Against Their Wishes

Chapter 16

Olivia was so angry, she found she could not even formulate a sentence. Ever since she had met Vivien, she had known something was off. Never could Olivia decipher why Vivien, a woman she did not even know, would give her such nasty looks when she entered the room. Now, after Vivien’s tirade, she knew what the problem was. Vivien wanted Gregory for herself, and Olivia had gotten in the way of that.

Olivia thought back to when she first met Vivien and remembered one important statement. Vivien had said she had heard Gregory was to be married. Is that why Vivien appeared with absolutely no notice? Had she seen her chances with Gregory slipping away? These thoughts merely made Olivia angrier because the last thing she liked to think was that someone had been out to sabotage her from the beginning. Granted, at the time, she did not think she could make the marriage work, but now she was having hope for the future. If Vivien were to get in the way, what would happen to Olivia? Her parents would no doubt throw her out of the house even if the blame for a broken engagement could not fall upon her shoulders.

Wishing to be nowhere in the vicinity of Vivien and her conniving personality, Olivia went down to the stables. She was too upset to even think about immersing herself back into the book she had been reading, but a ride in the country might help to release some of her frustrations. Walking over to the stall that Sugarplum had been in previously, she peered in. Sugarplum, having heard Olivia’s approach, quickly walked towards her and stuck her head over the stall door. Olivia quickly obliged her and began to stroke her face in gentle motions.

“You like me, don’t you girl?” Olivia asked. Sugarplum neighed in response. “I think you and I should take a ride. What do you think?” Olivia smiled when she saw Sugarplum stomp her feet. Perceiving that as a yes, Olivia tied Sugarplum outside and set to work saddling her. A stable hand offered to help, but Olivia graciously refused, wishing to do it by herself.

When Olivia was sure that everything was secured properly, she climbed onto Sugarplum’s back, having no trouble with the maneuver. In no time at all, Olivia was flying across the glossy hills, pushing Sugarplum to her limit. She hadn’t gone so fast on a horse in such a long time, but anger is a powerful force, and right now, Olivia felt fearless. Unlike the last time, Olivia chose to head away from the lake. She traveled quite a ways before she pulled to a stop.

Olivia was in a grassy meadow with a small stream running through the middle of it. The area was surrounded by trees, and Olivia felt a little breathless at the sight of it. She allowed Sugarplum to take a small drink from the trickling stream before she guided her over to a shade tree at the edge of the meadow. She threw the reins over the branch of the tree and settled herself down against the bark of the tree.

Now that she was calmer from her ride and away from the house, Olivia could try to figure out what she was going to do regarding Vivien. ‘Should I tell Gregory?’ she asked herself. ‘Would he believe me if I told him about what Vivien revealed to me? He would more than likely believe that I was fabricating a story as some kind of a ploy to get him to wish for a relationship. However, if I do not tell him, Vivien may very well sneak her way into his heart. I cannot very well allow her to steal him away from me!’

Although not a conscious action, Olivia had begun to think of Gregory as hers. He was, after all, her betrothed, and some sense of ownership seemed to come with that distinction. Hearing another woman say she was going to take what belongs to her did not sit too well with Olivia. Olivia had never dreamed that she would be placed in such a complicated situation as this one, and her mind went blank she considered how she should proceed.

Olivia knew that if she told Gregory about what had occurred, she would need to tread carefully. She had already seen him get very angry with her for speaking a word against Vivien. If Olivia was going to make an accusation such as this, she needed to be able to have some sort of proof to show Gregory. Another option would be to get him to admit her cares for her. Not many men would choose to believe their cousin over the woman they loved.