The Locket

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An aunt and her niece find a special relationship.
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This is a period piece set in the early 1900's. There isn't a great deal of sex in it, but it does explore more deeply the thoughts and feelings of the characters. I hope you enjoy it.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, merchandise, companies, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All characters are 18 years or older when in sexual situations.

Chapter One

New York City -- 1910's

The Gift

A fair haired ingénue was looking out the living room picture window, watching as a horse drawn wagon plodded along in front of her family's Upper East Side brownstone under a hot mid-day sun. An open air car passed the wagon, driven by a chauffeur with a stylishly dressed woman with long flaming red tresses trailing behind her in the breeze. Elizabeth was reading "The Emerald City of Oz," a gift from her Aunt Catherine, which was now sitting on her lap. Elizabeth was daydreaming, picturing herself as Glinda, the good witch, dressed in a fancy, sparkly ball gown, and being whisked in a limousine to a fantastical party. Her reverie was broken by the entrance of her nanny.

"Come girls. Your aunt will be here shortly." Mavis spoke in the stern voice she used when she brooked no protest. Elizabeth knew it and put down her book, smoothing the bottom of her dress as she got out of the ornate Louis XIV armchair. Her younger sister, Penelope, had the obstinacy of an eight year old and naturally was not as cooperative. She was playing with her dolls on the floor and pretended that she didn't hear the clear instructions of her nanny.

Mavis put her hands on her hips and affixed a glare on her face that said she meant business. The fifty something woman had been in the employ of the Tripplehorn family for thirty years, taking over from her mother Edith, who had been the family's nanny and housekeeper for as long as anyone could remember. Penelope, affectionately known by her family as Penny, looked up and saw the glare and knew it wasn't the time to push her luck. She reluctantly put down her doll and followed her "Nanna" and her older sister into the white marble foyer and up the broad, curved staircase to the second floor.

The girls knew it was bath time, and within the hour their Aunt Catherine would be visiting to celebrate Elizabeth's 15th birthday. Catherine was Elizabeth's favorite aunt. She was the youngest of three sisters, Elizabeth's mother Blanche being the oldest. Blanche always had a soft spot in her heart for Catherine. Catherine was always the flame that burned the brightest. She was the prettiest, the smartest, most glamorous (and outspoken) of the three sisters, often running interference with their late father, an overbearing man who thought that women belonged at home, and not in the workplace. Blanche was making the final preparations for the small birthday celebration. Usually all three sisters would celebrate the birthdays of their nieces and nephews, but Marianne, the middle sister, was travelling to California with her husband and their three children.

Mavis had already prepared the food for the luncheon that featured watercress sandwiches, sliced ham, and fresh mixed berries. The immaculately prepared food was already on the dining room table, along with the family's best china, silver and crystal. Mavis had also baked a birthday cake, which was sitting on the well-worn marble countertop in the kitchen. It was Elizabeth's favorite, a devil's food cake with a white butter cream frosting.

Catherine arrived early, as she often did for family social events. She knew that the girls would be getting ready, and her early arrival would allow her a few minutes of time alone with Blanche. She felt remiss in not visiting more often as she and her husband Kenneth lived almost directly across from Blanche on the Upper West Side. Karl, the butler, answered the door and escorted Catherine to the drawing room that adjoined the foyer (the living room being on the opposite side of the foyer). Being a fashion maven, Catherine was always dressed in the last styles from Paris, this time wearing a broad brimmed hat with a large feather, a low cut floor length blue velour dress that was filled out with her ample bosom, and black leather lace-up boots that form fitted her calves and feet. Karl returned with a glass of champagne and upon leaving the drawing room pulled the heavy wood paneled doors shut.

Catherine always liked this room. It was small and intimate, with exquisitely carved wainscoting and a perfectly framed view of the small rose garden in front of the house. When she was a teenager, she recalled the stolen kiss in this moonlit room that would have scandalized the family.

As Catherine was sipping the last of her champagne Blanche slid the doors open carrying a flute and an open bottle. She placed the flute and bottle on a side table and shut the doors. Catherine stood up and the two sisters embraced -- the warm and heartfelt embrace of siblings who were always close.

"Cat, it's been too long," Blanche said as she held her younger sister at arm's length. She used a term of endearment that few others used, her sister now opting for the more formal form of her name than the shortened version used during her youth. Blanche admired her sister's elegance and grace, having watched her youthful good looks transition into the beautiful, mature woman.

Catherine nodded. "We live just on the other side of Manhattan, yet we only seem to manage visits months apart. I know that with you bringing up two young girls and me with the work for the wildlife conservation society it leaves little time for the two of us to get together," she openly lamented. "I can't wait to see Elizabeth and Penelope. Elizabeth so looks like you."

Blanche topped off her older sister's glass and filled her flute. "I'm glad you're here," she said. "But I notice that Kenneth isn't with you." Kenneth was Catherine's husband of five years. Kenneth was the youngest son of the Blackburn family, a family whose patriarch was the head of a prominent bank. The Blackburn and Tripplehorn families had always been close, and the union between Kenneth and Catherine seemed pre-ordained.

"Kenneth is talking about enlisting in the British Army," she said with despair. "Kenneth has dual citizenship with the U.S. and Great Britain. He's meeting with people he knows in the British consulate to see if he can join." Catherine's face was one of great concern, but inside she had mixed feelings. She was fond of Kenneth, but their relationship had never blossomed into true love. Kenneth had become even more distant in their marriage and Catherine suspected for some time that he was having an affair with his personal secretary. She was debating whether she wanted to share this information with her older sister. They had always been close, and secrets like this one would have been freely shared. However, they were taught in proper society, that such matters were to be addressed between spouses and not shared outside the bedroom. She decided not to burden her older sister with her worries.

"It's such a mess over there. The reports here aren't good. It looks like America is going to be drawn into this war whether we like it or not," Blanche observed with good reason. "I understand that there were tens of thousands of casualties in an area called Flanders. Did you hear about that?"

Catherine had heard about it. Everyone had. It was a wholesale slaughter of German, Belgium, French and British troops. It horrified her, and made her think of Kenneth's folly in attempting to enlist in the British Army just so he could be on the front lines of mass murder. This was truly a Great War, and she wanted no part of it. "I've read about it and I'm appalled."

Blanche nodded. "So what do you think about Kenneth enlisting? I'm sure you're not happy about it."

"Of course I'm not," her sister replied. "I've begged him not to. I wish this whole nonsense about internal squabbles between the countries in Europe didn't devolve into worldwide carnage."

"I don't want to pry, so please stop me if you think I am," said Blanche, who sensed some inner conflict within her sister but really did want to pry, "but is everything all right between you and Kenneth?"

Catherine decided to broach the topic since her sister wanted to hear about it. "Not really. I think he's having an affair with his assistant Jane."

"You mean that little blonde tart that goes with him on his business trips?" Blanche had her suspicions as well. Why would Kenneth need the services on a comely 25 year old woman with little business experience? She knew the answer to that question.

"That's the one. I found a note she wrote him with all kinds of personal details that was on his desk. I'm sure he didn't intend for me to see it." Catherine's voice quivered as she said it.

"Are you still ... intimate?" Blanche asked, sensing it was time to offer solace to her sister.

"Not really. It's been a long time." What Catherine didn't share was the fact that she wasn't interested in having sexual relations with Kenneth, and never had been. She viewed it more as doing her duty as a wife, and she was certain that Kenneth had also sensed her detachment when it came to sex.

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Blanche in a sympathetic voice. She paused, then added, "But I do hope Kenneth doesn't do something silly like enlist."

Catherine had enough of the topic. The talk of war weighed heavily on her and she wanted her visit with Blanche and her two delightful daughters to be a respite from the depressing news from overseas and her husband's presumed infidelity. "So tell me, what are the girls are up to these days?"

The women had a pleasant conversation as Blanche filled Catherine in on the girl's studies, as well as their piano lessons. Elizabeth, like her aunt, was artistically inclined and showed promise as a pianist. Penny was still a mischievous eight year old, so there was also quite a bit of discussion about her troubles at school and her short attention span.

"Sounds like Marianne," Catherine quipped. "She couldn't sit still for more than a minute at a time at that age."

Before Blanche could reply the doors to the drawing room were opened. "Sorry for the intrusion ma'am but the girls would like to see their aunt." Behind Mavis were the two girls, fresh from their bath and wearing new party dresses. Catherine beamed as the two of them entered the drawing room.

"Elizabeth, Penelope!" cried Catherine as she clutched the two girls. The girls giggled as the teary-eyed aunt looked more carefully at them. They'd grown of course, but Catherine noted that Elizabeth was looking more like her mother every day. Her breasts were blossoming, and her face's youthful innocence was giving way to womanhood. Catherine always admired the way Blanche looked. Although she knew she was viewed as the more beautiful of the two, she thought Blanche's wavy hair, heart shaped face, full breasts and hips, and sultry voice made her more desirable.

After the hugs and the kisses, the girls knew it was time to receive their presents, barely able to contain their excitement. Catherine's presents were always the best. She knew what would please them. To placate the expected begging and pleading, Catherine picked up her purse and pulled out a small box, wrapped in colorful paper and tied with a length of ribbon. She gave it to Penelope, who promptly pulled apart the ribbon and ripped off the paper. She opened the box to find a ring made of gold with a violet colored amethyst mounted in the setting. As Penelope held the ring and stared at the colorful stone her aunt knelt next to her and spoke at her level.

"This ring was given to me by my Aunt Gertrude when I was six. The amethyst was mined in Brazil and brought back to the United States by Gertrude's husband. I want you to have it," said Catherine.

Penelope was entranced by her gift and was uncharacteristically silent. Her mother interrupted the silence. "Thank your Aunt Catherine for the beautiful gift."

Penelope found her manners. "Thank you Aunt Catherine."

"You're welcome, sweet Penelope." Catherine leaned over and kissed her niece on the cheek.

Catherine rose up on her feet. "Well, now that we've finished the gift giving, are we now to have lunch?"

Elizabeth bolted to her feet. "Aunt Catherine. It's my birthday today."

Catherine feigned surprise and acted as if she had forgotten the reason for the party. "Oh my. So it is. I thought I was just being invited over for lunch. Should I have brought you a present?"

Elizabeth fought back a tear. Her lip trembled a bit but she was able to muster a polite reply. "That's all right Aunt Catherine. I'm getting old enough where I can't expect presents on my birthday."

Catherine broke into a smile. "Darling Elizabeth. How could I ever forget? I've gotten you something I hope that you'll always treasure."

Elizabeth used the back of her hand to wipe a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. She smiled as well. "Auntie Catherine. I swear you get pleasure from tricking me." She wasn't mad, and was grateful that her aunt had remembered to bring her a gift. She expected her aunt to retrieve something from her purse, but instead she reached behind her neck and opened the clasp of a fine gold chain that was holding a gold, heart shaped locket. She let the chain and locket fall into her right hand. She used her other hand to take Elizabeth's right hand and hold it so the palm was facing up. Catherine used her hand to close Elizabeth's hand around the chain and locket.

"Elizabeth. Your grandmother Maisy gave me this locket on my 16th birthday. I've worn it every day since. It would give me the greatest joy if you would wear it." She opened the locket and showed her there was a picture inside. "You can see it's a picture of me. There was a picture of Maisy in it and I've replaced it with a picture of me. I hope you'll wear it so I'll be close to your heart."

Elizabeth opened her hand, seeing the fine gold chain with its meticulously crafted interlocking links and the locket, exquisitely engraved and crusted with small diamonds and rubies. Even at the tender age of 15, she could recognize she was holding something special and dear.

Her mother was watching the touching exchange between her sister and her daughter and felt compelled to interrupt. "It's too much," said Blanche. "You've always been too generous to the girls but this is beyond generous. She shouldn't accept such a gift."

Catherine took the chain and fastened it around Elizabeth's neck, lifting her niece's dark raven colored hair over it. The locket hung between her budding breasts. "It looks perfect on her," she noted, stating the obvious.

Blanche wanted to resist, but her resolve weakened when she saw how the locket looked on her Elizabeth. "Well ... we can't ... we can't accept it."

Catherine could see that Blanche was wavering and only needed a final push. "Elizabeth is going to be given this locket at some point. Why not let her enjoy it longer? I've had it for twenty years so I've had enough time to enjoy it. It's time to pass it on to the next generation."

Blanche could see that her resistance was for naught. Better to just give in than to prolong an argument that wasn't going anywhere. "Thank you Catherine."

Elizabeth threw her arms around her aunt and squeezed her hard. "Thank you Auntie Catherine. I'll treasure it forever."

Catherine leaned forward to kiss her niece on the forehead. "And so you will."

Chapter Two

The Birthday Party

It was two months hence when Catherine next stepped foot in the Tripplehorn residence. She was spending a great deal of time in Washington, D.C., the headquarters of the conservancy organization, lobbying government officials on the establishment of a national park service to administer the more than a dozen recently formed national parks. She managed to wrest away time for a trip back home and came to visit on a sun-drenched Tuesday to celebrate Penelope's 9th birthday. She had brought little trinkets from the nation's capital as gifts, as well as a large box of candy.

Elizabeth was wearing the locket. She selected her finest clothes knowing that her wonderful Aunt Catherine was coming to visit. She pulled out a pink pinafore dress with the white ruffle just above the hem and her nicest pair of patent leather shoes. She looked in the mirror. The locket was there, gleaming and sparkling in the sunlit room as it rested between her breasts and over her heart. Her heart -- her Aunt Catherine was a part of it now. Aunt Catherine had worn that locket every day for twenty years and had taken a piece of her heart and given it to me, Elizabeth thought as she gazed in the mirror. Elizabeth loved the locket. She had already shown it to all of her friends and repeated the story of its origin many times. It hadn't left her neck since the moment her aunt put it on her.

But the gift of the locket had changed Blanche, and not for the better. The gift of the locket was far too extravagant and Elizabeth's attentions were now elsewhere -- on her aunt instead of her mother. Blanche wasn't blind, and became jealous of the relationship her sister enjoyed with her daughter. Blanche had always harbored a small amount jealousy towards her more glamorous sister. But now that jealousy had grown into something more ugly and corrosive as Blanche was certain that because Catherine couldn't have children herself she was focusing her maternal instincts on Elizabeth.

Catherine, however, never took stock in her motives and had dismissed Blanche's jealousy as something that would pass. She loved Elizabeth unconditionally. She wouldn't have denied that she loved her as much as if Elizabeth had been her own. In her eyes, Elizabeth radiated beauty both outwardly and from within. Outwardly, she was developing from a gangly adolescent to a tall, attractive woman. Inwardly she was smart, precocious, thoughtful and loving.

The rift between the two sisters came to the fore on the occasion of Penelope's birthday party. Catherine would customarily receive an invitation weeks in advance of the event, but as her youngest niece's birthday approached no invitation was received. Catherine sent a note to Blanche informing her that she would be in town the week of Penelope's birthday and wondered if there would be a celebration. She received a note back the same day with an apology regarding the "oversight" and the extension of an invitation. Catherine knew that such an oversight was impossible, and the forgotten invitation was a not so subtle reminder that Elizabeth was Blanche's daughter and not hers.

Catherine arrived at the impressive brownstone, a place she grew up in and a place that was always of great solace to her. But today she felt differently. She sensed Blanche's jealousy when she gave Elizabeth the locket, and was certain of it when she wasn't sent an invitation to Penelope's birthday party. She walked up the stairs with trepidation, knowing it would be awkward to see her own sister -- a sister that she had shared her most intimate secrets.

She rang the bell and waited for Karl to answer the door. He greeted her warmly, and as he let her in Blanche happened to be walking down the staircase.

Elizabeth heard her mother and her Aunt Catherine talking in the foyer. She resisted the urge to run downstairs, knowing that her mother expected her to be escorted by either Mavis or Karl. She desperately wanted to show her aunt how wonderful the locket looked on her. She heard footsteps as Karl was climbing the stairs to get her and her younger sister.