A Lady Never Tells

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

New York, 1920

Lillian awoke to a tapping noise coming from her window. She put her night robe on over her nightgown after she got out of bed. Lillian opened her window and saw her neighbor sitting on her balcony.

“William, what are you doing here?” she whispered.

“I missed you Lily. We haven’t seen each other for a while. Plus, I could have sworn I saw Joseph Clark here earlier. Does he have his eyes on my Lily?” William asked innocently.

William and Lillian were never together. They were just best friends. He was the first friendly face that Lillian had met when she first moved in with her grandmother. He was the first person to make her laugh since her parents died. He was always there for Lillian. In fact, he was one of the very few to call Lillian Lily.

William was two years older than Lillian. So he was twenty-one as she was nineteen. William had a beautiful head of blond hair and piercing blue eyes.

“As if it is any of your business Willy.”

“Oh it is, Lily. Trust me, it is. If he decides that he’s enough of a big shot to court you and then he breaks your heart, he won’t know who he’s messing with. My fist will be in his mouth before he knows what’s coming.” Lillian smiled at William’s care for her.

“Well, if you must know, he did ask to court me. And I accepted.”

“Oh come on Lily! Do you really want to go off and marry a prick like him? Do ya wanna know what those big wigs do all day? They just sit around and count their money as they eat their fancy foods. All the while all of us normal people who actually care for others work our asses off!” By the end of his speech his voice was slightly louder, and with good reason.

You see, William and his family were from Wisconsin. They had to move out to New York because William’s father had to sell his farm. The Bates family farm went too many seasons without producing an adequate amount of product to create a profit to pay the ever-mounting bills. Mr. Bates and his family were forced off of the land by the bank.

The Bates family moved to New York with hopes of making it in the big city. William’s mother and two sisters were forced to work in a textile factory while William and his older brother, Charles had to work in the markets to keep up with bills. There, William and Charles would do special jobs based on what people needed. For example, the most common job that William and Charles had to do was polish shoes.

“You don’t know if Joseph is really like that William Avery Bates! And how do you know that I’m not like that? Remember, I have money. Do you think that I sit around all day counting my money and eating myself silly?”

“I didn’t mean you Lillian, you know that,” William spoke softly. He was ashamed of himself now.

“You didn’t mean me? Okay then, what about my grandmother. Or better yet, what about my parents? They had money. In fact, they’re the reason why I have money.” Lillian was yelling now. How dare he say this to her?

Anger flashed across William’s face. He looked like he was going to push this further. Instead he said, “You know I didn’t mean that Lillian. Please, you have to know.”

“Oh, I know several things William. Several of these things became clear to me tonight.”

William looked like he just got slapped. “I’m sorry Lillian. I’m just trying to make sure that you don’t get hurt. Men like Joseph Clark just want money and power; not to mention, they want someone pretty to hang on their arm.” William then turned to leave but Lily stopped him.

“You don’t have to worry about me Mr. Bates,” she said with something in her voice that made her seem more menacing. Hatred?

William seemed to pick up on her change in attitude towards him. “You’ll always be my Lily. Even if we never speak again, you will always be my Lily.” With that, he climbed down her balcony.

Lillian stared at the spot where she saw William last. She covered her mouth as she heard a sob come out of her throat. As she turned back into her room, tears clouded her eyes.

Once more she cried herself to sleep, but this time she cried for her Willy.