It was two years after the courting incident that found Ice sitting in the stuffy schoolroom listening to a monotone tutor by the name of, no joke, Mrs. Bore drone on about table manners. She had once again been ostracized from the family after her failure to be impressed and suitably wooed into a marriage. This suited her just fine as she had found the suddenly sickly-sweet friendliness disturbing. There was a downside though.

It seemed Aunt Priscilla was at a loss at what to do with her now. She didn’t trust her to attend any more social events, meet any new guests, and it seemed she was too afraid of being embarrassed to try for another match. So, Ice just continued studying the same things she had been for years when she should have moved on to harder lessons years ago. Even her tutors seemed to be at a loss. Mrs. Bore for instance had taught this exact same lesson six weeks ago almost word for word.

  A knock at the door saved her ears from their suffering. Mrs. Bore seemed to be at a loss at this sudden turn of events.

  “I believe proper etiquette is to provide a verbal response.” Ice suggested. “Enter!”

 Upon the door opening Ice saw that Charlie stood in the doorway and announced,

“Madame wishes to see the young lady in the parlor promptly.”  Standing. Ice figured it would be best to face this head on whatever may come. Anything would be better than listening to another word of proper spoon placement when setting the table for tea. Even if it turned out to be another potential suitor. She allowed herself to soak up the rarely seen rooms of the house as she was hustled through the house following behind Charlie. Many of the rooms they passed by seemed mostly for show as Ice couldn’t possibly imagine someone having a use for four different large sitting rooms on the same floor let alone the same hall. After passing many of these unused spaces they came to stop in front of a set of painted white double oak doors. As Charlie slipped inside to announce her arrival, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. If they had sent Charlie to fetch her then who else would he be bringing back with him? It was a pointless exercise she never understood. One of her aunts many.

          The doors were swung open a moment later and Charlie bent into a half bow extending his arm into the room courteously.

 Dipping her head minutely she kept her posture as straight as a ruler as she walked over to the arranged seating area where upon she got her first shock. Aunt Priscilla was sitting on the sofa with her arm laced around the man’s arm next to her.

   “Well, we thought you would never arrive!” Aunt Priscilla’s nasally voice pitched up in mock pleasure. “Edward and I have something to announce." It was with this sentence that Ice realized the man was actually her Uncle Edward. After living with the family for almost nine years without ever laying eyes on him seeing him here now was quite a shock indeed, but Ice kept her expression passive and remained standing, as her aunt had not invited her to sit yet.

  “It has come to our attention that your birthday anniversary is..." At this Aunt Priscilla looked to Uncle Edward for help, but if anyone had mastered a better stone wall face than Ice it was him as he didn’t even acknowledge having heard his wife. Mystified Ice turned her gaze back to her aunt.

  “It has come to our attention that your birthday anniversary is to be coming up very soon.” Ice almost laughed at the fact that this is what had thrown her aunt into a social etiquette crisis, not remembering the exact date of her birth.  “We have been discussing matters very seriously and everything has been arranged. At twenty years of age, it would be far more proper for you to leave now than stay with our family as a spinster. A car will be here within the hour. Be ready to travel when it arrives.

We can no longer stand the scrutiny our poor family and our poor children have had to suffer for your ungrateful presence in our home.” Here Ice had to question her Aunt Priscilla’s sanity as she rarely was allowed to attend any social events and so couldn’t very well have been scrutinized.

“We took you in out of the generosity of our hearts for where else would you have gone but to some peasant eager to use you as a work animal on some filthy farm in the middle of nowhere? Have you thanked us for this generosity? We did not expect much from you, no! We did not expect a single thank you from anyone, but our poor family can longer support someone who is unwilling to even do something so simple and easy as marry for the betterment of the family!” The outburst of emotion was somewhat spoiled when Aunt Priscilla failed to produce tears for her waiting handkerchief; huffing in irritation she continued her speech. 

          “The fact of the matter is that now dear Amelia has an opportunity to help the family in a way that you have made very clear you would not put in even the tiniest amount of effort.” Ah, so that was it their daughter had received a proposition for a match, but her aunt and uncle felt she would be in the way.

  “Take this.” Her aunt snapped her fingers and Charlie rematerialized from the shadows unseen or possibly from hiding behind the drapes she thought either were equally likely. He was holding a little silver tray and on the tray was a small letter tied shut with a faded red ribbon. “We have been informed by our lawyer that this is yours. And only yours.” Her aunt sniffed and Ice could immediately tell she was irritated with the contents of that little letter and this fact alone made her pick it up eagerly. With surprise she saw an old familiar hand had written her name across the front of the envelope.

The document was from her Uncle Zeb. Untying the ribbon, she pulled the document out, but she only had to read the first couple of lines before she knew what she had in her hands and her whole body tingled with an excitement she had not felt in a long time. She was holding the deed to her uncle’s house. Her childhood home would now become hers and she would be rid of Aunt Priscilla, Uncle Edward, and their pack of strange savage children. The only one of which was exempt for this being Roger. Thinking, she made her next moves carefully.

          “Aunt Priscilla, Uncle Edward, I know not what to say but this. I know not what I will do with this as it is such an immense undertaking by one so young, but I know this. That you have prepared me well for the road ahead and I will endure all my hardships with the certainty that my well-being is not what matters in this. Though I may starve, work until my hands become cracked and bleed, labor to make my own meals, and spent countless thousands of hours tending to dirty filthy animals just to provide clothing for myself, I will do all of this knowing that you have my best interest in mind.” She quickly went down into a deep curtsy with her head bowed. This being necessary as Ice could not hold back her smile any longer seeing how disgusted her aunt’s face showed she was and even managing to make the almost statue like uncle twitch and shift uncomfortably as his eyes flitted everywhere else in the room but her and his wife.

  “I know I cannot possibly repay you for your kindness throughout the years and so I will offer the only thing I can. I wish dear Amelia all the success in the world, and it would be an honor if you would see it best that I may return all the clothing you have provided to me so that dear Amelia may expand her wardrobe options with courting someone who I could only dream of speaking to as an equal.” Ice hoped that the sarcasm in her voice went unnoticed.

  “C-c-certainly that would be acceptable.” Her aunt stammered clearly still stunned by the change in direction of Ice’s attitude. She decided to strike while the iron was hot.

  “Then with your permission I will immediately go and collect my very few belongings, only those that I have myself purchased. Just a few meaningless trinkets to remind me of your undying generosity and fortitude to see me through a most trying period being the unruly person I am.  I will then immediately depart with the car you have been even the more honorable to call to help me depart from your lives of wealth and extravagance to send me on my way to toil with the peasantry in a hot stuffy factory in the middle of a nothing village in the very heart of nowhere knowing with a full heart that you have made the hard decision and sacrifice and done what’s best for my own well-being.” Ice held her breath trying her hardest to keep her expression looking morose but determined.

  “Permission granted." She aunt flapped a hand granting permission to leave looking more confused than anything. 

   “Thank you I shall be sure never to forget your kindness even as I in my final hours dying young will be covered in warts and boils from mixing with the lower class.” Relishing the disgusted looks on both her aunt’s and uncle’s faces she swept out of the room and up the stairs three at a time heading to her simple little room to collect her things.