~ Part VII ~
~ Gravity ~
1.
~ "Eames?" Ariadne whispered to her sleeping lover as he snored beside her.
She tried to keep the bedding covering her, but there was no denying that she was naked underneath with a man who was not her husband.
"Charles?" Juniper snapped and Eames opened his eyes slowly.
"Charles, wake up, now!" Juniper growled as her son sighed and rolled over.
Ariadne felt like her face was on fire as eyes were boring into her; judging her for her horrible sins.
"Mother." Eames said lazily as he looked from one older woman to the other.
He sat up in the bed and moved closer to Ariadne.
"Don't mother me!" Juniper snapped. "When the chamber maid told us you were home and alive this morning, I thought she was lying!"
"The maid?" Ariadne whispered as she tried to hide her face in her long dark hair.
"She came to light the fires and saw you were not alone." Lady Percy said as Eames seemed only mildly annoyed to have the two women in the bedroom scowling over them.
"How long have you been home?" Juniper snapped.
"Mother, I'm not in the state to talk about this just now." Eames said casually as Ariadne fought back a wave of nausea.
"Were you even going to tell me you were back from the war? All this time, no letters, nothing!" Juniper shouted.
She turned on Ariadne then.
"You." she growled at the younger woman. "Your husband is downstairs dying and you jump into bed with my son?"
"She didn't jump into bed with me, I jumped into bed with her." Eames corrected.
"Men can't help how they are." Juniper went on as if Eames nhadn't said anything. "You should have employed more restraint."
Her voice was like acid on Ariadne's heart. She covered her body better.
"Mother." Eames countered and Juniper turned on her heel and left.
"Welcome home, Eames." Lady Percy said softly before taking her leave as well.
~ "Don't listen to what the old bats say." Eames said to her as Ariadne scrubbed her body free of the dried bodily fluids.
"The maid saw us!" Ariadne snapped. "That means the whole staff knows. By the end of the day, the whole village will know!"
"So what?" Eames laughed. "You're a modern woman. Why can't you take a lover? Your husband married you for a lasting convenience and refused to even bed you. You need to have your fun while you can."
He tried to help her out of the tub but she swatted his hands away.
"Eames, I'm not brave enough to endue this kind of gossip. What happened last night, should not have happened. It can never happen again." she told him as she quickly dressed.
Eames looked heart broken.
"You don't want to live with all the gossipers. I understand that. We can leave. We can go to India or even America if you want. Take Olivia and go." he offered.
"What about Harold?" Ariadne spat. "Or have you forgotten I have a husband downstaris who is dying?"
"Sorry, Mrs. Hays, I forgot your charming husband as you were writhing naked under me last night." Eames said.
She threw him a disgusted look and left left the room.
~ "You should be ashamed!" Juniper said once Eames and Ariadne reported to the ladies parlor. "Think of the scandal."
"Mother." Eames tried to say as he leaned heavily on his cane. His body not fully recovered yet.
"We don't have a thing to say to you Charles." Juniper said hotly. "It's Ariadne who should have rebuffed you. I knew you were trouble the moment I saw you."
The older woman glared at Ariadne who felt herself wither slightly.
"Mother, don't talk to her like that." Eames warned. "Ariadne and I are in love."
"We're..." Ariadne looked at him in confused horror. Were they in love?
"Oh, I've heard that before." Juniper scoffed. "From the myrid of girls you have ruined! Now, you add you late cousin's widow to the mix. A woman, who's second husband of less than a year is dying in a downstairs sitting room; blind and in pain. What kind of a whore are you, Ariadne? Couldn't you wait till poor Fredrick was dead before you wrapped you legs around my son?"
"Mother!" Eames shouted and his eyes flashed a frighting glint. "Never speak to her like that again!"
Ariadne tried not to cry. This whole conversation was achingly familiar. When she found out she was expecting Olivia after her affair with Jeffery. But unlike Jeffery, Eames was by her side. Defending hers as well as himself.
"I won't have this, Charles!" Juniper said hotly. "This woman is not who I thought she was!"
"This woman is the woman I love. I'm not a teenager anymore, mother. I can live my own life. As soon as Mr. Hays is laid to rest, I intend on marrying her!"
"What? Now that she's probably carrying your bastered?" Juniper bit back with a mocking tone.
Eames looked as if he wanted to hit her just then. Juniper glared unflinchingly back at him.
"Ariadne." Lady Percy interrupted. "Fredrick is awake and asking for you. Could you bring him his breakfast tray?"
Ariadne sniffed and could barely see through her tears.
She nodded and hurried to the downstairs kitchens.
~ As soon as she reached the basement level, all noise stopped. There was a mass of servants in the kitchen and as soon as she appeared, the talking abruptly ceased and they went about their work once more.
She kept her face composed as she asked the cook for Fredrick tray.
"Right here, Missus." Maura said coming to her rescue.
"Thank you, Maura." Ariadne said. "How is Olivia?"
The two women walked down the servants hallway to Fredrick's room.
"Fussy, but that's to be expected. You can't trust well behaved children no how." Maura said.
Ariadne was about to go into Fredrick's room when Maura asked.
"Is it true, Missus? Is Mr. Eames back?" she asked.
"What have you heard, Maura?"
The ladies maid shook her head.
"Nothing, Missus. Just stupid kitchen gossip. But I thought it was too wonderful if Mr. Eames was home." Maura explained.
"Well, Mr. Eames is home. Don't listen to kitchen gossip." Ariadne sighed.
"Yes, Missus." Maura nodded.
~ "What's the weather like?" Fredrick asked as Ariadne helped him to eat.
She was still in a good mood, despite the ugly confrontation with Juniper that morning. Her blood still felt giddy and happy as the lingering feel of Eames' touch was still on her.
"It's raining a lot." she told him.
"I can hear it." Fredrick said as she put jam on his toast.
"How is Harold?" he asked.
"He misses you. He want's to know when you're coming home." Ariadne told him as she saw the swelling had come back.
"I don't want my son to see me like this. It will scare him." Fredrick told her.
"So you want to hide here forever?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"Ariadne, you know as well as I do that I'm dying. The ladies keep draining me, but I've already got an infection in my legs from it. They bought me more time, but that's all. The pain is getting worse and last night, I could feel the water come back in my lungs again." he told her.
"Fredrick." she whispered.
A deep pit of shame swelling in her body that she had enjoyed her night with Eames while poor Fredrick was suffering.
"Ariadne. I haven't done right by you." he said softly. "I married you, so that my son would have a nice, kind step mother who would care for him like her own. I saw you at that party, and you had this gentleness about you. If it wasn't for the war, I would still have married you. But I would have been a proper husband. I would have been with you and perhaps we could have children of our own. But I have to look after Harold. I promised my Mia."
"Fredrick, we don't have to talk-" she tried to say.
"There is plenty of money for you and the children." he told her. "My Aunt and Uncle are too old to care for Harold. I know I've done wrong by you. That I have not been a good husband. But please, please take care of my boy. He's the only thing in the world I know I love."
Ariadne felt tears bite her eyes.
"Of course I'll take care of him. I can't live without him some days. Olivia is too much like her father and I need his sweetness." she said with a laugh.
Fredrick smiled as well.
"He was always affectionate." he agreed. "He's not built for a hard life, Ariadne. He needs a mother who is gentle and kind."
"I'll look after him Fredrick. I promise." she told him.
"If you remarry, please make it to a man who is good to the both of you. Please don't let him mistreat my son." he begged.
"I won't." Ariadne whispered.
Fredrick seemed at peace with her promise.
"Thank you, Ariadne." he said as she helped him finish his meal.
~ Lady Percy was waiting for her in the conservatory when she came back upstairs.
"Aunt Percy?" Ariadne asked. "What are you doing here? Where's Eames?"
"You lover and his mother are still fighting." Lady Percy said coldly.
"He's not my lover." Ariadne said rolling her eyes.
"Oh, so we misread the circumstances of your being in the same bad together this morning? We're you conserving body heat and didn't want to ruin your night clothes?" Lady Percy asked.
Ariadne didn't say anything.
Lady Percy took a deep breath.
"I was watching Olivia and Harold playing this morning." Lady Percy said. "Do you know what she had taken to doing? It's really quite dreadful."
Ariadne didn't say a word.
"Whenever little Harold is playing with a toy, no matter what it is, Olivia will take it from him. It's so American of her. She doesn't even want the toy, really. She only want's it because little Harold had it. It only had value because it didn't belong to her, but to another." Lady Percy said.
Ariadne looked at the older woman.
"I love my nephew. Since he was a sickly little boy, I've loved him. But he is spoiled and lacked the unconditional love of a mother. We overcompensated that love when he came here to live and spoiled him. In many ways, he's just like Olivia. He saw you on Arthur's arm that first night. He knew he couldn't have you, so he wanted you all the more." Lady Percy explained.
Ariadne wanted to argue. Wanted to protest, but she kept quite.
"I think, my nephew only wanted you because you were the one thing he could never have. I saw the mutual attraction you had for each other the moment he saw you." she explained. "But I knew you loved Arthur. I could see that just as clearly to. Then, when you told me Arthur had died, I knew it was only a matter of time before you gave into Eames. Then he was engaged to that dreadful Charlotte and you married Fredrick in such haste. Now, it seems fate is pushing you together again." Lady Percy sighed. "But, if you will indulge an old woman, child. Don't chose Eames. He doesn't know what to do with his prize once he's won it. When Fredrick is gone, when he is buried, I want you to leave Blue Rivers. Go back to America and not come back. Eames will break your heart and you've had more than your share of heartbreak."
"Lady Percy." she started to say. "You want me to leave this house?"
The old woman nodded.
"Fredrick has little time left. Use it to make arrangements to leave and stay with Mr. Cobb and his wife. Don't tell Eames where you are going. Eames will never be the husband and father Arthur was. He will never be satisfied. He will be unfaithful to you within the year. He's done it before. He will find a nice maid who he can have his fun with and you will be bitter and angry at being used." Lady Percy explained.
Ariadne wanted to argue. Wanted to tell her how Eames really did love her. She opened her mouth and closed it again as she could easily imagine Eames with another woman.
"Arthur would not want you to be with Eames." Lady Percy said. "He would want better for you than that."
The old woman leaned in closer and took her hand.
"You deserve better than that." she added.