Olivia needed some fresh air to get over the disbelief of seeing him. She stepped into a little garden which was separated and private from the main garden at the back of the house. The main one was reserved for guests only. 

The house got a little crowded and on top of it Austin quickly got annoyed with Victoria. Yes, she looked beautiful, but she reminded him of a leech that got stuck to him. He desperately needed a cigar, and preferably in quiet. The main garden had several people cruising around and he didn't want company. Politics and prices of cattle right now weren't on his mind. 

He spotted the little gate leading to what it appeared to be another garden on the left side of a huge blue house. When left a moment alone Austin used the opportunity to open the door and slid in. The faint light coming through the window revealed the shadowy figure that stood there. It was the one girl he'd thought about all evening.

"Olivia! What a surprise. I'm glad I found you here," he smiled smugly at her. 

The heat rose to her cheeks, "You know me, Mr. Jade?" With her arms crossed at her chest she sarcastically replied. Olivia had developed a self-preserving attitude. She changed from the naive girl she used to be. Being on her own was new to her. It was a scary place to be, knowing there was no one out there who cared what happened with her. The world she belonged to now was so different from the one she used to live in. It was the world she knew nothing about: the world of fancy dinners, parties, big houses and cold, unfeeling people.

"Olivia, I looked for you all this time. I'm sorry about your papa," he ignored her comment, and tried to smooth her over. 

"You don't have to work like this Olivia. I'm ready to buy you a house of your own and when our affair is over it will be yours with substantial sums of money in the bank for you." It was direct approach. 

Olivia looked at him in disbelief, eyes wide open. She'd heard of things like this. She wasn't completely oblivious. 

"You mean you want me to whore for you, Mr. Jade," she said with a dose cynicism in her voice. 

"I wouldn't call it that, Olivia. It would be to our mutual satisfaction." He was ignorant of how rude he sounded and how much his words were hurting her. 

She would have preferred him pretending like he didn't know her compared to this. She still held on to her pride, no matter how poor she was. 

"No, thank you, Mr. Jade, I'll kindly decline your offer."

"Why don't you think about it?" He tried again to convince her. 

"There is not much to think about." All she wanted was to escape his presence. Without another word she slid back inside. 

Austin angrily squished his cigar into the ground with the sole of his shiny custom made shoes which cost more than Olivia's yearly wages. He couldn't follow her, so he went back inside and planned his escape from the party as fast as possible.

The talk with Olivia didn't go well. He'd gotten more than angry that she'd denied him. He was furious. What did she expect? His offer was more than generous. There were a lot of females in this town that would grab at this kind of offer. Her expectations were too high, obviously. It was better to just forget about her. 

He slipped out of the party before anyone noticed. Once outside, he decided to visit Laura. As soon as Laura opened the door, he knew that it was a mistake. The little house on a side street of Elms didn't hold the same appeal as it used to, neither did the woman that lived there. Without apologies or explanation to Laura he turned around and left.

All he could see in front of him were those big violet eyes and those full lips he longed to kiss. His hands itched to hold her, her slender frame and firm breasts were made for him. He wanted Olivia desperately, and he couldn't deny it to himself no matter how much he wished. 

The next day at her surprise Olivia was summoned to her employer's office. The office doubled up as a library and the massive wooden bookshelves were filled with all kinds of books. Unsure of why she was needed she entered. Mr. Yoland was seated at his desk; his expression solemn. 

"You wanted to see me Mr. Yoland." 

"Olivia, I know we told you, you could stay until the baby is born, but last night it was pointed out to us that you have... how should I put it.... the certain past back at Kenth. We are respectable people and have a reputation to protect. It would not do us good to lose that. I regret to have to inform you that we must let you go. My dear, you are one of the best workers, we've ever had, but I hope you'll understand our reasons." 

He made himself clear. "Here are your wages. You can clean your possessions and we would prefer if you would leave as early as today," he added. Olivia stood there and wished that the soft, thick rag would swallow her up. She had an idea who was responsible for her dismissal. 

The storm raged outside. Olivia found herself in front of the gate that closed behind her back. The sky was sending his rage down at her; the wind picked up and lifted her thin grey skirt up. A lonely coach passed by her, but apart from than the road was deserted, not a soul was around.

Holding the old canvas bag that she arrived with Olivia headed down the road. She was trying to think where she could go. The little money that she had would be enough only for a couple of nights in a boarding house. Olivia decided that the priority would be to save it for food.

She walked for a while without direction and somehow found herself on the road leading to Kenth. The last happy home, she had. The rain made the ruts in the road, even worse than they were before. It quickly became slimy and slippery. Olivia soon got cold and wet, and by now she was exhausted. She slipped and fell when she tried to get out of the way of a passing coach. Her shabby old grey dress got soaked and caked in mud.

At the same time, in Kenth lady arrived in a fancy coach asking information about Olivia. She was directed to the Mrs. Helms house. Wilma learned of Albert's accident and that Olivia was left alone in the world. Mrs. Helms told her that she went to Elms to seek employment. Wilma finished her tea thanked the dear woman for her kindness and hurried outside.

She directed her driver to take her back to Elms. Wilma wished she knew Olivia lived there because that's where they'd come from this morning after they'd spent the night there. As they travelled back, just outside of Elms Olivia sat by the road. She was wet, cold and hungry.

"Oh, papa! I'm so sorry. I wish I was with you now," it was a whisper in the wind nobody heard. Managing to gather enough strength to stand up, she made few more yards and found a little hump with some dried up grass. With the last of her strength she curled up in a ball with her father's coat covering her. Olivia shivered, but despite being cold started to doze off. 

Some time later she got aware of wheels squeaking nearby, but didn't have enough energy to investigate, so she kept on lying there. The coach suddenly stopped. Olivia opened her eyes, and looked. It was Wilma that stepped out of it. Being unable to keep her eyes open any longer she closed them again. She was unable to fight the fatigue.

"My God! Olivia! Dear child! What are you doing here?" Wilma, who recognized Olivia, was shocked to find her by the side of the road. Leo her coach driver spotted her and without knowing who she was stopped to see who the unfortunate soul was. 

Olivia was in a in a state of slumber. She again opened her eyes and this time was positive she was dreaming. 

"Wilma? I see angels. Did I die?" It was the last thing she said before darkness consumed her. 

"Oh my, Olivia! Come child, you will catch your death if you stay on that damp ground any longer." 

Wilma motioned for her driver to help put her in the coach. She bundled up the half frozen girl with blankets. 

"Hurry up, Leo! We need to get to town as fast as we can. She needs a doctor; she has a fever." Wilma was in a panic. She had seen a lot of people die because of a fever. 

***

Austin dismounted his horse in front of the old judge's house. When he inquired about Olivia he was told that they had to let her go. The old judge explained the situation that led to Olivia's dismissal to Austin. The night of the ball a certain young lady pointed out Olivia's loose morals and in her condition they had no choice, but to let her go.

***

Austin searched the town ubiquitously. He had already looked inside the church and checked the roads nearby. He decided to even check the road to Kenth and rode a distance. Olivia was no place to be found. She was pregnant with his child and she was alone. The realization hit him harder than the rain and wind together.

He knew he was responsible for all of Olivia's troubles. He didn't know how to forgive himself for letting her father go from his ranch.

If he hadn't let her papa go he would be still alive. Seducing her and then dismissing her was yet another mistake; there seemed to be an endless list. All of them were the cause Olivia left Kenth. Now, not knowing where she was he was simply terrified for her. His heart told him the same thing over and over: he loved her. Austin found the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, yet he found a way to betray her in the most horrible way.