I closed the curtains and went and lay back down. I was suddenly exhausted, my earlier happiness gone. A terrible thought came into my mind. How could I let on that my memory had come back and I knew the truth about my family and where I came from? If I told her, she would arrange to send me back home. And I realized I didn’t want that. I wanted to stay here.

Delia

Delia

Two nights after Aidan and I sat together in the library while he drank whiskey and told me never to fall in love, the doorbell rang several times and excited voices rose in the hall. It was the company Mrs. Donahue said would be arriving. I had meant to be upstairs and out of sight when the visitors arrived, but Mrs. Donahue said Mr. O’Hanlon wanted Lily kept up past her bedtime so he could introduce her to his guests. I suggested the child wear her favorite blue dress and tied a matching ribbon in her long, fair hair. She looked like a wee angel. When she was ready, I brought her down to the kitchen to wait.

Mrs. Donahue had been in a fine tizzy most of the day, ordering Kathleen to scrub the dining-room floor, dust the furniture, polish the silver and set the table for six. A young girl had been hired to help in the kitchen. By the time the visitors arrived, however, the house was a calm, cool oasis from the outside heat. Kathleen brought them drinks in the library.

“You should see the style of them,” she said when she came back into the kitchen. “There’re six of them, including himself. I counted one older married couple, a single gentleman and two single women with enough rouge and lipstick on them they could be floozies.”

Mrs. Donahue banged down a pot on the counter. “Mind your tongue, Kathleen, ’tis not your place to be judging Mr. O’Hanlon’s company. Now, get these serving dishes filled and ready to bring into the dining room when they sit down.”

I sat on a kitchen chair in the corner, Lily standing stiffly beside me. “You must do your best, Lily,” I said. “Your father will be expecting you to be on your best behavior. Try to smile, if you can, and maybe give a little curtsy. And I’ll be right there.”

I was so concerned that Lily do well, I forgot to be anxious about myself. It was only when Kathleen told me Lily and I were wanted in the dining room that shyness threatened to paralyze me. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and took Lily by the hand.