Chapter 1

                                    

                                          
Cordelia Rivers sat at her pianoforte, trying, once again, to make her way through the Moonlight Sonata without making a mistake. However, as usual, her fingers slipped and she hit a discordant note.

“Blast.” Cordelia wiggled her fingers and scowled. It was no use. It was too cold in the house, and her hands suffered because of it. She stretched her fingers again and laid her hands in the lap of her dress. There was no point in asking Mrs. Danvers to heat the place because there was no money to do so. Cordelia knew that it would not be long before Green Boughs would be sold to someone to pay her father's debts, and some other person would be the master of the halls she loved so much. It was inevitable. The beauty of her home had faded as much as the character and honor of her father, especially after the death of her step-mother.

Cordelia spent most of her time in solitude. Her father was rarely, if ever, home. Mrs. Danvers was often too busy, trying to do too much without much help at all. It was only Mrs. Danvers and a scullery maid named Mary left, and a stable boy named John; none of which were particularly interesting conversationalists. Cordelia spent her time reading and playing her pianoforte, and occasionally visiting with Lady Olivia, a kind, if a bit nosy neighbor.

Cordelia sighed and stood up. She walked down the hall and almost laughed when she saw the portraits hanging there. A large one, with her father and her step-mother Abigail, and another one with Cordelia herself and her step-sister Charlotte. The artist had been infatuated with Lotte, and the portrait showed this, with Lotte's resplendent blonde curls forming a halo around her pretty face. Cordelia, in the background, looked almost grim, straight faced and quite serious, but there was still something there, life in her eyes. Cordelia smiled at that picture, because she felt it was a very good likeness of her.

Back in her room, Cordelia went to a drawer and pulled out a small likeness of her mother that was painted in oil. Cordelia was very young when her mother died and she only had a faint memory of her. She had an impression that her mother was someone who had been quite sad and ill. Her father had been in love with Abigail Follows from the start. Abigail ahd been  the prettiest girl her season, and she had spared much flirtation on Charles Rivers. However, she received a better offer than his, from a Viscount, no less, and left Charles bereft and alone. His aunt then introduced him to Cordelia's mother, a quite, pretty girl named Viola, who he married without much enthusiasm. Cordelia was sure her father had never loved her mother. Soon after their marriage, Cordelia was born, and her mother could focus her love and attention on her child.
                          
It was when Cordelia was five that tragedy struck their household. Her mother was with child, and feeling very ill, indeed. The Viscount that had been married to Abigail fell from a horse and died, and she was a widower, who all of a sudden longed for a friendship with her lost love Charles. They wrote to each other, and met clandestinely, scandalizing all of society, and causing a great depression to Viola, who was already sick because of her delicate condition. Her mother had grown hysterical, and in a fit of anger, left her sickbed and fell down the stairs of Green Bough, mortally wounding herself and losing the child she was carrying in the process.

Sir Charles and Abigail waited exactly the minimum time that was socially acceptable to marry, with Abigail moving in and quickly assuming the role of Lady of Green Boughs. Cordelia was too little too understand what was going on, and had become painfully shy after the death of her mother. It didn't take much effort from Abigail's part to manipulate every aspect of Cordelia's life and basically use every power to elevate her own daughter's circumstances. Charlotte herself had been a lovely companion and stepsister; Cordelia could not fault the girl for her own mother's horrendous behavior.

When it was time for the girls season in town, Charlotte shone like a star, and made an excellent match in Sir William Darcy. They had been married the past five years and already had two lovely children with one now on the way. Cordelia knew that soon enough that Green Boughs would be sold and she would be carted off to live on Lotte's charity, helping her with the children. It was not so dire a fate; Sir William and Charlotte were lovely, and would be kind to her.

Cordelia walked over to the desk, taking out paper, ink and a quill, getting ready to write a letter to Lotte, when Mrs. Danvers came into the room.

“Miss Cordelia, Lady Olivia is here to see you.”

Lady Olivia walked in right after Mrs. Danvers. She sat on the divan, and Cordelia walked over, sitting next to her. Lady Olivia seemed agitated, wringing a handkerchief and biting her lip.

“Is everything alright Lady Olivia?”

“Oh, dear child,” Lady Olivia paused for a moment, placing her hand on her bosom, breathing in heavily and then releasing it. “Green Boughs has been sold.”

Cordelia laughed. “Well, that comes as no surprise to me, Lady Olivia? Who will have the pleasure of living in Green Boughs?”

The older lady breathed a sigh of relief and laid her hands in her lap. “A Captain Wedmore. Andrew Wedmore. Made quite a fortune for himself out to sea. A widower, and handsome to boot, with two young children. He is coming to Green Boughs with his elder sister Marianne, who is helping him with the children.”

Cordelia smiled. She remembered Andrew Wedmore. He had married Priscilla Liamsworth, who had been a lovely sweet girl, but definitely of a weak constitution. It was particularly tragic that Andrew had lost her. Andrew had been a kind person, one of the few that had been able to get past the frostiness that surrounded Cordelia during her season. They had met at a ball at the De Lancey's. Cordelia was seated at the fringe of the action,and she had failed at making polite conversation with widows or other seated ladies, when Andrew Wedmore sat next to her.

He immediately started talking to her, introducing himself to her and was not even deterred by her cool response to him. Instead of taking offense and walking away, like most had done, he soldiered on, saying that it was immensely rude of him to speak to her without being introduced, and that he was a person of little consequence, being both a second son and a mere naval officer, and that he had no idea how to behave at “these sorts of things.” Cordelia immediately took pity upon him and told him that she loathed “these sorts of things” and would rather be at home reading or practising on her pianoforte.
    
When Andrew told her that he liked to dance, and would like to dance with her, Cordelia politely declined. It was she who suggested Priscilla as a viable partner for Andrew.

“No one ever asks her because she has a slight limp, but I do believe she would love the honor of dancing with you. She loves stories of pirates and the high seas; perhaps you could regale her with some?”

Andrew took one look at the lovely,  sweet Priscilla, with her pale face and golden locks, sitting quietly with her hands clasped in her lap, wearing a simple yellow muslin gown, and walked over to ask her to dance. The rest, had been history. Cordelia sighed now, out of the happy memory of having done a good deed in her life, even if it had ended in tragedy.

“Oh, child, you have distracted me!” Lady Olivia sat up straight and began wringing her handkerchief again. “I have unhappy news to share with you. Your father has taken ill.”

Cordelia sighed and placed her hands on Lady Olivia's, steadying them. The older woman stopped moving her hands and dropped them into her lap.

“Lady Olivia, do not fret. My father has been ill for quite some time now, and this news does not surprise me.”

“Child, he has sent for you. He is staying at the house of a friend in town.” Lady Olivia put her hands on the girl's face. “We must put together a chest of your things post haste, and see you off to town. Unfortunately, Mrs. Danvers will not be able to accompany you, as she has orders to get the house ready for the new owners. But my girl, Molly, will see you as far as the town house.”

Cordelia nodded. Most of the things that they had owned had already been sold. The only things she had left were her clothes, a few books, and of course, the pianoforte, which had been left to her by her mother. She supposed that it would stay there under the care of Captain Wedmore, until she could arrange to have it sent to Lotte's. For that was most likely where she would end up after her father passed. Cordelia had long resolved herself to this fate. It was very unlikely that she would marry, and Lotte was a kind sister, who would be happy for Cordelia's help with the children. It would not be so terrible, or so lonely. She would be treated  with kindness and respect, which was the most that she could hope for.