The Swan in the Water

Chapter Nine

"Aunt Darcy?" Aunt Darcy stopped pouring tea to look at Liana.

"Yes?" Aunt Darcy wasn't sure what she was going to say. Liana for the past week seemed to drift away in her thoughts, not even registering the world around her. It frightened Aunt Darcy a bit, making her believe that she drove her niece to madness.

"What happened between you and my mother?" Aunt Darcy sighed, wishing she hadn't asked that.

"This again?" Aunt Darcy asked. "What happened is not important."

"But why won't you tell me?" Liana asked, "I just want to know."

"No, you just want to be nosy," Aunt Darcy retorted as she handed Liana the cup of tea. "It is seriously none of your business."

"Fine," Liana huffed. She hated how secretive Aunt Darcy could be. It was not helping anybody's situation. "What's your favorite color?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your favorite color," Liana repeated. "I believe I told you mine but I don't remember you saying yours." Aunt Darcy paused for a moment.

"...Maroon..."

"Why maroon?"

"Why not maroon?" Aunt Darcy snapped defensively. Liana held her hands up in surrender.

"It was just a question!" Aunt Darcy sighed, ashamed of how childish her reaction was.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Why do you like maroon?" Liana asked again, "Without trying to rip my head off..." Aunt Darcy shook her head, still thankful for her black veil masking her expressions.

"For chestnuts..." Liana cocked her head to the side.

"Chestnuts? Why chestnuts? Do you like chestnuts?" Aunt Darcy shook her head fervently.

"No," she laughed, "I don't." Liana was now confused by aunt, not understanding why you would like a color because of something you don't like.

"Then...why?"

"It's a secret," Aunt Darcy said in a way that made Liana think she was concealing a smile behind that veil. Then there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Come in."

"Madame," Charles began, "you have guests."

"What?" Aunt Darcy said confused as she stood up from her chair. "I shouldn't have guests."

"Well, it seems like you do," Charles sighed. "The whole lot of them."

"The whole lot meaning?"

"Graham, Campbell, Carmichael, Gilbert, York," Charles listed. "The whole lot of them." Though he didn't see them, Charles knew Aunt Darcy just rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me," Aunt Darcy said as she excused herself from the bedroom. Charles took a sidestep to allow her to leave then looked over to Liana.

"How are you feeling, Miss Liana?"

"I'm fine," Liana sighed. "And you?"

"I could be better," Charles responded honestly. "I still have a little bit of a cold from that lake." Liana nodded knowingly.

"Thank you for saving me," Liana said. "I doubt Aunt Darcy would have..." Charles walked over to Liana's bed and sat on the edge.

"She would have," Charles explained, "if she wasn't afraid of the water..." Liana's head perked up.

"She's afraid of water?"

"No, just the lake," he corrected, "though she hadn't always been like this."

"How long have you worked here, Charles?" Liana asked, diverting the subject a bit.

"For over 20 years."

"That means you were here when Aunt Darcy and my mother were children, correct? Even though you say Aunt Darcy lived here for 10 years, I'm assuming you meant after my grandparents died. My mother and Aunt Darcy had to live there as children so were you there when they were?" Charles didn't answer at first.

"When they were teenagers, yes."

"So what was their relationship like?" Charles shrugged.

"I only was a valet at the time so I didn't associate with them at the time. I apparently met and spoke to Madame Atkins after the incident..."

"So you don't know?" Charles slowly shook his head.

"I didn't become butler until after both your mother and aunt were out of the house," Charles explained. Liana sighed.

"I see..." Liana said defeated. "Do you have any inkling of what their relationship was like?"

"Why are you so interested?" Liana then shrugged herself.

"It's just something I want to know," Liana said without looking at Charles. "I think I just want to know why Aunt Darcy is the way she is." Charles nodded in understanding.

"I been trying to do that for years," Charles laughed. "That shell of hers is bloody near impenetrable!" Liana let out a small giggle.

"It shouldn't be too long," Liana said with a smile. "For you, I mean. You both seem fairly close already." Charles gave her an incredulous look.

"Really? I think we drifted further apart..." Liana took noticed of the forlorn, or perhaps lovelorn, expression on Charles's face.

"Charles," Liana started, "do you...love Aunt Darcy?"

"Of course!" He answered in a defensive tone. "Why wouldn't I? As a servant of this--"

"No," Liana said stopping him, "not like how a servant would love his master. More like...how a husband would love his wife." Charles hesitated and the room fell under an awkward silence. Then Charles opened his mouth as if to answer until--

"Charles!" Charles gave a sigh of relief when he heard his name called.

"It seems like I've been summoned," Charles said as he stood up from the bed. Liana crossed her arms in disappointment, knowing that he was using this as an excuse to not tell her. Charles was about to leave the room until Aunt Darcy almost crashed into him.

"Charles," she hissed, "get those...heathens out of my estate!"

"What did they do?" Charles asked.

"It doesn't matter what they did!" Aunt Darcy hissed louder, "I just want them out!"

"Okay, let's go see if we can solve this in a rational manner," Charles said as he turned Aunt Darcy and left together.

After a few minutes of sitting alone, Liana called for Madeline so she could get dressed. When she finished, Liana walked down to the parlor room and found Aunt Darcy drinking tea with Mrs. Graham and the others.

"Good afternoon, Liana," Mrs. Graham greeted happily. "Good to see that you're feeling better."

"Yes," Mrs. Carmichael interjected. "We heard about how you fell in the lake."

"Happens when you unsupervised," Mrs. Campbell said casually as she eyed Aunt Darcy. Aunt Darcy then grumbled something indiscernible into her tea cup.

"What was that, Darcelle?" Mrs. Gilbert asked. Aunt Darcy sip her tea and ignored the question.

"Come sit, Liana," Mrs. York invited. "Don't stand so awkwardly in the doorway." Liana nodded, reluctantly sat next to her aunt, and awaited the boiling anger from her aunt.