Safety

[intheheart]

Title: Safety
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Olivia arrives safely.
Warnings: Yvonne being Yvonne.


"Miss Carew?"

Gina looked up from her book and blinked at her maid. "Yes, Alice?"

The maid twisted her hands in her apron. "There's a caller here for you."

"At this hour?" Gina glanced at the clock, just to be sure, but yes, it was well after midnight. "Who on earth would be calling this late?"

"She gave her name as Miss Marhenke, miss," the maid said. "Shall I send her on her way? She seemed very certain you would see her."

Olivia? What... something must be very wrong for the sweet little mouse of a girl she knew to intrude on a family now. "No, of course, send her up." Gina got out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown. "Don't bother to wake Mama, I'll see her alone. And make a pot of tea, please."

"Yes, miss," the maid said, and whisked away.

In the meantime, Gina busied herself tidying the room a bit. She pulled the chair of her vanity over to the bed, so they could sit and talk more comfortably, and angled her bedside table to better accommodate the expected tea. Poor Olivia, whatever could have brought her out this late?

The door opened and the maid said, "Miss Marhenke," before prudently stepping out of the way as Olivia rushed in.

"My God!" Gina blurted, as soon as she got a good look at her friend. Dirt and blood smudged her face; she had a small cut above one eyebrow, and rings under her eyes. She was shivering, her pelisse soaked, her dark curls heavy and wet around her face and dripping water on the floor. "Alice, towels, quickly. Olivia, my dear, are you well?"

"I... I..." She stuttered, shook her head, spattering the walls with water. "I... Gina, I'm so c-cold, I..."

Of course, how could she be so stupid? "Get your coat off," Gina ordered, and went straight to her wardrobe, pulled out a wool nightgown that she wore usually in winter. It was June, but soaked as she was, Olivia would appreciate it. "All your clothes, go on, dear, I'll help you with your stays. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Olivia shook her head, and Gina felt a surge of relief. "N-no, just c-cold." She dropped her pelisse on the floor and began to work on her gown, a simple one with a drawstring bodice that she could put on and take off herself. Her fool of a mother and her false economies, probably. Gina moved to her as she dropped the dress and unlaced her stays.

Olivia shifted and tugged her wet chemise over her head, revealing a dark bruise on her shoulder that startled Gina into another explanation. "Olivia! Who did this to you?"

"What?" She glanced down, and shrugged. "Oh, my m-mother. She w-was angry."

"Oh, dearest," Gina said, soft and pitying, and turned to fetch the nightgown. Olivia dropped her drawers and Gina whisked the nightgown over her head, then went to take the towels from Alice, who'd appeared in the doorway with an armful. "Thank you," she said, "now please get that tea," and came back to Olivia, wrapped one towel around her hair and another over her shoulders. "Better?"

Olivia nodded, and went to the bed when Gina led her, lay down obediently, like a doll, and let Gina pull the coverlet over her. "I feel warmer," she said, after a while. "Thank you."

"Of course." Gina sat in the chair by the bed, and patted Olivia's hand. "What happened, dearest? Is it... is it your father?"

"What?" Olivia started upwards, her eyes white all around. "My father? Is he all right?"

"As far as I know," Gina said, startled. "I thought maybe you..."

"No," she said, and subsided, back into the warmth of the bed. "No. Papa's all right. No, it's... Mama."

It sounded like a new sentence, not a continuation. Gina cocked her head. "She hurt you," she said. "Why did she do that?"

"She was dragging me," Olivia said, a little dreamy. "I felt like I was falling. I didn't want to go. She said I must go with her, but I didn't want to. I thought maybe Papa would love me anyway."

"Anyway?" Gina's throat closed. "Dearest, what are you saying?"

Olivia blinked up at her for a moment, then said, "Oh. I'm a bastard."

She said it so matter-of-factly, as if it changed nothing, as if she had not just lost social status, protection, family, and marriage prospects in one swift blow. "Oh my God," Gina whispered. "Olivia, who knows this?"

Olivia shrugged against the sheets. "Mama. Papa, I suppose. I don't think anyone else."

Good. Good, that was a start. "Where is your mother now?" Gina asked, thinking quickly. She would need help, but she could get that—

"I don't know." Olivia sounded exhausted now, and her eyes were heavy-lidded. "Somewhere. She's gone to be someone's mistress."

Even better, an acceptable scandal. Well, not acceptable, but it would at least not ruin Olivia's prospects entirely, and no one would believe anything her mother said, not after this. "All right," Gina said, to herself. "All right. Go to sleep, dearest. We'll deal with this in the morning."

Olivia closed her eyes, then opened them suddenly. "Mama," she said. "Mama. I don't want to go with her."

"You don't have to," Gina said, soothing, and ran a hand over her friend's hair. "Go to sleep. You're safe here."

Olivia was asleep in moments. And Gina... Gina had plans to make.