Author's note: First of all, thank you to the people who've reviewed this story, it's very much appreciated. Hopefully you won't be too disappointed by this instalment.
Secondly, this chapter was initially from a different character's viewpoint but it didn't seem to flow very well, I think this turned out marginally better but it's quite late so my judgement may not be overly reliable! Enjoy :)
6
She slams the door as hard as she can, mainly to drown out the wails coming from down the hall, before she scrambles onto the bed and directs her own wails into her pillow. She can't believe her parents could be so selfish and now Papa is calling her a baby and oh, it's so unfair! It's bad enough that she must put up with Edith who cries at everything, and insists on snatching toys that are not hers with her dirty stupid hands, but now she must have another sister.
She doesn't know what she's done to deserve this; she's been so good all year, she's sure of it. Well, she may have accidentally broken that vase, but she said she was sorry – and Mama always said it was ugly anyway. Oh, and she may have tried some of Papa's nasty drink that time, but he shouldn't have left it on the table if he didn't want her to drink it, weren't they always telling her not to leave her toys out, if she didn't want Edith to play with them?! Now that she thinks about it, she's been told off quite a bit recently, although she really hasn't done anything wrong. It was hardly her fault that Edith took her suggestion to jump down all those stairs quite so seriously; it's not her fault Edith takes any of her suggestions seriously. Edith shouldn't be so stupid.
Once she's calmed herself down she starts planning what she can do to put things right. She decides against asking to swap the baby for something else, if they refused to get rid of Edith then they're unlikely to get rid of this one. She could sneak the baby out herself, in the night, and leave her with a childless family in the village, like in that story her Mama read to her. But no, she doesn't think she'd make it there and back without getting caught, the baby would probably make too much noise and give her away, and she can't bear to be told off again.
After pondering her options for a while it dawns on her that no one has come to check whether she's all right. She pouts a little as the realisation that maybe they just don't care stings her little heart. She wonders, then, if maybe her parent's refusal to get rid of her sisters and their refusal to get her a kitten –even though they got a puppy when Edith suggested it – are because they are actually trying to get rid of her; maybe they're trying to make her so miserable that she just has to leave. She doesn't feel particularly angry at this thought, she just feels desperately sad and more than a little lonely. Before she's even fully come to terms with this new development she's quite made up her mind to run away from home.
Suddenly she's pulling out her belongings and sorting the things she should take with her and placing them in a little travel case she got for Christmas. She doesn't think she'll take much; she gets tired carrying heavy things, and once she's satisfied that she has all she'll need she starts to consider her options. Her initial solution is to go to Granny's; she loves her Granny, and Granny has cats – cats that don't like Edith! But then she remembers that her Mama and Papa are always going to Granny's and that they may not like to see her there, and maybe she doesn't want to see them. Her only real option, she decides, is to buy her own house somewhere far away, where they won't be able to find her. Once she's settled, she'll send a secret note to Carson, and he can come and join her in her new home and they'll have such fun and maybe invite Granny round for tea. Yes, she likes this idea.
She's fairly satisfied with her plan until she realises that she doesn't actually have any money, which may be a bit of a problem; she knows she can't ask her parents in case they get suspicious, and Edith certainly doesn't have any that she can borrow. The idea to sell something comes relatively easily to her, although she's not completely sure where the notion came from, and she decides that silver may be her best bet, it's shiny, after all, so must be worth a lot of money. She sets her plan in motion immediately, there's no point in hanging around once one's mind is made up, and goes to visit her favourite butler.
The trip downstairs proves to be both a disappointment and a success; whilst Carson refuses to give her any silver he does give her sixpence, and he only wants a kiss as payment. She's quite aware that sixpence won't get her far, but she's promised Carson that she won't run away just yet anyway so she'll put the money somewhere safe –away from Edith's prying eyes - and start saving for her house. She doesn't think it will take her too long to have enough; she will just have to be a little patient. Besides, she'll probably have grown a little by then, and she'll be much stronger, so she'll be able to carry more of her dollies, which can only be a good thing.
It's two long days before her parents convince her to come and properly meet her sister – she understands properly to mean she's not to fuss or cry or sulk during the meeting. Her Papa sits her on her Mama's bed, with all the pillows around her like a throne –like she's a princess –and then her Mama shows her how to hold her arms before placing her new baby sister in them. As soon as the baby –Sybil, she mentally corrects herself – opens two big blue eyes to her, Mary forgets about leaving home. It's true that another sister is the last thing she needs, and she's determined to convince her parents not to have any more, but she thinks she may come to like this one, with her big shiny eyes and fluffy hair and, anyway, she couldn't possibly be worse than Edith.
