Patrick, had found and removed an old set of lawn furniture from the shed, painted it and placed it beside the garden. "A garden, my lady, is best enjoyed when you can sit and watch your fruits of labor grow, yes?" he commented.
"Yes, and where is the hat that I gave you?" Maria admonished, coming to join them with a pitcher of lemonade and glasses. "I don't want to see you working outside again until I see you wearing that hat."
"I planted a whole row of parsnips, just for the two of us Maria," Alannah told her, having discovered that no one else seemed to like her favorite vegetable. "Was that a wagon I heard a while ago?"
"Yes it was, Señor Bernard has come for a visit, he has come here with his wife and daughter," Maria told her. "Señor Bernard is a merchant from Port Lira that makes house calls specifically for the Señora ." With an unreadable quirk to her eyebrow, she added without looking at Alannah, "He expects that his daughter, Rosemary, will be wed our Dominic sometime in the near future."
Alannah found herself speechless by this unexpected bit of news, she looked away as tears formed in her eyes and it felt as though her heart felt as though it had turned over.
"Wh….what was that Maria? Dominic? To be married?"
As if in answer, a number of people emptied out of the house into the back garden but Alannah had eyes only for two of them - Dominic, erect and formal as always, and the beautiful girl in the white dress with flowing tumbles of black hair so black it looked blue in the sunlight, she hung possessively to his arm. At that moment Alannah eyes and Dominic's locked, he looked almost happy, but she noticed that the light in his eyes was gone. It was if at that moment she saw herself through his eyes, she saw a small nondescript girl wearing a peasant dress, with sun-tanned skin, dirty bare feet and dirt under her fingernails. Though the sun shone brightly the day seemed immediately dimmer, more remote, Alannah shivered, as she stood to excused herself, their conversation suddenly turned in her direction.
"Who pray tell is that, my love." Rosemary asked with a beautifully dimpled smile when she spotted Alannah.
Dominic, his eyes still locked on Alannah, his expression one of sadness. He looked over at Rosemary and replied after another moment "Oh that is Señorita Alannah Lean Ferguson. Alannah, I would like you to meet Señorita Rosemary Bernard."
Alannah awkwardly, walked over to her but uncertain what to do. Alannah had tears in her eyes and she felt like a wretched fool. "Pleased to meet you," she said as she turned crimson to the tips of her ears, she said quickly, "excuse me, I…. I have to go inside and wash up."