The CBB :: View topic - One of the Quiet Ones - (aka Verity, reposted and completed)

One of the Quiet Ones - (aka Verity, reposted and completed)

through

[^/[Print]\]

The CBB -> Ste Therese's House

#1: One of the Quiet Ones - (aka Verity, reposted and completed) Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:28 pm
—
It was morning: a cool grey fall day in late September. The young
woman standing at the window looked out at the London buildings
without really seeing the scene outside. After a few minutes of quiet
reflection she returned to her morning routine, stripping the bed, and
humping the mattress up in the middle. She picked up her towel and
sponge bag, and headed out to the bathroom, with a nervous eye to the
clock.

Returning shortly thereafter, she hauled a comb through her long,
tangled curls, neatly plaited them and wound them around her head.
She pulled on her dress, and carefully attended to the other details
of her routine. She paused before the door, coat in hand, in a moment
of indecision, and looked around as if she were missing something, or
someone, before visible settling her shoulders and heading out into
the new day.

----

The hall was full of people. Young men and women sprawled in chairs,
and leaned against walls, in pairs and small groups, talking, laughing
and arguing. More than one had instrument cases propped beside them,
others held full cases of music. One young woman, a tall girl with
short, bushy brown hair held out of her face with a wide headband,
looked up from her conversation just as a new figure entered the door.
A tiny, delicately featured girl stood in the doorway, holding a music
case and looking completely overwhelmed. She hopped up and headed
over to the door.

"Hi there, another new one, are you? I'm Lisa: flute and oboe. What
about you?" She paused expectently.

"Verity," came the answer in a clear, silvery voice. "I'm studying
voice."

"Well, don't just stand there, come over and join the group.
Orientation's about to start." She took Verity by the arm, and pulled
her over to join one of the chattering groups. "This is Joan -
piano," she said, nodding to a slender dark girl. "Rick - he's another
voice student; Mary - harp; and Keith - piano and composition. He
wants to go into rock and roll, but don't tell his parents that." She
giggled as the blond haired man glared at her. "This is Verity -
voice," she continued, motioning to the silent girl standing next to
her.

Verity listened to the chorus of greetings, and smiled shyly back.
Before Lisa could continue her onslaught of cheerful conversation,
several figures entered at the head of the hall, and the scattered
students quickly headed for their seats. Silence soon fell.

"Welcome to the Royal College of Music. I hope you all enjoy your
time here, and, just as importantly, work and practice hard. First; a
few reminders. Practice times are closely scheduled. Be sure to show
up to your practice room on time, and leave promptly. Missed sessions
will not be rescheduled. Secondly, for those of you living in Hall;
the rules for visitors are strictly enforced. There are to be no men
in the women's hall, and no women in the men's. Visiting relatives
can be approved in advance, but infractions will be firmly punished."
A chorus of soft, slightly nervous laughter ran through the hall at
the last injunction.

The speaker eventually finished off his speech. "Finally, the the
schedule for discussions with your advisor has been posted, and will
take place through today. Now, I'll let you all get back to settling
in. Classes start first thing tomorrow, so don't stay out too late
tonight."

With that, the students spilled out of the chairs in a disorderly
fashion, and the noise level rose. Lisa and her gang dashed over to
one of the boards. Verity, alone again, paused for a moment before
heading over to the lists posted around the room.

-------

By the third week of classes things had settled into a routine. There
was breakfast in the morning - a noisy, chattering affair in the hall
cafeteria, heavy with the smell of scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon,
and strong coffee. The days were a mixture of practice sessions,
individual voice lessons, small tutorials and time for individual
work. Friendships were formed and broken, and new romances sprang up.
Just the week before, Susie, one of the girls on the floor below, had
been caught sneaking her new boyfriend out at three in the morning,
and the administration had demonstrated their willingness to enforce
the rules.

Verity, however, remained on the outskirts. Lisa was the centre of a
shifting group of gregarious students, always on the go. They
welcomed her if she joined them, but made no particular effort to pull
her into the group if she didn't indicate interest. The other girls
seemed to be fitting in well, but she just couldn't bring herself to
push into their little groups. Classes were busy, but the time out of
classes and practice was very unstructured.

It was Friday evening after dinner, and Verity was in her room, a
music theory book open on the desk in front of her. The singing
lessons and choir practices were delightful, if hard work, but music
theory, with its strongly mathematical structure, was a struggle for
the very unmathematical girl. Slowly, however, her head settled on
the book, and the tears started to fall. Her misery was suddenly
interrupted by a pounding on the door.

"Come in," she responded instinctively.

The door opened, and a dark head poked in. "Hey, Verity, we're all
heading out to the cinema, would you like to...," Her breezy statement
was abruptly cut off by sight of Verity's red eyes. "What's the
matter?" the girl asked gently, a concerned look on her face.

Verity pulled herself up. "I am quite all right, thank you," she
responded, her air of dignity disturbed somewhat by an involuntary
sniffle.

"No, you're not," the girl responded definitively, as she came in and
sat on the bed. With a closer look, Verity realised that this was
Enid, her next door neighbour, who also sang with her in the chorus.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she continued, "but
if you want someone to listen, I've got a good ear. Is there bad news
from home?" She paused. "Where is home, anyways. I don't think I've
heard you say?"

"It's, well, it's complicated," Verity said with a sigh. "I don't
think I want to talk about it right now, though."

"That's fine. But it's Friday night, and you don't need to sit here
by yourself. We're heading out to the cinema for the new show. Why don't
you come along."

"I, I guess so."

"Here, let me get you a cold cloth so you can wash up."

After a quick wash, the two girls headed out to join the others.

------

Over the next week or two, Enid kept an eye out for Verity; not
hovering, but there with a friendly word or two, or a casual invite to
join a group for coffee. The other students began to realise that
Verity was more reserved than anything else, and made an effort to
include her in their conversations in the common room. She began to
feel like more of a part of the group, rather than an observer from
the outside.

It was a Saturday afternoon, and Enid stuck her head in Verity's room.
"Verity, do you have a good German dictionary I could borrow? I'm
having a horrid time with these Lieder."

Verity began to dig through her books. "This one's pretty good. You
can borrow it if you want, I've finished my translation already."

"You must be some sort of linguistic genius then. I can handle
French, but German always gives me problems."

Verity laughed. "My boarding school was trilingual. After a few
years of alternating languages every day, you do pick it up."

"Alternating languages? You mean for classes and everything?"

"Yes. It was hard for the new students, but you did learn!" Verity
grinned in memory.

"So where was this school? I haven't heard of that arrangement before."

"It was in Switzerland - the Bernese Oberland."

"You mean your parents sent you off to Switzerland? Lucky girl! I'd
love to travel abroad." Enid paused as Verity's face darkened. "I'm
sorry, what did I say?"

"Nothing, it's just that, well," she stumbled to a halt, wanting to
confide in this friendly, gentle girl, but unsure how to start.

Enid sat on the bed and looked at her friend. "As I said before, I've
got a good ear, and I think you really need someone to talk to. Go
ahead." She waited, patiently.

"Well, my mother died when I was very young. I don't remember her at
all. My father was a cartographer. He went on an expedition in the
Amazon when I was two, and I only met him when I was ten," she sighed
sadly. "I only ended up at school because my grandparents had died,
and there was nowhere else to go. I was not happy about it at first.
He came back, but he had been badly injured. He remarried several
years later, to the mother of a friend of mine at school. She's
lovely, it's almost like having a mother of my own. But father
never really got well. He died last summer during an operation."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Enid responded quietly.

"They told me it was better that way," responded Verity. "He had been
suffering a lot, and in the best case, he would always be lame. But,
but, I do miss him!" Verity's eyes filled with tears.

Enid reached over and gave the girl a hug. "Of course you do. That's
only natural. My father died during the war. I barely remember him
at all. He was home occasionaly on leave, but out on deployment with
the navy most of the time. My big brother remembers him more - it was
a lot harder for him when he died. He also thought he should be the
man of the house, which was pretty hard on a twelve year old."

The two girls sat for a few minutes, each lost in their own memories.
Enid shook herself. "I should probably get back to my work. Can I
come and bother you when I need help with my German?"

Verity smiled back, somewhat shakily. "Of course, any time."

---------

The routine of school was interrupted the following Saturday.

"Hi there, how is everyone doing?" A tall, striking pretty girl with
golden curls breezed into the common room with a self confident air.
The students who were lounging around after lunch, reading, chatting
and drinking coffee looked up in startlement. "Are you the lucky
folks who get stuck running around after my sister-by-marriage here?"

There was a moment of silence as Verity poked her head through the
door. "This is Mary-Lou," she interjected, her soft, silvery voice
contrasting with Mary-Lou's golden bell-like tones. "My sister by
marriage. She's here for a visit from Oxford."

"But what is it you mean, 'running around after'?" asked an obviously
French girl in puzzlement.

"You know Verity - if she doesn't have someone looking out for her,
she's completely helpless. It's a hard life I had at school, keeping
her on schedule, and just as bad in the holidays."

There was silence again, as the other students digested this rather
startling statement. By this point, they knew Verity to be meticulous
and precise, with a tendency to get flustered if rushed. But when she
did step in, she was confident, and she was endlessly patient when it
came to working things through in a rehearsal, or helping another
student. By this point, half her floor knew that she was fluent in
both French and German, and was always ready to help with a sticky bit
of translation or pronunciation.

"Come on, lets check your room out and head off. It's been ages since
I've been in London, and I've got a full day planned for us. Good-bye
all, it's been nice meeting you," and with a cheery wave she breezed
out once again, Verity hurrying along in her long legged wake.

------

"So that was your stepsister. It's no wonder you're such a quiet one
- I'm surprised anyone gets a word in edgewise with her around!" This
was Enid, on the way back from a tutorial in music history on Monday
morning. Verity had already determined that while Enid rarely blurted
things out without thinking, she did state things plainly when she
decided to comment.

"She's not that bad. She's just, well, she's a leader, and she always
knows what she's doing and is always in the middle of things. She has
no problem speaking out when she wants to. She was headgirl in our
last year of school, and a prefect of some sort for years before
that. She doesn't mean to run right over people, it - she's just
Mary-Lou." This was said with a tone that indicated that the listener
would know what that meant.

"Does she really follow you around on holidays and at school, making
sure you do your chores?"

"Pretty much. I can do everything, I'm just not quick at it, and she
is. So when we were at school, it was easier to have her do my dormy
chores in the morning, rather than be late and get in trouble. And
Mary-Lou likes to help people. It's pretty much impossible to stop
her when she decides she's going to help you for your own good."
Verity grinned impishly. "I did make it through four years of school
without having to make my own bed, though."

Enid was thoughtful. "You don't rush into things, and you think
before you act, but you're not too terribly slow. And you do get
things right the first time. It takes you longer to do the work, but
you don't have to redo things like I do. I'd guess that she just
jumped in on you before you had a chance to finish things on your own.
I have an aunt like that. I stayed with her one summer when I was
twelve, and when I'd do chores I'd get half way though, and she'd
decided I wasn't doing it properly, or quickly enough, and grab the
dishcloth or dusting cloth right out of my hand."

"As I said, it was easier that way. We got put into different
dormitories later, and it really was hard to get done in time in the
morning. Even here, I always feel rushed, although I can get up
earlier to get ready on time. And it was faster when I realised that
nobody was actually going to inspect my room and drawers for
tidyness."

"Your room looks pretty tidy as it is," laughed Enid. "I can never
manage to put my books away in their proper places, and I don't have
your gift for immaculate bed making either. I always feel a bit
guilty sitting on it and mussing it up."

With that, the two girls split off, and headed to their respective
voice lessons.

#2: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:29 pm
—
"Can I ask you something?" Enid, Verity, and Mary, a flautist from
Cambridge, were sitting in Mary's room, taking a break from quizzing
each other on music history, when Verity broke the silence.

"What is it?"

"It's awkward, but I wanted to ask, well, ask about talking too.."

"To whom?" this was Enid, when the silence became strained.

"Well, boys."

There was a moment of slightly startled silence. So far as the other
girls could see, Verity had spent the first month and a half of
classes studiously ignoring the existence of the opposite sex. If a
male student spoke to her, she'd respond, quietly and briefly, but she
never engaged in the cheerful banter and flirtation the other students
enjoyed out of class. She was never talkative at the best of times,
but when the boys were around, she went practically mute.

Enid spoke up again. "That school you went to, the one in
Switzerland, it was an all girls school, wasn't it."

"Yes."

"Didn't you have dances with other boys' schools, or when you were on
holiday?"

"No, there weren't any boys schools nearby, and that sort of thing, it
wasn't ladylike!" Verity had gone an interesting shade of pink by this
point. "But I see all of you, and you talk to them just as if they
were normal people. I don't know how to do that, and they always seem
so, so pushy when they try to talk to me."

"Verity, do you have any idea how pretty you are?" Mary responded,
with some exasperation. "You're tiny and delicate, and have gorgeous
hair, and those big blue eyes, and lovely skin, and that sweet,
silvery voice. If you played your cards right, you could have a whole
string of them following you around, doing your bidding!" Mary was a
thickset girl, pleasant looking but not at all pretty, and she
sometimes envied the other girl the admiring looks she attracted, with
no apparent effort at all.

Seeing Verity's shocked express, Enid broke in. "You really are
pretty Verity, and boys, they like pretty girls. A lot of the really
nice ones won't talk to you, because you're so quiet around them, but
the more forward boys will always try. You just clam up completely
around them, though, so they aren't sure how to respond. You just
need to practice, so you can talk without getting flustered. We both
have brothers, which made it a lot easier, because you see their
friends around too, and you known that they're just people like we
are. Don't you even have any male cousins or anything?"

"Just Tony. He and his sister spend the holidays with us, because
their parents are dead. But he's away at school too, and when we're
all home, he talks mainly to Clem and Mary-Lou."

"Let me think about this for a while," said Enid thoughfully. "You
need a chance to practice with someone who isn't going to be pushy.
The problem is that you need to learn to talk to boys, and how to fend
them off, at the same time, instead of learning one and then the
other." The girls went back to their studies once more.

As Enid and Verity were walking back to their rooms, Enid turned to
her friend and said, "Say, Verity, why don't you come along to the
museum on Saturday. I'm going with my brother - he just moved to town
recently, he's an architect and just started with a firm in London.
He's quiet - he can carry on a conversation, he just doesn't shout it
to the world, and he won't push at you; Mum raised us better than
that."

"I suppose so," responded Verity, somewhat doubtfully.

"Just think of it as a nice day out with friends, because that's what
it will be. I've already told him he should come out with me and my
friends, as he doesn't know many people in town yet."

--------

Alan Trevor turned out to be a pleasant, rather quiet young man with
dark hair and eyes, and a pale face. He wasn't particularly handsome,
but he had a humorous set to his mouth, and a pleasant voice.

He listened to his younger sister and her friend talk about the
exhibits, interjecting his own comments when he had something to say.
He was, as Enid had said, quiet - not particularly shy, but inclined to
watch and think before saying anything. The only exception that day
was an enthusiastic discourse on the design elements of the building.

At the coffee shop afterwards, he insisted on buying the girls their
drinks, and asked about their coursework. Verity responded shyly to
the questions, and he responded gently, with humour but without the
teasing he directed at his younger sister.

"I know Enid wants to go into teaching private lessons, but what about
you, Verity?" Verity cast a curious look at Enid.

Enid responded, "I like teaching, but I want to be able to go back and
help Mum. Our little sister and brother have just started boarding
school this year. They're at home in the holidays and for half term,
but other than that it's just her, and they're fourteen now, and
growing up fast. I can teach lessons in voice and piano in town and
the nearby villages, and still be able to help her out. It gives me
more freedom than teaching at a school, but I can still earn my own
way. We've never had to worry, but there's not a whole lot of extra
money floating about in our family, and there's still the twins'
education. Besides, I like to keep busy."

Verity outlined her own plans. "I'd like to teach too, but I was
thinking of a post at a school. That would reassure Mary-Lou, too.
She worries about me - well, you saw her, Enid. She likes to manage
people, and she'll never be convinced that I can take care of myself.
If I'm at a school, she'll be reassured. She wants to be an
archeologist, you see, and that requires a lot of travel. If she
doesn't have to worry about me, she could do it with a clear heart."

"And who would this Mary-Lou be?" asked Alan.

"My sister-by-marriage. Her mother married my father when we were
thirteen, you see. My father died last summer - he had been ill for a
long time. Mary-Lou worries about her mother too. She's been staying
with friends of the family in Switzerland, but she really will have a
hard time on her own. It was Mary-Lou's grandmother who was the
organiser in that family, and she died four years ago."

"Well I think you're perfectly capable of looking after yourself,"
said Enid, a bit heatedly. "You're not the sort to manage everyone
around you, but you're not helpless either. And you're certainly good
at teaching."

Alan laughed. "I've heard about your German tutoring. It sounds like
you're helping half your floor by this point. I'd say you're quite a
capable young woman."

At the end of the afternoon, the girls headed back to their residence,
and Alan headed back to the small flat he had in town. "Thank you for
a lovely afternoon ladies. I'll see you soon."

--------

Classes were becoming more intense, now, and the choral and
instrumental groups were preparing for their first performances.
Verity was much happier with her life. She wasn't, and would never
be, the life of the party, and she didn't enjoy huge, noisy gatherings
all that much, but there were study groups, and evenings spent sitting
around coffee shops, discussing music, and art, and life, and shopping
trips on a Saturday afternoon. The views expressed were occasionally
shocking to Verity, as she explained to Enid one evening on the way
home.

"You see, I haven't really gotten out much. I was educated by a
governess until I was ten, and she was very old fashioned. Then I
went to boarding school, which was a big shock at first. I see now
that it was very sheltered as well. First we were near a small town
at the Welsh border, and then on an island off the coast, where we
rarely saw anybody not connected to the school. Then we went to
Switzerland, and again, they kept us pretty much to ourselves. Half
terms took us to the city, but always in a carefully supervised group.
We always spent vacations at Carn Beg, which is near that first small
town. I know people from all over the world from school, but I'm
finding I know little about most of the people from my own country."

Enid laughed. "I can see what you mean. It's not as bad for me, as
I've been to London any number of times, and to the cinema and so on,
but Mum kept us on a pretty short leash when we were growing up. I
certainly never got up to the things some of our classmates have. I
must say, I don't think I'd particularly want to in a lot of cases."

"Me neither," Verity smiled in return. "I don't think I'm cut out for
the life of a sophisticate or bohemian; I'll leave that to the others.
I do like the variety you see here, though. I'm meeting people from all
sorts of different backgrounds. But I think I'll always be one of the
quiet ones."

"Nothing wrong with that, though, is there."

Verity was friendly with Lisa's group, and had formed casual
friendships with a few other girls. Conversations with the boys were
still difficult, but gradually getting easier. She had identified the
most insistent of her admirers by this point, and continued to be
slightly repelled by their attentions. She got along better with
Andrew and Michael, a tenor and baritone respectively. They were
singing in a quartette with Verity and Enid, an alto, preparing a
difficult piece of sixteenth century choral music by Josquin for
performance. They were friendly, good natured fellows; Michael had a
girl back home who he wrote to daily, and Andrew hadn't expressed much
interest in girls. They quickly noticed Verity's discomfort around
the more persistant of her admirers, and helped her subtly deflect
them.

Alan reappeared on occasion, and he and Verity and Enid went to the
occasional concert or theatre performance together. Alan was
cheerfully enthusiastic about his profession, with a tendency to
notice and point out details in the buildings they visited. He had
studied music himself, and although he denied any particular
expertise, he had a pleasant baritone, and could participate
intelligently in discussions of the girls' studies.

--------

Alan came to the fall concert, along with the Trevor's mother, who had
come into London for a few days, to see her children and do much of
her Christmas shopping. Mrs Trevor turned out to be a friendly,
rather plump woman, whose dark hair was turning to silver. She had
been a school teacher before marrying, and even now taught primary
classes for some of the children in her neighbourhood, teaching
letters and numbers for a few hours a day to those too young to start
school.

"It keeps me busy, dear," she said to Verity. "I love to teach, and I
like the activity, particularly now that my children are away most of
the time. You be sure to visit over the holidays. Enid tells me that
your family lives not too far away, and it's nice to have company."

So arrangements were made for Verity to spend the first couple days of
her vacation with the Trevors. Mary-Lou started her vacation at the
same time, but Verity thought it would be nice to give her a few days
alone with her mother before everyone else descended on them.

---------

The Trevors' house was not a large one, but it was a cheerful home,
full of music and laughter. The fourteen year old twins, Mandy and
Kevin, were full of good natured mischief, and spent most of their
time amniably arguing with each other, and pestering their older
siblings for stories of life in the big city. Alan, who had come up
from London with the girls, kept himself busy with minor repairs
around the house, and helped the twins build an elaborate sled, in the
hopes of snow. Enid and Verity helped with the baking and decorating,
with the sometimes erratic assistance of Mandy, who was more than
willing to help but was easily distracted. The most memorable baking
event occured when Mandy, entranced by the antics of one of the new
kittens, accidentally put salt instead of sugar into a batch of
cookies. The substitution was only discovered at the visit of the
minister, much to her chagrin.

The Trevors came to Carn Beg several times, and spent New Years Eve
with the Trelawnys, the Barrases and Verity. Enid and Mrs Trevor
participated in the in the energetic conversations - Mrs Trevor, with
her calm tact, could even handle Mary-Lou at her most helpful. Alan
was more restrained, but sat and watched the conversation with a quiet
smile, and the occasionaly comment. The twins ran wild with Tony,
enjoying the newly fallen snow. The singing in the evenings was
enhanced by the Trevors, all of whom sang well. Verity enjoyed it,
but had to stop silent at one point, when they sang one of her father's
favorite carols.

----------

Later that week, Alan and Verity, who was over at the Trevor's for the
afternoon, headed to the general store for some odds and ends Mrs
Trevor needed for her baking. They walked along in companiable
silence for a while, before Alan spoke up.

"Is there something bothering you, Verity? You're awfully quiet today."

"I'm not sure. I think maybe.."

"Maybe what?"

"It's mother Doris. I'm worried about her," said Verity, an intent
expression on her face. They walked along for a little while longer.
"She's always been fairly quiet, particularly in comparison to
Mary-Lou, and Clem and Tony, but this holiday she just seems sort of,
well, faded."

"It has to be hard for her; it's the first Christmas since your
father died. It's hard for you too, sometimes, isn't it; I can see you
remembering other years, when he was still here."

"It's more that that. It's like there's nothing really holding on to
her, other than Mary-Lou. She's often been ill, and had a bad bout of
cold last month, and I wonder... I wonder how much longer she'll hang
on, now that Father's gone."

"Has Mary-Lou noticed this?"

"I'm not sure. She's been more, more, well, more Mary-Lou than normal
this Christmas. She's normally energetic, but she doesn't stop for a
moment now. I think she suspects, but I don't think she's letting
herself think about it. I tried to mention something, but she didn't
listen. I don't want to make an issue of it, particularly if I'm
right. They should have a good Christmas."

Alan considered this. "If you're right, she'll need you badly when
the time comes."

Verity laughed, somewhat bitterly. "I'm the one that needs Mary-Lou,
not the other way round. She's the strong one, the capable one, the
one who helps everyone else. I'm the broken reed."

"The what!"

"The broken reed. That's what they call me, you know. Or clinging
vine. The one who needs support, the one who needs taking care of.
I've heard them talking about me, you see." Verity stopped, her lips
tight and her shoulders set.

Alan turned towards her, his dark eyes flashing. He started to say
something, paused visibly, and took a deep breath. "No. You're not,"
he said, quietly but vehemently. "You're quiet, yes, and don't rush
into things, but that doesn't mean you aren't strong. Look at you;
your father died less than a year ago, you finished your education at
a sheltered boarding school, where Mary-Lou ran your life, and went
from there to the middle of London, with nobody you knew nearby. That
takes courage, and that takes flexibility, and the ability to learn
new ways of thinking, rather than trying to get everyone to do things
your way. You've done well at it, too."

Verity looked up at him, her eyes wide. "I think I can understand, a
bit," he continued, looking away. "When I was at boarding school, the
leaders were the loud boys, the ones who were good at cricket and
rugby, and could win a fight. I liked working with my hands, and I
liked reading and music. The only sport I was particularly good at
was tennis, and that's not considered very manly." He stopped
suddenly.

A slight smile drifted over Verity's face. "You're a lot nicer to
be with than the loud ones," she said, very quietly.

He looked down at her with sudden intentness, and smiled back. "You
too," he said. "I like Mary-Lou. She's a really nice girl, and I
think she's done her best to be a good friend to you. But I don't
think she ever really gave you space to be yourself. I would find it
exhausting being around her all day. I like you just the way you
are." He reached out with one arm, and gave her an awkward hug around
the shoulders. Verity rested her face forehead against his shoulder
for a moment, hiding her face, before stepping back.

At this point, the pair noticed the increasingly heavy snow fall, and
continued on their errand.

--------

The girls went back to the Conservatory happily, refreshed after the
holidays, and plunged back into work. One weekend in late January,
Enid was off to Cambridge, visiting some friends from school. Alan
had gotten tickets to an afternoon chamber music performance before
realising this, and had said that it wasn't worth wasting them. So he
and Verity went to the concert, which was excellent, followed by
dinner at a nice Italian restauraunt nearby. They chatted companiably
over dinner, starting with a discussion of the week's events, and
moving on to more general topics.

Alan had gone to boarding school at the age of fourteen, as had Enid
and the twins, for a better education than they could get locally. He
was fascinated by her descriptions of life at a sheltered girls
boarding school abroad, and was interested in the travelling the girls
had done around Switzerland. His tales of life in a boys school, in
turn, interested her. He told entertaining stories, but Verity had
the impression that the experience had been difficult one for the
quiet, self contained young man with a passion for architecture and a
fondness for building things.

He was happy with his job in London, however, and had made friends
with several of the younger men at the firm. Verity asked about his
ambitions, and he discussed his plans eagerly.

"I love designing buildings," he said. "On one hand, you need to
create something practical, something that works well and does what it
was designed for. The challenge is to make it beautiful too. So many
of the buildings being designed these days are practical, but ugly.
I'd like to design ones that look good, as well. The firm I'm at is a
good one and does a variety of projects. I need to put in my time,
and work my way up, but I think I'll be happy there for a long time."

At the end of the evening, he walked Verity home. "I hope we can do
this again sometime," he said with a smile, as they stopped at the
front door. "I had a lovely time. You're very easy to talk to, you
know."

Verity smiled shyly back. "Yes, I'd like that."

----------

Over the next week or two, Verity occasionally spotted an odd
expression as Enid's face as she looked at her. After the third or
fourth time, she sat up in exasperation. "Well, what is it?"

"What do you mean, what is it?"

"You've been looking at me for the past few days like I've grown
another head. What's going on?"

"It's nothing," said Enid. "That is, it's nothing yet. I'll tell you
when I know for sure. Or rather, you'll tell me."

Verity looked at her puzzledly, but didn't press further. The odd
looks dropped off.

---------

The first dinner alone wasn't the last. Over the next few months,
Verity and Alan went to several concerts with dinner, and the
occasional movie at the cinema, and a few rather damp walks though the
park. When Verity had a solo in a performance, she was pleased, if a
bit surprised, to find flowers waiting for her, with card that said,
simply, 'from Alan'.

They still socialised with Enid regularly, and spent several
entertaining Saturday afternoons at Alan's tidy little flat, earnestly
attempting to expand his cooking repetoire beyond eggs, beans on
toast, and salad. He obligingly did his best, and insisted that the
girls stay to help sample his attempts.

These pleasant diversions came between classes, rehearsals and
studies, as the girls worked at the conservatory, and Alan worked hard
at his job. Occasionally he brought along a friend to the more casual
gatherings, a plump, fair, perpetually good natured young man named
Christopher. The two had met in university, and Christopher, an
accountant, had recently moved to London as well.

Alan'a revenge for the cooking lessons spanned several visits to the
Trevor's, when he insisted on teaching both girls how to drive,
borrowing Christopher's car for the purpose. Verity was nervous at
first, but loved the sense of power as she carefully steered the car
through the back roads, with Alan in the passenger seat, offering
helpful comments.

---------

Later that weekend, Enid and Christopher headed off for final
practice drive to a nearby town, and Mrs Trevor went to visit a
neighbour who had recently broken a leg, and needed some help around
the house. Alan and Verity settled in the living room, a crackling
fire keeping the dampness at bay. Alan was sorting through some
snapshots sent to him by a friend from university, while Verity
finished some embroidery on a delicate baby's dress, intended for
Daisy Rosonom's newest arrival. She snapped off a thread, and looked
up to see Alan watching her.

"What is it?" she said, gently, when it became clear that he wasn't
going to say anything.

"Verity, can I ask you something?" he responded, hesitantly.

"Of course."

There was silence, as Alan valiantly attempted to start.

Verity cocked her head, then set down her embroidery and moved to sit
next to him on his couch. "What is it," she repeated. "It can't be
that bad, can it?"

He laughed, somewhat shakily. "Verity, you're the nicest girl I've
ever met." He reached out, and took her hand in his. "I can talk to
you, and I know that you're going to listen. You're a very
comfortable person to be around, you know. And, I'd like to be able
to spend a lot more time with you. The rest of my life, if you want."

Verity looked into his eyes, and smiled. "Yes," she responded,
quietly but very firmly. Any further response was muffled as he
leaned over to gently pull her into his arms.

Some time later, Enid, who had been dropped off by Christopher as he
headed home, entered the room to stop dead at the sight of her best
friend and her brother, companiably cuddled up on the couch, oblivious
to anything around them. She gathered herself together, and quietly
slipped out of the room. She proceeded to the kitchen, where she
began preparing tea with a great deal of unnecessary noise.

A few minutes later, Verity and Alan entered the room, hand in hand,
with wide, slightly dazed smiles on their faces. Enid looked up, took
in their demeanor, and smiled wickedly. "Well, do you two have
something to tell me? Or are you just here for the food?"

The pair blushed in unison. "Enid," said Alan. "You did me the
favour of introducing me to your friend. So I thought I'd reciprocate
by introducing you to your new sister."

Enid squealed, and flung herself, first on Verity and then on her
brother. "Contratulations! I was wondering when you two would get
around to it. Welcome to the family, Verity."

Mrs Trevor entered the kitchen at this point, and took in the cheerful
chaos. "Did I miss something?" she asked, genially.

Alan reached out to put an arm around Verity. "Not at all. Actually,
I've found you something. A new daughter," he said, proud and
anxious.

Mrs Trevor reached out to pull Verity into her comfortable embrace.
"Welcome to the family, dear. We couldn't be happier to have you."

-----------

That evening, Verity, Alan and Mrs Trevor made a brief visit to Carn
Beg, to see Doris Carey, and tell her the good news. She welcomed
Alan to the family with gentle happiness. "Have you told Mary-Lou
yet?" she asked, with a slight cough. "She'll be so happy."

"Not yet," said Verity with a smile. "We've barely had time to tell
you two."

"So when are you planning the wedding?"

The pair looked at each other. "This summer?" said Verity. "I'd like
to finish my term at the conservatory."

"Sounds good to me," said Alan. We'll have to find a house, as well.
My flat would be much too cramped for the two of us. We can work out
the details later, though"

---------

The following weekend, Verity and Alan were at dinner. "So what do
you want to do about the wedding," he asked.

Verity thought for a moment. "I'd like a simple wedding, with your
family, Mother Doris, Mary-Lou, Clem and Tony, and Aunt Joey and Uncle
Jack if they can make it. No fuss, no big gathering. The hard part
will be reining in Aunt Joey."

"Aunt Joey - she's the one in Switzerland, right."

"Yes. She's a lot like Mary-Lou in many ways. I know exactly what
she'll do. She'll want the wedding in Switzerland, with Uncle Jack to
give me away, and the triplets as bridesmaids, and everybody
associated with the school to come. Having Uncle Jack give me away is
fine, but I'd like to avoid all the rest of the fuss."

Alan looked concerned. "I don't know, it will cost a lot to get to
Switzerland if we want my whole family to go."

"I'd rather have it here, too. But we'll have to think of some
excuse."

"Can't you just tell your Aunt that it costs too much?"

"You'll understand when you meet her. Like I said, Aunt Joey's a lot
like Mary-Lou. Sometimes I wonder if she's given Mary-Lou lessons in
helpfulness. She's one of the oldest pupils of the school - her
sister started it - and she lives right next door to the branch in
Switzerland. She's a great help with new students who are having
trouble fitting into boarding school, and she's a lot of fun, but she
has the same helpful tendencies Mary-Lou does, and the same habit of
not hearing when you try to tell her something different that what
she's decided. She also shares Mary-Lou's opinion of my general
competence, and won't be convinced that I can organise my own
wedding."

Alan laughed. "It sounds like your curse at school was to be
surrounded overly helpful people who wanted to run your life. We'll
have to think of a way around it."

#3: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:30 pm
—
Their plans were interupted several weeks later, when Verity was met
after class by a worried looking Alan.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"What is it," Verity asked apprehensively once they were alone.

"I just got a phone call from Mary-Lou," said Alan.

"From Mary-Lou? What ever for?"

"It's her mother."

Verity went pale, and sat down abruptly. "I was right, wasn't I. What
I said at Christmas."

Alan sat down next to her. "Yes," he said simply. "It's her lungs.
One's almost gone, the other is badly touched. She has some time
left, but, well, it won't be long. Mary-Lou phoned me and asked me to
tell you."

Verity looked up, tears in her eyes. "What is she planning to do now?"

Alan put an arm around her shoulders. "She said she's called Auntie
Joey for help, and she's coming out from Switzerland. They need to
close up Carn Beg, and her mother will travel by stages to Switzerland
and the San. I took the liberty of offering our help for whatever
they need."

"Thank you," said Verity. "I'm glad she'll trust one of us to be
useful."

------------

The next few weeks were a whirlwind of activity. Verity met up with
Mary-Lou, who was being almost frighteningly competent and very self
controlled. When Verity went to hug her stepsister at the train
station, she was met by an abrupt "We don't have time for any of that
now."

Joey Maynard showed up a day or two later. With her to take control,
Mary-Lou relaxed slightly, but was still bound up in her mother, and
the closing of the house. Whenever Verity went to speak to her, or to
Joey, she received consoling words, and was handed something simple to
do, or told to go and rest.

Alan came up to Carn Beg that weekend to help, and Verity went to pick
him up at the train station, taking Aunt Joey's rental car for the
short trip. He greeted the weary, tense looking woman with a warm hug.
"You look exhausted, love. Has it been that bad?"

Verity looked up, and promptly burst into tears. Alan steered them
into a seat in a quiet corner, and held her until she started to calm
down. "What is it?"

"They won't let me help," she sobbed out. "They won't talk to me,
they won't let me do anything useful. If I try to say anything, they
tell me to pull myself together, or they send me to bed. I'm killing
the plants in my room, pouring out the hot milk with a 'little
something in it'. I don't need to be drugged, and I don't need to be
dealt with. I just want to help."

Alan held her tightly for a moment, and then produced a clean
handkerchief from his overcoat pocket. "I'm sorry," he said.
"Someday we're going to have to figure out how to convince them that
you're an intelligent, capable woman, but I don't think we're going to
be able to do it right now. You're going to need to be strong, and do
your best to endure it. I'll do anything I can to help."

"Thank you," she said, wiping her eyes. "It helps just talking to
you. Lets get a cup of tea at the station, and head back to the
house."

----------

There was some consternation when Verity and Alan returned to the
house. When Verity had said, "I need to pick up Alan, can I take the
car?", Joey had replied, "Yes, of course," without thinking about it.
Mary-Lou was shocked speechless when she saw a composed Verity driving
up the lane way, Alan in the passenger seat. When she tried to take
Verity to task, she was met with a matter of fact response of "But I
can drive, of course. Alan taught me. I got my license two weeks
ago." Verity then led her fiance inside.

Mrs Carey started the long, careful journey to Switzerland, and Verity
headed to Switzerland with Mary-Lou and Joey. Her Easter break was
about to start, and she had gotten leave from the Conservatory to miss
the last classes before the break. She would return after the break
to finish her semester.

The news of her engagement was met with subdued glee and many
congratulations at the Platz. Joey, as predicted, was full of plans
for a wedding at the Platz, with the triplets as bridesmaids. Verity
nodded dutifully, and watched Mrs Carey with a worried eye. She wasn't
convinced that Doris would be able handle a big wedding, whatever she
might say. She smiled, and accepted the congratulations, but was
fairly subdued.

--------

Verity returned to Switzerland as soon as her classes were over.
Doris Carey, after a brief rally, was fading rapidly. The two girls
spent as much of their time as possible with her. Mary-Lou was still
firmly self controlled, and seemed to regard her step sister as
another problem that had to be dealt with. Verity realised that this
wasn't going to change in the near future, and tried her unobtrusive
best to help.

Life at Aunt Joey's wasn't much of a break. Grizel Cochrane was
visiting, and Joey had organised a mini school reunion with a number
of the old girls who happened to be nearby, complete with expeditions,
naps and parlour games.

One afternoon, Verity was sitting with her stepmother. Mary-Lou had
been sent off by a determined nurse, firmly instructed not to come
back until she had had something to eat, and had laid down for a nap.

"Verity," the ill woman said, quietly.

"Yes, mother," she said, moving closer.

"Take care of my girl, after I'm gone."

"I'll try," said Verity, tears in her eyes, "but I don't know if
she'll let me."

"Don't wait for her to let you. Mary-Lou likes to take care of other
people. She's like my mother in law - she's happiest when she feels
needed. But she needs taking care of, too. She won't admit it to
herself, but she'll need you when it's time for her to grieve." she
started to cough, and Verity hurried to get her a cup of water.

"Be there for her, Verity. Someday she'll need to recognise that
there's strength in silence, too, and that you can't always bend
things to go the way you will. She's used to getting her way,
and it will go hard for her, the first time she doesn't when it really
matters."

Verity held her hand, and they sat in silence. Before she slipped off
to sleep, Doris said, very softly, "It's been a great joy to me,
having you as a daughter. You're a lot like your father, you know."

#4: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:34 pm
—
And now for the new bit

The end came soon after that. After the first rush of grief, and a
night of heavy sleep, they began to prepare for the sad trip back to
England.

Alan met Verity at the train, and went with her to Carn Beg for the
funeral. Mrs Trevor came to help with the funeral preparations and
reception, in addition to Joey's brother and sister in law, Dick and
Mollie Bettany, who were helping with the details. The funeral passed
in a blur, leaving Verity exhausted, but coming to terms with her
sorrow.

Mary-Lou was a different problem. She remained tight and controlled
for some time, even more efficient and bossy than normal. She was
outwardly cheerful and stoic, but unapproachable, even by her closest
friends. Verity's overtures were rebuffed with soothing words, and
she eventually had to back off, leaving it to Joey Maynard to
initially break through the grieving girl's shell.

Verity and Mary-Lou stayed at Carn Beg, with first Hilda Annersley,
and then Mollie Bettany keeping them company. Verity's weekends were
busy with preparations for her upcoming marriage. She and Alan found
a nice house, close enough for him to get to work easily, but in a
quiet neighbourhood. It wasn't huge, but there was ample space for
the two of them, with room for visitors. There was a nice yard, and
a shed in the back where Alan could keep his carpentry tools.

Then there was the task of getting it furnished, with a combination of
antique furniture that had been left to Verity by her grandparents,
and a few new pieces. Mary-Lou promised them a set of practical
dinnerware, to complement the good china that was included with the
antiques, and presented them with a complete set of linens. Mrs
Trevor outfitted the rest of the kitchen, and with help from the
twins, stocked the pantry and got everything into order.

Joey and Jack Maynard arrived at Carn Beg shortly thereafter. Jack
had the annual meeting of the board of the San, and they came out
early to help with the wedding preparations. In the rush of dealing
with the funeral details and the paperwork afterwards, the initial
plans for a big wedding had been scaled down considerably.

------------

Mary-Lou and Verity were sitting in the parlour one afternoon, the
former reading a book on Egyptian artifacts and the latter sewing.
Verity looked up at her step-sister.

"Mary-Lou?"

She set down her book and looked up. "Yes?"

"Have you decided what you are going to do now? Are you going back
to Oxford this term, or waiting til next?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking of waiting a bit - there's still a
lot of work to do here at Carn Beg, settling the estate, and shutting
up the house. I may wait a full year."

Verity looked bemused. "That doesn't sound like you. You're ususally
quite capable of doing three or four things at once and loving it.
You've got lots of people to help you - you could certainly manage uni
as well as the businesss matters."

Mary-Lou stiffened. "I can decide what I need to do myself,
thank-you," she retorted.

Verity paused deliberately, looking at her stepsister with thoughful
blue eyes. "What's bothering you?" she asked quietly. "It's not just
mother's death, there's something more that's eating away at you."

"It's nothing you need to worry about," this, in a flat, hard tone.

"But I want to help. You don't have to go it alone," Verity stopped
for a second, and continued more quietly. "Your mother asked me to
help you, when it came time for you to grieve for her. I promised I
would; it's the least I can do for her, she's the only mother I've
ever known."

Mary-Lou sat for a while, her head down. When she looked up, her face
was wet. "You won't want to when you know how horrible I am," she
said, chokingly, and put her head down on her arms and sobbed.

------------

Verity sat down next to her stepsister, and held her as she sobbed.
Eventually the storm of tears subsided, and she looked up at Verity
with red eyes.

"I feel so guilty," she said. "I thought, when father died, that I
would have to give up archaeology. I couldn't go traipsing all over
the world on digs, knowing that you and mother were here alone. I
figured I'd finish my course at Oxford, and then settle at Carn Beg.
Now you're getting married and will be okay, and that's wonderful, but
mother's dead and that's the only reason I can go on with my career.
And I'm <I>happy</I> I can be an archeologist and I shouldn't be
because I miss her and I want her back!" This last was wailed in a
tone of anguish.

Verity hugged her friend. "Don't be silly, Mary-Lou Trelawny," she
replied. "How do you think mother would feel if she could see how
miserable you're making yourself? Besides, even if she were still
here, and perfectly healthy, you would still have gone on to be an
archaeologist."

Mary-Lou looked up. "But I told you, I couldn't go and leave you
two..."

"Nonsense. I would manage just fine even without Alan - I've got Clem
and Tony here in England, and the Maynards in Switzerland, and I'm not
an idiot. Besides, Alan and I discussed it shortly after we were
engaged, and we had decided that when you'd finished at Oxford we
would have asked mother to stay with us if she wanted, as it would be
hard for her to stay at Carn Beg alone. "

Mary-Lou gaped in astonishment at the astringent tone which emanated
from her gentle stepsister. "I, I..."

"So don't keep beating yourself up about it. Mother was proud of your
ambitions and your accomplishments, and she wouldn't want to see you
throw it away out of misplaced guilt. And remember, you still have a
family, and its soon going to be bigger. You're more than welcome
with Alan and me, and Alan's mother told me that you're invited to
spend Christmas with at the house with us, and so are Clem and Tony.
Now let's go and wash your face, otherwise you're going to look like a
racoon."

And with that, Verity left the room, a bemused Mary-Lou in her wake.

----

Things got more rushed with a sudden phone call from Alan that
Tuesday.

"Verity, can you be ready to be married this weekend?"

"This weekend! But why?" as she sat down heavily on a nearby chair."

"My vacation has been switched around. We've got big project starting
at the end of the month, and my boss wants me involved. It's a really
good opportunity, and comes with a promotion. BUT, it means I have to
take my vacation beforehand. What do you say?"

"Of course we can do it. I'll let your mother know, and we can
arrange things from this end. Can you come out here?"

"That would work best. I'll get the license today, and come out
Friday afternoon."

And so Verity and Alan were married that weekend. Clem was on a
sketching trip in Italy, and couldn't make it down in time, but
Tony came, and Enid and the twins joined them. It was a simple
ceremony, Verity in a lovely dress, her only ornaments flowers.
Mary-Lou stood by Verity, and Christopher kept an unaccountably
nervous Alan pointed in the right direction.

When it was time for the vows, Alan gave his in a voice that shook
slightly, while Verity spoke hers in a soft, but very firm voice.
The newly married couple accepted congratulations all round, and
headed off for their new home. They had decided not to take a
honeymoon right then, as they would enjoy a week spent settling into
their new home much more than a tiring trip. Alan had suggested a
trip to Europe at some point in the future, with a stop in Switzerland
at the end, to meet the people there.

-------------

It was over a year later. Verity and Alan were firmly settled in
their house, and had made it into a happy home. Verity thoroughly
enjoyed managing her own household, and had quickly transformed her
lesson based training in household matters, acquired at school, to a
smoothly run home, and had developed a real gift for cooking. They
had a woman who came in twice a week to help with the heavy cleaning,
delivery for the groceries, and sent the laundry out, but were self
sufficient apart from that. Alan had set up his work shop in the back
shed, and took care of the household repairs and maintenance.

Enid came by regularly, generally with the ever faithful Christopher
in tow. That young man had made his intentions known, but Enid was
intent on finishing her course at the conservatory before making a
commitment. Mary-Lou had paid flying visits from Oxford on several
occasions, and the twins and Mrs Trevor had come by as much as
possible.

Mrs Trevor had spent a month with them, after the birth of their first
child a year after their marriage. The delivery had been long, but
but mother and child had come through well, and little Roland Louis was a
cheerful, healthy baby, with a shock of dark hair and clear blue eyes.
The twins, in turn, were delighted to have a nephew.

------

Mary Lou had stopped by for a visit, before starting her final year at
Oxford. She and Verity were in a sunny kitchen, as Roly kicked and
babbled to himself in his bassinet. Verity was dressing and stuffing
a chicken to roast for dinner, while Mary-Lou paced around the
kitchen, idly looking at objects on the shelves. When the chicken was
in the oven, Verity wiped up, and retrieved the baby for a diaper
change and his afternoon meal. The settled down in the sitting room,
and silence reigned for a while.

After a time, Verity looked at her step sister consideringly. "What's
the matter?"

"What do you mean, what's the matter?" she responded, quickly.

"You've been restless all weekend. You haven't sat still for more
than ten minutes at a stretch. Somethings bothering you. What is
it?" She waited.

Mary-Lou paced around the room a bit more. "You don't need to worry
yourself about it," she said, in a soothing tone.

Verity said nothing for a while, as she burped the baby, and put him
down for a nap. Then she stopped, and looked at the woman sitting
across from her for a moment.

"Listen to me, Mary-Lou," she said, firmly and clearly, an iron tone
in her silvery voice. Mary-Lou looked up, startled. "You don't need
to protect me anymore. I'm an adult. I have a family and a house to
run, and I'm managing just fine with both of them. Contrary to your
opinion, Alan doesn't manage everything for me, we work together, and
he trusts me to be competent and able to handle life, and I wish to
goodness you'd do the same." Mary-Lou stared at her step sister as if
she had never seen her before in her life. "I'm not a child, I'm not
helpless, and I'm not going to fall to pieces if you stop trying to
take care of me." Verity paused, flushed, at the end of her tirade.

"Besides," Verity said, more gently. "You're my sister, and I love
you. Something's wrong, and I want to help. If you can't talk to
your family, who can you talk to?"

Mary-Lou stared at her for a while longer, then her shoulders
suddenly slumped. "I -- I don't know what to do." she said quietly.

------

Verity waited patiently, as Mary-Lou gathered her thoughts. "There's
this boy at uni, Matt. He's a few years older than I am - he took
several years off to travel around the world - and we're in a lot of
classes together, and have some friends in common. And I..."

"And what?" said Verity, as the silence stretched on. "Has he done
anything to you?"

"No," responded Mary-Lou quickly. "No, he hasn't. That's the problem.
It's like he doesn't even know I exist. And I, I love him!" With
this, the ever confident, self assured, breezy Mary-Lou burst into
tears. Verity moved over to sit beside her, and put an arm around her
sister, letting her sob into her shoulder. Mary-Lou continued,
through her tears. "He's nice, and he's funny and intelligent, and
has these big dark eyes and lovely curly dark hair, and a wonderful
laugh. It's driving me crazy. I want to be with him, I want him to
notice me."

"I've tried everything I can think of to make him love me. But it's
like I'm just some random person in the crowd. Sometimes I think he's
avoiding me. Everyone else likes me, why can't he." And with that
last anguished wail she stopped, and gave in to her sobs.

As she held her, Verity though back over her school days with
Mary-Lou. Her sister was charming, and friendly, with a breezy air of
self confidence. In the rare cases where someone didn't take to her
at once, Mary-Lou had always been able to win them over - look at Miss
Ferrars, or Jessica, or Naomi, or that girl the first term at St
Mildreds. Susan, not a Chalet School alumna, had started out the
term resenting Mary-Lou's habit of taking charge of everyone around
her, but the two had ended up good friends by the end of the term, and
still corresponded regularly. Verity herself had been won over their
first term at school, all those years ago.

Mary-Lou, her tears at an end, looked at Verity with a damp face.
"How can I make him love me?" she asked, forlornly.

Verity looked at her compassionately. "You can't, you know," she said
quietly. Mary-Lou looked at her in startlement. "You can't force
someone to feel that way if they don't. If you try too hard, you'll
just scare him off completely."

"But, but I love him."

"I know. And it hurts that he doesn't love you back. It hurts a lot
right now. But that's how it is. Someday you'll find someone you
love, who feels the same way about you, but you can't force it if it's
not there."

Mary-Lou looked at her sister with a puzzled, thoughtful expression on
her face. "I - I'll have to think about that," she said quietly, as
Verity handed her a clean handkerchief.

----------------------------------------------

Alan arrived home later that evening to find Mary-Lou unusually
subdued and Verity unusually distracted. Verity's pointed warning
glance kept him from commenting on the state of affairs until they
were alone in their room.

"Is anything wrong with Mary-Lou?", he asked.

Verity sighed. "She's just discovered that she can't always convince
people to do what she wants them to. I can't tell you the details, but
she needed a shoulder to cry on and someone to tell her the truth."

"Did she listen to you?"

"Eventually. I had to get downright cross before she'd even tell me
what was wrong, but she eventually broke down. I'm not sure my advice
helped, but I think she may have realised that I'm an adult, not just
the broken reed she remembers."

"That's good. Let me known if there's anything I can do to help,"
Alan replied sleepily, pulling the covers over them both. "Good-night,
love"

"Night."

-

#5: Author: ali, Location: medway, kent

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:37 pm
—
Hoorah, strong Verity sorting Mary-Lou out. Glad she is so content with Alan.

Still for a finished story, thats ending is a lot like a cliff! Will Mary-Lou get her man? Perhaps a sequel will appear one day. Smile

#6: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:47 pm
—
Thanks, Jennifer - good to see this back and a lovely ending Very Happy

Although, I too would like to find out if Mary-Lou eventually got her man - if the bunnies can be persuaded to tell you ...

#7: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:17 pm
—
Thanks, Jennifer. I'm glad Verity finally found the courage to stand up to Mary-Lou. I also hope that you will tell us whether Mary-Lou gets her man.

#8: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:30 pm
—
Glad Verity finally got through to Mary Lou - that's not the end though, is it Jennifer?

#9: Author: Kate, Location: Ireland

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:00 pm
—
Thanks Jennifer! Just read the whole thing - you really did Verity justice!

#10: Author: Ciorstaidh, Location: London

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 9:59 pm
—
Oh, Jennifer - what a truly lovely story. I've just read this in one go, and you've really caught Verity - and Mary-Lou, too.

It would be lovely to see Mary-Lou's side of the story, or indeed a continuation with the ML/Matt storyline, should that plot bunny bite your ankle... Very Happy

#11: Author: BethC, Location: Worcester, UK

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:08 pm
—
Thanks, Jennifer! Great to see this back with more - good for Verity.
*adds voice to requests for continuation...*

#12: Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 11:17 pm
—
I hope this isn't the end, too, because I've only just found this story and read it right through, it is lovely and can't possibly stop there!

I'm so glad to see the stronger side to Verity. Very Happy

#13: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 11:31 pm
—
That was wonderful - especially the role reversal with Verity and Mary-Lou at the end. That's the Verity we knew and loved from 3 Go, before EBD forgot.

#14: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 12:41 am
—
Like other I have just foundand read this story. Love your characterization of Verity and Mary-Lou. Alan is lovely too.

Would love to see more of Matt and MaryLou.

#15: Author: Changnoi, Location: New Mexico, USA

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 1:57 am
—
That was very nice.

Poor Verity, all those years, really being smothered. I liked that Mrs Trelawney, in her own way, was able to appreciate what was going on. I wish that she had been able to intervene, and I understand that she was always too ill. But poor Verity, being stifled and smothered and still coming through it unscathed. To me, that's a stronger character right there than all of Mary-Lou's bluster and butting-in and OOAOness.

Thanks for writing this; it needed to be written.

Chang

#16: Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 4:17 am
—
Thank you Jennifer; that was a very fitting ending with OOAO finally realising that not only is Verity a capable individual in her own right, but that, painful as it is,her (M-L's) approach to life is not always going to work.

#17: Author: delilah_siren, Location: Sydney, Australia

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 4:59 am
—
thx jennifer! loved the story!

#18: Author: JoW, Location: Lincolnshire

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 9:46 am
—
A lovely story. It must have been tough for Mary-Lou to realise that you can't always get what you want ... but it's a life lesson she had to learn.

#19: Author: keren, Location: Israel

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 10:05 am
—
This is a lovely and insightful story.

#20: Author: ibarhis, Location: London and Hemel Hempstead

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 11:40 am
—
Good for Verity, and thank you!

#21: Author: Alice, Location: London, England

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:05 pm
—
Thanks Jennifer. Glad Verity was able to set Mary-Lou straight about a few things. Hope to see Mary-Lou's story at some point...

#22: Author: RuthY, Location: Anyone's guess

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:18 pm
—
Thank you Jennifer.

Good for Verity glad Mary-Lou could see that Verity was able to cope. Good for Verity!!!

#23: Author: Tara, Location: Malvern, Worcestershire

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 5:23 pm
—
Thank you, Jennifer. That was a lovely picture of Verity growing into herself. You are going to tell us what happens to Mary-Lou at some point, aren't you!

#24: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 1:37 pm
—
Thanks Jennifer, I enjoyed this.

#25: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 2:52 pm
—
Thank you Jennifer, that was really great and you captured Verity so well.

*joins the chorus of those hoping for a Mary-Lou sequel*

Thank you Very Happy

Kathryn

#26: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 8:52 pm
—
Thanks, Jennifer. I do wish someone had given OOAO a good kick up the backside before then.

#27: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 10:36 pm
—
Good for Verity!

#28: Author: Mary, Location: Sussex University

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 1:11 pm
—
Thanks Jennifer. I forget how great Verity is. I really enjoyed it!

#29: Author: Jools, Location: Sadly Broke

Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 3:23 pm
—
Just found this story and really enjoyed it, thanks Jennifer.

#30: Author: Josie, Location: London

Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 4:34 pm
—
Finally finished reading this, Jennifer. Thanks for a lovely drabble.

#31: Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks

Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 11:11 pm
—
Have finally caught up on this and it's utterly fabulous

Really looking forward to more Jennifer Very Happy

The CBB -> Ste Therese's House

output generated using printer-friendly topic mod. All times are GMT + 1 Hour

Page 1 of 1