The Roswell Legacy by Frances Statham (parable of the sower read online .TXT) 📗

it had not been for her seeking out all of the single young Americans in London at the assizes, Cassie would never have met Stanley Quail. Ingenuity had to be foremost when one had an eligible daughter. And it had taken ingenuity to arrange the invitations for Mr. Quail. Although Ginna had been much too young to be considered Cassie’s rival, Araminta had also arranged for the girl to be away until Stanley had begun to show interest in Cassie.

Araminta frowned as she rang the doorbell for the second time. Then she heard the sound of footsteps.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Forsyte.”

“Good afternoon, Harriet,” Araminta said as she entered the hallway. “Is my daughter resting?”

“I believe she is, Mrs. Forsyte. If you’ll take a seat in the parlor, I’ll tell her you’re here.”

“That’s not necessary, Harriet. I’ll go on upstairs myself.”

Araminta brushed past the maid and began to walk up the steps in the darkened house. Once she reached the top of the steps, she stopped to regain her breath.

With her gloved hand, she reached out and brushed the small mahogany table nestled under the small window. Turning her hand over, she saw the streak of dust that had adhered to the white glove. She quickly brushed it against the other glove and resumed her way to Cassie’s bedroom.

“Cassie,” she called out as she knocked. “Are you awake? It’s your mother. May I come in?”

With a start, Cassie opened her eyes. She quickly sat up in bed and brushed her hair back. “Come in, Mama.”

Araminta barely looked toward the bed. She walked past it to the bay windows overlooking the garden area. And there she proceeded to open the draperies and lift the windows for some fresh air.

“Mama, you don’t have to do that,” Cassie protested.

“Being in this stuffy room isn’t good for you or the baby, Cassie. You need fresh air, as I’ve told you on numerous occasions.”

And then, with some light in the room, she turned her full attention to Cassie. “You still have your wrapper on? You haven’t even gotten dressed for the day?”

“I’ve been dressed all day, Mama. But I certainly don’t want to ruin my clothes when I rest in the afternoons.”

“Well, see that you take care of your appearance. It’s bad enough to be so out of shape. You don’t want to be slovenly, too.”

“Do you have any other advice to cheer me up?”

“Don’t be sarcastic, Cassie. I only have your good at heart when I tell you these things.”

“Just as you had my good at heart the other day when you sent Nathan and Ginna here for the afternoon? Did they tell you what happened?”

“Nathan mentioned something about spilling his lemonade.”

“It was much worse than that, Mama. They were in a conspiracy against me. They brought a frog inside my house—a live frog that hopped all over the place and gave me such a fright that I had to spend the rest of the afternoon in bed.”

A sympathetic Araminta reached over to pat her daughter’s hand. “There, there, Cassie. Don’t worry about it.”

“Aren’t you even going to punish them? I can understand about Nathan. He’s only a boy. But Ginna should have known better.”

Araminta smiled. “I think you should be just a little sympathetic with your sister, considering what she’s going through right now.”

“You mean with the wedding to Jonathan Meadors?”

“There’s not going to be a wedding, Cassie. As far as Charles and I are concerned, the engagement never took place.”

Cassie sat up straighter. She could barely conceal her delight. “Why? What happened?”

Araminta hesitated. “It’s a long story. And if I tell you, you must promise never to divulge it to a soul.”

“Of course, Mama. I’ve always kept any secrets you told me.”

“Cassie, you were probably too little to remember. But when Charles came to Savannah, I was a widow with little money. I had just lost the house that belonged to your father. And Charles’s wife was supposed to have been dead.”

“What do you mean, supposed?”

“Well, she has surfaced, after all these years.”

“Oh, Mama, that’s terrible. What are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing. You see, she has another husband and a bastard child by this man.”

“But what does this have to do with Ginna?” Cassie suddenly put her hand over her mouth as she realized the significance. “Then Ginna is a bastard, too, as well as Nathan. Does she know yet?”

“No.”

“When are you going to tell her?”

“We’re not. We’re just going to call off the wedding.”

“That’s wise. No man would want to be married to a bastard. Poor Ginna. There goes her chance for marriage.” Then Cassie looked at her mother. “But what are you going to do, Mama? You can’t keep on living in sin with Papa.”

Araminta’s voice grew sharp. “And what do you think I should do, Cassie? Allow myself to be thrown out onto the street? If I don’t stay with Charles, then my only other alternative is to move in with you and Stanley. But how do you think Stanley would feel, learning that his own mother-in-law, even though it wasn’t her fault, has two illegitimate children?”

“He wouldn’t like it at all. I’m sorry that you told me, Mama. I wish you’d kept this terrible secret to yourself.”

Cassie’s delight at the initial news dwindled when she realized that she would also be tainted in Stanley’s eyes, if he were to find out about her family’s disgrace.

“But that’s not all—”

“I don’t want to hear any more, Mama. I have a headache. Please shut the draperies and leave me alone. You know it’s not good for me to be upset. I have the baby to think about.”

Cassie closed her eyes and rolled over onto her side.

Sometimes Araminta didn’t understand Cassie at all. She glared at her elder daughter and then left the room, without closing the draperies.

“Oh, Mrs. Forsyte, I was just coming upstairs to see if you’d like some refreshments,” Harriet said, as she met Araminta at the foot of the stairs.

“I really can’t stay, Harriet. I just popped in