Chapter 10

"If love is blind, then maybe a blind person that loves has a greater understanding of it." Criss, Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

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Chapter Ten

The post was always taken to the dining room so that the letters and invitations could be read over breakfast.

Isabella was anxious to see if Luke's doctor had replied to her letter. It had been two weeks.

As awfully as she felt for Luke, Isabella felt as though she had made her first break through with him after months of him isolating himself by sitting up in their bedroom.

Luke had told her how he was feeling. What little knowledge Isabella had of men, she knew in her heart that for a man to confess his fears and insecurities it meant that he trusted the person he was with.

Luke had suffered immeasurable trauma, but if he could trust Isabella with his feelings, then she could help him emotionally.

Isabella still hoped that the doctor would have some advice for her.

Just as Isabella was about to descend the stairs to go off in search of the post, she noticed the servants' doorway open. Mary emerged from the internal staircase and was heading towards Luke's bedroom. In her hand, she was holding a letter. Perhaps it was for Luke. He would need his letters read to him, after all.

"Good morning, Mary," Isabella greeted.

Mary jumped, startled. She clearly had not seen Isabella standing there. She clutched her chest and smiled slightly. "Oh, good morning, Mrs Cassidy. I did not see you there."

Isabella smiled. "I could take that letter to Luke," she volunteered, holding out her hand.

Mary nervously looked down at the letter. "Oh ..." she stammered.

"Is it your letter?" asked Isabella curiously. "Did you want to read it in private?" Before Mary had time to conceal the addressee on the letter, Isabella spied her name, or at least the letter 'I'. "Mary, is that letter addressed to me?" Isabella demanded to know.

After some spluttering and a little thought, Mary said, "It is intended for Captain Cassidy, I am quite sure."

"And what would bring you to make that assumption?" asked Isabella indignantly. "If my name is on the letter then one would assume that the letter is intended for me."

"It is from Captain Cassidy's hospital in London," protested Mary. "It concerns him."

Isabella placed her hands on her hips. "Mary, you have not been a member of the household staff here for very long, but I can assure you that any interference with our letters warrants you a stern warning from Housby." Isabella could not know for sure that Mary had been going to read the letter to Luke. She had been so coy when Isabella had mentioned wanting to write to the doctor. For all she knew, Mary had been planning on throwing the letter in the fire and nobody would have ever known. "If you are caught destroying any of our possessions, letters or otherwise, then your position will be terminated."

A mixture of emotions crossed Mary's face. Guilt and anger seemed to be the dominating feelings. "I told you there was no need to write to his doctor," Mary reiterated sternly.

"When I want your counsel, I will ask for it," snapped Isabella angrily. Did Mary think that she could conceal a letter from Luke's doctor because she had a right to? "Give me that letter right now," she ordered.

After a little hesitation, Mary handed Isabella the letter. Sure enough, it was addressed to her from her Doctor Harris in London.

With one action, Mary had worn out any respect that she had earned from Isabella. Mary was manipulative and controlling and Isabella did not want her influence around her husband any longer, she decided. Luke was making progress and it seemed as though Mary was determined to nurse him as though he were a child.

"You can pack your things," Isabella decided as she held the letter in her hands.

Mary gasped. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard what I said. You have lost my trust, and so I do not want you in my house."

"This is not your house, Mrs Cassidy, and I am not in your employ," seethed Mary darkly.

Isabella's eyes widened, and it took every ounce of her self-control not to slap the woman. "This," Isabella growled, holding up her left hand and showing Mary her wedding ring, "gives me authority in Cassidy House and whomever it employs. I say that your position here has been terminated and I would advise you to leave quietly if you would like any sort of reference."

A reference was needed for further employment. If Mary was clever, she would take the high road.

Mary was glaring at her. Isabella had never had anyone look at her so hatefully before. For a moment, she was frightened. Mary's eyes darted between Isabella's eyes and her ring. For a fleeting second, Isabella saw envy. Utter envy.

Is that what Mary was hiding? "Do you have feelings for my husband, Mary?" Isabella asked in disbelief.

"What do you know of love? You are but a child yourself!" exclaimed Mary. "I see exactly what Captain Cassidy saw in you in the beginning," Mary spat. "But beauty fades, Mrs Cassidy. I suppose you are lucky that Captain Cassidy will not be able to see that when it happens. I know Captain Cassidy better than anyone. He fell in love with me, too, as I cared for him," she boasted. "The only reason he is even here is because of Jamie. Has not that been obvious to you?"

Isabella did not hold back after Mary had brought her son into her delusional argument. Her hand flew across the hair and slapped Mary across the face. She instantly felt ashamed, but she could not help it. What was wrong with this woman? "My husband does not love you, Mary. Please pack your things and leave quietly or I will have you removed."

Isabella was glad when Mary backed down. She curtly nodded and disappeared inside the servants' staircase. Isabella stood at the top of the stairs for several minutes as she thought over what had just happened.

How on earth had Mary been skittering about the house thinking that Luke was in love with her for so long? What frightened her was thinking about what Luke had done to give her those thoughts.

Mary could not be thinking those thoughts without some sort of validation from Luke, could she?

Mary was leaving. That was what she needed to think of. Her priority was Luke and reading this letter was what she needed to do. She would worry about what had happened between Luke and Mary at another time.

Isabella sat down on the top step and broke the seal on the letter. She then unfolded it and began to read.

Dear Mrs Isabella Cassidy,

Thank you for your letter. Forgive me for not writing you sooner. The address that I was given for Captain Cassidy and yourself was not correct or else I would have arranged a visit. I imagine that Mary must have made a mistake.

I am very sorry to hear that Captain Cassidy is experiencing sadness. To be quite frank with you, he has brought it upon himself. He had the option of surgery but he elected to forgo it. It is perfectly natural to be afraid. It would have been a very dangerous procedure, but it had the possibility of restoring his sight.

The only medical advice that I can offer you is to readdress to option of surgery. Perhaps if it came from you then it would be more welcome. Mary informed me that Captain Cassidy had no interest but he might have changed his mind by now.

I do not want anything to be lost in translation so I will describe what my solution is and you may relay it to your husband it whatever gentle manner you choose. Just believe me, this is his only option for recovery, and does not a war hero deserve this chance?

Your husband was brought to me unconscious with a four inch splinter perforating his eye socket. I performed surgery to remove the splinter and saved his eye. However, I was not able to remove everything without extensive risk to Captain Cassidy's health. It was not my right to make that decision for him. He could live with the flecks of wood in his head. He may well not live through the surgery I am proposing. That is the honest truth.

The reason your husband has lost sight in both of his eyes is because there has been damage done to his optic nerve. The optic nerve is essentially the path that connects our eyes to our brain. If the path is damaged, we cannot see anything.

I cannot know this for sure, but I believe that the pieces of wood that have been left behind are putting pressure on Captain Cassidy's optic nerve and are therefore inhibiting his ability to see. If I perform the surgery and remove the splinters, then there is a chance that he may regain his sight.

However, if the optic nerve has been severed, then there is no chance of Captain Cassidy regaining his sight.

The surgery is exploratory and dangerous. I could well do more damage than good, but there is still a chance. There is hope. Perhaps that is what Captain Cassidy needs to improve his spirits.

Mary, of course, knows the details of Captain Cassidy's case and the risks of the surgery. Captain Cassidy preferred to have my medical advice come through her during his stay. They seemed to have had a bond so I am sure she will help you to make the right decision for your family.

If you have any further questions, or you would like to schedule the procedure, then my address is on the letterhead. I will make the time to help a war hero.

Kind regards,

Dr. Horatio Harris

Isabella had not realised how much she was shaking until she had read the final word of the letter. What was real? What was a lie? How had Mary so perfectly weeded her way into their lives? Had this "bond" that she and Luke happened to share stopped him from seeking proper medical advice? Had Mary concealed this from him?

Isabella began to hyperventilate. Her pulse suddenly spiked and she could not breathe. She started to panic as she clutched at the balustrade of the staircase. She was sobbing and gasping and wailing all at once.

It did not take long for the noise to draw attention. Annaliese emerged from the drawing room downstairs and Matthew opened the door of his study down the corridor. As soon as they saw the state that Isabella was in, they rushed to her aid.

"Isabella, darling, whatever is the matter?" gasped Annaliese. She had raced up the stairs and was now kneeling before Isabella.

Matthew placed a hand on Isabella's shoulders as he took the letter from her hand. That was best. Her tears were about to make the ink run.

"She lied," blubbered Isabella. "She lied about everything." Her voice was practically incoherent but Annaliese seemed to understand. "I think she has been tricking Luke and she thinks he is in love with her and she loves him and she has been lying to us all. I do not know what to do, Annaliese. I feel sick to my stomach."

Annaliese held onto Isabella's hands tightly while looking up to Matthew for help. Matthew was reading the letter, and he looked just as angry and confused as Isabella felt.

"What is it?" asked Annaliese.

Matthew pursed his lips tightly. "I am going to sort this out, Isabella, I promise you. I do not tolerate deception in this house. Poor Annaliese knows this better than anyone. Where is Mary now? I want to call the bloody law on her."

"I sacked her," sobbed Isabella. "I slapped her as well," she added guiltily.

Matthew exhaled. "Good, well, that is one problem sorted. This is a problem with a solution, Isabella. Annaliese, would you help Isabella to calm down? She should be the one to tell Luke that he may well have the chance to gaze upon his son after all."

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I don't think it's in Mary's character to go quite that quietly. Not over yet ;)

Thanks everyone for your patience and well wishes. I've been very sick these past few weeks. My chest has felt like I've had a ton of bricks resting on it and it's been so painful to breathe and my windpipe has felt like it's closed up to the size of a pin head. Thankfully ventilin helps. But I can finally feel my lungs clearing up :)

You can always tell the difference between a male and female boss when you're sick, though. My boss at my main job is a woman and she was so nice. I went to work because I'm saving every cent to go travelling and I'm white as a sheet and trying not to cough up my lungs and she's like "Laura, you can call in sick, I don't expect you to work if you're this unwell" etc and she was soooo good about it. My boss at my second job is a guy. I had to call in sick because an hour before my shift I had my head in a toilet vomiting and he told my brother (who also works there) that I need to "drink a glass of cement and harden up". Yet guys are the first ones to think they're dying when they get man flu as my mum calls it. My dad is like that. I was on the phone to him telling him I was sick and taking antibiotics and he's like "meds don't work, ride it out". Sigh.

But what's been happening at my end of the world aside from me binge watching "The Newsroom" while I've been on the couch? Netball is back yay! Both of my teams won on the weekend even though they went up a section! Playing against older and taller girls and they came out and beat them :D

I've become obsessed with my new eyelashes from House of Lashes. I had to order them from the US but totally worth it.

I watched the Superbowl. Didn't understand any of it. I much prefer Aussie football. Way more action lol. I once watched a YouTube video of American commentators watching our football and Lindsay Thomas (hate him because he dives for free kicks but that's another story) takes an absolute screamer of a mark (amazing catch) and they're like "Why are they cheering, he hasn't completed the play". Lol.

And I've basically just been watching My Kitchen Rules in between my very exciting social calendar. MKR is my favourite reality show. I adore it. You should watch if you love cooking and drama and awesome people :)

Oohh, and I'm also into this season of The Bachelor. I've gotten my whole family into it. We sit down on Tuesday night after watching MKR and watch hahaha. My favourite is Amanda, but I won't be sad if he ends up with Lauren B. I always pick who they end up with on The Bachelor/Bachelorette. It's my super power. I pick it Day 1 and I said Amanda. Here's hoping I'm right ;)

That's enough from me. I've just started to bloody cough again so I'm going to do a puff of ventilin and head to sleep. Night x