A House Divided

Knowing that there is more than one way to keep the secret, I chose not to keep it. It all started the day Evelyn ran away with her lover. Everyone knew that it happened, but no one was talking. Her mother and father were blissfully ignorant of all that was happening. But in a high-tech world, secrets don’t remain secrets for long.

It was a rather ho-hum kind of day. Everyone was walking around on eggshells. It was all hush-hush, under wraps, and taboo to speak about out loud. They wanted to keep it in-house, but I had other plans.

So it was that I confronted Micah, the in-house servant, and the role he played in her escape and cover up. Eventually, as things do happen, her mother and father descended the stairs, stirred to curiosity by our raised voices. It was then, as I saw them on the stairs, nearly reaching the foyer, that I shouted out the truth and removed the secret forever.

I would not have cared. Normally, Evelyn did whatever she felt was right for her, regardless of the cost to others. And all of us accepted this. But running off with the one boy I had ever loved, drove me to madness. I know he was never mine, but that did not change how much I loved him. So, it took a strong shove for me to shatter her hold on us all.

There is more than one way to keep a secret, but there is only one way to break a secret.