suddenly looked up and noticed the extra company. "Oh, Hello." He said awkwardly.
"Archie, so nice of you to join us. This is Madame De Mimsica and her daughter, Dominique. She's Mary and Colin's age."
"Um, Hello." He said, even more awkwardly. "Catherine, could I see you for a moment. In the kitchen perhaps." Catherine looked uncomfortably around. "Of course, Archibald." She stood up and followed Lord Craven from the room. When they had reached the kitchen, Lord Craven rounded on our. "Who are these people and what are they doing in my house?"
"Calm down, Archie. They are just friends of mine. And I thought perhaps you and Madam De Mimsica might have a few things in common. After all she is a widow, and she has a teenage daughter.."
Lord Craven fumed. "You're trying to set me up with that woman?" His voice was so loud that the occupants in the dining room could hear him. He suddenly lowered his voice to a low growl. "How dare you. How dare you invited these people to my house without my permission. And how dare you try to play matchmaker with me when I specifically told you that I did not wish to court anyone."
"Now, Archie. Olivia is a charming woman. Give her a chance."
"Absolutely not!" His voice was even louder than before. He lowered his voice again. "But for the sake of manors I am going to go out there and entertain my guests. But, I'll say this, and you listen good. I want them on their way back to wherever they came from first thing tomorrow morning. I will not be a pawn in your love game. I told you I am not interested. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Good, now if you excuse me I have guests to attend to." , He said bitterly. As he turned to leave the kitchen Lady Craven's face spread into an unmistakable grin of satisfaction.
**
When their father and grandmother had left the room, Mary and Colin shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Madame De Mimsica and her daughter looked just as uncomfortable as they felt.
"You're trying to set me up with that woman?" They all looked up as they heard Lord Craven's words from the kitchen. Madame De Mimsica looked down uncomfortably, and began to twiddle her thumbs.
"So," she said. "Mary, your grandmother tells me you moved here from India?"
"Absolutely not!" They heard coming from the direction of the kitchen again. Mary pretended not to hear her father's shouting. "Um, yes." Mary said uncomfortably. There was a long awkward silence.
"Sorry about that." Lord Craven had reentered the dining room, followed by Lady Catherine. Lord Craven took his seat at the head of the table. He unfolded his napkin and placed it in his lap. "How was the garden today children?" Lord Craven kept his eyes on his food.
"It was fine father. Dickon found a baby fox that's lost its mother." Mary said in attempt to lift the mood.
"A baby fox?" Dominique exclaimed in excitement. "Oh mommy, I wish to go to the garden tomorrow."
"Okay, darling. You can go tomorrow." Dominique settled into her chair and smiled with accomplishment. Mary and Colin looked at each other, absolutely outraged that she had just decided that they were going to take her to their garden. They wanted to protest but they knew their father would not approve of their manors, or lack there of.
Lord Craven looked expectantly at Lady Catherine. "Ahem. I'm sorry but I have a lot of work to do for the next several days. Weeks perhaps. I'm afraid I will not be very entertaining. Perhaps you'd be better off coming back another time."
"Oh, I wouldn't think of it. We will find things to keep us entertained while you work. This garden sounds like quite a big deal. You do your work, and don't give it another thought." Madame De Mimsica said. Lord Craven shot an exasperated looked at Catherine who was smiling smugly. When she noticed he was watching her she quickly frowned and shrugged her shoulders.
"Um, right." Said Lord Craven. "Well. Um, make yourself at home, then." He sounded as if he had given up. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. After they had finished dessert, Mary and Colin couldn't wait to excuse themselves from the table. "Well, we've got school in the morning. Good night, Father. Grandmother." They turned to leave the room before someone could find a reason to protest their leaving.
"Uh, Children." They heard Lady Catherine's voice call after them. They stopped in their tracks. "Dang it. So close." Mary whispered to her brother. They slowly turned to face the table. "Yes, grandmother?" They said gloomily together. They were going to have to sit here and endure this awkward evening. They were stuck.
"Aren't you going to say good night to our guests?" They both sighed in obvious relief and smiled. "Oh yes. Good night Madame De Mimsica. Dominique." They turned and scurried out of the hall.
"What was that all about?" Colin gaped to Mary.
"I don't know. But I don't like this. I think grandmother's trying to make father remarry."
"That woman's going to replace my mother?" Colin said angrily. "I don't like this Mary."
They walked up the stairs to Mary's room. "Father's doesn't seem very happy with it either, Colin. Couldn't you tell? He was furious with Grandmother. You heard them arguing in the kitchen."
"Yeah. And now we have to take that girl with us to the garden tomorrow."
"Maybe we can leave before she notices."
"And I'll have my mum tell your father, if you do." They heard a drawling voice from the doorway. They turned to see that Dominique was standing in the doorway. "You'll take me to that garden or else." She said bossily.
"What are you doing here?" Mary said in a disgusted tone. "How did you find my room?"
"Easy, I just followed the sound of your whining voices."
Mary and Colin glared at her as if they were both about to pounce on her. "Well, what if you're not welcome in our garden? What if we don't want you there?"
"Well then that's too bad." She said. "My mommy says I'm going, and there's nothing you can do to change it." She turned and stomped down the hallway towards the bedroom she would be sleeping in.
"What a nightmare." Said Mary. "What are we going to do, Colin?"
Colin sighed. "Take her to the garden I guess." They both looked at each other with identical looks of disappointment and annoyance.