Roisin's story (go back »)

*It was another one of those parties that my parents gave for the people we knew. Three years have already passed since we moved to this county town, Durham. My father had here many relatives and we also inherited a house after grandfather died, so we choose to live here. My mother really loved this town, because of the beautiful cathedral and because it was founded by monks. She really loves everything related to religion, although you might think that she should have inherited her mother's Irish blood. My grandmother, Brighid (it is pronounced Breed) was a very superstitious woman. But I remember her telling me the Irish legends and stories about Celts. Agnes, my sister was scared all the time when grandmother told her stories, so she always went to mother and cried. But I loved those stories. I loved that thrill they gave me. But not many people are like me.

            The life in Durham did not please me and my sister at the beginning, but when we met Victor Oswald, son of Henry Oswald, life began to be pleasant here. Victor is nineteen years old. That means he is one year older than me and four years older than Agnes. He acts like an older brother, protecting us all the time. When he saw that we were bored, or sad, he always cheered us up. That night, he was there to rescue me.

            I never liked parties, so I asked Victor to come and stay with me all night so I would not get to dance with the young men invited, specially that Richard Conway, who was in love with me and even proposed a few times.

            'Would you dance with me, fayr Ingle Roisin?'(pronounced Rosheen) said Victor as an introduction.

            'Victor, you came! I already used all the excuses in the world, to avoid dancing with Richard.' I said while talking his arm and walking away.

            'And he is a fool! Why in the world would he invite you to dance at a party?!'

            'You know very well that I do not like to dance'

            'Yes, I know that very well. You are so different from your sister. Look at her, she loves parties and all the young men are looking at her.'

            It was true that Agnes loved the attention and because she turned fifteen, she was allowed to stay up late and dance as much as she wanted. She was a happy person as far as I could remember, so it's no wonder she liked parties so much. After all, she better than me in society and got everyone to love her. No one could resist her sweetness and her charm.

            'Let's go to the balcony, I need some fresh air, here it is pretty crowded.' I said.

            'Are you shore? And leave Agnes unsupervised?' said Victor while he was pulled away words the balcony.

            'Agnes is a big girl right now. Let her be free for now, enjoy herself. Or would you rather be there, dancing with her?'

            Victor suddenly blushed. I had noticed that he was in love with Agnes. My sister never knew and Victor was too shy to tell her his true feelings. I really thought that this night he have the courage to confess his love, because I couldn’t think of anyone better than him to be her husband.

            We got on the balcony. That is the place where we used to talk about ourselves or about other people in our town. Sometimes we sneaked in and got some food, so we could stay there longer and avoid going to the party.

            'So, what subjects have you prepared for today?' I asked, smiling at him.

            'Have you heard about the American that came in town?'

            'No, not really. What about him?'

            'Well, he arrived two nights ago, almost in the morning and rented a room at the inn. He asked not to be bothered no matter what and locked himself in his room. He seemed like a wealthy person, so the next night, when father was at the inn with some buisness, he started talking to him, thinking that he might do some buisness with the American. He found out that his name is Murad Henderson. He seemed interested in this town, I think he came here on vacation, so my father invited him to your parent's party so he can enjoy himself and get to meet the people. He gladly accepted, so there will be a new face at this party.'

            'Good, maybe he has some interesting stories to tell. Here, people seem to be really bored, but do not want to admit it. For instance, miss Morgan from next door keeps gossiping about people. It is clear that there is nothing else to talk about and so she goes on and on about others. I simply do not know how my mother can stand it.'

            'Roisin, there are many ways that we can have fun, if you are so bored. You should not stay at home all the time. Tell you what, my dear. We should go on a vacation next week. The landscape surrounding Durham is simply beautiful. You and Agnes should come.' said Victor full of joy.

            'I shall tell her tomorrow. She will be delighted about it.' I replied.

            'Ah! There you are, you two!' said my father. 'I thought I might find you here. Victor, I admire your patience. Instead of being out there dancing with the young ladies, you stay here with my stubborn daughter. But you should really come and meet this wonderful man. I believe it is your father who invited him, Am I right, Victor?'

            'Oh, you are talking about Mr. Henderson? Is he here?' Victor replied.

            'Yes. And he is a charming man. I want you all to meet him. I found out that he is staying for a while into town and I invited him to stay at our house. There is no point spending all that money in inns.' Then, my father took Victor aside and they both walked in from of me for a while. When Victor came to me, he was smiling, but I noticed that he blushed. Father always thought that Victor was in love with me, because we spent all that time talking. I presume that we spent a lot of time together because we were so close in age and had many things in common, but I never thought of Victor in another way. But something bothered me. My father was a kind person and he used to help people a lot, but he never was so friendly with a stranger. I wonder what was so special about Mr. Henderson from America.

*We went into the ballroom with Victor by my side as my father was leading the way. I will never forget the first time I saw him. He was in the center of the attention of my family. Agnes left her dance partners behind and was next to him, paying attention to everything he said. As I came, he stopped talking and looked at me.
    'Mr. Henderson, I'd like you to meet my other daughter, Roisin, and the son of dear Mr. Oswald, Victor Oswald.' said my father full of joy.
    He took my hand and kissed it, then said:
    'Pleased to meet you, Miss Roisin Ingre.' he said and watched me intensely. For a moment I felt like in the whole room it was just the two of us. He had a powerful way of looking in someone's eyes. I felt dizzy for a moment, but I was able to snap out of it and say:
    'Pleased to meet you too, Mr. Henderson.'
    'And you might be the son of Mr. Oswald. I am really glad that I had the chance to meet you. Please thank your father for inviting me here. I never imagined that I would meet such wonderful people after just one day from my arrival to this town.' Mr. Henderson said.
    'Just have a good time. People that live here are really kind and I am sure you will like it here.' said Victor.
    'Yes, so I heard' said Mr. Henderson and looked at me in that way again. I really was not feeling good and asked Victor to accompany me outside. I really needed the fresh air more than before. I even started to have a headache. That night I went to bed earlier. As I was sitting in my bed, I kept thinking about that man. I had in my head every detail about him. His hair that was light brown, curly and passed the shoulders. He was taller than me, about 1,90m, and his green eyes that were looking at me. I felt pierced by his eyes every time looked at me. And why was he looking at me like that? What did it mean? I suddenly remembered the way Richard Conway looked at me. But Mr. Henderson's way of looking at me was different. Mr. Henderson seemed very sure of himself when he was looking at me, while Richard was mumbling and was really dumb. I still did not understand why I felt so dizzy after Mr. Henderson looked at me. I drew a conclusion: maybe it had nothing to do with Mr. Henderson, it was just a coincidence.

    The next morning, I dressed myself up and went downstairs to eat my breakfast. My family was already there. I noticed that Agnes was daydreaming and I thought that she was thinking about the party from last night, so I decided to tease her:
    'Dear princess Una,' (it is pronounced Oona and it is the Irish version of her name that me and mother use sometimes)'Should I dare to ask you what are you thinking of? Or the name of the prince will still remain unknown for the moment?'
    Agnes suddenly realized I was talking to her and said:
    'Ah, yes? Beg your pardon? Did you say something, sister?'
    'You shore are in love, Una. May I ask the identity of the one you are thinking of?' I asked again. Suddenly Agnes avoided looking at me and blushed. It seemed that by accident I guessed that she was thinking about someone from last night. I really hoped that after I went to my room, Victor had decided to confess his love. But I did not have the chance to get an answer, as my mother quickly asked me if i was feeling good. I told her that I was just fine.
    'I guess sleep was all that you needed, dear Roisin' said mother. 'Brion, I think we should call the servants to bring the breakfast, since we are all at the table.'
    'Yes, dear.' father replied and pulled the bell to call the servants. He had in his hand the paper and he was paying it a lot of attention. I suddenly realized something and asked father:
    'Father, last night you said that you invited Mr. Henderson to live here while he stays in Durham.' i wanted to ask him what made him invite a perfect stranger to our house just like that, but he quickly replied:
    'Ah, yes, my child. He already sent his personal belongings here. He paid some man last night and I offered him the guest room right next to your rooms. He is using the room already.'
    I did not feel comfortable that he would sleep right next to our rooms, so I felt like asking father:
    'But why so sudden? We do not know thins Mr. Henderson.'
    'Because, my dear, I wanted to make him feel comfortable. I heard awful things about the inn. I heard that they have rats sometimes and that there are many dangerous people around.'
    'Then he should come to breakfast, right?' I asked
    'Mr. Henderson seems to have a problem with the sun light. It seems that his skin is sensitive and he will stay in his room during the day. I arranged that his room will be as dark as possible and that there are enough candles so he can read or write because, you  see, even if he is on vacation he still sends letters back home to his associate so he will be sure that his business is safe.' said mother.
    I still did not like that man and I wanted him out of our house as soon as possible.

*In the afternoon, Victor came by as he always did. Agnes went to greet him full of joy.
    'Roisin, are you feeling better?' he asked.
    'Yes. I believe that I was just tired last night.' I replied. 'But do not think that I forgot what you said about the vacation.'
    'Vacation?' Agnes asked.
    I did not have the chance to tell her because she was really daydreaming all day and I assumed that Victor told her.
    'So Roisin did not tell you yet. We thought that a little vacation would do us well. I already talked with my father, and he said that next week is not possible, but in two weeks we can go and we even have a lot of time to plan.'
    'That is wonderful, really wonderful. If Mr. Henderson will still be here, can we invite him as well?' Agnes asked.
    'Agnes, I don't think that...'
    'Now now, Roisin, Agnes can invite whoever she wants. And so do you. The point is to have fun. Didn't you say that you were bored?' Victor replied
    'We can have fun just fine without that American. It should be just us.' I said. But suddenly, Agnes got really mad.
    'Why does everything has to be about you, sister? I did not ask for much and Victor said it is ok for Mr. Henderson to come.' she screamed. After that, she ran back in the house. That really wasn't her. She never acts like that. It was like that wasn't my sister anymore. Agnes never was gelouse of me and she never screamed nor ran away form a conversation.
    'I don’t understand anymore... Why did she got so mad at me?' I asked.
    'It might be because she fell in love with Mr. Henderson. Last night, after you left, they were inseparable. She was by his side all night and did not want to dance to any other than him.'
    That came as a shock to me. So that was the reason she was daydreaming all day. She was thinking all that time about him.
    'But why so sudden?' I said without thinking.
    'Love is that way, Roisin'
    I felt so sorry for Victor in that moment. I really thought that he told her his feelings. Victor and Agnes would have made a nice couple. He would have taken good care of her and I would have rested assured that she would have been on safe hands. Also, he was rejected even if he did not confess yet to her. I had a lot of compassion for Victor because I knew him very well. If it would have been any other man, I would have said he was a fool not confessing to the woman he loves. But I could not allow a stranger just come in and take her. If something bad had happened to her, she was not as strong as me.
    'I am sorry Victor, but I have to sort things out, I said.
    Victor understood perfectly and went, promising that he will be back the next day. I went to talk to Agnes, but I couldn’t find her anywhere and there was no noise coming from her room. While I was looking for her, I encountered father.
    'What is it, child?' he said.
    'Father, have you seen Agnes? I what to apologize and talk to her.'
    'I haven't seen her. But what happened?'
    'Father, tell me please, what do you think of Mr. Murad Henderson?'
    'He is a nice person. I do not know much about him, but something tells me to trust him.'
    'That is what troubles me. He is a stranger. No one from around here knows him but yet, everyone seems to trust him so easy. Trust is something you gain, father, it is not something that one person should receive only by looking in his eyes.'
    'Do not worry, dear. Trust me if you do not trust him. If I mistake about him, I can protect everyone, so do not fear.'
    Father's answer did not comfort me, but I choose to leave the subject behind and keep looking for my sister. I eventually found her later, but she did not want to talk to me and kept avoiding having any kind of conversation with me. After having dinner, we were in the living room. I thought for a moment that she would talk to me. Se looked me right into my eyes. But just when I wanted to talk, Mr. Henderson entered the room.
    'Good evening, everyone.' he said and sat right next to Agnes. She was really happy that he came.
    'Good evening' I replied. I was really not happy of his arrival. He was looking the same way as he did the other night, only this time I was not feeling as bad as I did then. I felt like I got all the attention from him and I did not like it.
    'Miss Roisin... may I call you that?' he asked.
    'Of course.' I did not like it, but I was polite. I was not mad enough and had no real reason yet to be rude to him.
    'Miss Roisin, I understand that you do not like me and you do not want me to be here.' I suddenly looked at him (because most of the time I was avoiding to look in his eyes because there was something strange about it...). Was I that obvious to him? 'You see,' he continued, " dear Agnes told me today that you have something against me and you do not like me'. I looked at Agnes. She was smiling and looking at him. Then she looked at me for a moment and her smile got bigger. I could not believe it! Me and my sister were confidents. I trusted her a lot and today she went and told a stranger what I thought about him. 'Is that true, Miss Roisin? You dislike me?'
    *I could not hide it; I had no reason to lie. It was out in the open so I had to say the truth.
    'Yes, Mr Henderson. I think that everyone gives you too much trust and they barely know you.' I answered quickly.
    'But don't you think that if the others trust me, then they might have a reason to? And if you trust the others and they trust me, you should trust me as well?'
    I suddenly got the headache again. I felt dizzy so I excused myself and went to find some medicine. I started to hate him and I was sure not wanting to faint before him. But this was really strange. I got the same feeling as the night before and both time happened while I was around Mr. Henderson. I went to one of the servants and asked for some medicine. The feeling passed and I felt just right. I was on the hallway, thinking if I should go to the living room again or if I should say goodnight to everyone and lock myself in my room and read something or just go to sleep. Then, I heard father's voice:
    'My dear wife Sonja really cares about details and wants you to feel like at home, so please, take the tour of the house with us.'
    The voices were coming closer and soon I got to see who father was talking to. He was with Mr. Henderson and Agnes was besides him. It was like she never lost sight of him since he first came downstairs.
    'Roisin, here you are, dear. I was just showing the house to Mr. Henderson' Father said.
    Out of the sudden I felt ill again and I held myself against the wall so I would not fall on the ground. Mr. Henderson quickly took me in his arms, although I was struggling as hard as I could because I wanted to walk on my own.
    'She is feeling like that for a while, I'd better get her safe in her bed.' he said.
    'Oh, dear, should I call the doctor?' said father concerned.
    'No, I am sure this will pass away, I think she needs vitamins' he said and took me right away to my room.
    'What are you doing, you fool? You got father concerned about me. And put me down this instant!' I said really angry.
    'Miss Roisin, you cannot walk this instant and I am helping you, do not get the wrong idea. Please, let me help you, don’t make this harder for me.'
    He was cynical with that remark. Even tough I was dizzy, I could have managed to get to my room on my own, but no matter how much I was struggling, I could not escape from his arms. That made me really mad. He took me to my room and put me on my bed. He laid his hand on my forehead, showing concern, but I did not want to be touched by him. Besides, he had really cold hands.
    'Roisin, tell me the real reason you do not want me around you.' he said.
    I could not believe that he dared call me just Roisin! Victor never called me that unless I told him he could and he was one of the closest friends I had. Only in my family I was called Roisin. That made me angrier and sent him out. As it seemed, he would not have moved, unless the servant who was sent by my father to help me remove my clothes would not have come. He gave up and went out of my room. Even the servant noticed for a moment that his behavior is strange. After a while I felt better again. Still, I could not forget that gaze. His green eyes looking at me...

In Story of Roisin