THE DISAGREEABLE DUCHESS

CHAPTER FIVE

Olivia stood motionless, David Whittaker, her father was standing in the same room as her.

"Hello." He repeated himself. "I'm guessing you're Olivia?"

She silently nodded in reply.

"Please, sit down." He offered. "It seems that you were in the middle of something. Have a sit and continue what you were doing, Olivia."

She immediately obliged.

"So how do you like the house? Our house."

"It's very nice. Large." She replied.

"And the staff?"

"Efficient and we've been getting along well."

"That's good." He said with a small grin. "What about Colin?"

"He's very reliable and... Pleasant to be with."

David nodded and looked away.

He tried to avoid that awkward eye contact with her daughter, as she did the same. But he wanted to watch her, to observe her directly. He noticed that at a glance, Olivia can be mistaken for his wife, Charlotte. He was proud of how beautiful his daughter was, their daughter. If only he came home sooner, things will not be like this. David was so sure that if he came home when Olivia was still a child, she'd be running in tears with her arms wide open to welcome him. But that wasn't reality. Here they are now, after 25 years, trying to avoid each other.

"I think..." He said. "I think I'll be in my room, I'm very worn out from the long trip." So, he stood up and walked passed Olivia who was still stunned to see him.

"Why?" She asked in a whisper.

David turned around.

"Why did you leave me?" She asked.

"I... I don't know." David replied. "Did you wait for me?"

"Everyday for the past 25 years."

He couldn't stand it, he knew that she was trying to keep the tears back. So he knelt beside her and held her hand. "I'm sorry, Olivia."

"Do you hate me because I'm the reason that mama died?"

"No." He dejected. "Olivia, I love you, more than my own life."

"Then why did you leave me?"

"Listen to me," He comfortedly whispered. "there's not a single day that would pass without my thoughts drifting else where, without my thoughts not being about you. I love you, Olivia. You're my daughter. I was the happiest man alive the moment I held you for the very first time. But..."

"But what?"

"But that joy was overpowered by sadness and grief. When I saw your mother speaking nonsense and weak, I panicked. So I gave you to Magnolia and attended to Charlotte."

"May I know what she said?"

"She made me promise..." He replied. "that I'd always take care of you no matter what. That even though she's gone, we'd still be a family. That I name you 'Olivia', I guess your grandmother figured it out and named you by herself. But I guess I broke all my promises to Charlotte, hmm? I was unable to care for you. I wasn't able to stay beside you and be family."

"I think I want to go for a stroll..." She said out of nowhere.

"Take Colin with you."

"No, I'll be fine by myself." She stood up and walked away, leaving David kneeling on the floor by himself.

Her mind went blank after stepping out of the mansion. It was her first time out after several days and she had no clue of where she was headed, but she dragged her feet a step at a time anyways.

Street after street did she see houses as big as David's, some even larger. It was only after six blocks that she saw London at it's boldest. Unlike the streets earlier, where there was nothing but large carriages and different breeds of horses parked outside, there she saw and felt what was somehow similar to Chester: the loud and lewd mouth of the common people. She swore that if she wasn't feeling confused, there was no doubt that she'd mistaken Chester's townfolks to London's.

And far beyond those stalls was Hyde park where there were a lot of trees, a beautiful lake and different classes of people. What she saw amazed her, from the muddy clothes that children wore to the suffocatingly beautiful dresses that chaperoned ladies wore, with their matching parasols. She stopped and glanced at herself, she wasn't anywhere near those elegant girls. It was as if what she wore were rags for their toe-pinching shoes. But that didn't stop her from her supposedly meditating stroll, so she marched in there and found herself a bench near the waters of the lake.

She sighed loudly.

The intimidating conversation she had with her father kept on circling in her mind, and yet it was only the beginning. She still had a ton of questions that only David could give answer to. "If only it was that simple." She murmured to herself.

After hours of thought on the same topic, she stood up realizing that the sun was almost completely gone. But before running off, she had another question in her already rambled mind. Will David even bother look for me?

Again with another loud sigh, she stood up and started walking the trail back to the mansion.

David kept on pacing back and forth near the door. It was almost sundown, yet his daughter, his only daughter, hasn't come back home.

Colin, unlike David however, was nervously seated on one of the many chairs in the drawing room.

Both of them were waiting for the door to open, or at least hear a knock.

"Should I send the police after her?" David asked. "I'll have an errand boy call for a..."

But Colin interjected on his statement. "We should wait a bit longer, Olivia's a grown woman and we should respect her privacy."

"But I'm her father!" He reasoned. "I have every right to be frantic when my daughter's missing."

"She's not missing, yet." Colin battled. "It will only be classified as a missing person case if she's been gone for more than a day, but it hasn't even been half a day."

"I don't give a damn about it, if I say that she's missing, she's missing! Now if I have to be the one to turn London upsidedown so that I may be able to see my daughter, then so be it!"

"I'll have Martin fetch you a cup of tea." Colin worriedly said. "It'll help calm your nerves."

Olivia was now getting frightened, she was alone in the deserted streets of London in the dark. Was there a curfew followed? She kept asking herself. It even scared her more when she passed a pub where a lot of strong men were drinking.

"Hey, little missy." Called a guy from the pub. "You alone out here?"

"No," She lied. "I'm with my husband."

"Really?" The man asked. "Then, where is he?"

"He went back to fetch me the book I left not far from here." She replied with her head held up, not even showing an ounce of fear even though she was shaking inside.

"Well, would you mind if I stay here to meet your husband?"

"No, not at all." She said. "I wouldn't mind company, but is it alright if we walk a bit more so that he'll see us better?"

She knew that the man was drunk, she was trying to walk further away the pub where she was sure more of them were going to go after her. "If it makes you feel any better, sweet heart." So he held on to her wrist tight and half-dragged her into a dark corner. "Is this better?" He asked, trying to lean down for a kiss, tightening his grasp around her waist.

"Uhh..." She was stunned.

The man tried to kiss her, but she was flexible enough to bend back. "You're so beautiful, you remind me of my wife." And when he couldn't reach for her, he held him closer to her and laid her across the cold ground. "You're husband's a lucky man." He continuously kissed her around the nape of her neck.

There was no use of screaming for help, tonight, a drunk man was going to deflower her and possibly even kill her. So she looked up and waited for the man to finish.

It was then that she saw her chance to escape. She saw a thick plank of wood, not far from her, so while the man busied himself in burrying his face in her body, Olivia desperately tried to reach the plank. And when she did, she kept on repeating herself the thought if you don't succeed in getting him to sleep, you die tonight. With her life in the balance of whether or not she kills the man, she swung the plank with all her might and hit the back of his head. And easily, the man collapsed on top of her losing his consciousness. But he was still breathing though. So she pushed him away, with no time to gather herself, she ran like crazy towards the mansion.

After calming David down, Colin was running in the streets shouting the name 'Olivia' as he glanced left and right. "Olivia!" He screamed.

Olivia was running as if the man was still chasing her. Tired with an aching feet, Olivia suddenly stumbles on the ground feeling as if she was going to die on the very spot.

"Olivia!" She heard a familiar voice from a far. "Olivia, where are you?"

She wanted to respond, but she was too weak to do so. So instead, she waited for him to come.

"Olivia!" Yelled Colin.

And then suddenly he sees a figure in the dark, lying on the ground. "Olivia?" He asked, going near the person. "My god, Olivia!" He quickly kneels to her side, sitting her up in his lap and cradling her like a child. "What happened?"

She couldn't reply, she was trembling in fear. She sobbed.

"It's alright," He whispered, hopefully his words will give her comfort. "I'm here for you."

He carried her back in silence, she clung on to him like a little monkey.

When they reached the mansion, David was standing by the door and at the first sight of them, he ran towards Olivia. "Olivia?" He called. "Are you alright?"

She didn't reply. "She's tired." Said Colin. "I'll bring her up to her room." And went straight inside.

Colin ordered the first servant he saw to bring a bowl of hot water and fresh towels for her wounds. He was a medical student, and a doctor soon, so he wanted to care for her instead of someone else.

He laid her down gently on her warm bed, afterwards settling himself on the chair beside her.

Moments later, the servant came with a bowl of hot water and towels.

"Thank you." He said.

The servant could only offer a smile before he opened the door, stepped outside and shut it behind him.

Colin dipped the towel in the bowl of hot water. "Olivia?" He whispered.

She was awake but, in a lot of pain, mostly on her bloody knees and elbows, which were injured when she fell. Gently, he pressed the towel lightly on her wound. She stirred because it stung, but calmed down after she getting used to it.

After cleaning her wounds, Colin threw the towels at the disposal bins and the bloody water elsewhere. He was about to leave the room but Olivia called him and he stopped. "Colin?" She called.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."