Have Hope

Chapter 2

"Cautious?" Kit frowned.

"As though you consistently walk through life on eggshells, eager to please and terrified of disappointing," replied Olivia simply.

Kit recoiled. "I am not eager to please, and I certainly am not terrified of disappointing people." Kit could not believe that Olivia had made such an assumption of his character. She had known him for a collective ninety minutes, if that. She knew nothing about him.

"Perhaps I am wrong then." Olivia shrugged her shoulders and moved away from the cell bars. "You ought to stop talking to me. I do not think your father approves and I should hate for you to displease him."

Kit shot her an angry glare. "You are the one in prison."

"Am I?" she countered.

Kit hissed as he climbed to his feet and marched across the room to re-join his father and Finn. He sat down in the spare chair and huffed angrily.

"Are you alright?" asked Cassian, concerned. "What did she say to you?"

"She is not as clever as she thinks she is," Kit mumbled angrily.

"There you are, Cassian. No attachment, whatsoever. Nothing to worry about," Finn said, pleased.

"What?" asked Kit.

Cassian placed a hand on Kit's shoulder. "I was worried that you were becoming quite enamoured with Olivia for a moment," he admitted. "You, of course, understand why such an attachment could never continue. But my worry was for nought. You were always a good boy, Kit. You always do what is right for our family. Once Olivia's aunt comes to collect her, we can put this behind us."

While his father's words were kind, they annoyed him. Kit shoved Olivia's assumptions aside and attempted to smile. There was nothing wrong with pleasing people.

"You, young man, need a good girl," said Finn. "Someone kind and caring, and lacking the criminal urge." He smirked.

"So do you," countered Cassian.

Finn's bachelor status was a constant topic of conversation. He was four and thirty years old and had not married, nor courted, in all the years that Kit had known him.

"At this point, if a pretty woman walked through that door and said that she wanted me, I would drop down on one knee immediately," replied Finn.

As if fate were listening, the door to the magistrate's office flew open, and a young, attractive, red-headed woman burst through the door. She held Finn's note in her right hand.

"Where is the magistrate?" she demanded to know. "I want him!"

Finn stared at her in awe as Cassian burst out laughing. "Go on then!" he urged. "Propose!"

The woman looked confused and utterly unamused. There was no question of the relation. This woman was Olivia's Aunt Lorna. Her hair was much the same shade of red as Olivia's, but she wore it in a braid atop her head, a few strands falling loose from the journey. Her skin had the same porcelain appearance as Olivia's, and her face was just as elegant and feminine. The only difference was that Lorna's eyes were brown, and she looked only a few years older.

Finn cleared his throat as he stood up. Cassian and Kit followed suit. "My name is Finnegan Kelly, ma'am. I am the magistrate."

Lorna huffed. "Lorna Murray," she replied. "Where is Olivia?"

"I am here, Aunt Lorna," Olivia called from her cell.

Lorna's head turned towards Olivia's voice, before her attention returned to Finn. "Mr Kelly, what is this I hear of you arresting my niece for voting?"