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[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia in May ~ Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Summary: Thomas finally comes home from the hospital and his family must break the news to him that he cannot become an octopus.

Chapter Warning(s): None, just pure nonsense.

Word Count: 2251

Chapter Seventeen

Finally, the day came when Thomas could come home from the hospital. It was the most anxious I’d ever been in my whole life, maybe even more anxious than I’d been the day I started working for him. I gripped the steering wheel as hard as I could, almost to the point where my knuckles turned white in order to prevent my hands from shaking and it took all of my self control to not drive over the speed limit. 

Panic swirled in my empty stomach and I could feel it twist into a thousand knots, my only relief being the cool air that was blowing in through the car window. Because of this, I was thankful that I’d skipped breakfast this morning. 

The day before, while Lizzie took the kids to see him, I drove down to Arrow House and Francais and I cleaned things up. We replaced the sheets on the bed and the pillow cases with clean ones, we dusted the bedside tables, cleaned out the ashtray and rearranged the books on the bookshelf, putting the new ones I’d bought on the top shelf so they’d be easier to reach. 

We debated whether or not we’d have a welcome home party, but in the end, it was decided that Thomas needed a quiet first night back home. Plus his birthday was just around the corner, so we didn’t want things to get too busy. 

When I eventually pulled up in front of the hospital, I couldn’t get out of the car and put my mask on fast enough. My mind was moving faster than my body ever could and at a faster pace than the rest of the world was. He lit up with a real Thomas Shelby Smile when he saw me and I couldn’t help but smile back. He had changed into some cleaner clothes. 

“There she is,” he said in that voice I knew. 

Clara was once again checking his vitals and making sure everything was working properly before he could officially be released. The swelling in his vocal cords had gone down significantly and they weren’t as tender as they were when he first came in, so he was finding it easier to talk, but still, he needed to be careful and not push himself too far. 

I propped myself on the bed beside him. Our fingers brushed up against each other and I smiled shyly as I turned my head and looked over at him. He was beautiful even when he was sick. His hair was messy, sweeping down over his forehead and it looked like it had grown a little bit, too since I last saw him. I used my other hand to sweep it out of his eyes. 

“How are you feeling?” I asked. 

“Ready to leave,” he answered. “I want to see my family.” 

I nodded. I knew that having his family visit him and seeing them for short periods of time was a lot different than actually being with them. 

After a while, he stood up from the bed, using both hands to support himself. 

Clara said she’d encouraged him to walk up and down the hallways as soon as he was able to stand up so his legs wouldn’t become stiff from laying down for too long, but just because he was having an easier time sitting up and standing, that didn’t mean he still wasn’t in pain. When he first sat up, he grimaced, but then, almost as if he’d forgotten I was there and just remembered that he’d been sitting next to me, his expression turned back to a neutral one. 

Off my worried look, he said, “I’ll be alright. I’ve endured worse.” 

“You shouldn’t have to endure any of it!”

I didn’t mean to sound so harsh, and I wasn’t angry at Thomas per say, but the dismissive tone in which he said that he’d endured worse, as if this somehow made it all okay, was what angered me. I was also angry at the people who hurt him and got away from it without a scratch and it frustrated me that there was nothing I could do to help him feel better. I also didn’t know I was crying until I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks. 

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” 

His expression softened, he took my face in his hands, swiped away a single tear with his thumb and kissed my forehead, a gesture that said everything he wanted to without uttering a single word. A selfish part of me wanted him to hold me like this forever, but when he looked over my shoulder and noticed Clara awkwardly trying to pretend she wasn’t watching us, he straightened up and put on his coat. 

 “Ready to go home?” he asked me. 

“I’m the one who should ask you that,” I answered. 

After signing a couple of forms, we went out the door and we both took a deep breath, letting the cool, pine-scented air fill our lungs. The air inside the hospital was stuffy. It smelled too much of other people, of death, but out here, the air was clean. 

“Feels good,” he said. His eyes were closed. In the grey afternoon light, I noticed that the bruises I saw near his face and near his neck were yellowing, meaning they were starting to heal. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and put it between his teeth. 

I raised my brow. “Didn’t the doctor say to take it easy on those?” 

He lifted his head to look up at me and shrugged. 

“I don’t know, I wasn’t listening.” 

“Mister Shelby.” 

“Miss Bennett,” he echoed my warning tone and I rolled my eyes. 

“You’re such a child,” I muttered. 

“You’re such a grown-up,” he responded, not missing a beat. 

“It’s a good thing I’m not allowed to smack you right upside the head.” 

This amused him more. He leaned forward, putting his hands on his knees and getting on my level so he could look directly into my eyes. 

“I’d like to see you try.” 

Just when I thought I couldn’t be more annoyed, he tapped my nose. 

Instead of smacking him, I took the unlit cigarette from him and stomped it underneath my boot. Then I lifted my chin defiantly, almost wanting to grin at seeing the surprised look on his face. “There. How’s that?” 

He hummed and muttered something under his breath, and I could still see him pouting like a child. 

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” I said, raising my voice a tad. 

“I said, you know I have more, don’t you?” 

“Yes, well --” 

“And I’m still waiting for you to slap me.” 

I wanted so badly to be annoyed with him, I was tempted to just get in the car and leave him there in the hospital courtyard and then tell the family that he was acting irrational and the doctors wanted to keep him another day. 

But then he made a face and I couldn’t help laughing. It was nice to have the old Thomas back after he’d been gone for so long. 

“I’ll drive,” he said. 

“Respectfully, Mister Shelby, you’re in no condition to drive.” 

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“I mean, you had a good dose of pain medication before leaving and that may or may not influence your ability to drive, and imagine how your children would feel if you were to swerve off the road and collide with a tree. 

“True enough.”  

Thomas stepped off the curb as well and started making his way over to the car. When I caught up with him, he moved so that he was standing beside me. 

 “You’re right,” he said. “I’ve put my family through enough turmoil and crashing into a tree is not an ideal or noble way to die. I mean, I don’t think there’s any ideal way to die, but -- Anyway, I wouldn’t mind just sitting  and admiring you.” 

“Still trying to butter me up, aren’t you, Mister Shelby?” 

“Is it working?” he asked, mischief still dancing in his eyes. 

“Maybe,” I said, which seemed to satisfy him more. 

I opened the car door and could hear the crunch of dirt beneath his boots as he did the same, sliding into the seat beside me. 

“And how many times have I told you to call me ‘Tommy’?” 

The drive was mostly silent, with us just trading glances with each other while talking about the children. I told him how much they had progressed in their studies, which didn’t surprise him in the least considering that he hired the best tutors he could possibly find in order to help them succeed. He wanted to give them the opportunities that his aunt couldn’t, despite her best efforts to keep everything afloat. I don’t want to sound like a broken record here, but every time he talked about Ruby and Charlie, how much he cared about them and wanted to make sure they were happy, healthy and safe, I found myself  becoming more and more enamoured by him. But of course that made it much harder to keep those feelings in check. 

Years from now, I would be leaving my position as their governess, and the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt them any more than they already had been. 

Especially the children. 

Charlie loved Lizzie as though he were her own flesh and blood, and clearly Lizzie felt the same, but now and then, completely out of the blue, he asked about Grace, his mother.  He wanted to know things that, according to him, every son should know about their mother, like what her favourite flower was, or if she loved to dance or how they met. 

Grace was still a very sore subject for Thomas and he was unsure at first whether or not he should answer those questions, or if he even could answer them without those wounds opening up and giving way to his own sadness, but it wasn’t just himself who had suffered when she died. 

He lost his wife, and Charlie lost his mother. 

The young boy had every right to know who his mother was, whether she had died or not. As his father, Thomas owed it to Charlie to answer those questions as best he could, leaving out any details that might be deemed inappropriate to discuss in front of children.  

I wish I didn’t love him the way I did because the last thing I wanted was to let my feelings for Thomas come to the surface only to inevitably hurt him by going back home once my contract had ended. 

As we pulled into the driveway and the car stopped, just as I was about to step out of the car, I felt his hand rest on top of mine. I turned my head and saw that he was staring directly into my eyes, the light shining in from the front window reflected in his eyes and it made them even more beautiful and alluring. 

Without warning, he leaned in as close as possible and kissed me on the cheek. Almost instantly, I felt my face turning warm. 

  “What was that for?” I asked. 

“Everything,” he said, “for being there for my children and for Lizzie.” 

Thomas moved the hand that was resting on mine to stroke my cheek. Had he been another one of my employers, and had I not just admitted to myself how much I cared for him, I would have pointed out how unprofessional this was. 

But I didn’t. 

He leaned closer, and I sat there, frozen, unable to think, unable to breathe. 

Then I did the same. 

The air around us thickened; the tension between us built up, like something was going to happen. 

Mother Nature must have sensed it, too, because just when we were close enough to feel each other’s breath fanning our faces, the rain poured harder. 

“Maybe we should …” I started. 

“Yes, we probably should,” Thomas added, chuckling softly. 

“Some other time,” I finished. 

We stepped out of the car, and we started laughing at how quickly we were becoming soaking wet with rain and I couldn’t resist smiling at how handsome he looked even with his hair sticking to his forehead. 

At the same time, the front door to the house opened and both Ruby and Charlie came running outside, both of them grinning from ear to ear while Lizzie watched them, also smiling, with her arms folded across her chest. 

At once, they ran into him and he caught them in his arms just in time. 

“Dad! You’re here!” said Charlie. 

“Yes, my son. I’m here,” he answered, kissing the top of his head. He tried to keep his voice from cracking, but I could see him lift his head and clench his teeth to prevent himself from crying. 

“Daddy, are you okay?” asked Ruby, taking his face between her two little hands, “you look sad.” 

“I’m not sad, sweetheart,” he said, stroking her cheek, “Daddy’s just happy to be home with the people he loves.” 

“Come inside, all of you!” Lizzie called over the downpour, “You’ll catch a cold!” 

“Right, you heard your mother. Let’s go.” 

Thomas scooped up both of the kids in his arms and held onto them as he ran up the driveway. I could hear the three of them laughing as I ran to catch up with them. 

“Shame I don’t have three arms,” he said once we all stepped through the door. 

“Why?” I asked, wondering what gave him such an odd idea. 

“Because then I could have carried all three of you.”

I bent down to take off my muddy boots, then I shrugged off my jacket. 

“As much as I appreciate the gesture, you’d look funny with three arms.” 

“No, no, picture me having three arms. Or eight?!” 

“Like an octopus!” Charlie asked. 

“What’s this about an octopus?” Lizzie came into the hallway, ruffled Charlie’s hair and then helped Ruby hang up her coat. “You look like you’re feeling better.” 

“Daddy wants to have eight arms,” Ruby answered. 

“Why do you need eight arms?” Lizzie asked, confused. 

Thomas grinned. “Imagine how many people I could hug.” 

“Well, I’m not sure if I can help you there,” said Lizzie. 

“And there it is,” he said dramatically, “my dreams are crushed.” 

We knew he was only joking around, and the kids found it hilarious that their dad wanted to have eight arms so badly that when we told him that it wasn’t anatomically possible and impractical for a human to have eight arms, he went further into the hallway and started sulking. 

Ruby looked up at him. “Mummy made cookies. Would that make you happy?”

“Did you say cookies?” he asked, turning his head just a little bit. 

Charlie nodded. “Chocolate chip.” 

“You know I can’t say ‘no’ to your mum’s cookies,” he smiled. 

“Go sit in the living room and I’ll bring them out,” Lizzie said and while she went into the kitchen, the kids went into the living room and sat down on the sofa. The living room at Arrow House was much bigger than the one at Lizzie’s place. 

“There’s the Tommy Shelby I know,” I said. 

Grinning, he draped his arm over my shoulder and I leaned into him, shaking my head as we followed the kids to enjoy some cookies.

To be continued

Taglist: @zablife @runnning-outof-time @cillmequick @sherbitdibdab

[allthewriteplaces]

My Paradise

Author's Note: This isn't my best work, and it's been three years since I wrote it, but it would be a shame if I were to continue to let this little story sit in my USB drive collecting dust, only to never see the light of day when I was so proud of it when I finished it. Plus it's nice to look back and see how much I've improved over the years.

Story Summary: The day has come for Arkov Sosha to marry the man of her dreams, the Captain of the Hercules, himself, Yargwynn Salta and while it's been a long time coming, and their adventure hasn't all been smooth sailing, everything is finally falling into place.

Warning(s): None, only fluff

Word Count: 2478

From the moment we are born, it seems as though our fates are sealed and our destinies are written somewhere in the stars. Each step we take and each choice we make, alters our path, opens new doors, and leads to infinite possibilities, infinite realities exist within our universe, each one a branch in the ever growing tree of life.

Had I not made the choices I made, I wouldn’t have went on such incredible adventures and meet so many wonderful people who would ultimately become my family or be standing in my chambers on the Hercules, a place that was once foreign but had now become my home dressed in a gown woven from the dark cloths of the night sky and sparkled like a thousand stars.

Everyone dreams about their fairytale wedding, and I am no exception, it was the sort of thing that most girls, including most of my childhood friends, always seemed to like to talk about at sleepovers and even at school. To tell you the truth, however, I never thought much about it, in fact, it was the last thing on my mind. There were so many other things I wanted to do with my life first, like exploring far off places and making a life for myself, just like my mother did.

She is gone now. I wish that she could see how happy I am; I wish that she would be there to see me trying on my wedding dress - one that I am in the process of adding the finishing touches to - and I wish she could see me walking down the aisle on my wedding day.

Loss is not anything new to me, I’ve lost many friends and family over the years, and the pain and the sadness that come along with it, are like waves, trying to knock me down over and over again, and toss me onto the sand, never to drown, but no matter how many times I fall, I somehow manage to get back up and live another day.

Well, I suppose in a way, she is here in spirit, watching from somewhere far, far away from this place.

She always said that I had a gift for creating things, making something amazing out of what appeared to be nothing and that is exactly what I’m doing right now. I suppose it’s my way of having her with me, and for a split second, a smile makes its way onto my face.

Rubbing my tired eyes, I realize that it’s getting late. I hold up the dress and examine the stitching. It still needs a bit of touching up, but I have at least twenty-four hours before I get married. Goodness, even now, saying those two words, I still can’t believe it’s happening, it still doesn’t seem real yet.

Let me tell you, when I first met Captain Yargwynn Salta, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight, though I couldn’t deny that there was something about him that drew me to him. Sure, he flirted with me here and there, and maybe I responded with a few witty remarks of my own, but it was only in playful banter, until it wasn’t, until our feelings for one another started to grow.

When I first realized that I was indeed falling in love, I was terrified; no, I wasn’t afraid of falling in love specifically, but I was afraid of the feelings that came with it and the pain that would ultimately come when they would not be returned. The whole sensation where I could barely get a word out when I was around him, or when his hand would accidentally brush against mine was similar to standing on the edge of a cliff and not knowing what waited for you at the bottom besides the possibility of imminent death.

But instead, when the both of us were at our very worst, and I had been teleported to the glistening clear waters and sandy shores of Cantahc when things seemed to be bleaker than they ever had been, he told me that he had grown to have said feelings for me as well, but after all that had happened, it was almost impossible for me to get my head around what was going on. I had been waiting to hear those words for so long.

And that was where we shared our first kiss, right there on that beach, I was being held tightly in Yargwynn’s strong arms, my own personal safety net that I could always depend on catching me when I fell, and comforted by his soft, almost rumbling voice, his heartbeat hammering against his chest, and his gentle hands resting on either side of my face.

Apparently, according to him, I am a terrible kisser; okay, I’ll admit, I’m not as good as he is, but I think I have a strong grasp of what to do and what not to do, and I will have tomorrow evening to prove him wrong.

There is something romantic about a beach wedding that makes it the perfect spot for our special day; we will be getting married by the ocean, in the company of our closest friends and family.

Making my way to the comfortable bed we both share, I climb in and glance over at my soon-to-be husband, whose purple locks are sprawled out on the pillow, and the top three buttons of his loose-fitting pirate shirt are undone. There is also a small grin on his face, which tells me that he’s not quite asleep yet.

“Finally, I was starting to think that I’d be spending the whole night alone,”

“You know that I would never deprive you of my company,” I reply, undoing my braid and letting my hair fall down my back in cascading waves. “It’s all done for now, I just have to add a bit more stitching along the bottom of it, but you’re not allowed to see what it looks like until I’m done.”

“Why not?” He pouts, but his tone remains lighthearted and playful, so I know he’s just teasing me.

“Well, don’t you know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, especially in her dress? You wouldn’t want to disappoint Lady Luck now, would we?” I repeat the same words he said to me when he caught me sneaking aboard The Hercules.

“I suppose not.” He sighed and then rolled over onto his side so that he was facing me, brushing a piece of my hair behind my ear and then placing a kiss on the side of my neck. “I can’t believe I’m marrying you tomorrow.”

“Well, there’s no backing down now, is there?” I whispered, smiling at the gesture.

“Nope.” Even in the darkness, I can see his grin growing and he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer toward him. “Not even if you beg me to let you go, I won’t. I nearly lost you and there’s no way I’m going to let that happen ever again.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, even if you beg me to leave, I’m staying right here.” To prove that, I take his hand in mine, placing a kiss on each of his knuckles. He smiles and kisses the tip of my nose.

I can’t believe that tomorrow, I , Arkov Sosha, will become Mrs Arkov Salta. It has a nice ring to it.

Hours and hours pass by, the sun is setting and the air is warm, just like I imagined it would be; I cannot picture a more perfect day to get married. My husband-to-be is waiting for me outside and I can hear him laughing, no doubt trying to regale the guests with his epic tales, that’s the pirate in him, I’m sure.

I slip on the dress, careful not to damage anything by pulling or moving too quickly. It’s impossible for me to not be anxious right now; so many things could go wrong, and anything can happen, but I cannot let that distract me, I can’t let those superstitious and insecure feelings get in the way of what is going to be the best day of my entire life.

I let my hair down, then stand in the mirror. The girl staring back at me isn’t at all like the young girl who would have been there. Her hair was a lot messier, her clothes a bit more tattered, and her eyes a bit tired, and she was a lot thinner, less muscular. I almost don’t recognize her.

With a sigh, I step barefoot onto the sand, feeling it trying to get between my toes; it’s a strange feeling, I’ll admit, but I’m slowly becoming more and more used to it the longer I find myself living here. The closer I walk, the better I can hear the musicians playing softly in the background.

I am not paying attention to anything, other than the proud, adoring smile on Yargwynn’s face; he, too, has changed since I met him, his hair is a bit longer, he never, ever lets me cut it, unless it’s hanging in his face, then he will let me trim a little bit off. He does have it tied back, though, just enough for me to see those hypnotic blue eyes staring back at me.

“You look beautiful,” he says in a whisper as we stand together under a makeshift altar, his thumb gently strokes the back of my hand and already, I feel my nervousness slipping away. Loyal, a guardian angel from Queria, is the one to marry us. Their friends, a vampire, a fearless mouse, and a wizard are part of the small group of friends we’ve invited to join in the celebration.

The second the speech is finished, and we are finally allowed to kiss, as the music picks up to a more upbeat tune, it finally feels real, this whole thing. We’re now husband and wife. Everything we have faced together, every high and every low is worth this one moment, this small fraction of time.

Soon, as the sun has set completely and the stars unveil themselves, it’s as though it’s just the two of us, dancing on the water as the music continues to play. The moonlight reflects off the water, making it shimmer and shine.

“How does it feel to finally be married to me and be Mrs. Yargwynn Salta?” Yargwynn asks as we lay side by side on the sand, and the waves rush against our feet.

“It feels pretty good,” I reply, closing my eyes as a warm breeze blows by, and finding his hand, putting it into my own. “I just wish there was a way they could have been there and seen us, you know?”

He gently pulls his hand free, then shifts a little so that he’s sitting up on one elbow and his chin rests on my hand. “They were here. They did see us and they were happy. And they wouldn’t want to see you crying on your wedding day.”

I sniffed, then nodded my head slowly, standing up and then moving towards the water. It’s nice and cool, perfect for swimming in. I lie back, letting it hold me up. I glance up at the infinite number of stars peering down at me, once again reminding me that I am only a speck, just a dot on a gigantic canvas.

My eyes pop open when I feel two hands gripping my waist and pulling me up, grinning down at me.

“Leaving me already?” he frowns and clicks his tongue, “Arkov, my darling, how could you? And on our wedding day, too.”

“Leave you? I would never!” I struggle to catch enough breath to stop laughing and reply. “I am not as tricky as you think I am.”

He sighs dramatically and then puts me down, sulking. I roll my eyes and then with both of my hands, I splash him with as much energy as I have.

“Did you…just splash me?” He sputters; I nod and he grins, more madly now, and then splashes me back. “Yeah, you’re in trouble now!”

I manage to dodge out of the way and soon, we’re both laughing and splashing each other like the children we once were.

Later, as soon as we are both calm and dried off, we lay down on top of the soft sheets, lulled by the sound of the waves crashing outside.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Yargwynn whispers in my ear, his deep voice husky and his accent a lot thicker.

“Not enough,” I tease and he pulls me on top of him, keeping his hands on my hips.

“Alright then, I will tell you every day until the day I die how much I love you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“And you’re the best thing that’s happened to me.” I kiss his nose, “and I love you more, to the four corners of the universe and back again.”

He rolls over so that I am the one beneath him. He nuzzles my neck, making me laugh and the love in his eyes makes me melt completely. “And I love you, my beautiful wife, to infinity beyond infinity”

I lay my head down on his chest, allowing my hand to rest right above his heart as he makes his way further into mine.

The End!

Please consider checking out the inspiration behind the story created by @goodboyaudios

[allthewriteplaces]

A Magnolia In May: Chapter Sixteen

Author's note: Chapter Sixteen is finally here, y'all! I realized I had it most of it written down, but I needed to just add a little bit more to it just because I didn't want it to be too short. It's kind of uneventful, but I thought it was cute, so I kept going. :)

Chapter Summary: A quiet moment between Tommy and Jessie and afterwards, she, Lizzie and the kids go to a book store.

Chapter Warning(s): Mentions of injury and pain

Word Count: 2647

Chapter Sixteen

“Stay … with … me … Please …” 

He winced as he spoke and exhaled shakily as his one hand moved slightly upwards to soothe the purple bruises on his neck, while the fingers on his other hand still gripping my sleeve like his very existence depended on me being there. I sat back down on the chair, placed my hand on top of his and moved my thumb across his knuckles. 

Whoever attacked him was attempting to strangle him and by some miracle, he managed to escape, or maybe someone saved him. Either way, it still hurt to talk and this frustrated him. Clara noticed this as she continued the examination. 

“Give yourself some time to heal, Mister Shelby,” she said gently. “It may take a couple of days for you to be able to talk again, so don’t push yourself too far.” 

He nodded, but didn’t say anything. 

I wished with all my heart that there was some way for me to be able to take all his pain and lock it away in a chest, then toss that chest into the ocean and let it all sink to the ocean floor, never to be discovered. 

Fortunately, all of Thomas’ vitals were good. Clara was relieved, she said, because like she mentioned earlier, he had a dreadful fever the night before and I could tell she wasn’t sure whether or not he would wake up the next morning, which was our greatest fear and why I couldn’t sleep because what if he died and neither of us had the chance to say goodbye? What would we have told Charlie and Ruby? 

When we got the phone call that told us he would be alright, I almost wanted to break down and cry, because I was relieved, overjoyed, scared and happy all at the same time, but I held back until I could slip away into my room to let the tears fall. 

Clara changed the bandage, gave him some more medication for the pain, and then stepped back. “Everything else looks promising, though.” 

Just as she was about to say something else, another nurse knocked on the door. Clara went to open it and from where we were sitting slash laying, Thomas and I overheard them talking about needing assistance with another one of the patients and without wasting any time, Clara excused herself and once again, it was just the two of us. 

Getting a better look at him, I could see that he had a beard growing in. He seemed to notice me staring. 

I know. I need to shave.. 

“I don’t know, I kind of like the new beard.” 

He rolled his eyes, still grinning, but pretended to pout. 

 But it itches! 

“I’m sure Lizzie would help you if you ask her to.” 

He shook his head and looked me in the eye. 

 I want you to help me 

My cheeks warmed up. I wanted to tease him, but it was hard to do when he was looking at me with that crooked grin of his. And then after a second, I said, “Are you hungry? I could sneak down to the kitchens and get you some chocolate pudding.” 

He made a face. 

No offence, but the chocolate pudding here is terrible. 

I laughed, which made his grin widen, but then his mouth tightened and his face scrunched up. I could see the pain and how hard he was trying to hide it. I wondered how long it would take for the medication Clara gave him to kick in. 

I hoped that it wouldn’t take too long. 

“Tell you what,” I said, wanting to help keep his mind off it, “we will make you the best chocolate pudding ever and you can eat as much of it as you want when you come home. How does that sound?”

Instead of writing his response down, he just nodded his head and let it turn to the side a little. 

I rambled on for a couple more minutes, just to give him other things to think about besides his aching bones and muscles. Mostly, I talked about the family reunion and how much they all missed him. He told me he missed them, too, and they couldn’t wait to be home.  

“That’s why you can’t go disappearing like that, Mister Shelby,” I said in a playfully chastising tone, “You miss too much. And nothing’s the same without you.” 

You miss seeing my handsome face every morning, Miss Bennett?

“More than you could ever know,” I said, watching his smile return and his whole body started to relax again. 

Lizzie and the kids came back in a few minutes later and we stayed for a little while longer. Apparently there was a bird’s nest outside in one of the trees in the yard and the birds were hatching. Of course they couldn’t get too close, but Charlie said that he could see their little bald heads peeking out from the edge of the nest. 

We only stayed for ten minutes more because Thomas started looking a little tired, probably because the medication was finally working, so we decided to let him get some sleep. 

The air had gotten cooler in the brief amount of time that we spent in the hospital, which is why we were glad we decided to wear our coats after all. I kept my hands in my pockets until we got to the car, then we got in. I shivered a little and so did Ruby, as we buckled up. 

“I miss Daddy,” said Ruby. I turned around in the seat to look at her, her brown-eyed gaze fixed on the window, on the rolling hills of the countryside and I noticed how hard she was trying to hold the tears back. 

“Me, too,” said Charlie. He turned away from his own window to look over at her and hold her hand, which she took, her eyes never leaving the rolling raindrops. 

Lizzie and I shared a glance. We all missed Thomas, that much was clear, but I could only imagine that it was a hundred times harder on the children. She sighed softly, pushing back her own negative feelings, at least for now, and she smiled. 

“The doctors at the hospital are very nice. They’ll take care of your dad and when he feels better, he can come home.” She reached back and placed a hand on Ruby’s  lap while also giving Charlie an encouraging smile. “It won’t be long now.” 

Lizzie had a few errands to run, so once we drove into town and parked the car, I told her I would take the children into the various shops along Charing Cross Road and that we could meet back in an hour. 

Charing Cross Road was a booklover’s paradise, each shop a charming haven of peace from the clamour of the busy streets. A series of shelves, some of them stacked right along the sidewalks, had every sort of book you could possibly imagine — romances by Emily Brontë and Jane Austen, adventure books like Huckleberry Finn and Moby Dick, and if you want to read something involving tragedy, then might I suggest Anna Karenina or Hamlet? Or if you’re more into mystery novels, you will definitely enjoy The Door by Mary Roberts Rinehart, or The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. 

They even sold second-hand books, books that no one wanted anymore. Most of them were in good condition, though others showed signs of wear and tear. Actually, it made them look more ancient, more antique, adding to their charm. 

In short, these bookshops had it all. 

the four of us drove to our next destination. There was a bookshop around here that I wanted to stop at to see if there would be any books that Thomas would like. He never really had time to read anything, by the time he came home and by the time the kids were in bed, he would be too tired to even try and focus on the words on the page.

Unless, once he came home, after I’d finished all of my chores and put the children to sleep, I could sit in the chair in his room beside his bed and read to him. I don’t know why that thought was so comforting, or why it brought such a big smile to my face, but it is the one thought that kept my spirits up. 

Obviously, I wanted to choose something that I knew he would like and not get bored of halfway through. From what little I knew about his taste in books, I knew that perhaps a romance novel would be too predictable. 

I picked up a fresh copy of Crime and Punishment and skimmed through the pages. It was a murder story, told from a murder’s point of view. I wondered if that would be something he would enjoy, or if it would be too gruesome. Suppose I chose a couple of books, would he see the selection and decide which one he wanted to read first? If that be the case, at least that way I might get some idea of what sort of books he did enjoy, and besides, I had more than enough pounds to spare from my salary. 

Thankfully, there were also a handful of children’s books. Ruby had Little House in the Big Woods tucked under her arm and Charlie added another to his collection of The Hardy Boys series he had on his shelf. 

By the time we paid for our books, Lizzie was outside waiting. 

“Did you find anything?” she asked me as we walked back to the car. 

“I wasn’t sure exactly what he liked, so I grabbed a bit of everything.” 

“That’s a solution I haven’t thought of,” she laughed and then said in a slightly louder voice. “Ruby, darling. Are you alright?” 

Just before she looked over her shoulder to answer her mother’s question, I noticed that she was walking in a sort of odd way, taking gigantic strides as she made her way to the end of the sidewalk. 

“I don’t wanna step on any cracks, so I’m stepping over them like this.” 

Lifting one leg, she took another big step. 

When we caught up to her at the curb, I crouched down slightly and helped fix up her dress that was slightly crinkled while looking softly into her eyes to try and get to the bottom of why she suddenly started avoiding cracks. 

“Why’s that?” I asked her. 

“One of the boys at Church said that if you step on a crack, bad things happen.” 

“What sort of things?” Lizzie pressed gently. 

“Monsters coming up out of the ground,” said Charlie and Ruby nodded. 

“Oh, really?” I said, remembering what some of the boys I knew growing up used to say about cracks in the sidewalk, how they were somehow connected to the Underworld, and if you step on one, a demon from Hell would show up and torment you forever. Even though I was a grown woman and wouldn’t exactly call myself a superstitious person anymore, that story frightened me as a child, that it’s just a habit now for me to avoid them. 

“What kind of monsters?” asked Lizzie. 

“Red ones as tall as those houses over there. They have two large horns on their heads, and they can catch on fire.” Ruby answered, making her fingers into horns on either side of her head for emphasis. “And they have yellow eyes that can see in the dark, even when all the lights are out. That’s what they like. Darkness.”

“My, my!” I exclaimed, putting a hand on my heart, “that does sound scary, but you know, it’s just a story.”

“Yeah, just a story,” Charlie echoed, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder in a protective manner. “There are no demons here, right, Mum?” 

“That’s right,” Lizzie confirmed, smiling at him and then turning back to Ruby, taking both hands in hers and looking into her eyes with determination. “Because you know what monsters, even big ones, fear most of all?” 

Ruby’s eyes widened excitedly. “What?” 

“They fear light, happiness and joy, it scares them away.” 

“So if I smile like this, will they stay away from us?” 

“You bet they will!” I said, nodding, with my hands on my hips. 

“And if that doesn’t work, I know how to fight them off,” said Charlie, doing a roundhouse kick in the air. 

“Will you teach me, too?” she asked, “just in case?” 

“Of course I will,” he said, taking her hand. “That’s what older brothers are for.” 

Ruby looked over her shoulder. “Jessie, do you have an older brother?”

“I don’t have an older brother, no, but I have an older cousin.” 

“What’s his name?” asked Charlie. 

“David,” I answered. 

“Does he teach you how to fight?” 

I didn’t want to dampen the mood by saying that I hadn’t seen my older cousins in years, and that no, he didn’t teach me how to fight, although I could say that he had a family of his own now, which was probably true, but instead, I said, “My uncle taught me how, I think I was about Karl’s age when I started learning.” 

“I want to ask you how old you are now, but my Aunt Polly says it’s not good manners to ask a lady her age,” said Charlie. 

“Well, your Aunt Polly is right,” I said, trying to maintain a serious tone of voice while trying to hide my amusement, “it is most certainly not good manners to ask a lady her age, but I don’t mind you asking at all.” 

“Are you a hundred?” asked Ruby. 

“Ruby,” Lizzie shook her head, but even she couldn’t keep back a smile. 

“Come on, I don’t look that old, do I?” I asked playfully. 

Charlie laughed and Ruby tried to keep back a smile. 

“If you must know, I’m twenty-seven.” 

“That’s a big number,” said Ruby. “Not as big as one hundred, though.” 

“No, we still have a long way to go before we get there,” I said. 

On the drive home, Charlie asked if they could read their new books on the way home, Lizzie agreed and they did so only breaking the silence when something funny happened with a soft laugh. We let the silence carry on for a little while. I turned to look out at the rain. It seemed to always be raining in England most days, but I didn’t mind it, mostly because Summer was just around the corner. The sun would be out and the streams and lakes and rivers would be warm enough to swim in and that would be worth the wait. 

Occasionally, there was a word in their book that they didn’t know the meaning of, or sometimes Ruby was stuck on a particular word and would ask Charlie to help her read it. She was only four years old and was just learning to read, so it was expected that there would be a little hiccup now and then, but aside from that, she was a fast learner and would be reading all on her own in no time, and our nightly spelling competitions certainly helped as well. 

That night, Charlie and I cooked dinner. They’d been taking turns; one night, he would help me and then the next night, Ruby would help me, or they would help Lizzie. Tonight, we made mashed potatoes and vegetables, and though neither of them were too keen on it -- and to be honest, I wasn’t, either -- we ate them anyway. We ate them first, if only to get to the potatoes. Those were the best part of the meal. 

We ate. We talked. We laughed. 

And we waited with bated breath in hopes that it would all get better. 

Taglist: @zablife @runnning-outof-time @sherbitdibdab @cillmequick

[allthewriteplaces]

Just letting y'all know that chapter sixteen of A Magnolia in May will take a while to be released since I'm still in the process of writing it, but hopefully it won't take too long! In the meantime, have a great weekend!

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia in May ~ Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Summary: Jessie, Lizzie and the kids go and visit Tommy at the hospital and each of the children bring something to help him feel better.

Chapter Warning(s): Mentions of injury (nothing graphic!)

Word Count: 4,196

Chapter Fifteen

We arrived at the hospital by around eleven forty-five, according to the clock just above the entryway. This was similar to the hospital that my aunt was taken to when she gave birth to my cousins, but this one had glass doors that you could see inside. I turned back around to the car and opened the second row door to let the kids out. Lizzie got out of her seat as well, reaching into a compartment and holding what looked like doctors’ masks. All of the hospital staff were required to wear them in order to prevent the transmission of diseases from one patient to another. 

“Mum, it makes my face itch.” Charlie didn’t seem to like the way the scratchy material rubbed against his skin. I could understand that. I never liked having to wear them, either. Sometimes my face would even break out into hives, but I would rather suffer the hives than be sick. 

“I know, love, but you must keep it on until we reach your father's room. I don't want you or Ruby to get sick with whatever is going around in there," Lizzie told him and then slipping hers on, she took his hand while I held Ruby's. “That being said, don’t touch anything.” 

“Mummy, the inside of my mask smells like eggs,” said Ruby, skipping alongside me and clutching onto the drawings, which I just happened to grab before we locked the car doors and started walking. 

“Eggs? Must have been from breakfast. Did you remember to brush your teeth afterwards?” 

“I think so,” she said. 

“I know, it's not the best thing to smell,” I said, “and I made sure to brush at least three times before we left.” 

“A tad excessive, don't you think?” Lizzie joked. I saw her eyes crinkle and I playfully rolled mine in response. 

“Jessie?” 

“Hm?” I turned and looked at her. Our words were slightly muffled, but I could understand her just fine. 

“Do you think Daddy will be okay? I couldn't sleep last night, because every time I closed my eyes, I....” She stopped speaking and I could see one of her hands come up and wipe her eyes. 

“We'll have to see what the doctor says, but like your mum said, they are taking good care of him, so with any luck, he'll be feeling better in no time. Not to mention when sees us, he'll be really, really happy.”

While holding the pictures that they drew, we walked up the short flight of steps and through the large double doors. They remembered to talk softly since they didn’t want to disturb anyone who might be sleeping. According to the friendly receptionist standing behind the front desk, Thomas was looking a little better than he did the night before.

We were then instructed to follow Clara, one of the nurses who was standing at the end of the corridor while filling in some paperwork and who smiled warmly albeit a little wearily upon seeing us. Her ginger hair was pinned up underneath a nurse’s cap and there were freckles on her cheeks. She was also relatively younger than the other nurses here, perhaps not much older than Katie. My assumption was that she was one of the daughters of the other nurses. 

“You must be Ruby and Charlie. Your father has told me all about you. All day he’s been asking ‘Where are Charlie and Ruby?’ and saying he needs to see them and --” she paused and looked over at the two of us -- “Are you Lizzie and Jessie?” 

“Yes,” Lizzie said. “Lizzie Stark, and Jessie Bennet.” 

She nodded. “Of course. He’s mentioned you both as well.”  

“We brought some drawings for him,” Charlie piped up, holding his picture out for Clara to see. Ruby showed her her picture, too and Clara looked at both pictures. 

“Oh, isn’t that lovely!” she praised. “I’m sure he’s going to love them! In fact, there is a little gift shop down the hall there. They have some lovely things that you can pick out.” 

“I can take the kids there,” I said to Lizzie, moving to the side as a gentleman holding a bouquet of roses came in and politely excused himself. “That way you two can talk alone for a few minutes.” 

Lizzie looked back at me with a grateful smile. “If it’s not too much trouble.” 

“Trouble? Not at all. I was actually thinking about popping in earlier.” 

“Alright, go and see what you can find for Daddy,” she said. 

“Come on, Jessie,” said Charlie, walking in the opposite direction. 

“It’s this way, love,” I called back and he froze, turning around, then he made his way over to us, smiling bashfully. “I knew that.” 

Ruby looked up at me and shook her head and I responded by shaking mine. 

We made it to the gift shop in no time at all. I knew my way around the hospital like I would know my way around my own home. I’d certainly been there enough times, though some things had been moved around and a new wing had been built to make more room for more patients. 

“Let me know if you see anything you might like,” I said as we looked up and down the aisles. There wasn’t much in there, most of it was for children, but looking for something that they would want to buy for their father would keep them entertained. Plus I needed some time to emotionally prepare for what I was about to see. Just imagining him laying there, covered in more scars and bruises than he’d left in made me nervous. The panic rose in my stomach, though I tried not to make it too obvious. 

“Jessie!” Ruby came running over to us, holding something behind her back. 

“Ruby? Are you alright?” I asked, turning around. 

“Look! I found a teddy bear that looks like mine.” 

“It does look like yours, doesn’t it?” She let me examine the teddy bear a little closer. It did look exactly like hers, but the fur was just a shade darker. I also saw that the ribbon that was tied around the bear’s neck was fraying at the edges. 

“Keep him under your arm and we will take him to the counter.” 

Charlie was scanning the shelves while tapping his chin and humming. 

“What are you looking for?” I asked. 

“Model planes. You know, the kind you can build? I don’t want him to have to lay down in his bed and be bored the whole time he’s in the hospital, so I thought he would like to put one together.” 

“That’s a good idea.” 

“I’m not sure if they’d sell them at a hospital gift shop, though.” 

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to look around and check, eh?” I didn’t want to squash his hopes, but I could see that after searching and scanning the shelves for them. Soon enough, in a collection of games, his eyes lit up as he plucked the kit off the shelf and carried it with the proudest smile on his face. “See? I told you we would find them.” 

Luckily, when we went to purchase the plane and the bear, the employee behind the counter asked if we wanted some ribbon for the bear and asked what colour Ruby wanted. 

“I think the ribbon should be red like mine,” she said, holding up her bear. 

“I see. You’re in luck! we just stocked up on red ribbons this morning.” She found the ribbon in the drawer and then tied the bow better than I have tied one in all of my years of being a governess and braiding hair. She also gave them some pretty brown paper bags to put their gifts in and some coloured paper. 

We met with Clara shortly afterwards and she led us down the corridor. 

“Is it true that Daddy has to stay for two weeks?” Ruby asked her. 

“It all depends,” she answered. “We patched up his wounds as best we could and we gave him some medicine for the pain, which might explain why he’s a little woozy and might take a moment to respond to you. We’re going to keep an eye on him anyhow and see what happens.” 

We stopped at a brown door at the end of the hallway and Clara knocked on it almost noiselessly. 

“Your children are here to see you, Mister Shelby.” 

A muffled reply could be heard on the other side and after giving him some time to prepare himself, she opened the door softly and the kids went in. They looked nervous at first, and Ruby took a few steps forward. 

“Daddy, are you okay?” she asked. All he could do was nod his head and squint his eyes a little. On the bedside table on his left side, there was an oil lamp, a pad of paper and a pen. To the right was a chair, just leaning against the white brick walls. On a wheeled table not far away, there was a pitcher of water along with a glass. At least the curtains were open a little to let in some light or else the room would look dull and uninviting. 

They stood in the middle of the room for a moment until he smiled that signature crooked smile and opened up his arms, then they hurried over to him, climbing up onto the bed and sitting next to him. Lizzie went to close the curtains so the light wouldn’t be so harsh in his eyes. I stayed back for a moment to let them catch up with one another, while at the same time, feeling as though my heart were about to shatter into a million little pieces. 

He was not the same Thomas Shelby who'd kissed me in the rain a few short days ago, though he shared the same name and I could still see the blue in his irises. He had several bruises and scratches, even his throat looked like it had suffered during the fight, which would explain why he had a notepad beside his bed. 

My stomach dropped horribly. I wasn't sure that I wanted him to see me like this, with tears rolling down my cheeks and unable to keep myself from crying right then and there. I didn't want to add to the overwhelming stress that he was already feeling. 

“Wait.” 

Too late. Before I could take one step out the door, I heard one word escape from his lips in his hoarse voice. I turned around and there he was, holding both of his children in his arms. As our eyes met, he tried to manage a smile, but it was hard to return it. He was dreadfully pale, whiter than the sheets on his bed, there were dark rings underneath his eyes and when I looked closer, I could see that his lips were dry and cracking. Lizzie brought the one chair and then another closer to the bed and sat down. He gestured for the pad and she handed it to him while I crossed the floor and then sat on the chair on the opposite side. 

He scribbled something down on the pad. I’d almost forgotten how neat his handwriting was, and even now, he took his time making sure each letter was the perfect shape. He also had to squint, which told me that he was having a hard time focusing on the page. 

I missed you all so much. 

“We missed you more,” I said. “How are you feeling?” 

He squinted again as he wrote his response. Lizzie spotted his glasses on the wheeled table and once she handed them to him, he looked at her, relieved and then was able to write:  Like I just got trampled by a herd of elephants. 

He smiled tenderly when the kids laughed. Even Lizzie had to smile a little bit. She knew he was in a great amount of pain and was making light of it so they wouldn’t worry. At that moment, I fell in love with him more than I already had. 

"Do you wanna see what we drew for you?" Charlie moved from his arms and then held up his drawing. “That’s you, that’s me and Ruby, and Mum and Jessie are over here. All together.” 

Ruby revealed her drawing shortly afterwards. “This is mine. That’s you and me having a tea party with my teddy bear. I’m not that good at drawing people, though, so I made us bears.” 

You drew these for me? 

“Charlie and I wanted to help you feel better, and look! We have presents, too.” 

Really?

“Jessie took us down to the gift shop and we got them for you.” 

“Here’s the one that I bought you.” 

He took out the red tissue paper and when his hand wrapped around the bear, I could see his eyes becoming misty. For a moment, it was as if he was transported back in time, when things were simpler, when he didn't have to watch his back every second of the day.

"Daddy?" Her soft voice seemed to pull him out of his wandering thoughts and back to the now. His gaze swiveled over to her angelic face. "Are you alright?" 

Blinking a few more times, he nodded and then wordlessly brought Ruby into a warm hug, kissing the top of her head and stroking her hair. 

"I remember getting my first teddy bear when I was seven,” I said, mostly to myself, but I was speaking loud enough that the others heard. “I named her Theodosia. If it was a boy teddy, I would have named him Theodore, after the man who invented them, but she was a girl, so in that case the former name seemed more appropriate.” 

I never knew you had a Teddy Bear. Do you still have her?

“No, not anymore. I donated her to the orphanage when the other girls at Church teased me for having a teddy bear.” I lowered my head and looked down at my hands, rubbing my thumb against my palm. Thomas frowned and then scribbled: 

What does it matter what other people think?

I shrugged. “When you’re a teenager, every little thing you do can be a reason to be teased, but you’re right. It shouldn’t matter. I shouldn’t have let them dictate my life, and I regret giving Theodosia away now because I would have loved to have given it to my children if I ever had any, but at the same time, I am glad that somewhere, another child is looking after her and keeping her safe.”

“Open mine next!” Charlie said, handing the bag over. 

Again, he was careful with the bag as he took the tissue paper out and reached his hand in to search for the contents inside. He became slightly confused when he pulled out a single wooden piece.  He may have been thinking that Charlie had brought a completely assembled toy plane and someone decided to break it. It took him a moment to actually put all of the pieces together. 

“So you can build it while you’re recovering.”

"We didn't think we would be able to find one, but we kept searching, didn't we, Charlie?" 

"I wasn't giving up until I found the perfect gift for you. Do you like it?" 

Of course I do. He hugged Charlie next and then tilted his head to one side and wrote an additional paragraph: Though I admit, I don't think I'll be able to do it all on my own, so, how about we put it together when I come home? 

“Daddy, what happened to your voice? Do you have a sore throat?” She looked closer at the bruises near his throat and then her smile fell and her fingertips brushed them lightly. “Oh.” 

“Did the bad guys do that to you?” asked Charlie in a serious voice. 

“Yes.” He winced and then placed his fingers on the sore spots on his neck. His speech was limited to one word answers so he wouldn’t strain his vocal cords which were somehow damaged in the altercation. I could tell he had so much to say, but at least for now he had a pad of paper and a pen to communicate to us. 

Did you have fun with your cousins?

“Yeah.” Ruby moved further up onto the bed and nuzzled up to him again. “We all had breakfast together, and then after, Jessie and Auntie Esme came outside with us and we played hide and seek and blind man’s bluff.” 

“Don’t forget about the picnic lunch,” said Charlie. 

“Right! We had sandwiches outside on the blankets.” 

“Tired them right out,” said Lizzie. 

I bet they tired you out, too. 

Thomas couldn’t contain his goofy grin. Even when he was an inch away from death yesterday, he still had that sense of humour. His eyes twinkled as he teased me and so I decided to play along. 

“Oh, yeah. Lizzie and I felt like we needed to take a nap afterwards.” I said, turning a little and looking at her all the while he laughed. My stomach dipped when I felt his hand reach for mine. I felt bashful, like I had when we’d kissed in the rain, but I let him hold onto it while the kids continued talking about how much fun they had yesterday, and telling him how much they looked forward to him coming home. “Are you in any pain?” 

He pinched his thumb and index finger together as if to say ‘a little bit.’ 

“But the medication helps?” 

He nodded, closing his eyes, his one arm wrapped around the bear. I reached out and brushed some hair out of his face, then kissed his brow. He felt warm, but not feverish, which was good. 

 After a while, they both sat in chairs near the window, reading from the books that they brought along. We had been here for about an hour, but to me, it only felt like a couple of minutes. Lizzie and I kept his mind off of the pain and of work by telling him about things that happened while the kids were at her place. 

“Do you remember when a bat tried to get in the house?” she asked me. 

“How could I forget? It was in the middle of the night and I thought I saw something fly over my head and lo and behold, there was a bat on the ceiling.”

“Mummy, remember when it almost flew into my hair?” 

Thomas’ brows furrowed into a V and he looked between Lizzie and Ruby. 

“Luckily it didn’t,” said Charlie. “Jessie was able to let him outside.”

I nodded. “Not sure how he got there in the first place, but thankfully all we needed to do was open the window and he flew right out.”

“That was after you tried and failed to catch him in a quilt,” Lizzie reminded me. 

“In my defense, they are not easy to catch when they don’t stay still. I guess that’s because he was scared and didn’t know if I wanted to hurt him or not.” 

Charlie looked up from his book again at Lizzie. “Is it also true that if a bat bites you turn into a vampire?” 

“No, they can’t turn you into a vampire. Where did you hear that?” 

“Vampire bats,” he answered. 

“Oh, well, that’s just what they call them. They drink animal blood but it doesn’t hurt, it’s like a mosquito bite.”

“So it doesn’t hurt?” 

“No, not at all.” I assured him. “And they don’t live in England. Someone told me that they live in northern Mexico through Central America, and south into the South American countries of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.” 

“Oh, that’s good then.” He looked relieved, as though he’d been waiting to bring this up for a while now and could now relax. “America is a long way from here.” 

“It would take us days to get there,” agreed Ruby. “No! Months!” 

“Years!” Charlie stretched out his arms for emphasis. 

“I don’t think it would take that long,” said Lizzie. Just then there was a soft knock on the door and when she got a nod in response from Thomas, she said, “Come in” and Clara softly opened the door. 

“I’ve been sent to check your vitals, Mister Shelby.” 

“Come on, Ruby, Charlie, let’s go outside for a moment and get some fresh air.” 

They didn’t have to be told twice, they set their books down and waved to their dad before going out the door once again. 

In every story I had read, the ending was always the same: Girl meets boy, boy meets girl, sometimes it's love at first sight, but have to overcome obstacles, like family members disapproving of their relationship, or they come from two very different walks of life and one not thinking themselves worthy of the other. Other times they despise each other right from the get go, they just can't see eye to eye and often quarrel about the silliest of things, but then they realise that they aren't so different after all and they slowly start to come to terms with and admit their feelings for each other. Most of the time, they'll get married and live happily ever after. 

These stories often served as a guide, and like many people, I used them to build the blueprint of my own love story, thinking that if I were to ever fall in love with someone, I would want it to be exactly like how it was written on the pages. I wanted to find my Mister Darcy. Someone handsome, smart, kind, funny and most importantly, someone who would love me for who I am and not want to change a single thing about me. 

That was how I expected it to be, how it was supposed to go. 

But I should’ve known — I do know, just as well as anyone — that things don't always go according to plan. I mean, I did end up meeting the man of my dreams, but I had not planned on falling for the leader of one of the most notorious gangs in all of England who was also my employer. Believe it or not, one of the rules that I'd set for myself was that any relationship between me and an employer would be strictly professional, and if we were to form some sort of friendship, we wouldn’t take it much further. In time, the same rules applied to Mister Shelby, especially knowing that there was a small chance that he and Lizzie would patch things up, or I would find someone else and eventually, once my contract ended, we would part ways as good friends. However, all it took was one look at him on that fateful day in my uncle’s living room and I knew I was doomed. I tried to push it down, ignore it and hope that eventually those feelings would just shrivel away. 

 It never did. 

I wish it were that simple. 

Coming to terms with being in love was hard, not because I couldn't accept the fact that I had fallen in love with him, but now that I think about it, I was probably trying to protect him from forming any sort of romantic attachment to me knowing that when my contract eventually ended, I would have to leave him and the children, or that it would affect his already fragile relationship between himself and Lizzie. 

Despite what had conspired, Lizzie had been nothing but kind and generous to me, treating me as if I were part of the family and not a mere governess, someone far below her station, or his, and now that it seemed that I had her blessing to strengthen our bond. 

“Jessie?” 

The touch of his hand drew me back to the present moment. I looked down at the sheets where our fingers were entwined. His thumb smoothed out my knuckles and the motion calmed me. I looked down at our hands, how his hand was much larger than mine, but also gentle. Funny how no matter how many times I looked at him, my gaze always found its way back to his eyes, as though they were the centre point of his whole being. 

“Are you….?” 

He was making such an effort to make sure I was alright as if I was the one who’d been injured rather than the other way around. 

“I should be asking you the same thing,” I said and then realised that poor Clara had been standing there for who knows how long while I was lost in my thoughts. “I’m sorry, I completely forgot you were there.” 

“No worries,” she said, dismissing me with a flick of her wrist. 

“I’ll give you some privacy,” I said to Thomas, standing up. 

“No!” 

He reached for my sleeve the second I had risen to my feet. My head turned and I saw that imploring look again. He winced as he forced the words out. 

“Stay. With. Me.”

TO BE CONTINUED!

Taglist: @zablife @runnning-outof-time @sherbitdibdab

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia In May: Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note: Finally on time again for once. Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I've been going through a lot with the loss of my dog and it's been hard getting back into the swing of things, but I promise you I will try my best to continue this story for you all. Thanks for sticking around.

Chapter Summary: Life has been going smoothly so far at Lizzie's place, but one phone call is about to change everything.

Chapter Warning(s): None, really.

Word Count: 3727

Chapter Fourteen

“I don’t know, I think I’m going to win again.”

That night, Lizzie, Charlie, Ruby and I sat in the living room playing a board game. The nice weather didn’t stay for long, as predicted, and an army of heavy clouds charged toward us, bringing with it rumbles of thunder that made the house tremble in fear. Ruby wasn’t fond of thunderstorms, so she had made her way downstairs as Lizzie and I were sitting in the living room drinking tea and when she asked if she could stay up with us, we couldn’t say no. Eventually, Charlie sensed what was going on and once he was up, Lizzie figured there was one thing to do, and that was to wait for the storm to pass, playing games and making shadow puppets on the walls.

They’d taken a nap just before dinner, so they weren’t exactly tired, unlike the two of us. Lizzie had been writing in her spare time, and that took a lot of mental energy and concentration, much like the meeting they’d had earlier.

“I swear, we were talking about having or not having balloons, they were inches away from tearing each other to pieces,” Lizzie had said earlier that afternoon with a soft chuckle. It was after the rest of the family left and we were tidying things up, putting things back in order. “Luckily they didn’t, because Polly talked some sense into them — I swear, she has more of that then most of the people in that room, and Aberama was ready to step in and separate the two of them if things got ugly.”

“Arguing over balloons?” I responded, not sure why something as insignificant as that would cause such an uproar. “You’d think they were behaving like children instead of grown adults.”

“Exactly. Polly told them that the children, who are much younger, were behaving better than they were and Ada and I couldn’t help smiling.”

I could see her massaging her temple with her fingers now and then and going back to playing the game, pretending that the headache was nothing at all. Sometimes I would ask her if she wanted me to get her a cold compress. That usually worked for me when I had a headache.

“No fair!” said Charlie.

“How do you keep winning, Mummy?” asked Ruby, equally surprised.

“I guess it’s just my lucky night,” she answered, looking at the three of us with a satisfied grin on her face.

Just then, the telephone rang. At once, both of the kids ran over to it. Both of their parents had instructed them not to answer the door to anyone unless it was either of them or her aunts and uncles, but with the phone, they were told to wait until an adult could pick up the phone. Lizzie stood up and trotted over. The train of her nightgown floated behind her. She picked it up and while holding it to her ear, she uttered an uncertain ‘Hello?’

I looked at the clock. It was a little past nine. Normally, on school nights, Thomas called a little earlier so that they could go to sleep, but tonight was Friday and Lizzie always let them stay up on Friday nights. This was the time he normally called, but instead of the relieved smile I would usually see once she heard his voice on the other end. Instead, there was a very long and intense silence.

“Mummy?” Ruby whispered, but her mother calmly shushed her.

“Hold on a moment,” she said into the phone and placed it upside down on the coffee table. “Charlie, you and Ruby stay downstairs with Jessie. Don’t pick up the phone, and don’t come up the stairs, do you hear me?”

Charlie nodded and then sat down on the couch. Ruby did the same.

“Mummy?” she asked, looking between the two of us.

“Sweetheart, I promise I will tell you everything, but you have to promise me you’ll do as you’re told.”

“I promise,” she said, her bottom lip trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut and her mother kissed the top of her head. As I saw her hurriedly kiss the top of her head, and rush up the stairs and to the telephone in her own office, all of a sudden, I felt the ground crumble beneath me. I felt too weak to stand, so I sat down on the couch between the kids, trying to remain strong in order to make them feel less scared. I didn’t touch the phone, either, even though I was this close to doing so.

“Is everything okay?” asked Charlie. He could tell something was wrong the second his mother left the room. I looked down, not wanting to say anything until we knew for certain what was going on, but at the same time, he looked so worried.

“I’m not sure, Charlie,” I answered and wrapped my arm around his shoulder as he laid his head on my chest. Ruby sniffled and I brought her close to me, too. “But whatever it is, we have to be strong, alright? For your mum, for me, and for each other.”

So we sat there for a few minutes, holding onto one another, until Lizzie came down and silently sat down on the other side of Charlie. They both glanced up at her and she looked back at them with an expression I had never seen her wear before.

“Charlie, Ruby,” she said slowly and she took a deep breath. “I just got off the phone with the doctor and he shared with me some news.”

Neither of them said a word, but I could see the gears turning in their minds. I could see them putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Charlie was the one to eventually cut through the silence, whispering one word under his breath.

“Dad.”

“Yes.” Lizzie’s voice trembled. She looked down at her hands resting on her lap, then she noticed Charlie’s eyes becoming misty as his gaze focused on something far, far away from the four walls of his bedroom. I grew more concerned when I noticed how dreadfully pale his face became. She brought him close to her and kissed the top of his head and held onto him for a long time, rocking him back and forth while glancing over his shoulder at Ruby and I.

“Did the doctor say what happened?” I attempted to keep my own voice steady.

She nodded subtly, but she didn’t answer the question right away. I figured that if she was this worried, if it took her a moment to gather her thoughts and feelings and find a way to answer without going into too much detail, if even the children could pick up on her anxiety, then it must be serious. All of my worst fears immediately came to light, and all I could think about was What if.

“Well, it was hard for me to get an explanation because even the doctor didn’t even know what happened, but my guess is that he had a run in with some of his enemies, and they weren’t too thrilled to see him, and knowing Tommy, he tried to fight them off. He did tell me that he’s badly hurt and that he will have to stay in the hospital for a week.”

“A week?” Charlie echoed, lifting his head up and Lizzie nodded, smoothing out his hair. “What if he can’t make it in time for his birthday?”

“Then we will just have to wait until he comes home, eh?” she answered. She reached over and brushed a finger along Ruby’s cheek. “We’ll have a big birthday party for him, the whole family will be there, and it will be so much fun.”

Usually, this would reassure them, but I could sense that even though they smiled and that they changed the subject to something else while they were helping to put away the pieces of the game, moments after, as I tucked them in and was just about to blow out the candle, Ruby turned over in bed and in the warm light, I could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Jessie?” she said in a soft voice, almost too soft for me to hear her.

“What is it, my love?”

“Is Daddy going to die?” Her breath caught in her throat and I paused. Charlie must have been thinking the exact same thing, because now he was sitting up and looking as though he were about to cry, too. I would be lying if I said that the thought hadn’t crossed mine and Lizzie’s mind as well, but neither of us wanted to worry them even more than they already were.

Exhaling through my nose, trying to keep my own emotions and worries at bay, I sat at the end of her bed and rubbed her back soothingly while addressing them. These kids were as smart as their parents, they could pick up the subtlest hint of worry, as it was made obvious downstairs when they saw their mum on the phone, so I knew that there was no point in sugarcoating things or trying to make it seem like everything was going to be okay, when I wasn’t sure.

“We don’t know, sweetheart, but I do know for a fact your daddy is the strongest, and bravest man in the whole world, and that the doctors are taking really good care of your dad. He will know what to do, and if there’s anything we need to worry about, he will call us on the telephone and let us know.”

“Can we go and see him?” asked Charlie, pulling the sheets back.

“It’s much too late to go now. Besides, he’s probably sleeping, but your mum said that if you promise to go to sleep, too, then maybe we can go and see him tomorrow.”

With a relieved smile, he burrowed back under the covers and laid his head against his pillow, feeling all the worry slip away, at least for the time being. I adjusted his covers and kissed the top of his head before doing the same with Ruby. She was just starting to relax enough that her eyes were getting droopy. I blew out the candle softly and when I eventually felt like it was a good time to leave the room, I listened for any sounds of thunder, but all that seemed to remain was the sound of the rain tapping rhythmically on the roof and window. It was almost reassuring, as if it was trying to tell me that things were actually going to be alright.

******

Lessons for the next morning were cancelled, I telephoned Mister Collins a few hours before he would normally be scheduled to arrive and explained the situation to him. Fortunately, he lived less than an hour away from Arrow House and it wouldn’t take him that much longer to get to Lizzie’s estate, but still, it would have been rude to not inform him of said change in schedule in advance. While we were speaking, he did his best to reassure me that Mister Shelby — whilst speaking of our employer as well as anyone within the family, we always referred to them by the title in which they preferred — would be as right as rain in no time, but told me to wish him a speedy recovery on his behalf anyhow. He also wanted me to wish the children, who he also called Mister and Miss Shelby all the best.

As I’ve said before, we all loved Mister Collins. He was a kindly, considerate and patient man. He was never strict with them, and if they needed extra help in a subject, he never lost patience with them and made sure they understood it well enough before moving onto something else. They also both had their strengths. Charlie had become an expert in fractions, and could already multiply by twos, tens and fives, and Ruby was quite clever when it came to spelling.

But be as it may, the summer holidays were just around the corner and they were excited that there would be no more lessons until the autumn. However, they insisted that Miss Milligan still come every week to help them with their music. The children had progressed really well. Charlie had gotten the hang of a few songs, though we always needed to make sure that his strings were properly tuned and that the bow had enough rosin on it, not too much, not too little. Ruby was now able to use two hands to play the piano, and had learned a song that her dad loved. She wasn’t able to read sheet music like most children, she only needed to hear the song and then play the right notes.

Lizzie made several calls to the rest of the family to explain what had happened and then was on the telephone with the doctor, letting him know when we would be coming in to see Thomas. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, nor did it feel right for me to eavesdrop, but I hoped and prayed that his condition had improved.

Eventually, she came back and sat down at the head of the table. Her eyes were gritty, like she didn’t get any sleep at all. I couldn’t imagine that I looked much better or that I blamed her. I spent a majority of the night and most of the early morning tossing and turning, unable to stop myself from imagining the worst case scenario: the whole family gathered in the hospital, some kneeling by the bed weeping and sobbing, the children begging their father to come back to them, and him just laying there motionless and lifeless with his eyes closed and more than once this fear made me too scared to even close my eyes.

For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of cutlery scraping against the plates, until I spoke.

“What did the others say when you told them?” I asked.

“Understandably, they were all worried. Some of them wondered why they weren’t called before I was, but I said that Tommy had me listed as his emergency contact, which meant of course they would call me first if anything was wrong.”

“They’ll all go in and see him?”

“That’s what they said. I said we’re going in at noon and we’ll stay for a bit, then Ada and Ben will be going in at two, Arthur and Linda at five, and Polly said she’ll see him later on in the evening.”

“That way he’s not too overwhelmed?”

“Exactly, and then I’ll give the doctors their numbers in case something goes wrong.” Then she turned to the kids and lowered her voice a bit. “So when we go and see Daddy, we need to use our inside voices, okay?”

“Because he’ll be tired?” asked Charlie and she nodded.

“Yes, when you’re hurt like that you feel tired and sick.”

“Can we give him our drawings?” He proudly held up a sketch that he drew on paper, describing to us what was on it, like an artist of a museum explaining his piece as it was unveiled. “See? That’s dad, that’s you, that’s Ruby and that’s Jessie. I was going to give it to him for his birthday, but I think it might help him feel better.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Charlie,” I said, smiling warmly at him. “Your dad is going to love it.”

“Wait! I need to finish the drawing I made!” said Ruby.

“Finish your breakfast first, darling, then you can go, alright? Besides, we’re not in any hurry to leave.” She placed a hand on her back and rubbed it soothingly, something I knew to calm her down. Reluctantly, Ruby nodded and then sat back down in her chair, picking up her fork and knife. She still had some food left on her plate, so she ate what she could. I couldn’t imagine any of us had much of an appetite, but I didn’t want them to be too hungry later on as we had a considerably long drive ahead of us. When she did eventually finish, she looked to her mother for permission to leave the breakfast table. By the looks of it, she’d finished eating so her mother gave her the okay to leave and sliding out of her chair, she hurried up the stairs. Charlie went after her and Lizzie and I started cleaning up.

Thomas had hired a cook and a maid for her when the divorce was finalised and she’d moved out of Arrow House, but I’d only ever seen them come in yesterday when we were having all of the family over. Most of the time, she preferred to do things her own way. She said that it helped her feel more independent and more in control of her own situation, as much as she appreciated the extra help now and again.

I put on some gloves and then filled the sink up with hot water and soap, watching the plate become cleaner and shinier as I scrubbed all the accumulated crud off with a sponge.

“Are you sure you don’t mind cleaning those?” she asked, “I know that it’s not a pleasant job, especially when food sticks to the plate and gets all soggy.”

“You’re right about that. I’ll be honest, I never liked doing the dishes as a kid, when it was my turn to do them, I used to come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid it, because like you said, all the soggy food can be unpleasant, but being a grown-up comes with all sorts of challenges and sometimes you can’t be afraid of getting your hands dirty.”

Joking around was the only thing we can think of to get our minds off of everything, but the relief only lasted a short while. Her smile flickered away and the crinkles in her forehead began to show themselves.

“I barely slept all night,” she said, wiping a hand *across her forehead and looking down at the water in the sink. It was becoming less and less clear and more sudsy. “Actually, I haven’t slept since the day he left. All I am able to do is lay there, tossing and turning and flipping my pillow over and over again and I keep thinking, ‘What if he dies tonight and I’m not with him? What am I going to tell the kids who love their father more than anything in the world? How am I going to tell his aunt and siblings?’ Just that dread is enough to…..”

I remained silent for a moment, allowing her to vent her feelings to me without interruption.

“Of course that’s always been my greatest fear. Even before we started seeing each other, I always wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew, if he was messing with the wrong people.” She leaned back against the counter and rubbed a hand across her face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be pinning this all on you. You’re not a doctor. It’s not your job to fix me.”

“Don’t apologise for letting yourself feel things, I understand you’re worried. I am, too.” I turned around, wanting to put one of my hands on her shoulder as a sign of comfort, but it would probably not be a good idea with my soapy hands. “But the doctor is doing everything that he possibly can to help him feel better, and seeing the three of you will definitely cheer him up.”

“Four,” she corrected. “You’re part of this family now, too, you know.”

Just as I was about to reply, the kids came thundering back down the stairs.

“Mummy! Do you wanna see my drawing?” Ruby asked, hiding the paper behind her back. She was waiting for us to answer her.

“Of course I would, lovey,” she answered and then gasped when Ruby revealed her art piece, holding it up the same way Charlie held his drawing up earlier.

“It’s Daddy and I having a tea party, like he did when I was little.”

“I’m sure he’s going to love it!” I told her.

“Do you want me to carry it out to the car?” asked Lizzie and Ruby nodded, handing the picture to Lizzie. Charlie did the same. “And you wrote your names on them so he knows who drew what drawing. Well done!”

Lizzie tucked both pictures under her arm while being careful not to crinkle them. Charlie followed her into the hallway and turned the doorknob. I walked behind them and held his hand as the four of us walked down the steps.

“Can we take the caravan, Mummy?” Ruby inquired.

“Hmm…” I looked up at the sky. It had turned a depressing shade of grey, and I could have sworn I felt a raindrop landing on the tip of my nose. “It looks like it might rain and the ground is a bit too muddy from the rain the other day. The wheels might get stuck.”

“Maybe when it’s nicer outside we can take it out again,” Lizzie added. She opened the car door and the kids climbed up into the back row.

“Like the time we went on a picnic with Daddy and Jessie,” said Ruby, getting situated in her seat and then buckling her seatbelt.

“A picnic? And you didn’t invite me?” Lizzie exclaimed, pretending to be hurt and turning around in the driver’s seat to face them, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Mum, are you really crying?” said Charlie, genuinely concerned, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure whether or not she was actually offended by not being invited to the picnic.

“No, I’m not crying,” she assured him, chuckling softly. “I’m sure you had a really good time with your dad and Jessie.”

“We did. Jessie was drawing kitty cats and then Daddy pretended to be a cat,” said Ruby, giggling at the memory. “Do you remember that, Jessie?”

“How could I possibly forget?” I replied, smiling at her and then turning to look out the window as the car pulled out of the driveway and onto the road and the rest of their conversation floated around me.

To be continued!

Taglist: @runnning-outof-time @zablife @sherbitdibdab @izabesworld @cillmequick

[allthewriteplaces]

Masterlist

Here is where you can find all of my stories! Please feel free to check them out. More will be added as time goes on.

Magnolia in May (Thomas Shelby x OC)

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four

Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen

Short Blurbs

Love on the Battlefield (Broken Soldier x Healer)

My Paradise (Yargwynn Salta x Arkov Sosha)

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia In May ~ Chapter Thirteen

Author's note: Sorry in advance for the late post. My laptop broke, (surprise, surprise) and my dog hasn't been feeling all that great these past few weeks, so my mind has been elsewhere. Nonetheless, I am here and ready to post another chapter. Chapter Summary: More Shelby Shenanigans. Also, this story is just a slice of life series at this point. I don't know where the plot went! Chapter Warning(s): None Word count: 5,612

Chapter Thirteen

“So, what’s the plan?” asked Ada. The breakfast table had been cleared and we were all assembled in the living room for a family meeting, minus Thomas. The grown-ups all sat in chairs or on the sofa, while the children all sat cross-legged on the hardwood floors, though because they were a tad overexcited, it was hard for them to keep still for more than a few minutes at a time.

“Well, as far as I know, Tommy’s coming back in a couple of days,” said Lizzie, scribbling something down on a pad of paper, “that should give us plenty of time to gather what we need, but the trick is to be able to set everything up without him noticing. That won’t be easy.”

“Are we having the party here, or at our house?” asked Ruby.

“Since your dad will be home, and there’ll be lots of people coming, we’re going to have it at your house.” Lizzie answered.

Matthew spoke up next. “How many people?”

“I’ve counted everyone up and there’ll be at least thirty.”

“Thirty?!” Katie exclaimed.

“That’s a lot of people!” said Queenie.

“Indeed it is,” said Esme. “How’d the guest list get that long?”

“See, at first we were going to keep it to family only, but then Charlie and Ruby came up and asked me if they could invite a few friends from Johnny Dogs’ camp to come, so I said yes, and when you round it all off, that’s about thirty people, give or take.”

“It’s like we’re inviting the whole town,” said Charlie, which was not far from the truth. I had been to Church several times with my aunt and uncle, and sometimes there would be fifty or more people in attendance, therefore, I was used to being in big crowds, but as far as I knew, the children didn’t attend school and they didn’t really attend Church too often accept for during Easter and maybe Christmas, so to them, thirty was a lot.”

At the mention of Johnny, a dark shadow cast itself over Aberama’s face and he looked down at his hands resting on his knees, closing his eyes as if a horrible memory had somehow taken over him.

Sensing his discomfort, Polly put a reassuring hand on his knee, but even that didn’t seem to bring him out of the trance that this memory had put him under. A few seconds later, he was on his feet and made his way into the hallway.

Tense silence followed. The children were luckily too busy having a conversation of their own to notice the sudden shift in the atmosphere, all except for Charlie, whose gaze remained on his uncle’s retreating figure. When he looked back at us, I could tell that he sensed something was wrong.

“Is Uncle Abby alright?” he whispered to Polly. She looked up from the hardwood floor beneath her boots and opened up her arms for an embrace, something they both needed.

“He just needed to step out for a moment. He’ll be back soon,” she said softly, brushing a hand through his hair.

“This is my fault,” said Lizzie, “I told the children they could invite some friends, but if I had known—”

“No, no. It’s not your fault, dear,” Polly reassured her. “There are some wounds that even time cannot heal.”

Part of me wanted to remain where I was, to give Aberama some time to himself, while the rest of me wanted to be that listening ear, someone who could maybe ease his troubled mind.

There were stories I read as a little girl about people born with mystical abilities who could patch up wounds just by reciting an incantation or concocting some magic potion. Witches, as they were once called, and though people like that didn’t really exist, and if there were, I had not heard of them, I wish there was a way for me to take just a single ounce of pain that people had felt and lock it away so it would never have to be felt again.

Politely, I excused myself from the room and sure enough, I found him sitting outside in the middle of the yard overlooking the fields. It was only when he looked up and we exchanged a soft, silent greeting, that I felt welcome to sit down beside him on the moist grass. I did so and for a long time, neither of us spoke, but I ran my palm along the sharp spikes, enjoying the feeling, and then plucked a single blade from the countless others, rubbing it with my thumb and index finger.

Silent companionship could be just as helpful as spoken communication in times when words failed to express the pain and sorrow from wounds too deep and memories too haunting. Sometimes allowing ourselves to slip into silence, allowing ourselves to shut down was the only way to help ease the twister of emotions that never seemed to stop swirling.

Five whole minutes passed before he spoke. “The two of us were once neighbours, Johnny and I. We weren’t exactly what you would call close friends, you know? But there was no bad blood between us. Until….”

Until what? I wondered. I turned my head slowly to find out that the warmth had been extinguished from his eyes by an ice-cold stare.

“Until my son was taken from me.”

Again, a long silence, but this was because I was processing the information I had just received. Every parent’s worst fear is for something to happen to their child, that’s why my parents sent me to live with my aunt and uncle when they got too sick to care for me. The last thing they wanted was for me to catch the horrible illness which took them from me. I could only imagine how angry he must have felt.

“Only he and his kin knew where my son and I were camped, and he had to have told those….Monsters. How else would they have known? Otherwise, we would have been safe.”

He restrained himself from saying anything that could be considered improper, though I must admit, dear reader, that I have heard quite a bit of things in my life, so no amount of profanity, no matter whether or not it is justified, could possibly shock me.

“Bonnie was my whole world before Polly and I met, and they shot him, put him on a cross. They crucified my son.”

Again, there was silence, but I didn’t pressure him to continue on, especially because I could hear his breathing become quicker, as though someone was robbing the air from his lungs. I swallowed my own fear and anger as much as I could, trying to be strong, but unable to get that horrifying image out of my mind. Who could ever idealise doing something so cruel to someone else, much less a child who still had his whole life ahead of him? He was just a boy!

“The night I showed up at Arrow House with Johnny, after I’d attacked him, despite his desperate pleas that he had no part of this, Thomas was obviously confused as to what was going on and he also said that Johnny wouldn’t betray me, and poor Lizzie? She was scared out of her mind.”

As anyone would be, I thought, but didn’t say.

“I thought by doing this, and by killing them, the Billy Boys, Bonnie would be avenged and his death wouldn’t be in vain, but no, I just became more angry with the world and with myself; and what scared me the most, was that all I could…All I did was stand by and watch it happen. If I had been faster, stronger, braver…he would still be alive.”

He swiped a hand across his face, wiping away the tears. The anger that seeped from his words was unmistakable. I’d seen this look once or twice in Thomas, when those terrible nightmares had disturbed his sleep, when he thought about the day Charlie was abducted. His whole family, including his cousin Michael, had spent day and night searching and Michael found him safe and sound and brought him home.

Seeing that same look in Aberama, knowing there was nothing he could do to save Bonnie, broke my heart.

“You did what any caring father would have done,” I said after a long while, giving us both enough time to process our emotions. I knew my words were not enough to ease the unimaginable hurt and the guilt, but I hoped that it would provide some relief and let him know that he was not the one responsible. “You were badly hurt and yet, you were willing to go to the ends of the earth to avenge Bonnie for the cruel fate he’d suffered.”

I knew what I wanted to say next, but still, I needed to choose my words carefully.

“But while I never had the chance to meet him, I know that he wouldn’t want you to be angry forever. He would want you to live the life you’ve always wanted, with the woman you love.”

His entire face softened when I mentioned Polly.

“Vengeance has consumed me for a long, long time, but you’re right. It isn’t what Bonnie would want for me. Miss Polly Gray is the one thing keeping me from plummeting off the cliffs of insanity. I cannot take a single moment I have with her or those children for granted.” He stood up from the grass and offered one of his hands to help me do the same.

“We don’t have to go inside just yet if you’re not ready,” I said, but he shook his head.

“No, I’ve kept them waiting long enough.”

We arrived back inside in a matter of minutes. Polly greeted him with a tender smile and when he sat down next to her, Ruby stood from her place and in a way that was meant to provide comfort, she took his weathered hands in hers.

Warmth replaced the almost cold, distant, heartbroken look in his eyes returning as he set his eyes upon the little girl.

“Are you alright, Uncle Abby?” she asked in a whisper.

“I am now, sweetheart,” the older man replied and he looked back at me. We exchanged a look that said all the words that came from the deepest parts of our souls, then his entire expression changed as his gaze swiveled around the room and he glanced at each of the children. “So, what’s this about a birthday party?”

“For our Dad,” said Charlie. “Next Saturday.”

“Am I invited?” he asked in a playful tone.

“Auntie Polly’s invited, and you’re her fiance, so yeah,” said Billy with a shrug.

“Guess that settles it, then,” Arthur ruffled the boy’s hair.

“Right, then,” Lizzie continued, just as eager to turn the conversation back around to the topic at hand, “we will need to make sure we make enough food for everyone and we need to figure out what we’re going to cook.”

“I’m sure I’ve still got the old cookbook back at the house,” said Polly. “Though it’s more like a small collection of recipes that I keep safe in the kitchen drawer. I can bring it over and we’ll whip up something special that he will love, something that will remind him of his childhood. Like djuveč and ankruste.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“You’ve never tried Romani food before?” asked Katie.

“Actually, I have,” I said. I went on to tell them about my friends and how they would always bring something new to taste whenever they came to visit. I’d tried janija, a tomato-based beef and vegetable stew eaten with bread, or Sarmi, a mixture of meats along with rice and spices wrapped in cabbage leaves and then cooked in a tomato sauce, or my personal favourite, manriklo, a pan-fried flatbread. Each bite was an explosion of different flavours and textures and the food was heavily seasoned, making it even more tasty.

“They were a bit too spicy for my cousins’ tastes, as they were more accustomed to their mashed potatoes and vegetables and I was glad that Sarah, who had probably been pouring over the stove for hours making, didn’t take offence to them rushing into the kitchen for a glass of milk. Actually, I think she found it rather amusing.”

“That’s always how it starts,” said Aberama. “It takes time for their pallets to get used to it, and you don’t start off with something too spicy. You work your way up to the good stuff later on.”

“Yes, well, the food that I make tastes so bland and boring in comparison.”

“You have good taste, then,” said Esme with a twinkle in her eye and then picked Birdie up into her arms as she went over to her. “Anyway. Djuveč is made of rice, vegetables, and seasoned with red bell pepper, and ankruste are small cakes made from cornmeal, coriander and cumin seed.”

“Hmm, that does sound tasty,” I said. “Though perhaps it’s not a good idea for me to think about eating anything else right now after I just ate a big breakfast, especially cake.”

“Did someone say ‘cake’?” asked Mercedes, perking up all of a sudden.

Queenie playfully rolled her eyes. “Oh, so now you pay attention.”

“Only when there’s cake,” Matthew replied, gently elbowing his brother.

Mercedes looked around the room. “What? I really like cake? Is that wrong?”

This made everyone smile and after scribbling something down on the notepad, Lizzie cleared her throat. “Right then, we’ve decided on the time, place, and what food we’re going to be serving. What about decorations?”

“Mum, we already said we were going to have blue decorations,” said Charlie.

“Is that so?” she chuckled. “I can’t seem to recall that.”

“Yeah, before Uncle Arthur and Auntie Ada showed up, remember?”

“Oh, right. And then I asked you what your dad’s favourite colour was and without any hesitation whatsoever, you said that it was blue.”

“That’s your favourite colour, Charlie,” said Karl.

“And? I’m sure it’s Dad’s, too. He wears blue all the time to those boring meetings he has to go to and the people he works with wear the same thing.” Charlie said. “And he has blue eyes, so it makes sense.”

“Okay, what other colours might he like besides blue?” I asked, phrasing the question a different way.

“Hmm.” Charlie thought for a moment.

After the discussion drew to a close, Esme thought it would be a good idea to let the kids play outside for a while. It was cloudy, and heavy clouds like the ones I could see out the window usually resulted in rain, but still, they didn’t have to be asked twice. Who could blame them, though? Like Billy said, it sounded a lot more interesting than sitting and listening to a bunch of grown-ups talking about really boring stuff. They went into the hall to get their jackets and boots on.

Birdie walked over to me with her jacket.

“Are you having a little trouble, sweetheart?” I asked her and she nodded her head. Just like the rest of her siblings, she had inherited her mother’s beautiful brown locks and her father’s green eyes. “Why don’t you bring it over here and I’ll help you?”

She handed me her jacket and first of all, I helped her put her arms through the sleeves, and then once that was done, I got the first button through the first hole.

“It’s tricky,” she said. “The button is small.”

“Tell me about it. I used to have a hard time with mine, too,” I told her as I did the rest of the buttons up. “There you are. All done.”

“Thank you, Auntie Jessie.” She threw her arms around me in the tightest hug and I slowly placed my hands on her back.

“Of course, darling,” I whisper back and tap her nose before allowing her to go and get her boots on.

“You sure you don’t want to join in the meeting?” asked Esme.

“Of course she doesn’t,” answered Matthew on my behalf, as he fixed his bottom button and then stood up straight. “Meetings are boring.”

Queenie folded her arms across her chest and raised a brow. “Have you ever been to a meeting before?”

Matthew hesitated and started twiddling his thumbs. “Well, no, but —”

“Then how do you know they’re boring?”

“Because,” he said, drawing the word out.

“Because why?” Mercedes pressed.

Matthew sighed. “Okay, fine. I don’t really know,”

“My dad runs the business, along with Auntie Polly,” said Charlie, slipping one of his boots over his foot. “Ruby and I listened in on one of his phone calls just before he left, it sounded like all they talked about was politics.”

“Poli-what?” asked Ruby.

“Ya know, stuff that’s got to do with the law, important people, and all that.”

“Oh. That does sound boring.”

“Did you get caught?” asked Finn.

“Almost. We hurried back to bed before he caught us.”

“That’s not true,” Ruby interjected, “Daddy knew we were standing outside the door and he caught us while we were running.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I remember you were giggling so much, which is how he spotted us in the first place.”

Matthew reached up to grab his hat from the hook. It looked just like the one Arthur was wearing when he came in. He turned it over and over again in his hand, examining it. “Remember when Dad would sit on the couch and groan?”

“He always said his head was sore from thinking too much.”

“Thinking too much?” Queenie echoed.

“I thought it was because of the grown-up drinks he used to get.”

“Could have been both,” Matthew shrugged.

“My dad, too,” said Billy. “He doesn’t come home until I’m supposed to be asleep, but when he does, sometimes, if I’m not asleep, I will go downstairs and see him sitting on the sofa while Mum makes him something to drink to help with the headaches.”

“Sounds tiring,” said Ruby.

“I can imagine it is.”

Katie turned to face the window, the conversation floating around her. Esme frowned and quietly stood next to her. “Katie, darling, what’s wrong?”

Shaking her head, she raised her hand to wipe away the tears that were suddenly rolling down her cheeks and then suddenly threw her arms around her mother’s waist. “I miss Dad.”

“I miss him, too, sweetheart. I miss him, too.” Esme looked up towards the ceiling, as though she was holding back her own tears.

I wondered how long she’d been holding on, how many nights she spent silently weeping, wishing there was some way to bring her husband back, or to go back in time and prevent it all from happening.

Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, everyone else sort of stopped what they were doing for a moment, and then some of the other children ran over to join the huddle.

“But even though he’s not here with us physically,” she continued, trying to compose herself, “his spirit is always watching over us and if you ever need him, he’s here.”

She put a hand over Katie’s heart and the girl smiled a little.

“Please come and play with us,” said Billy, taking my hand.

“Yes, our games are a lot more entertaining,” said Finn.

“Yes, of course I’ll play with you, little one,” I smiled at him, then looked up at Esme, shrugging. “I’m not sure if I would be able to contribute anything to the meeting anyhow.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Don’t you have to be familiar with the business or the way things operate?”

“They’d be glad to teach you if you really wanted to know and besides, you might need to know this sort of thing now that you’re Tommy’s girlfriend.”

The kids found this amusing, and I playfully rolled my eyes as she walked past me and opened the door.

“I’m not his girlfriend,” I said, hoping the blush on my cheeks wasn’t visible.

“Not yet you’re not,” she winked, smiling and then ushered all the kids outside.

Shaking my head, I follow her and then I shut the door behind me.

“So, what do we wanna play?” I asked and all at once, they all shouted out their ideas. “Hold on, I heard hide and seek and blind man’s bluff, but I can’t make out who suggested what.”

“Why don’t we vote on it?” Charlie suggested.

“A vote? Like in parliament?” asked Katie.

“Exactly,” her mother answered, “and the game with the most votes is what we’ll do first. Does that sound fair?”

The kids all nodded.

“Anyone in favour of playing blind man’s bluff, raise your hand.”

As some of the kids’ hands shot up like rockets, I tallied them up in my head.

“Alright, that’s seven, and all in favour of hide and seek?”

The rest of them put their hands up.

“And four votes for hide and seek. Now then, ladies and gentlemen, it seems we have a winner. First game of the day is blind man’s bluff.” I paused and then put a finger under my chin, humming.

“What is it?” asked Ruby.

“Well, in order to play the game, we need to have a blindfold.”

“I can see if I have one in my room,” said Charlie.

“I’ll help you look,” said Billy and both boys ran back to the house.

“Remember to take off your boots!” Esme called after them. They must have heard her because they stopped for a moment, catching her words on the wind and when they went through the door, it looked like they had stopped to take off their boots.

While we waited for them to come back, all the others were trying to decide who was ‘it.’ Elizabeth, to my surprise, wanted to be the one to wear the blind fold first, to which Karl replied that she was too little.

To my understanding, he told her this out of genuine concern, and was not meant to offend or belittle her in any way. She was his little sister and he wanted to protect her.

Still, he saw her bottom lip starting to quiver, a telltale sign that despite his good intentions, she had taken his words rather harshly.

“I’m not too little,” she protested, her voice trembling.

“Now, now, don’t cry,” Katie put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged her hand off.

Sensing that things were about to go downhill, I figured that I should probably step in and comfort her and see if I could help settle this minor disagreement, but then I saw Karl crouching down to her level, gently taking her tiny hands in his.

This was a bonding moment and I wasn’t going to interrupt them.

With a soft sigh, he shook his head and while meeting her eyes, he began to speak in a calm, yet serious tone.

“Katie’s right. You mustn’t cry like that. Besides, we are only trying to keep you safe, is all. It’s hard to walk or run without being able to tell exactly where you’re going. I don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself.”

She sniffled and he wiped away a tear with his thumb.

“Look, when Mum said she was going to have a baby, I was happy. I was excited, but then some kids at school said that she would only pay attention to the new baby and I would be forgotten about, and that made me feel scared and angry at her.”

“Why?”

“Well,” he began, but then hesitated and shook his head, as if he had either forgotten what he was going to say, or because he didn’t wish to continue. “Anyway, once I told her why I was upset, she told me it wasn’t true and that she would love me just as much as she always had.”

“What about Daddy? He loves you, too, doesn’t he?”

“Of course he does. He and Mum love both of us the same. The point is, I love you a lot and I want to protect you from any danger.” He was getting a little choked up by then and he cleared his throat before speaking again. “Tell you what, maybe once you see one of us do it, you can try, okay? Just so you know how it’s done.”

At once, the tears stopped and she glanced up at him hopefully.

“Really?”

“Really,” he said and then we all looked over our shoulder to see Charlie and Billy return with the blind fold. “Right then, I promised Elizabeth that after one of us goes, it will be her turn. Then I’ll go, and so on, until we’re tired.”

The kids all nodded in agreement and then Charlie handed me the blindfold. It was a simple piece of fabric that was wide enough to tie around my head. I examined it and then looked to the kids for confirmation.

“Are you sure?” I asked and they started laughing in anticipation of the game.

“Here, let me help you tie it,” said Esme as she came up behind me and then put the fabric over my eyes. “That’s not too tight, is it?”

“No, it’s perfect,” I answered her with a smile and then once she finished tying it at the back, she spun me around five or six times.

This was a game that I had played with my cousins and even some of my charges many, many, many times before. Without my sight, I needed to rely on my other senses, like my sense of smell, which probably wouldn’t be too useful since no one besides Esme was wearing any sort of fragrance, as well as my sense of touch and also my hearing.

Apparently, ever since I was a little girl, I had sharp hearing. I could hear people whispering even with the door shut tight or even if the door was open, but I was in a whole other room, I could hear people talking. Not only that, years of experience as a governess and looking after my younger cousins taught me to rely on my hearing so I would know when something was amiss.

Therefore, finding them by relying on their laughs and giggles as well as the sound of their voices, would be pretty easy. Then again, they were clever, the lot of them, no doubt they would find a way to outsmart me.

As soon as I figured everyone was settled and quiet, I stood still for a moment or two, not just to regain my balance from the spinning, but to also scope out the area. In comparison to the yard at Arrow House, Lizzie’s yard was only a little smaller, with fewer bushes and not as many places where they could easily hide, so that put my mind at ease knowing they would always be somewhere where we could see them.

I wasn’t sure why the spinning was necessary, I only knew that it was meant to disorient me a little and that when she eventually stopped and I walked forward, I must have made a spectacle of myself and probably looked really amusing because I could hear some of the children laughing.

Other than that, they were quiet and light on their feet. It was as if they found out my strategy way before I did and now they were using it against me.

This was going to be harder than I thought.

Finally, I touched someone’s shoulder and I could hear a little giggle.

“Hmm, who might this be?” I asked in a playful voice. I knew exactly who it was that I managed to catch, but I didn’t want to make them feel defeated so soon. “Is it…. Katie?”

“No,” a chorus of voices answered.

“You have two more guesses,” I heard Ruby add.

“Two more? Let me think,” I paused for an almost unnecessarily long time just to make it a bit more dramatic. “Is it Mercedes?”

“Not even close!” They laughed again.

“Oh, well, now I just feel foolish,” I said, feigning being insulted.

“It’s me, Elizabeth!” A little voice shrieked with joy.

I lifted the blind fold from my head and then gasped.

“Goodness! There you are!” I exclaimed. “Guess that means you’re it this time.”

She jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

“Why not instead of moving around, we could all stand in a spot quietly and try not to get caught?” Queenie suggested. “Would that be alright?”

“I’ve played it that way at school with my friends,” said Charlie.

“We can do that, sure,” I answered and then knelt down on the grass to tie the blindfold over her eyes, making sure it wasn’t too tight. While I did that, everyone else took their positions, finding a place to stand and remaining as quiet as possible. “Are you ready?”

She nodded and I spun her around five times, making sure to spin her gently so that she wouldn’t be thrown too off balance when I finally let her go.

Esme and I watched her closely. Yes, she was old enough to walk and run on her own, but while she had the blindfold on, I still felt it necessary to keep an eye on her.

To our relief, she didn’t stumble or fall and after a few seconds, she managed to successfully tag her older brother. She took off the blindfold and Karl placed it over his eyes, keeping it in place while Katie tied it at the back.

*****

For hours, we were perfectly content just playing outside in the fresh air, and time was flying by. Of course we took a break in between games to eat lunch and as Lizzie predicted, the sun eventually came out from behind the clouds and so a picnic was arranged, which all of the kids were happy about.

We were in the middle of the second round of hide and seek where Esme was the one who was chosen to be the seeker when Ada peeked her head through the door and announced that it was time for everyone to go home. I could hear the sighs of disappointment coming from every which way as one by one, they all went sulking back to their parents.

“What’s with the long face, eh?” asked Arthur, buttoning up his jacket.

“I don’t wanna leave,” Billy answered, his lower lip quivering slightly.

“Neither do I,” said Mercedes, “Couldn’t we stay a few more minutes?”

“We could, but then we might not get home before dark,” said Esme.

Mercedes considered this fact for a moment and knew that his mother had a point. It didn’t take them too long to get from the campgrounds to Lizzie’s estate, but it was fairly late into the afternoon, and no doubt if they stayed for too long, it would be too dark for them to find their way back.

“And remember, we’re coming back for Uncle Tommy’s birthday.”

His entire face lit up again, the sadness all gone. “Oh, yeah.”

“That’ll be forever,” Fin groaned.

“It’s not that long to wait,” said Karl, “Six more sleeps?”

“Not that long,” said Linda, playfully pinching his cheek.

“Mama! Papa!” Elizabeth cried, running over to them.

“There you are Lizzie, love.” Ben bent over to lift her up. Both Polly and I found it amusing that Lizzie, that is, Miss Stark, looked over as though they were speaking to her, only to realise they were talking about the younger girl. It happened quite often.

“Did you have fun?” asked Ada, making sure she had her bags.

She was about to answer, but was interrupted by a yawn.

“I think that means ‘yes’,” Ben chuckled softly and held her close as she laid her head down on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Seems like someone will need a nap.”

“I told Jessie earlier that they’ll probably fall asleep in the wagon,” Esme laughed as she assembled her brood and noticed Birdie rubbing her eyes. “So will I.”

“Probably not a good idea if you’re the one driving,” I responded.

“You missed all the fun,” Queenie was saying to Aberama on the way out the door. Mercedes, Fin and Birdie were tagging along while Katie and Matthew stayed with their mother. From where I was standing, I could make out what they were saying.

“Did I?” he asked, then shook his head, amused, and then pretended to be sad as he lifted her into the wagon. “Shame. I would have liked to have joined in.”

“Don’t worry, when we come back next time, you can join us,” she said, smiling.

“I would like that very much,” he smiled back at her and kissed the top of her head before letting her climb in. I could see why Polly had taken such a liking to him, he seemed to get on well with the children, and if the children accepted you, then you were well on your way to getting into the Shelby circle.

“We played hide and seek and blind man’s bluff,” said Karl.

“Your Mama and uncles used to love that game,” said Polly, tearing her gaze away from the window.

“Tommy would always win,” added Ada.

“He always was the brains while John and I were the muscle,” Arthur laughed.

“What muscle?” Ada couldn’t resist teasing him and Billy giggled.

“Trust me, he’s got them,” said Linda and then taking Billy’s hand she walked out the door.

Taglist: @zablife @sherbitdibdab @izabesworld @runnning-outof-time

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia in May ~ Chapter Twelve

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I'm so happy to present another chapter of this story. I'm also glad to report that this week has been much better than last. We even watched the new Hunger Games movie, woohoo!

Chapter Summary: Jessie meets the rest of the Shelby clan, but will she earn the approval of the family's matriarch, Miss Polly Gray?

Chapter Warning(s): None

Word Count: 3515

Chapter Twelve

“How long is it gonna take for them to get here?” Ruby asked, tapping her fingers against her cheek impatiently while she and Charlie knelt on the couch in front of the window. Both of them were dressed in their best clothes and had their hair all brushed and styled, since Lizzie and I both wanted them to look nice for when their aunties and uncles and cousins came over.

They’d been awake since the crack of dawn, maybe even a little bit before that, because they were unable to contain their excitement and calm down long enough to try and go back to sleep. It’s a miracle they managed to sleep all week at all. But I was glad that instead of waking their mother and I up right away, they amused themselves quietly in the playroom until it was time to get ready.

The cooks were also hard at work making a delicious breakfast. I could smell the eggs and bacon from the living room and it made my stomach growl impatiently. It was easier for the adults to wait than the children, since they were eating breakfast a lot later than they usually did, hence why their patience was wearing thin.

Their first night at Lizzie’s went better than even she could have expected. It was common for them to be awake in the middle of the night because of nightmares or because they just weren’t comfortable enough to sleep no matter how hard she tried to make sure they had everything they needed. This time, they managed to sleep soundly, but of course they didn’t go to sleep right away, not until they talked with their father.

The living room had a telephone and his number was right at the top of a list of emergency contacts scribbled down on a notepad. She told me that they kept each other in the loop when it came to the children, letting each other know how they were, or if there was a situation that needed to be addressed in regards to them.

Turns out that was how Thomas found out about the old governess. Lizzie has called him one night and told him about what happened. She insisted that he fire her, that the children didn’t deserve to feel unsafe around someone they should have been able to trust.

Ruby told him about the race and Charlie added that it was a tie and that they’d both won since they were only pretend horses anyhow. He also mentioned how the stuffed animals had a brawl over the money and how the soldiers had to step in and make sure no one was hurt, which Thomas tried his hardest not to laugh at.

“They know too much,” I heard Lizzie say to Thomas once I had settled the kids in their beds and I gave them a moment to catch up with one another. She was smiling as she spoke, it was like the most painful part of her past was buried beneath the surface or never happened in the first place. As soon as I walked in, she held the phone out to me. “I am going to bed, leave the two of you alone for a bit.”

From there, we just talked. I told him how much the kids and I missed him, even though it had only been a few hours since we parted and that I was secretly nervous about meeting the rest of the family.

“Don’t worry,” he told me in his sleepy voice, “Everyone is going to love you, I mean, sure, my aunt Polly is not the easiest lady to please and she doesn’t trust people easily, for obvious reasons, but once she gets to know you, she’ll welcome you with open arms. I should mention, though, that I talk about you to her all the time, so she probably already does know you.”

We spoke until well past midnight and when we eventually said goodnight and I retired to bed, keeping the guest bedroom door open in case anyone needed me in the night, I said a short prayer in hopes that God would watch over Thomas and keep him safe whilst he was away.

“I wish Daddy was here.”

Ruby’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She came down from the couch and went over to her mother, who was seated next to me on the couch while we waited for the rest of the guests to arrive.

“I know, sweetheart,” she said, bringing her into a hug and stroking her hair in a tender way. Neither Ruby nor Charlie liked it when their father went away for long periods of time, and the fact that this was a family reunion and one of the most important members of said family wasn’t going to be there didn’t seem right or fair to them. “But this isn’t just any family reunion, remember? Your daddy’s birthday is coming up. We want to plan a very special party for him.”

Wait, his birthday? How did I not know this!?

“When exactly is it?” I asked.

“Not until next Saturday,” she assured me. “We have plenty of time to prepare.”

A knock at the door caught our attention.

“I wonder who that could be?” she said.

“Come on, Ruby, let’s go see who it is!” Charlie nearly jumped off the sofa and Ruby climbed off of her mother’s lap and they both rushed to the door. Charlie stood up on his tiptoes and looked through the little peephole in the door, but Ruby wasn’t quite tall enough yet, not even when she stood on her tiptoes or even tried jumping up to see if she might be able to see that way.

“Jessie, can you please help me?” she asked.

“Sure I can,” I said and then coming up behind her, I picked her up and then she was able to lean forward and peek through the hole. Then her whole face lit up as she turned her head back to look at me.

“It’s Auntie Ada!” she exclaimed.

“We should let her in, then, yeah?” I said, putting her back down on the ground so she and Charlie could open the door together.

“I haven’t seen you both in weeks!” she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear and she enveloped both of the children in a hug. Then she looked over her shoulder at a boy, possibly her son, who was just coming in from outside, and brought a hand up to his forehead. “Are you feeling better now, love?”

“Yeah,” he said, sighing deeply.

“Feeling better?” Ruby echoed, sounding a little worried. “Karl, are you sick?”

“I got a little carsick on the way,” he nodded, “but I’m much better now.”

“If you need to stand outside for a little while, get some fresh air —” Ada began.

“Mum, relax. I’m alright,” he assured her, holding her hand.

Ada visibly relaxed and then letting go of her son’s hand, she smiled as a man carrying a little girl in one arm, and a bag in the other, wiped his boots on the mat outside the door and then crossed over the threshold. Both he and the daughter had beautiful golden eyes that shone in the pale light coming in from the window, and dark, curly hair.

“Wanna go see your cousins?” the man said, turning to her. He had a calm, soothing voice and a smile brighter than the stars so any child might feel at ease just looking at him. “Yeah? You want to walk?”

The little girl nodded and he gently set the girl down on the ground, allowing her to find her footing before letting her go. She couldn’t have been any younger than three years old, but once the man put her down on the ground, she was already taking off toward Lizzie, who opened her arms to welcome her.

“Look at you! You’re getting so tall already!” Lizzie exclaimed, running a hand across her cheek.

“She just woke up from a nap,” said Ada. She straightened up and then her eyes met mine and she offered a warm smile. “Hello, You must be Miss Bennett, the new governess.”

“Please, call me Jessie,” I answered, reciprocating her friendly greeting.

“This is Ben, my fiance,” she added and I shook the man’s hand, then placed one hand on the little girl’s back as Lizzie held her. “And Elizabeth, our pride and joy.”

“What am I, chopped liver?” Karl joked.

Ada shook her head, laughing and then brought her son in for a hug.

“And you’ve already met Karl, our other pride and joy.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I said and shook the boy’s hand as well.

“You as well,” he answered with a proud little smile. He then turned around to talk to Charlie. It was nice for him to have someone close enough to his age that he could interact with and relate to.

“Can you say ‘hello?’” asked Ben, maintaining his gentle tone.

“Hello,” she said, almost too softly for me to hear.

“Hello, Elizabeth,” I replied. I understood her shyness, especially with all of these other people around.

“Tommy has told us all about you,” Ada said.

“It’s all he ever talks about.” A man’s voice joins her and the kids go over and hug him, too. He bends down to pick Ruby up and just like the other Shelbys, his warm smile that reached all the way up to his eyes had the ability to put everyone in the room at ease, including me. “I just mean it feels like we already know ya.”

“Uncle Arthur, we’re planning Daddy’s party!” said Ruby.

“Really? I thought we were ‘ere to discuss business,” he said in a joking manner.

“It’s a business and party planning meeting, there’s a slash,” said Lizzie.

He hummed and then looked at the kids. “Will there be cake at this party?”

“We can’t have a party without cake!” Karl interjected.

“Chocolate cake!” Ruby piped in.

“Yes, everyone loves chocolate,” Arthur agreed.

“And what about your father? Does he love chocolate, too?” asked Ben.

“Maybe,” Charlie shrugged.

“Then perhaps the three of you can make it together,” said Ada.

Arthur reached up to rub the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. “Oh, well, Linda’s more of a baker than I am.”

“What’s this about me?” A pretty woman with short blonde hair and wearing a white sweater, walked through the door, holding a little boy by the hand. He didn’t look much older than Ruby, but was significantly younger than Charlie.

“I was just explainin’ to Lizzie that you’re a much better baker than I am,” he answered, then looked to the little boy. “Isn’t that right, Billy Boy?”

Billy looked up at his father and grinned, nodding. He had his father’s eyes and he had a head of light blond locks like his mother. It was easy to tell where he got his good looks from.

“Yeah. Mum makes good muffins.”

“Muffins aren’t cake,” said Ruby.

“Technically, they’re little cakes,” said Karl.

“Wait, aren’t those cupcakes?” asked Charlie.

“They’re made from the same stuff.”

“What’s this about cupcakes?” We all turned our heads to see two more boys walking in. In some ways, they looked alike. They were almost the same height, they both wore the signature Peaky Blinders hairstyle and they were dressed up in a fancy suit and tie. However, one boy had green eyes while the other had brown.

I was about to inquire as to who they were, until one of them strode over to me.

“You must be Tommy’s new girlfriend, eh?” he said, then leaned over to whisper to the boy next to him. “He was right, she is pretty.”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to make it,” said Ada.

“Change of plans,” said the one with an impish grin and then gestured to the other boy. “Practically had to drag this one along by his toes.”

“I meant it when I said I’m not a morning person,” the other replied with a roll of his eyes. He hung up his hat and then turned to me. “Finn Shelby, and this is Isaiah.”

After I shook both of their hands, Charlie walked over to them.

“Isaiah, are muffins little cakes?”

“No, those are cupcakes,” he answered.

“That’s what I said.”

“Are you sure?” asked Finn.

“Any word from Esme?” asked Arthur, leaving the kids to settle the debate as to whether or not muffins could be classified as cakes.

Ada nodded. “I received a telegram yesterday. She will be catching the train with Polly.”

“And will our aunt be bringing a certain someone along with her?” he teased.

“Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t,” Ada whispered back.

“If I didn’t, what?”

At the sound of another woman’s voice, both siblings froze in their tracks, and they slowly lifted their heads to meet her gaze. They weren’t proud of the fact that they’d been caught and this immediately took me back to when I was a kid, stealing cookies from the cookie jar and being spotted by Uncle Albert. Standing behind her was another woman, slightly younger, but just as pretty. The children wasted no time in wiping their feet and coming inside.

“Polly,” Arthur began, a little sheepishly, “we had no idea you were—”

“We didn’t know you were listening,” Ada finished.

“Oh, I’m always listening, dear girl. Always listening, always watching.” The words hung in the air for a moment and the sound of the children’s laughter floated and swirled around me.

When you hear the words ‘girl’ or ‘woman,’ you think of soft skin, soft lips, freckled-cheeks, long skirts and button-up shirts, but the tough-as-nails and sharp- as a-whip Shelby women were the sort that no one with a brain would dare mess with, and the one standing before me, her eyes locked on mine, had an air of authority about her and at first glance, I felt as though I were a walking target.

She also had the face of a leader, her posture rivalled that of any noble woman, queen, princess, or duchess. But at the same time, many people admired her for her strength and courage and her ability to step in and take charge of things when necessary. In short she was the true matriarch of the Shelby family and the sort of woman that many young girls would and should aspire to become when they grow up.

So as much as I feared her, I, too, admired her.

“You must be Miss Bennet,” Polly then said, after what felt like an eternity.

Should I acknowledge her with a ‘hello.’ or ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you?’ or should I merely nod politely and allow her to do the talking? Thomas told me that pleasing his aunt was no easy feat, and that she was wary of strangers upon first meeting. Making a bad impression on Polly Gray simply wasn’t in the cards.

In the end, I knew it would be rude to leave her inquiry unanswered, so I went with the second option, along with the classic. “Your nephew has told me all about you.”

“Seems he’s had a lot to say about the both of us then,” her gaze softened as did her posture, and mine became a bit less rigid as a result, but even among those closest to her, she carried herself with grace and dignity. She then turned to acknowledge her younger nieces and nephews, all of whom flocked around her like sheep and she was their shepherd.

It was only then that I noticed the man standing off to the side as he watched her interacting with the kids. I could only assume this was the ‘special someone’ that Ada and Arthur were speaking of a moment ago. His hair, which was perhaps lighter or darker in his youth, had grown silver with age, and somehow it suited him rather well.

“I don’t think I caught your name,” I said, moving a little closer, but keeping a respectful distance. He tore his gaze away from Polly and smiled the sort of smile that made his eyes crinkle.

“The name’s Gold. Aberama Gold,” the man answered, extending his hand in the typical greeting. My hand was small in comparison. When I lifted my gaze, I saw only kindness and warmth.

“Pleasure.” I smiled back, hoping to return that same warmth. I was about to say something else when a few of the kids stepped away from Polly and ran up to me and chanted who are you who are you who are you?

“I’m Jessie,” I answered. I could hear Aberama chuckling beside me.

“Uncle Tommy has a girlfriend,” one of the boys said, making them all giggle.

“Is that so? I wasn’t aware of that,” I tried not to laugh with them.

“Silly, she’s Charlie and Ruby’s nanny,” someone else said.

“Governess,” the oldest girl corrected him.

“Same thing,” the boy argued back.

“You’re really pretty,” the youngest boy said.

“Thank you,” I told him with a smile.

“Alright, why don’t we leave Jessie alone for a while, eh?” Esme said, a small smile on her own face as she lined up all of their boots and made sure none of them were touching the freshly mopped floor, then she remained in the hall for a moment, getting a good lay of the land, before looking over at Lizzie. “Shall we get everyone seated?”

“Cook said that breakfast should be ready soon,” she nodded.

“Good, I’m starving,” said Karl, going over to Ada.

Ben was holding Elizabeth’s hand and calmly encouraging her along.

Much like Thomas, he was a man who would go to great lengths to protect his children, and it showed in the way he stood next to her, watching her every step, ready to catch her if she were to stumble and fall.

There were enough chairs for everyone to sit in and everyone was free to sit wherever they liked. Both Ruby and Charlie wanted to sit beside me, so they waited for me to choose where I wanted to sit and then they both sat on either side of me; Ruby between me and her mother and Charlie between Karl and I.

Esme sat on the other side of me. I didn’t know much about her, though she was perhaps one of the most intriguing members of the Shelby family. According to Thomas, the marriage between her and John, his younger brother, was arranged in order to first of all, bring peace between the Shelby and Lee families and second and most importantly, provide a mother for John’s four children. Then the two of them welcomed two more children from the time they were married until the time of his death.

I could only imagine what it was like for her to raise six kids without the help of her husband, but apparently, she lived out in the countryside with a few of her family members, so at least she had help whenever she needed it. She also had little involvement within the family business or the Peaky Blinders, which was probably a good thing considering what she’s been through in the past few years.

Learning all their names was simple enough.

There was Katie, the eldest. Then there was Queenie, Matthew and Finn. After Finn was born, and John and Esme got married, Mercedes and little Birdie came along.

Once all of her children were settled in their seats and started eating, she looked my way and greeted me with a soft, almost worn out smile.

“Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. Had to make sure the kids were settled, you know? They’re a little bit restless after the long drive.”

“I understand,” I said, keeping my tone warm and light-hearted in order to put her at ease a little. “I remember when I was their age, every time I went somewhere with my cousins, there’s the restlessness and the repetitive question of ‘Are we there yet?’”

She brought a hand to the side of her forehead and let out a groan of feigned irritation. “I can’t count the number of times they asked me, but I don’t blame ‘em, though. They’re just excited to see everyone, and with any luck, they’ll fall asleep on the way back home.”

“Here’s hoping,” I said in a joking way.

This must have been what all family gatherings were like, at least twenty people under the same roof, a flurry of activity, their footsteps, their voices, and their laughter all mixing and mingling together, but it was odd to have the whole family together except for their father, and it was even more obvious when I saw the empty chair. I don’t know why, but I suddenly felt a twinge of sadness and a familiar ache in my chest, but seeing how happy everyone else was, I pushed the feeling as far back as I could.

To be continued!

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Magnolia in May ~ Chapter Eleven

Author's Note: It's honestly a MIRACLE that I got this released in time considering how my week has started off with me feeling really sick and a bunch of other stuff. Hopefully by next week, I'll feel better, but for now, let us indulge in some Lizzie x Jessie friendship! Chapter Warning(s): None

Word Count: 4271

Chapter Eleven

The minute I got inside, I took off my jacket, put it on the coat hook and then placed my boots next to Charlie and Ruby’s. This place was not as big as Arrow House, but somehow, it suited her. It was much like her character; quiet, friendly, and inviting. People came to her with their problems and she was always willing to offer a listening ear or words of advice when necessary. I took quite a liking to her when we first met, considering the obvious tension between her and Thomas.

“You and Tommy seem very close.”

In spite of said tension, I also thought it was funny how she still called him ‘Tommy’ and he called her ‘Lizzie’ when they were in the same room, as though they were still good friends. Maybe they didn’t get on as well at first as they did now.

“We are quite fond of one another,” I nodded.

Her eyes sparkled in the light coming from the window and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Then she leaned forward as if to whisper conspiratorially. “It is a wonder he hasn’t taken you to bed yet.”

My jaw nearly dropped to the floor the second the words came out of her mouth and I could tell that I looked like a codfish, so I forced my mouth closed and then cleared my throat, swallowing thickly and feeling my cheeks turning pink with the sudden heat. “Yes, well, it’s a little hard with the nightmares and all that.”

“He told me they were becoming less frequent.” She sounded concerned.

We made our way to a sitting-room a little ways down a corridor from the entrance of the house. I was silent for a few moments. I wanted to plan my next words carefully, because it would be easy for her to assume that she was the one at fault for the return of the nightmares. There was no need to add to the excruciating amount of guilt she was feeling over separating from him, no need to drive her already fragile emotions to the very edge. I wanted to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault, that she was the cause of the nightmares.

Knowing that the children were around was another good reason to keep my voice quiet and to filter through my words. Looking around, I made sure they were not within earshot before I continued. “They started up again several weeks ago. He said something about tunnels and shovels and feeling trapped beneath them.”

Lizzie was considerately quiet now, too and after a moment, she nodded. “He used to be what was known as a tunneler. He and several other men dug long tunnels underneath contested no-man’s-land territory to bury explosives underneath enemy trenches. The job was incredibly dangerous — they risked capture by the enemy and death from tunnels collapsing. They also fought at the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Verdun, two of the most infamously bloody conflicts of the war.”

She closed the door when we stepped over the threshold. It clicked quietly shut behind her, then she went to sit in one of the two armchairs near the fireplace and gestured for me to do the same.

“He’s never gone into complete detail about what happened,” she continued, picking up the teapot and pouring the warm, soothing liquid into two white, porcelain tea cups. The steam rose from the rim and evaporated into the warm air. “I understand that he would much rather forget that part of his life ever happened, then have to explain it all as if it were fresh in his mind.”

I pick up my cup and then take a small sip to avoid burning my tongue. “He woke up in such a dreadful state that it makes me wish there was something I could do to help him besides offering words of comfort and embracing him in ways that only temporarily eliminate the ghosts of his past.”

“Someone’s been reading a lot of Shakespeare,” she said with a tiny smile.

“I’m sorry?” I blinked several times to try and comprehend the meaning.

“No, I just meant when you said ‘eliminating the ghosts of his past,’ it sort of sounds like something he would write about.”

“Perhaps in his early years of his writing,” I laughed, “I am not as well-versed or have such an advanced vocabulary. Nor do I think I could keep speaking in riddles.”

A few minutes of silence passed, but I didn’t mind it. While some may have seen it as awkward, or felt the need to fill it with idle chatter and small talk, I took it as a spare second to think, to allow my mind to wander wherever it wanted to. I wasn’t sure where Thomas was right now, or who exactly he was going to speak with when he got to wherever it was he needed to be, but I hoped that he knew what he was getting into and I wanted him to know that I and the rest of his family would be praying for his safe return. Soon enough, Lizzie spoke again.

“Permit me for saying this, but I have noticed that he has been a different man since he met you,” she said. I looked her way, surprised by not only the break of the silence, but of the words that were spoken. “I mean this in the best possible way, of course. Ever since Grace died, and after losing his brother, he doesn’t let people get too close to him and whenever someone tries, he pushes them away. He keeps his heart locked up in a safe that no one can find the passcode to, not even me, the one person he vowed to share everything with. At the beginning of the divorce, he barely paid any attention to them aside from mealtimes and they would call me on the telephone, begging for me to come and pick them up.”

I was surprised to say the least. Thomas always appeared to be a doting father to his children. He gave them everything and anything they wanted without spoiling them. He listened to them play their instruments, he comforted them when something was bothering them, sat with them during mealtimes and played with them when he wasn’t working. He even put his work aside to attend the picnic with them that one day and it made them so happy.

It might seem to some that we were speaking of two different Thomas Shelbys, one who was present in the family and his children’s lives and one who distanced himself from the people he cared about and who cared about him.

“It’s one of the things that caused us to separate. He just wasn’t the same anymore, and when he went away, he smelled like other women. He reeked of blood and danger and Charlie even said to me, ‘you’re more my mum than he is my dad’ and it broke my heart. Not just for Charlie but for Thomas. They had an unbreakable bond, which seemed to crumble more and more until it was nothing more than dust, old memories that were left behind in the past.”

She paused again, gazing into the fireplace for a moment, collecting her emotions. One thing I admired, but was also slightly concerned about, was that too often, her main focus was taking care of everyone else and making sure their needs were met while rarely allowing herself to take care of her own or to let anyone see her own sadness, anger and pain. After all, the separation took a toll on her as well and it seemed to me like her way of dealing with her negative emotions was pretending they didn’t exist in the first place.

I wasn’t sure what to do at that moment, but I felt this strong inclination to reach out to her, to put a hand on hers and tell her that it was okay if she needed to cry, or to take a step back for a while. On the other hand, having the children with her for a couple of weeks might be just the thing to lift her spirits.

“But things changed. I was surprised that one night near the end of April when I didn’t receive a single telephone call and at first I was worried, because what if something happened to them? Now I see that it’s because of you. I should be jealous of you, furious even.”

“I assure you, Miss Stark, that you have nothing to be jealous of. Thomas and I are good friends. Nothing more.”

She added a few cubes of sugar into her tea and then gently stirred it so it wouldn’t remain in a clump. “Good friends, eh? Then why did it take you so long to say ‘goodbye’ to one another?”

My head snapped upward and she looked back at me through narrowed eyes, raising one brow sceptically. I opened my mouth to speak, in a lame attempt to explain my absence and protect my reputation, but then she started laughing.

“Look at your face, you’re as red as a tomato.”

While Lizzie tried in vain to recover herself, I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t feel like laughing in the least, and I sat there feeling awkward and embarrassed and a little bit foolish. I should have known Lizzie would find out about Thomas and I and while I did wish we had a little more time together, him and I, I am glad that we parted ways when we did, or else we would have taken a lot longer, thus raising more suspicions.

How much she knew, however, I still wasn’t sure and I wasn’t going to ask any further questions about it, dig myself a deeper hole than I was already in. At least now she was smiling, though. That was the only good thing about it, even if it was at my own expense.

“Well, to be honest with you, I would much rather see him with you than that May Carleton woman.” She looked down at her clenched fist and loosened it. “She’s practical and follows structure and routine very strictly, which I am certain you’ve noticed, but she lacks imagination and creativity. Not like you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I smiled, and took another sip of my tea.

“You should,” she said, smiling back at me, but it quickly vanished as soon as it appeared. “She is a bit too forward, however. She knows exactly how to draw Tommy in and sometimes he is too quick to fall for it. Or he was, anyway.”

“Was?”

“Like I said, he’s been different since he met you. Although, if there ever comes a time when I need to make a choice between who I think best suits him besides you, I would easily choose her over Tatiana.”

“Tatiana? May? Lizzie? Grace? How many women does Mister Shelby know exactly?”

My mouth snapped shut, realising I had just asked that question out loud rather than in my head. Lizzie leaned her head back and sighed dramatically.

“Too many to count, I’m afraid.” She added a little bit more sugar to her tea, seeing as how it wasn’t sweet enough already. “But rest assured, he will not be seeing Tatiana again. And May? Far as I know, she’s just a friend.”

“Who’s Tatiana?” I asked.

“No one you need to worry about.” She shook her head, setting her cup and saucer down, then meeting my eyes again. “She is a duchess. Rich, beautiful, a real temptress who would do just about anything to get what she wanted. I never met her or knew her personally. Not really, but I never liked her, and shockingly, neither did Tommy. She stayed over one night, and things got out of hand. That’s all he was willing to tell me about her.”

“Men are weak when it comes to women, especially those they know are trouble. And they rarely think twice about the consequences until it’s far too late. I’m not saying all men are, and forgive me if what I’m saying is too bold, but let’s just say that when you’ve been in the business for as long as I have, you get to know a bunch of different characters.”

“So I’m assuming you have a handful of scandals?” she asked, perking up.

“Oh, trust me, I have many.”

“Well, then, you must tell me about them.”

“And here I thought you weren’t one for idle gossip.”

“What are friends for if you can’t gossip with them? Besides, it’s in the past now, isn’t it? it? Surely it won’t harm them and they’re not going to hear us anyway. I, too, have met my fair share of characters whilst in my old profession.”

“Really? And what was it?” I asked, taking a sip of my tea.

“Not the sort of business you want on a resume, I’ll say that much.”

“Oh,” I said, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.

“You seem shocked,” she said, glancing up at me.

“Not at all — I mean, you’re very pretty — That is —” I was stumbling over my words. I didn’t want to offend her by saying anything rude or by making some remark, and surely this was not an appropriate topic to discuss while having tea with a dear friend.

She laughed again, shaking her head. “I know what you mean. It wasn’t my first choice. Originally, I wanted to become a writer, print articles for the daily papers, maybe write a few stories and get them published, but no one believed in me, not even the people I called my friends. Then after losing my parents, I had to find some way to provide for myself.”

Her tone became less amused and more serious as she went on. I thought she might start weeping and instinctively, I put a hand out and placed it on top of her own.

“You needn’t talk about it anymore if you don’t want to.”

She looked relieved now and she smiled. “Thank you. It’s all in the past now, so I need not dwell on it.”

“Still, you shouldn’t have had to give up your dreams because no one believed in you. Do you still wish to write?”

“Well, I’ve started writing short stories for children. Not sure if I will ever publish them, but—”

“You should!” I said, a little too hurriedly. “I’m sure Charlie and Ruby will love them. They’ll tell their friends, their friends will tell their friends, imagine it!”

Her smile grew until it stretched all the way across her face.

“You really think I can do it?”

“I don’t think so. I know so,” I answered.

A few moments of silence went by and none of us seemed to mind it.

She stood up and collected both of our cups and saucers. “More tea?”

“Thank you, but I’m afraid I feel a bit ill.”

When she noticed the almost faraway look on my face, she placed a reassuring hand on mine, which startled me at first, but a few seconds later, I found myself appreciating the gesture. “Don’t worry. Tommy’s gotten himself into plenty of scrapes before, tricky ones, at that, but he’s always found a way to weasel his way out of them. No doubt he’ll return safe and sound.”

“I hope so,” I replied, rubbing my hand on the fabric of my dress and meeting her eyes. She gazed at me with a sympathetic expression in her eyes just as Charlie came into the room, glancing between us.

“Jessie, will you play with us?” he asked softly. I could tell he’d been waiting until we’d finished our conversation to ask the question. Something I am certain his father or Lizzie must have taught him.

“Of course I will, give me a few minutes and I’ll be right there.”

He nodded and then ran back out of the room, possibly to tell Ruby the good news. Lizzie and I both stood up at the same time and I took a deep breath.

“The kids seem to have taken quite a liking to you as well,” she observed. “Good. I can’t imagine having a governess like Mrs. Pritchard was a pleasure. They told me how much she disliked them.”

“Charlie has mentioned her a few times, yes. He told me she was horrid to them. She would literally drag them out of bed in the morning, make them dress themselves and but the thing that was when he told me all of the things she said to him and Ruby. Shaming them for who they were and where they came from.”

I could feel my hands shaking but I didn’t know why. No, actually, I knew exactly why. I was angry. I was angry for the very same reasons that I was when Thomas and I were talking not long ago, and when Django and his family once returned from the city and people had been insulting them and whispering about them when they thought no one was paying attention. What had they done to deserve such treatment? And what could someone possibly gain from degrading someone else?

“Why bother working with or having children if you don’t like them?” I whispered, sitting down again rubbing my arms nervously. Lizzie watched me from the corner of her eye and after a moment, she placed her hand on my shoulder.

“I wasn’t expecting Ruby to come so soon after Thomas and I married, and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure I was ready to become a mother, but as time passed and this baby inside me grew, the first time I held her in my arms, I knew that she was meant to be. That I would do anything for her, and for Charlie. As soon as they told me about what happened, I begged them to talk to their dad. It was the only time he’d set his work aside and listened to them.”

She paused and it looked as though tears had come into her eyes.

“Are there some things I wish I did differently? Yes. Do I wish things had turned out better for us? Of course I do. But I feel like things are in a good place right now. I mean, if things had worked out, the children never would have met you.”

Neither of us said anything for a little while, until the both of us had a chance to settle down and collect our emotions. Then Lizzie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Did you ever wish you could be a mother? Or had you dreamed of having children of your own?” She paused. “Forgive me. You don’t have to answer that question if it’s too personal.”

“That’s the thing. I never thought about having children, I just like working with them and teaching them. I will admit, way back when I started, there was a little boy who screamed and kicked and pinched, sometimes over the smallest things. I made a vow to never have children.”

“How did you manage? Did you end up resigning?”

“Trust me, I could have, but one day, I just sat him down and he told me he felt so angry all the time. His mother had died a few weeks before I arrived, and his father sort of shut himself up in his office. He only ever paid attention to the boy if he acted up, so that’s what he did.”

Lizzie shook her head dismally and looked at me. “Poor child.”

I nodded. “I told him that it was okay to be angry and to feel sad, but also that we needed to find healthy ways of dealing with our emotions, like talking about it with someone we trust. So, then I put both the father and son in the same room and allowed them to have a private conversation, to let it all out. By the time I came back, they were both crying, but in a good way.”

“Jessie! Are you coming?” Charlie and Ruby were standing in the entryway and were waiting very patiently for the two of us to finish our conversation.

“You go on,” said Lizzie, “I have things that I need to finish up here anyway.”

“Very well, Miss Stark.”

“Titles seem too formal for a place like this. Right here, we are Jessie and Lizzie.” She took both of my hands in hers. They were warm and soft, much like herself, and they were very clean. Each nail was around the same size and they looked like they had been trimmed recently. “You know, I didn’t have any sisters growing up, but I’m sure you and I are going to get along splendidly. Oh, speaking of sisters, a few family members are going to be coming over on Wednesday morning for breakfast. I thought you would like to know in advance.”

“You mean Auntie Ada is coming?” Charlie asked.

“And Uncle Arthur?” Ruby added.

“Yes, yes,” Lizzie smiled at them. “Auntie Polly is coming, too.”

“And all of our cousins!” Ruby was grinning from ear to ear, but then she looked over at Lizzie. “Does our Daddy know?”

“Yes. Your daddy already told me before you came. We have business to discuss as well, so you can play outside with your cousins.”

“Can we have another picnic with Jessie?”

“I think it’s up to her to decide,” she said and both of the children took my hands and tilted their chins up to try and win me over with puppy dog eyes. How could I possibly say ‘no’ when they were looking at me like that?

“Pleeeeease?” They said at the same time and I pretended to sigh.

“Alright, then, another picnic it is.” I chuckled, “Oh, but if I’m not mistaken, I believe you both asked me to play with you.”

“Race you to the top,” said Charlie and he and Ruby turned on their heels and went up the stairs faster than I ever could.

“No fair, you two are faster than me,” I said, going after them. When I got to the top of the stairs, I was out of breath and Charlie was trying his best to hold back a smile as I took a minute to regain some of the oxygen I had lost coming up.

“We win this time,” he said.

“Yeah, well, you started without me, so…”

This time, Ruby was laughing with him. But she quickly turned around, opened the door and she and Charlie stepped into the playroom. It was a little bit smaller than the one back at Arrow House, but was not lacking in toys and books.

“There’s certainly a lot of interesting things to do,” I mused, sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking around at the number of board games and stuffed animals and there were even two toy rocking horses. Good thing there were two. Not that I would expect them to argue over it, but you never know.

“Jessie, you try!” said Ruby, sliding off the horse and then gesturing toward it.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think I’m too tall to fit on it now.”

“Come on,” said Charlie, “what’s the worst that can happen?”

“First of all, I don’t want to break it. Second, I’m not properly dressed.”

“Alright, then. Ruby and I will race and then you can be the judge.”

“Yeah, you can be the one who shouts ‘Ready, Steady, Go!”

“Sounds much better,” I agreed, “but we’ll need an audience.”

The three of us set to work, putting both horses in a line, making a pretend mark with one of Ruby’s hair ribbons, and then assembling an audience with the stuffed animals and toy soldiers.

“We have to have some officers there in case a bad guy comes,” Charlie insisted.

“You’re right. We all know bad things can happen anywhere.”

“That’s what Daddy says,” Ruby nodded, frowning slightly.

“Don’t worry, there won’t be any bad guys,” Charlie assured her, putting a warm hand on her shoulder, “and if there are, we’ll take care of ‘em, right?”

“Right,” she said, grinning.

“That’s it, you two, chin up. The race is about to start.”

Ruby put up a hand. “Wait, we need money, too!”

“Money?” I exclaimed.

“Yeah. Daddy says people can win lots of money at races, too.”

“What else has your daddy told you?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

They both giggled and I couldn’t help but smile at them.

“Okay, well, we don’t have any real money, so we can use marbles.”

I reached into the toy chest and pulled out the marbles.

“Let’s see, we’ve got thirty marbles. That means whoever chose the winning horse will each get a marble which is worth a thousand pounds, right?”

Charlie put a hand to his head. “How am I supposed to know? Money is tricky.”

“It is, isn’t it?” I laughed.

“No, Teddy! No betting until it starts!” Ruby sternly pointed at her bear sitting innocently in the front row of the stadium. “You have to wait until we hand you the paper before you can place your bet. That’s the rule.”

“Now, are we ready?” I asked and both competitors got onto their horses.

“Ready,” they both said.

“Alright, then, Ready….. Steady…. Go!” I made a fake sound to let them know that the race had officially started and they took off.

Taglist: @runnning-outof-time @zablife @loverhymeswith @sherbitdibdab

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia in May ~ Chapter Ten

Chapter Summary: Charlie and Ruby and Jessie are going to be spending a few weeks at Lizzie's place.

Chapter Warning(s): A hint of spice, but nothing explicit.

Word Count: 2145

Chapter Ten

On Saturday, when we got to Lizzie’s place, Thomas got out of the car first to talk to her and the kids and I saw her waving at us through the front window. We all waved back at her, then Ruby went back to amusing herself with her teddy bear, who needed a new red ribbon around its neck. I told her we would ask her mother if she had any ribbon left to spare once we went in the house. He came back a moment later, opened the door to the back row and the kids climbed out onto the driveway and the three of them ran up to the front door before they got soaked in rain, which wasn’t possible since it was still only drizzling, but Thomas was only trying to have a laugh with the children before he had to leave.

I could hear them laughing even with the doors closed and it made me feel a bit less anxious about them being there.

I checked my bags to make sure I packed everything I needed and gave them a few minutes to say goodbye. Charlie was pretty much used to his dad being away for long periods of time, as was Ruby, but it was still hard on them both to watch them leave. After a couple (hundred) more hugs and kisses, the two of them went inside, holding Lizzie’s hands, and I saw him come back over to me as we got out of the car. We stood there for what felt like a long time in silence. He’d reached into his pocket and grabbed a cigarette and a lighter, but when he tried to light it, his hands were too slippery.

Motioning towards the lighter, he handed it to me. I flicked it on and once I managed to keep the spark going for more than two seconds, he leaned forward so the end of the stick hovered over the flame. Then he stood up straight, inhaled and exhaled, closing his eyes as the cloud evaporated into the cool air. After a few more seconds, he inhaled again, turned toward me and exhaled. I laughed and that made his smile grow. My eyes flickered to it and he raised his eyebrows, holding it up to my lips as an offering. Feeling bold, I took it between my lips, inhaled and coughed on the first drag, much to my embarrassment. Serves me right for trying to show off. At least I was able to get a genuine laugh from him, knowing he was probably stressed out about the business trip. He allowed me to take it and I tried again, this time with more success.

“See? You’re a fast learner,” he observed, breaking the silence and watching as I held it between my fingers, mimicking the way he held it every time I’d seen him do it countless times before and shook some of the ashes away.

“You’re a terrible influence on me, Tommy,” I shook my head, doing the same. I, on the other hand, had always stayed away from the stuff, not wanting it to rot my teeth and lungs, but one try, just to see what it was like, wouldn’t hurt. Once my words had sunk in, he smirked.

“Yes, I am turning you into quite the little rebel, eh? If I don’t get control of you soon, who knows what trouble you could get into.” he said slowly, seductively. His lips turned up into a wolfish grin and I instinctively took a step back while he took one step forward, licking his lips. “What do you say, hmm? Wanna make a little trouble with me?”

In a split second, he had me pinned between him and the wall. I gasped, my hands instinctively going to his chest. My eyes flickered upwards to see that the first few buttons of his white shirt were undone, revealing his collarbone. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a shudder went down my spine.

At the same time, the rain went from a trickle to a pour and in seconds, we were both soaking wet and laughing. He twirled a piece of my hair between his fingers and I leaned into his palm. Could you imagine anything more romantic, just the two of us, standing out in the middle of nowhere, our wet hair hanging in our faces, rain dripping into our eyes? It sounded like something out of a romance novel or a song written by a lovesick girl, dreaming of living her own real-life fairytale.

Then without a warning, Thomas cupped my face with both of his hands, leaned in close and kissed me, right there against the wall of the house. Before my mind could catch up, I placed my hands on his shoulders, pressed my body against his and kissed him right back. I moaned softly against his lips, as the kiss turned more aggressive and shuddered when I felt his one hand find the hem of my dress.

I knew what was going to happen, of course I did, I wasn’t that naive. I’d kissed a boy before, sure, but that was years ago, when I was still new to the world and we’d done nothing but kiss, partially because his parents were nearby, but mainly because we weren’t exactly comfortable in that specific area.

Kissing Thomas, however, was different. He was older — significantly so, though our age difference was not enough to be considered concerning. Uncle Albert was fifteen years older than Aunt Eliza and my parents had an astounding thirty years between them, so twenty years wasn’t that odd, all things considered.

I opened my eyes briefly to make certain no one else was watching and praying no one would come out here, being slightly nervous about being caught in the act. No one was watching, thankfully. No one was there to see my flushed face or the tangled mess of wet hair or hear my rapidly increasing heartbeat.

“Jessie, it’s just the two of us,” he said, bringing all of my attention back to him and making my heart skip a beat. My eyes flickered from his eyes and feathery eyelashes, to a scar on the right side of his forehead, traced his jawline, and landed on his plush, slightly chapped lips. His pupils were so dilated that there was only a slight ring around the blue of his eyes. His voice had gone down several octaves and was slightly rougher than usual, but his words were soft and reassuring. “We can stop anytime, all you have to do is say the word.”

I nodded.

He breathed in and one of his hands went up to unbutton the first two buttons of my blouse. I sucked in a breath and he watched my expression for any sign of discomfort. I knew Thomas’ reputation with women, but what I didn’t expect was him to be this careful and considerate with me. He didn’t want to push me past my limits, but the thing was, and it sounds slightly ridiculous when I say it now, that that was exactly what I wanted him to do, to lift me out of that comfort zone, that little bubble I’d been so cosy in for the past twenty seven years of my life.

“Is this alright?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, almost breathlessly, like I couldn’t get the words out, but he accepted the answer and with a relieved smile. He nodded as well, and undid one more button, and one more and then one more until they were all undone. Then he teased the lace. The material was so thin, it didn’t feel like there was anything between my sensitive skin and his thumbs. He dipped his head, kissing and licking from my jaw to my collarbone, then moved back up to my neck, gently nibbling the skin there.

His other hand grabbed a fistful of my skirt and lifted it up past my thigh, his thumb teased the lace band of my undergarments near my waist, like when I went to the coast with my family one summer and dipped my one toe into the ocean to test how deep and how cold the water was.

“What about this?” His thumb trailed down and gently caressed my body through my clothes, which sent jolts of electricity pulsing through me and made my muscles tighten. It was a strange sensation, one that I couldn’t quite name. I involuntarily squirmed and pushed myself off the wall, but he used his other hand to put me in my place, a feral sound rising up from his throat. My fingers disappeared into his hair, taking a loose fistful of it as his mouth met the spot just above my heart and then travelled just a bit lower to the lace, leaving a trail of wet kisses with his tongue.

“Tommy!” I couldn’t stop a soft moan from escaping me, though it sounded more like a whine. It was almost embarrassing how desperate I was for him. How badly I wanted him to keep touching and kissing me like this. I’d never felt so electrified in all my life. He knew exactly what to do to make me feel good. Daring to meet his gaze again, the once gentle smile I’d become so accustomed to over the few weeks I’d known him, became a knowing smirk.

“Yes, it feels good, doesn’t it, sweet thing?” He growled in my ear then continued his sweet torture. I was turning into a puddle in his arms, but before I could reciprocate, he pulled away. I leaned against the wall, my chest heaving and I caught him licking his lips.

“Tommy, please!” I whined.

“Look how desperate you are for me.” He chuckled darkly and straightened himself out before turning to look back at me again, his gaze darkening. “You want me so badly, it’s driving you mad, and believe me, the feeling is mutual. However, the kids are inside waiting for you and they will wonder where you are.”

“You’re right,” I sigh reluctantly, buttoning up my blouse again, keeping my gaze downcast. I didn’t want him to leave. Everytime he left, even if it was just for a quick drive through the countryside or to visit his family, those fears crept in and I imagined something terrible happening to him. My eyes stung with unshed tears and I felt a lump in my throat. Thomas noticed this and frowned, stepping over to me.

“Ey, what’s the matter, love? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, I feel better than I have in ages.” I answered.

“Then why are you crying?” he asked, wiping away my tears with his thumb.

“I don’t want you to go.” I said, rushing the words out so I didn’t choke on them.

“Come on out of the rain. Don’t want you to catch a cold.” Thomas led me up the steps of the house and brought me into his arms as the rain was starting to get to me. Then he took off his coat and put it around my shoulders, starting to dry me off. “There you go, my darling. Is that better?”

I nodded and reached up to dry my eyes with the sleeve.

“Oh, my sweetheart.” He brought me into his arms and held me tightly, stroking my hair and rubbing my back as I sobbed. “I know. I know. I want to stay, too, but the sooner I leave, the sooner I can come back and we can be together again, yeah?”

He kissed the top of my head, then covered my cheeks in kisses. Unable to help myself, I laughed.

“That’s more like it.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and then kissed me once more. I started to remove his coat but he shook his head. “Keep it. I’ve got another in the back. You keep the kids out of trouble, yeah?”

“I will.” I smiled.

“Alright.” He nodded and turned around, going reluctantly down the stairs.

“I love you!” I called as he opened the car door and was about to go in.

“I love you more,” he shouted back over the rain and without another word, he got into the car and I watched him pull out of the driveway and go down the road.

“Jessie!” Charlie called from the front door. “Mum wants you to come in out of the rain and wants to know if you’d like some tea.”

“Tell her I’ll be right there, love,” I said and he nodded, going down the hall to pass along the message. I remained where I was for just a few moments, drying what could have been rain or what could have been tears from my eyes and then following him inside.

Tag list: @zablife @izabesworld @runnning-outof-time @sherbitdibdab

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia In May ~ Chapter Nine

Author's Note: Hello, again! I hope you all had a positively wonderful holiday season just like I did, and to those who might not be feeling in the festive spirit right now, I am sending you all the love and wishes for a better year ahead.

Chapter Summary: The Shelby children go to the zoo with their teacher and their governess, however, a few comments seem to throw everyone off guard.

Chapter Warning(s): Implied racism (brief), mentions of death of a loved one (brief)

Word Count: 3612

Chapter Nine

Friday came sooner than we anticipated, but to the kids, three days was a long time to wait. Excited, they crawled into the back seat of the car. I’d made sure they dressed appropriately, insisting that they wear their raincoats and boots instead of their nice shoes because we didn’t want to get mud all over them. I sat in the passenger’s seat and their tutor, Mister Collins, sat in the driver’s seat. He was in his early thirties. His dark hair was always parted neatly to one side and a thick moustache growing just above his bottom lip, like a cat’s whiskers. His brown eyes were as deep and soulful and captivating as his voice. His father was American, born and raised in Louisiana, and he travelled to London for business, which is how he met his wife.

Now they were both happily married for almost five years and with a little one shortly on the way. He said he never would have imagined this sort of life for himself, he never thought he would be this happy and he told me that sometimes he thought that it was all a dream and that he would wake up, back in America, back at the farmhouse, back to grieving the loss of his parents and struggling to take care of six siblings on his own.

He didn’t tell me all the details about how his parents died and I understood why. Even though my aunt and uncle took very good care of me, treated me like I was one of their own daughters, whenever I thought about my parents, our last few moments together, and the last words they ever said to me, I would start crying.

All he said was that it was around Christmas when it happened, that it came from out of nowhere, and that by the time they were able to receive treatment, it was too late, the sickness had already consumed too much of them.

Even with all the money they’d all saved, they could not afford a funeral, and so they simply buried them out in the fields where they spent a lot of their time tending to livestock and harvesting the food that they’d grown with their own two hands, with two crosses that he and his younger brother, Noah, built with some pieces of driftwood they’d once stumbled upon while making one of their food deliveries.

Life was hard, he’d told me, but with a lot of determination and a lot of hard work, he was able to get where he was today and all of his siblings were happy as well, getting married and having children of their own. He was an uncle to twelve children, eight handsome boys and four beautiful girls.

The kids were thrilled when they saw the car pull up in the driveway and practically ran outside without their coats and boots to greet him, that is before he told them that he wouldn’t move an inch until they got properly dressed.

You would think that because it had just rained the night before — of course — and was so dreary out that no one would want to go, but the children had been looking forward to the trip for weeks and they’d been doing really well in school, that the teachers couldn’t break the promise they’d made them.

“Jessie, have you ever been to the zoo?” asked Ruby as we started the long drive to London. I turned to face her in the passenger seat and I shook my head. While I had been to the zoo before, I only had vague memories about it since Marie was just a baby the last time we went. The kids would be more apt to remember than me. “You’re going to love it.”

“Yeah,” Charlie piped in, “there are lions and tigers and bears —”

“Oh, my!” I gasped and they both giggled. Even Mister Collins smiled, which surprised me because I’d never known him to have a cheerful disposition. He always took his duties as a tutor seriously, perhaps too seriously, so maybe this trip brightened his spirits a bit, too.

“I’m a little scared of lions,” he admitted.

“What about tigers?” I asked.

“Definitely. I came across a tiger once. He wasn’t too pleased to see me.”

“Are you afraid of bears, too, Mister Collins?” Ruby wanted to know.

“I’ve never met a bear before,” he said, as we passed over a bump in the road.

“What about a teddy bear?” She held up her bear and he gasped, placing a hand over his heart and Ruby laughed. “You’re scared of teddy bears?”

“They are terrifying!” he said in a joking way while pretending to be scared.

“You’re funny, not like my daddy though, he’s funnier.”

“Is he now?” he chuckled.

“He makes Jessie laugh so hard she falls off her chair.”

“I don’t fall off my chair,” I said.

“Do, too,” Ruby argued.

“Hm, I’ve never known Mister Shelby to be the ‘funny’ sort,” he mused. “Every time I see him, he always seems grumpy and grouchy, like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or someone burnt his toast.”

“He does have his hands full,” I reasoned, “Work, family, finances, the lot.”

“He has nightmares, too,” said Charlie softly, his smile faltering.

“You know about those, too, eh?” I placed a comforting hand on his knee.

“Yeah. I hear him shouting sometimes.” He rubbed his eyes. I knew this probably wasn’t the time or place to talk about these sorts of things, especially not with someone outside the familial circle, but Mister Collins seemed to understand, he fought in the war, too, and besides, if it was bothering Charlie, I would rather have had him get it off his chest rather than have him worry and have it spoil his day at the zoo.

He was such a sensitive boy and things bothered him more than they bothered Ruby. Mostly because he was older and had a firmer understanding of what was going on around him. He knew his father stayed up late working, and that when he was gone, he was scared he wouldn’t come home.

“Your daddy told me about the nightmares and he said he didn’t have one last night, or the night before.” I said, trying to comfort him.

“Really?” he asked, his face lighting back up again.

“Yep,” I nodded and he smiled, turning back to the road. I didn’t mention the fact that I stayed with him, mostly because he was also old enough to understand that people who liked each other shared the same bed. I just hoped he had some innocence left, and didn’t know about the details. Not that Thomas and I did any of that.

“When are we gonna get there?” Ruby asked.

“Soon, love,” said Mister Collins, “soon.”

Two hours was a long time for a young child to remain in one place, so for them, soon, seemed like an awfully long time. On the bright side, we were halfway there and the kids were entertaining themselves in the back seat. I was happy to just look out the window and the second we drove into London, with its tall clock towers and impressive bridges, I couldn’t imagine anything more exciting.

We arrived at the zoo not long after, parked in the lot and stepped outside. The air was a bit warmer than it was before and when we stepped out of the car and we walked up to the gate, above us, there was a sign that read: North Entrance, Zoological Gardens. Presumably, this was where we were supposed to wait. The kids could barely contain their excitement and energy from the long drive and once we were admitted through, they ran up to the first enclosure they saw that held a magnificent rhino.

He was pacing around and rubbing its impressive ivory horn against the bars.

“He wants to come out,” said Ruby. The rhino was close enough for her to touch, but she knew enough not to stick her hands through the bars to pet him, which I know was hard for her, seeing as how she loved animals. “But his horn is sharp so it’s not a good idea. He might charge at us and ram us through.”

“Can we see the Zebras next?” asked Charlie.

“If we can find them,” Mister Collins answered.

“Jessie, are Zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes?” Ruby wanted to know as she took my hand and pulled me along.

“That’s a question that’s baffled me for years, love,” I answered, following her lead and leaping over the puddles. “One second you think they’re black with white stripes and the second you’re fully convinced that they’re white with black stripes.”

“I guess we’ll never know,” Mister Collins shook his head, smiling.

Over the next minutes, I would see that despite the questioning looks people gave us, the comments that would be whispered under their breaths, and some of the most outrageous remarks I’d ever heard in my entire life, something that my aunt and uncle would, and I am not exaggerating in the least, wash my mouth out with soap for saying, he would simply carry on with his day.

Maybe it was easier that way. To push it all back rather than pretend it never happened rather than waste time and energy by acknowledging it, though I, as well as the children, could tell it bothered him, that every insult was like a stab to the heart or a slap to the face.

“Why do people say mean things?” asked Ruby, avoiding stepping into a puddle and then glancing up at him, only to be met with a sad, knowing look.

Usually, he was the man with all the answers. He’d been to a lot of interesting places over the years because of his job, and he told us all sorts of interesting stories, but when it came to dealing with people’s rudeness, and when Ruby asked him why it happened, he was silent. He proceeded to walk with her hand in his, trying really hard to push his anger and sadness and grief as far back as he could in order to answer her.

I didn’t have an answer myself. It hurt to see this kind and wonderful man, be subjected to such ignorance and prejudice, when all he wanted was to be treated as an equal, he wanted himself and his family to have a good life, a life free of torment.

“Our Uncle Ben says the same thing happens when he and our auntie Ada are out on the town,” said Charlie, suddenly, as though he’d just recalled something. “He says he hears people tell him to go back to where he came from, to leave their town alone and he hears them call him horrible names.”

Even the children, who were much younger than these grown-ups, knew better, and that was saying a lot.

“And it’s not just him,” he continued, “she says people say rude things to her, too, and to Uncle Arthur and Auntie Esme, and to our dad, but Auntie Polly says people are going to do whatever it takes to tear you down, but the most powerful thing you can do is to not say anything at all.”

I smiled down at him and nodded firmly, remembering how Thomas said that because he and his family were Romani, even though they had worked very hard and fight as hard as they could, enduring struggle after struggle, to be where they were now, they would never be seen as equal among those deemed superior by society’s standards.

“She’s absolutely right,” Mister Collins said, “My mother always said that the best thing you can do is to put one foot in front of the other—”

“Like this?” Ruby took a gigantic step forward with her boot.

“And this?” asked Charlie, doing the same thing.

“Exactly! Put one foot in front of the other, keep walking, and brush it off your shoulder —” he brushed away an imaginary crumb. “Don’t give those mean words the power to hurt you.”

Ruby smiled. “I’m going to tell my daddy the same thing.”

“You should,” he said, “and tell your uncles and aunties as well.”

“We will,” she beamed and that was pretty much it. We ignored the stares, the comments, the name-calling. We wouldn’t let it spoil our day.

Soon enough, we approached the enclosure and one of the zebras lifted its head from the food bowl to look over at us, its ears twitching in the light breeze. “What I want to know is how many stripes they have.”

“It says eighty here,” Charlie said, pointing to the sign. “Eighty stripes.

“Would you look at that! You’re right.” Mr. Collins remarked.

“Eighty is a big number,” Ruby held onto the fence and stood up on the rail.

“It is, isn’t it? Oh, don’t climb on that, love.” He stood behind her and helped her down and stroked the top of her head as she planted her feet firmly on the ground. “We just don’t want you to get hurt, eh? Last time we checked you’re not a little monkey.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said, and she turned to me with a laugh.

“Jessie, what’s that in your hand?” she asked.

“It’s a film camera.” I held it in front of her and she looked inside the lens.

“Can I try?”

“Sure, but you have to hold on tightly. We don’t want it to fall and break.”

She took it in her hands and then pointed it towards Charlie. “Brother! Look!”

He turned away from the zebra to give her a wave and then started calling out to him. “Come on, Zebra. Ruby wants you to be in her film. Won’t you come over?”

The animal raised its head from the food bucket, watched us for a moment or two and decided that his food was much more important than being in a movie.

“Maybe he’ll come over later,” said Mister Collins, “He’s enjoying his lunch.”

“Here, if you press this button, you can make the lens go closer to him.”

“Like this?” She pushed the button that I showed her. “Hello, Zebra!”

“What happens after all the film’s run out?” asked Charlie.

“Well, after the film’s run out, we take it somewhere to be made into a movie.”

“Really? Like the one Mummy took us to see?” Ruby wondered.

“Exactly, and you know what? Your Daddy will be able to see it, too.”

“I wanna try, too,” said Charlie.

“The giraffes are next. You can have a turn then, alright?” I said. He nodded and then once we were done watching the zebras, Ruby carefully handed the camera over to Charlie. Because he was older and his hands were more steady, perhaps the footage wouldn’t be quite as wobbly, although perhaps the camera was a bit heavy for her as well. “Goodness! Look how tall they are!”

“He’s taller than you, Mister Collins!” Ruby exclaimed.

“Right you are, love,” he laughed softly. “He’s taller than ten of me.”

“Would you like to feed them?” The zookeeper was coming around with a bowl of lettuce leaves, which I heard were the perfect snack for them. Both of the kids’ faces were glowing and when she gave a leaf to Ruby, I lifted her up so she could hold out the leaf and as one of the giraffes bent their heads over the fence and took it with its long, blue tongue, she shrieked with laughter.

“Want me to take that?” Mister Collins asked Charlie once he was given a leaf and he eagerly took over the camera and pointed it at Ruby and I. I turned around and smiled, giving the camera a quick wave as Ruby was given another leaf.

“Jessie! Look!” Charlie gasped and I looked over just in time to see the giraffe take the leaf from Charlie. “His tongue is slimy!”

“Just like yours,” Ruby giggled.

“And yours,” he returned with a laugh.

“Alright, let’s clean up.” I said, wiping their hands with a napkin.

After the giraffes were the monkeys. Mister Collins still had the camera, but he was having too much fun with it, almost as though he were a child himself again. I wondered if Charlie was upset that it was no longer his turn, or that his turn was shorter than Ruby’s, but he was too busy looking at the monkeys and trying to get them to come over to us to notice.

“Oh, look at that, there’s you and Ruby!” I teased and Charlie playfully stuck out his tongue. Instead of chastising him for such rude behaviour, I did the same thing, and so did Ruby.

“Such appalling manners,” Mister Collins laughed. I stuck my tongue out at him and he almost trapped it between his fingers. “Ah, don’t let Mister Shelby see you acting like that, Miss.”

“Mister Shelby doesn’t scare me, Mister Collins,” I tilted my chin high in defiance, “and besides, what’s the worst he could possibly do. I’m his children’s governess.”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t punish you.” I saw a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips and I playfully nudged him. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“The look on your face said it all. But like I said, I’m not scared.”

“Good.” He nodded, turning back to the monkeys.

“Good,” I agreed, doing the same, unable to stop myself from smiling. It was nice seeing the playful side of this man and I got the feeling this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

After the monkeys, we saw a brown bear, a polar bear, penguins, flamingos, and there was even a tortoise. Each of us took turns with the film camera, capturing all the best moments of our trip so that we could show Thomas when he came back from his business trip. If he did come back. Some part of me imagined him laying on the cold, wet pavement, covered in his own blood and his blue eyes once filled with light and warmth, staring lifelessly into the pale sky.

“Are you alright?” Mister Collins asked as we walked back to the car. He placed a hand on my shoulder and I nodded, not meeting his eyes. “Jessie.”

Surprised to hear him address me by my first name, I turned my head and looked at him. He was standing in front of me with his hands on my shoulders. The kids got into the car. It was mid afternoon and we thought we should go home a little earlier since it looked like it was going to rain again.

“Mister Shelby can handle himself perfectly fine,” he said softly. “He’s been in plenty of scrapes and always makes it out on top, so you need not worry.”

“I know,” I nodded. “I just can’t help worrying about him sometimes.”

“That’s because you care very deeply for him.”

“I do hold him in high regard,” I admitted, keeping my response brief.

“Regard? I think it’s a bit more than that,” he muttered.

“You take that back!” I snapped, which made him grin smugly.

“Admit it. You love him,” he teased, circling me and making faces. I could see the children watching us through the window and it was making them laugh. Of course, I did find it heartwarming, but I was too stubborn to let on.

“You’re acting like a child.” I folded my arms across my chest.

“Says the woman pouting with her arms crossed,” he countered.

“Just get in the car,” I said with a big smile. I got into the car with the children and Mister Collins drove us home. It was completely silent in the backseat within the first half of the journey. I turned around to see that both Ruby and Charlie were sound asleep with their heads resting against the windows. I smiled fondly at them and then turned back around to face the front window.

“They’re all tired out,” Mister Collins whispered as he followed my gaze and then turned back to the road ahead of him. “They seem to think very highly of you, almost as if they’ve known you their whole lives.”

“And I’m fond of them.” I looked over my shoulder again. “They’re such good kids. Charlie is a sweet and sensitive young man who cares very much for his family and Ruby’s laughter is so contagious that when you hear it, you can’t help but laugh with her. I know governesses aren’t supposed to have favourites, but they are definitely mine.”

“And how did Mrs. Shelby — or Miss Stark, rather, take you?”

“We haven’t known each other long enough to know. I was worried she might not take kindly to the fact that I am the new governess, because apparently, I’m not the first he’s been with, but when we went to the pictures together, we seemed to get along fine, there didn’t appear to be any ill will. We actually had quite a lively conversation on the way back home.”

“There you go then, already one of the family.”

“I am quite nervous to meet the rest. I’m worried they might not like me.”

“Nonsense! Once they get to know you, they’ll adore you.”

“I hope so.”

“Especially because you’ll soon be married to him.”

“You’re exhausting!” I roll my eyes and look out the window and he grins as a calm silence falls over us and we drive the rest of the way back home.

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia In May ~ Chapter Eight.

Chapter Summary: Just a typical morning in the Shelby household, with lots of fun and of course rain.

Chapter Warning(s): None. Just Tommy smoking.

Word Count: 4992

Chapter Eight

Rain poured softly out the window, the gentle pitter-patter rousing me from sleep. The curtains were drawn and the only source of light came from a tiny crack in them. I felt one arm draped across my waist, and memories from the day before came flooding in like a tidal wave. I turned over onto my side and saw Thomas laying beside me. He still looked the same as he did when I fell asleep — still the same sharp haircut, smooth, perfect skin, sharp eyes, and his body looked like carved stone, the muscles and scars standing out in harsh relief.

Closing my eyes, I could imagine my fingers tracing along the ink of his tattoos.

He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, like all of the burdens and trauma that he’d carried with him for his entire life, melted away. My eyes were locked on his lips, still soft. I wasn’t sure if I should try and kiss him to wake him up, or if I should just continue to admire him like this for a few more moments.

I decided I would go to my room and get dressed, knowing Ruby and Charlie would need to be getting dressed soon, but the second I had contemplated this, he stirred and I closed my eyes again, pretending to be asleep. I’m not sure why, but I really didn’t want to be caught staring at him the way I was.

Propping himself up lightly onto his elbow, lying on his side and facing me on my back, he raised an eyebrow, as though he were coming out of a dream himself and then looked down at me through heavy-lidded eyes. “Morning, sweetheart…”

His voice was a whole octave lower and it was a lot rougher too, no doubt from the smoke, I thought. His packet of cigarettes was still on his bedside table, along with a bottle of whiskey and a glass.

Sweetheart? The nickname sounded like poetry coming from him and I could detect a flutter in my chest. He had such a calming presence, and I couldn’t help but smile as I looked into his eyes, those deep, sparkling blue eyes that held so much passion and intensity. He was like a flame, all warmth, light, and intensity that could easily burn you but that you still couldn’t resist.

“Well, do you like what you see?” Thomas looked up as I entered the room and the smile on his face widened into a grin as his eyes lingered on my body, but his gaze seemed to be filled with amusement and playfulness instead of something more vulgar, like the secret glances we traded at the dinner table. I decided to chalk it down to nothing more than his natural playfulness and charisma.

No matter how hard I tried to push those feelings down beneath the surface, they kept popping up again and the blush on my cheeks increased. And it certainly didn’t help that I was practically undressed in front of him. My parents would be rolling around in their graves and no doubt my aunt would faint into my uncle’s arms.

I felt my heart race a little bit, but then a little flutter of irritation welling up inside me as I thought about how many women had been in this bed before me, and my mind conjured up more specific details about what had happened inside these very walls.

Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I instead tried to bring myself back to the present moment, ignoring the ghosts of the past that loomed like shadows in my mind. Another smile made its way onto my own face. I advanced toward the bed, sat down on the mattress with my back turned to him, letting my feet dangle off the edge of it.

He took another drag of his cigarette and glanced over at the stockings in my hand as I took them off, placed them on the chair near the door and then timidly crawled up beside him, sitting with my legs curled up underneath my chin.

“Is this how you treat all of the governesses on their first day, or am I just lucky?” I asked, turning my head to face him. The cool air from the window, which was left open to filter out the smell of smoke and whiskey, sent goosebumps along my bare arms.

“It’s how I treat all the cute ones,” he drawled, his voice a bit deeper and raspier than it normally sounded, possibly because of the smoke, and I thought I could detect a spark of flirtatiousness there, as well. Then his tone turned more thoughtful. “And something tells me you have a lot on your mind, eh?”

His hand slid up the hem of my chemise and his fingertips traced circles on my back and massaged my shoulders. The hairs on my neck stood up, my skin tingled where he touched and my legs clenched together, seemingly on their own. I studied his face, and I studied his.

Silence filled the space between us for a few minutes and I wiggled my toes on the silk quilt. “I guess I’m feeling a little homesick, that’s all. One minute, I was with my aunt and uncle and cousins, and now I am in the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t seem real yet, you know what I mean?”

“I can imagine it’d be a lot to suddenly get used to,” Thomas replied with a nod, his tone soft and empathetic, “it makes sense that you’d feel a little overwhelmed, having so much happening so quickly. And you can always talk to me about whatever plagues your mind.”

“I appreciate that,” I said.

He closed his eyes, taking another drag of the cigarette. I watched the clouds of smoke rising up and disappearing from view, as if they were slowly and delicately dissipating all together, and the sight was an oddly soothing and tranquil one. I followed their trail as they evaporated in the air and then eventually grew weaker and finally disappeared, and I felt a peaceful serenity wash over me, like I had just witnessed something magical. I turned to Thomas. His eyes were closed and his chest gently rose and fell. He was completely relaxed.

I would later learn that what drew him to smoke and drink was that it calmed his anxieties about his family and their futures. It also calmed the anxiety he picked up at work. I didn’t know the exact details of his job, he had never said too much about it other than it was a risky business and he’d lost many people because of it, including Grace and Lizzie. It always seemed that no matter how noble his intentions were, the repercussions would always come to bite him in the behind.

“You should try it,” he suggested, holding it out to me, “It works wonders.”

“Maybe some other time,” I answered, politely declining the offer.

“Smart girl.” He put it back between his lips.

“Daddy!” A little voice joined in the conversation and I looked toward the door to see Ruby running over to the bed. I looked over at Thomas who nodded, putting it to the side and I lifted her up.

“Come here,” he chuckled softly and she crawled over to him. Charlie came running in and the bed bounced as he got on and wrapped his arms around his dad. I heard Thomas laugh and he used all of his strength to sit up, then in a turn of events, the cards were flipped and their squeals echoed off the walls as they tried to escape their father’s grip. The three of them wrestled each other on the bed, giggling.

It was an adorable sight, to see them laughing and playing together like this. I couldn’t help but chuckle along with them, enjoying the simple happiness of the moment, moments like these that made life worthwhile, the simple little joy of spending time with the people I cared about most in the world.

Charlie’s mischievous smile as he looked my way was the first indicator that something was amiss. There’s nothing quite so indicative of a prank than a child looking at you with a little grin on their face and their tongue sticking out just a little bit in a half-smile. I also noticed that both he and Ruby leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. There was a mischievous grin on her face that she tried very hard to hold back. I observed them for a moment and then said, “What are you two up to?”

“Nothing!” Charlie said and then crawled up to the headboard and sat down near my pillow. Thomas gave me a wink, his voice filled with excitement at the mischief that they seemed to be cooking up. He seemed to find the idea that the pair were plotting and scheming against me hilarious.

“Nothing, eh?” I repeated. I sat up and folded my arms across my chest, a hint of a smile on my face as I glanced between them, as though I were trying to figure out which one of them robbed the cookie jar. “Ruby, will you tell me what’s going on?”

Ruby looked to her dad and he shook his head, silently telling her not to say anything. She looked back at me and laid down next to me while giggling. Her beautiful brown eyes, which looked so much like her mother’s they could have been twins, crinkled up.

“No. I’m not gonna tell you,” she said.

I decided to play along with them and I slowly moved past Charlie to get off of the bed. “Well, then. In that case, I should get up. You both have school in a couple of hours and we haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“Oh, I think we have a few more minutes, right?” said Thomas and both of the kids nodded, their giggles becoming louder. He stalked over to me, making a cage around me with his body and pinning me in place, looking down at me with a wolfish grin. Charlie predicted what was going to happen way before I did and held my hands up above my head and down onto my pillow. Ruby moved away just before she could accidentally get crushed by his strong arms. I was surrounded! I had no way of escape! I suddenly realised just what was going on when he began to lightly dig his fingers into my sides.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth and my eyes closed as a few giggles escaped. I tried to squirm, but it only made the sensations more intense and more unbearable. I reached for his hands and attempted to pry them away, but Charlie’s grip was surprisingly firm as I begged for mercy.

“Oh, mercy? Is that what you want? Where’s the fun in that, eh?” The older man teased. He had a look of pure concentration and focus on his face, as if his entire world revolved around winning at this game and I was just an obstacle that needed to be conquered. Just when I thought all hope was lost, Ruby went over to my hands and pried them free. He gasped in mock outrage and in one swift motion, pulled her into his arms and placed her next to me. “You little traitor!”

I smiled over at her as she shrieked with laughter, trying to turn onto her sides or curl up into a ball like I did, but of course it didn’t help when he had such a hold on her that only made it worse for her. His playful growls as he pretended to gobble her up and her laughter made my stomach do somersaults — the good kind — while I laid down, preparing myself for any sudden attacks.

“Jessie! Help me!” she pleaded through her laughter while his hands scribbled on her stomach and sides and even her little feet. I already planned out how I would rescue her from the scary monster holding her captive.

“What do you say, Jessie? Are you brave enough to take on this monster?” he asked. I got up onto my knees and then attempted to free the little girl. His grin only widened and I knew I’d made a mistake. He released Ruby, not taking his eyes off me for a second. “Oh, that’s how it is, eh?”

Taking advantage of the opportunity, she slid off the bed and ran out of the room, down the hall and down the stairs. She was still in her nightgown, but neither of us cared. Charlie let my hands go again and ran after her. Thomas let out a sigh of disappointment, and begrudgingly remained where he was, tempted to continue their little game, but not wanting the other maids to see him in such a compromising position. Then again, they’d probably like it.

“Guess it’s just you and I now, love,” he said with a smirk, his tone one of bemused good humour. His hands were focused on me again and this time, he was showing no mercy whatsoever. Finally, after two more minutes, he tilted his head to one side before slowly lowering his hands and shaking his head gently. He still had a gleam in his eyes and a mischievous smile on his face, taking particular joy in seeing me lose so decisively to him and as if he was already plotting the next stage, but for now I was finally free from his grasp. I sat up and caught my breath. “Don’t assume you’re off the hook yet.”

He reached back over to his bedside table and looked at his watch. I peeked over his shoulder, noticing a small bullet wound there. It took every inch of my self control not to run my fingers across the scars. Snapping out of my daydreams, I looked at the watch. It was nearly seven o’clock. Lessons didn’t start until eight.

Charlie and Ruby didn’t go to school like the other kids, for obvious reasons.

When Charlie was four years old, he had gone back and forth on deciding whether or not sending him to school would be a good idea, or if he should just hire instructors to come in and teach him what skills he needed to know. On the one hand, he wanted Charlie to be able to socialise with children his own age, and to make friends. On the other hand, sending him to school would be like leading a lamb to slaughter, to leave him exposed to the predators who would surely take advantage of such an innocent and caring young man who trusted and looked up to the adults around him. Not to mention, he’d been taken when he was a baby by someone who the community should have been able to trust and had a very disturbing past. That was (and sadly still is) the irony of it, that the most trustworthy people in the world — priests, teachers, nannies and police officers — are often those who will get away with the most diabolical things.

It was the same when Ruby came along. Would it be better just to keep her here where no one could possibly do her any harm, or would it be alright to send her to school, to trust other adults to take care of her?

The instructors came at least twice a week. They learned reading, writing, arithmetic, history, science, French and Latin in short sessions, which would increase in length as they got older, until noon or later if they had trouble with a particular subject. Frances, myself, or one of the other experienced maids, were to remain in the classroom at all times to supervise and report to him if either of us suspected anything sinister or dubious going on. When noon came around, they’d leave and the children could amuse themselves as they pleased until lunch was ready.

I slid off the bed and started to go out the door, but he motioned me to remain where I was. He then grabbed his coat from the arm of the chair and handed it to me. I put my arms through the long sleeves and rolled them up a little past my wrist. I looked up again and saw a smile on his face. “Imagine the scandal! The young governess, walking down the hall with nothing but her nightdress after coming out of her employer’s room.”

“Won’t it be more scandalous if they see me with your coat?” I countered. The coat went all the way down to my lower knees and the fabric, soft as it brushed against my skin, was masked with the scent of cigarettes and cologne. I probably wasn’t the least bit subtle in inhaling it and allowing it to fill my lungs.

He chuckled softly, crossed the floor and took the bottom button in his hand, sliding it through the hole with ease. I noted how short his nails had been trimmed, some of the edges more jagged than the others, and the smudge of ink between his index and middle finger told me that he’d written something last night before he went to sleep.

Heat crept up onto my face and neck as he continued buttoning the coat and adjusted the collar. His fingers traced the outline of my collarbone, teased the hollow of my throat and stroked my jawline and when he leaned in, his mouth was close enough to graze the shell of my ear. “Perhaps if you had remembered your robe in your haste to sleep with me, as you said, we wouldn’t have this problem, would we?”

The small fire on my cheeks became a blaze.

Forbidden thoughts entered my mind and I swallowed thickly, hoping to chase them away. Standing in front of me, wearing nothing but a pair of black pants, and sweat glistening on his muscles, he looked every bit as handsome as he always did and his blue eyes resembled the sea, untamable, beautiful and dangerous if you got swept up in the current.

“Fair enough. I appreciate the gesture, Mister Shelby. I will be sure to return this to you once I have finished getting dressed.” I took a breath and then stepped toward the door, opening it softly.

“Tommy, love. When we’re alone, you can call me Tommy.” I met his eyes once more. There was so much beauty and danger in his eyes then with a nod, I slipped quietly out of his room, tiptoed down the hall and luckily, no one saw me enter my room and shut the door. I took off the coat and set it down on my mattress for a moment, then I plucked my diary out and turned to the next page. I felt like a teenager who had just got home after sneaking out of the house to see the boy she liked— or in this case, man.

Wait, did I just admit that I had a schoolgirl crush on Thomas Shelby?

Certainly not! That would be inappropriate, especially in a professional setting!

Actresses, musicians, dutchesses, princesses, Mister Shelby could literally have any woman he wanted and no doubt they would feel like a goddess while laying next to him or being kissed and touched by him, so then what makes me think that a man like him could possibly be interested in a simple girl like me? Sure, my family wasn’t exactly poor, my aunt and uncle weren’t struggling for money, but we weren’t rich, either. We didn’t go to the opera or take a boat and travel across the ocean every winter like some of my friends did, we were right in the middle and we were perfectly fine with that.

Still, I couldn’t help but want to make an impression on him, a good one, one that left him wanting to find me in the middle of the night, stand over my bed, skim his hand over the blankets and — yeh, way too ahead of myself! Shaking my head, I lifted the chemise over my head, folded it and put it away in the drawer, then I went into my wardrobe and got dressed. I picked lighter fabrics today since the weather was getting warmer, and then sat down on the bed next to the coat, took out my diary and wrote another entry. I think I should mention that it took me several tries to put the pen down on the paper since my hand was so wobbly.

Tuesday, May 20th 1930.

I didn’t know that Mister Shelby had night terrors until last night. It makes sense. He fought in France just like my uncle Albert did. They were friends back then and they still are now. It was hard watching him struggle, but I talked him through it until he calmed down. Then he asked me to stay with him, which I did, and no, before you get your hopes up, all we did was sleep, unlike in the dream I had last night, but I feel like that’s a bit too personal, even for a diary entry. Anyway, we’re going to the zoo on Friday. The kids are excited and so am I! Let’s just hope it doesn’t rain.

“Jessie!” Ruby came barging into my room. I told both her and her brother that they needed to remember to knock before they came in, and their father reminded them as well, but it must have slipped their mind because of how excited they were about the outing, so I didn’t bother to remind them. Plus, I was dressed now anyway, so it was fine. “Can you teach me?”

“Teach you what, sweetheart?” I asked. I noticed that her nightgown was off and she was still wearing her undergarments. She put the clothes she was carrying down in a nice, neat pile on the bed and then stood next to them, looking at me expectantly. “Oh, you want me to show you how to get dressed by yourself?”

“Charlie can do it, I wanna learn to do it, too.” Girls having positive role models she could look up to and admire was important, and it was clear she looked up to her big brother as a leader, someone who she thought had all the answers and who could teach and help her with things.

“Close the door,” I said and then stood near my wardrobe as I gave out the rest of the instructions. I would let her try and do it on her own and then if she needed my help, I would be right there. We started with the leggings, they were white and the band fit snugly around her waist, then she put the dress on, sticking her arms through the sleeves and she stood in the mirror, smoothing out the crinkles.

“Wait, the shoes!” she cried. “I left them back in my room!”

“Goodness! We’d better go fetch them then,” I said and we both went down the hall to her bedroom. Her shoes, a pair of black Mary Janes, were placed neatly in front of the wardrobe. Without wasting any time, she slipped them onto her feet. She was beaming with pride and the dimples on her cheeks were showing as a result of her accomplishment. “You did it, Miss Ruby!”

“I did it!” She clapped her hands. “I wanna go show Daddy and Charlie!”

“Why don’t we fix up your hair and then we can show them, yeah?”

She nodded and sat down on the chair in front of the mirror. She watched her reflection in the glass as I brushed her hair. I decided to do it in the same style I did with Alice and Marie’s hair, and plait it from the crown of the head to the nape of the neck, then I braided it normally until I had about a couple of inches left, tied it with a ribbon and once I did the same with the other side I set the comb and brush down.

“What do you think?” I asked her and she stood up, turned around and peeked over her shoulder to see just how pretty the braid looked, she smiled approvingly. I heard a small knock on the door and she got off the chair once she saw that it was her father. “Ah, there you are, sir. Miss Ruby was just about to go and find you. She has something she wishes to tell you and couldn’t wait until breakfast.”

“Does she now? Well, it must be important then, is it?” He entered the room, sat down on the end of her bed and his eyes flickered over to mine for a second or two as she made her way over to him and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling. He tapped his chin thoughtfully and then after about four or five seconds, he dropped his gaze from the ceiling and smiled at her. “Did you grow ten feet tall?”

“No,” she shook her head, her braids lightly slapping her face.

“No? I was sure you were shorter yesterday. Wait, I’ve got it! You finally found that missing toe we’ve been searching for since Sunday.” He gently lifted one of her legs, slipped the shoe off of her foot and pretended to examine it. “Nope. See? I told you if we don’t find it, the monster is going to come for the others.”

“Daddy, I don’t have any missing toes,” she giggled as his finger teased the arch of her foot and then put the shoe back on with ease. “You have one more guess.”

“One more? Can’t I have twenty more?”

“Nope.”

“Fine. Well, I give up then.” He shrugged dramatically.

“Okay, I wanna tell you now. I got dressed all by myself!”

“All by yourself, without any help at all?”

“Frances told me I should. She says I’m a big girl now.”

“Yes, you are a big girl now and Daddy’s so proud of you!”

“Miss Ruby told me she wanted to look all nice for school,” I said.

“And she looks like a princess,” he said. “Come on, your brother’s waiting.”

“Jessie, are you coming with us?”

“You bet I am.” I said and followed the three of them downstairs for breakfast.

Thomas had some business he needed to attend to on Saturday, and the way he spoke about it made it obvious that it was important. Lizzie would be looking after Ruby and Charlie at her place, the house he bought for her with the money he’d stashed away, for the time being. Despite the rocky relationship, as Ruby’s mother, he wanted to make sure she was taken care of financially and that she got to see the children as often as she wanted. While I was getting him dressed, Charlie said that he didn’t exactly picture her as his mum, but he still loved her very much and liked seeing her because seeing them made her happy and no surprise, he put other’s feelings ahead of his own.

Thomas explained this further after the children had eaten breakfast, by saying that when he told Charlie he was going to ask her to marry him, he wasn’t exactly thrilled about it and it took a while for him to warm up to her, even when it was mentioned that he was going to have a new brother or sister, but in his own time, he started to become excited that his dad was getting married and that he was going to be a big brother. When Ruby came into the picture, he vowed that he would keep her safe and gladly take out anyone who threatened to harm her.

It was the same with other children of divorced or widowed parents that I worked with. Some step parents would sometimes come to me and ask me why their step child treated them so horribly: punching, hitting, slapping, biting, swearing or not listening to them when they told them to do something and when I took the child aside and asked them about it, the answer wasn’t surprising. They told me that when they lost their mama (or papa), it felt like someone took a knife and sliced a big piece of their heart.

He also mentioned that after the divorce was finalised, or whatever you call it, he kept all of that anger and resentment inside of him, until the day she packed her bags and left. That’s when it all came spewing out like a volcanic eruption. Frances did her best to console him, but he was having a dreadful fit. Eventually, it was Thomas who took him in his arms, and hugged him, although he fought with him, too, until he stopped crying and calmed down.

“‘She promised,’ he said. ‘She promised she wouldn’t leave.’ I remember he didn’t stop crying, especially because Ruby went with her and they were inseparable, the pair of them. He stayed in his room for the rest of the day. Didn’t say a word to me, or to Frances or to anyone else.” He paused and watched the kids walking hand-in-hand down the driveway, jumping into the puddles and laughing as the mud splashed their raincoats. “For a long time, it was almost as if he was grieving and even when Ruby came back, it took a long time for him to recover.”

“I can imagine,” I said, slipping my coat on and heading out into the rain. “He already lost one mother and then it felt like he was losing another.”

“Perhaps if he met you sooner, he might have recovered faster.” He smiled and I was sure I detected another wink as he opened the front door and we joined the children outside.

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia in May ~ Chapter Seven

Chapter Summary: After returning home from the picnic, Thomas invites Jessie to dinner while the children are spending time with some friends.

Chapter Warning(s): Mentions of the war, nightmares, PTSD

Word Count: 3227

Chapter Seven

As soon as we got home, and while the children were with Miss Milligan, I retired to my room, and sat down on the mattress with my pad and pen. I’d written a letter to my family back home, telling them everything that had happened. Long paragraphs about the kids, the things we did, the games we played and the picnic; I told them about the house, how it looked like a fairytale mansion, and about Thomas — I didn’t write much about him, because for some reason I thought they would start teasing me about him like they did whenever I talked about Django.

I saved those thoughts for my diary, where I kept all of my most private and special thoughts. I flipped through it, reading the last few entries I wrote. This one in particular was quite colourful. I was surprised how harsh and scribbly my handwriting was and how hard the pen pressed into the paper.

Friday, May 16th 1930

Miss Carleton came to visit today to check up on the horses. I was looking forward to meeting her because I’d heard things about her. Good things.. But when I introduced myself to her, I got the sense that she didn’t like me very much, even though she never said so. And for some reason, when I heard she was staying the night, my throat tightened and my cheeks burned, almost like I was angry. Great, now I know what they’re up to in there.! It shouldn’t be a surprise to me, and I don’t mind Miss Carleton, maybe I’ll go to sleep and maybe I’ll tear out this entry in the morning.

I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me that day, but I was completely over it now. I thought about tearing the page from the journal, then decided against it, because it would be a challenge since all of the pages were hand-sewn into the leather. I didn’t want to ruin the other pages. This next one, I noted, was more light-hearted.

Saturday May 17th 1930

Mrs. Shelby (Lizzie) dropped by for a few minutes and announced that she was taking Ruby and Charlie to the pictures.. I was surprised when she invited me, too and she explained that because I was the governess, I was now a part of this family. We all loaded into the car and headed to the theatre. Tonight, they were showing a Chaplin film that was made ten years ago, The Kid. I think I cried a few times. Because when it was over, Ruby told me my eyes looked puffy. It was a nice experience and I want to do it again sometime.

Sunday, May 18th 1930

It doesn’t feel real yet. I keep thinking I will wake up back in my bedroom at the cottage. Ruby and Charlie Shelby are perhaps some of the sweetest children I’ve ever met, they even took my coat the day I arrived. I am thinking about taking them on a picnic tomorrow. I don’t think they’ll say no to skipping school for one day. I haven’t told them yet, though. I need to check with their father first. I am sure he won’t mind, but still, I don’t want to sneak them out and cause him to worry.

Then, opening to the next empty page, I wrote:

Monday, May 19th 1930

The picnic was a success, just like I thought it would be. Earlier, Mister Shelby invited me to have dinner with him tonight. I don’t know how I should do my hair, what I should wear — why am I so nervous? My stomach hurts, like I am about to expel all of my lunch. It’s not as if we’re going to be doing anything other than eating, or so he says. I will probably let you know how it goes later.

As I wrote, I could sense something blooming between Thomas and I. A friendship, maybe more, and tension building between Miss Carleton and I, because she didn’t like me. Was there a good reason? Had I said something or done something to offend her? Or had she gotten it in her mind that I was one of Mister Shelby’s mistresses and was jealous? When I thought about those subtle glances he threw at me during mealtimes, or when he stood in the doorway and watched me play with the kids, I wondered if there was something else there, or just my imagination running wild again like it always did.

Capping my pen, and after putting my diary away, I heard a soft knock at the door. Thomas looked over at me with a smile, leaning against the doorframe of my room. The sight of him standing there with such a warm, gentle expression on his face once again made my heart flutter softly. “Will you still be joining me?”

“Give me an hour,” I said. “I need to find something nice to wear.”

“Everything looks nice on you, love,” he replied, his tone playful and fun as he flashed me a cheeky grin. I could tell he was already beginning his flirting, his playfulness and charm on full display, and I couldn’t help but find myself swept up in it all. His sense of humour and cheeky nature were incredibly lovely, and I felt so happy to be around him. Without another word, he shut the door tightly and I was once again left alone with my thoughts.

I had done a pretty darn good job convincing myself that it was nothing more than friendship because that was all we really could be. The selfish part of me wanted to tell her not to get her hopes up too high because I had an inkling that he and Lizzie could get back together — and I was hoping they would because I liked Lizzie — I don’t think Miss Carleton was in love with him anyhow, so I don’t think it would have affected her anyway.

At last I was ready; the two of us made our way down the hall feeling the anticipation building up inside me, and some worry, too. My throat tightened a bit and my stomach felt tingly and nauseated as it did my first day of school, or my first day sitting in the Church with Albert and Eliza. I had spent time with a boy before, but for some reason, this was different. My heart pounded against my ribcage. I was nervous, excited, and a little bit scared.

We reached the downstairs hallway as the sun was going down, a violently red and purple sky behind the hills and treetops, and then stopped when we made it into the dining room. It was dark, save for a few candles that had been lit on the table. I found it beautiful and incredibly romantic. I wondered if he’d done the same for every girl who stayed over at his place, but immediately shoved it away while we sat together, and ate the meal the cooks had prepared. I didn’t want anything to ruin this night.

“That was nice,” I said and his soft blue eyes met mine as he smiled. It was now nine o’clock. The time seemed to fly by; the hours felt like minutes and the minutes felt like seconds. The sun had completely set now, and darkness had begun to cover the inky black sky, and I could almost see the stars in the distance. Looking downwards, I tried my best to stifle a yawn.

“All the fresh air must have tired you out. Fair warning, if you ever head into the city, just know that the air is always polluted with chimney and cigarette smoke and smells like rot and alcohol more than eighty percent of the time. A lot of unsavoury things happen there.” He laughed softly, and changed the subject slightly, “I wish we could do this more often.”

“Have dinner together? All you have to do is say the word, Mister Shelby.”

“I wish I could, and I wish I could spend more time with my children.”

“You’re doing your best,” I said, trying to provide some comfort.

“Lizzie was a good woman, didn’t deserve —” His voice caught. He cleared his throat and ran a hand across his face. I saw that same, deep sadness that I saw when he talked about being in France, but this was a little bit different. “She didn’t deserve what I put her through. The lies, the secrets. I tried to keep them safe, to ensure that they would have everything they needed if something were to happen to me, but it turns out it was me they needed, not the money, not the house. And I failed them.”

There were tears in his eyes now, real tears. Thomas Shelby wasn’t a man who showed his real emotions in front of anyone and for as long as I’d known him, he always seemed to have everything under control. He was the one person that everyone else in the family looked up to for answers — besides his aunt, Polly — all of the solutions to the problems and strategies on how to win at each game their enemies threw at them. He’d always planned everything in advance, and if one plan failed, he always had a backup. Emotions were to be set aside and logic was supposed to guide him in every decision he made, but sometimes, no matter how deep below those emotions were, they always broke through the surface, gasping for air.

Just as he was. He was a fish trapped on land, trying to breathe.

“John, Grace, Danny, Freddy, Ben, Bonnie, even the horses. Everyone I touch either ends up dead or hurt.” Thomas shook his head, trying to stay composed. Then he stood up from the table, the legs of the chair grading harshly against the wooden floors. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pinned this all on you.”

“It’s alright. I’m always here to listen if you need someone to talk to.” I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay and that maybe Lizzie would come around once the dust settled and she was given time to sort through her own feelings, but at the same time, I knew those words wouldn’t ease the tremendous amount of guilt he carried with him wherever he went.

“Run,” he muttered, so softly I barely heard the words he was saying, “while there’s still time, before you end up getting hurt, too.”

I walked over to him, tentative, yet determined. I stood in front of him, seeing the stains on his cheeks and his puffy eyes. “Listen to me. If I wanted to run, believe me, I would go right up those stairs, hair flying, heart pounding and I would be out the door before you could even utter my name. But whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me, come hell or high water.”

A sad smile came onto his face. His hand reached up to brush against my cheek, his thumb wiping away my own tears. I’d started to cry, too, but I didn’t know it. He pressed his forehead against mine. “Thank you. For today, and for helping me forget.”

I nodded. His breath fanned against my lips. I knew he was going to kiss me, but suddenly, he stepped back, reached a hand into his pocket and then he seemed to cheer up a little bit. “What is it?” I asked.

“The kids are back.” He excused himself from the room. When I followed him down the hall towards the front entrance of the house, out the window, I saw Johnny’s vardo and Thomas carrying a sleeping Ruby in his arms as he came back in with Charlie, who looked just as worn out from their day of fun.

“Jessie, guess what?” he asked, his eyes were bright and his cheeks were flushed. “We had a big campfire! And we raced sticks in the river. Except for Ruby, she didn’t race sticks with us, but she sat and played with dolls with the other girls.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, but she almost fell in,” he said, “I told her not to play too close, but she didn’t listen. Luckily it wasn’t too deep, so she didn’t drown, and me and the other boys managed to help her out.”

“Goodness!” I exclaimed, still keeping my voice down so I wouldn’t wake her up. Thomas was worried for a moment, too, and looked over at his daughter. Her pretty black dress was a bit wet, he noted, and so was her hair, but all of that worry faded away when he saw that she was safe and sound.

“Well, you’re a good big brother, looking after your little sister,” he whispered, rubbing her back. Groggy, she opened her eyes and looked around, but he quickly stroked her hair, easing her head back down on his shoulder. “Shh, you’re home sweetheart, Daddy’s got you. Charles, you go with Jessie, get ready for bed, yeah?”

Charlie nodded and reached for my hand. I took it and he eagerly followed me up the stairs into his room to get ready for bed. He fell asleep by the time his head hit the pillows, and when I softly closed the door behind me, and made it down the hall, even though it was only half-past nine, I was getting tired, too. I made it to my room and wrote a short update in my diary before I crawled into bed and buried my head into my pillow, and descended into the realm of dreams.

I was woken up by shouting coming from out in the hallway. I wanted to convince myself that it was nothing I needed to worry about, but my curiosity and my natural instincts to protect people kicked in. Without hesitating, I stood up and raced down the hallway until I found the door to the primary bedroom. It was wide open, perhaps in case Ruby or Charlie needed Thomas in the night. When I peeked inside, I saw him thrashing around and kicking at the bedsheets. He let out a series of frantic and fearful cries, a pained look on his face as his eyes remained shut and he continued to breathe very heavily until they snapped open and he sat upright. His breathing was erratic and he was shaking.

This wasn’t a nightmare, this was more like a night terror. My uncle used to have them when he came back from the war. Being on the frontlines or deep in the trenches changed a man and he was almost never the same when he came home. He looked around the room and his eyes landed on me, on the candle in my hands. His own hands gripped the mattress until his knuckles turned white and panic swirled in his eyes. I set the candle on the bedside table and sat on the edge, close to his head. I placed a hand on his brow and felt a cold sweat.

“Where am I?” he asked, gasping for breath.

“It’s alright, Thomas,” said and placed one of my hands on his chest, feeling his heart pounding underneath my palm. I realised I had just addressed him by his first name, but either he was in too much of a state to notice my slip up, or he genuinely didn’t care. His chest heaved up and down and the more panicked he looked, the more worried I became. I brought him into my arms, rubbing his back as he continued to shake. “Shh, it’s alright.”

I tried to remember the things Eliza would say to calm Albert down, but my mind was scrambled, so for a moment, I just sat on the end of his bed, gently rocking my body left and right, rubbing his back and running my fingers softly though his hair, anything I knew would help. He held onto me for dear life, his tears and sweat soaking through my chemise and his hair tickling my exposed skin.

“You’re home now, Mister Shelby. You’re home. You’re in England.”

“Home,” he echoed, still struggling to catch his breath. “Home?”

“Yes, home. Remember we went on a picnic and saw the ducks? The kids were so excited to have their daddy come with them.”

“My children. Where are my children? Where are Ruby and Charlie?” The fearful look in his eyes was still there. A look of pure terror. I could only imagine how terrified he must have been, and what sort of twisted things his mind conjured up.

“Charlie’s asleep in his bed, and Ruby is asleep in hers,” I assured him. I knew there were no words that could ever erase the pain completely, but I continued to hold onto him, saying whatever random nonsense came to my head to try to bring his mind back home. Slowly, but surely, his breathing slowed down, as did his heart rate. His grip on me loosened and he lifted his eyes to look at me. He looked exhausted.

Walking across the floor, I went to the cupboard and opened it. On a high shelf were some various bottles of alcohol, small ones, and some glasses. Normally, I didn’t recommend drinking, smoking, opium, or what people were calling ‘snow’ as a remedy for any sort of illness, especially one that ailed the mind, but this was definitely one of those nights and he needed something to calm his nerves and ease his mind. I took one of the bottles, read the label and then poured a small amount into the glass.

“Here, take this. It will help you relax a bit.”

Wordlessly, he took the glass from me and in one breath, managed to drink the whole thing. Then I encouraged him to lay back down against the pillow as I dabbed a cold cloth against his forehead.

After a while, he was quiet again. He laid still, his chest rising and falling slowly and his eyes becoming heavy. He wasn’t sweating anymore, which was a good thing, and when I asked him if he felt dizzy or nauseous, he shook his head, meaning the storm was coming to an end. I started to stand and go out the door, but his hand reached for my wrist and clutched it gently. “Stay.”

I paused where I was and then looked at the bed. What would happen if the kids needed me? Would they know where I was? Surely Frances wouldn’t approve, even though she didn’t seem like the type of person who voiced her real opinions out loud, but then I remembered when she mentioned Miss Carleton and her obvious distaste for her. I didn’t want any sort of tension between us, so maybe I would just keep this between Thomas and I.

There was plenty of room for me on the other side to sleep. There was also a comfortable-looking chair near the window with a blanket on the back of it. In the end, I chose the bed. I slid into it. His eyelids drooped just a little bit as he looked at me. I laid down, feeling the soft satin material of the pillow beneath my cheek. I watched him for a moment until mine began to close and I fell asleep again.

TO BE CONTINUED

TAGLIST: @zablife @runnning-outof-time @izabesworld @sherbitdibdab (Comment if you wish to be added!)

[allthewriteplaces]

Love On the Battlefield

Author's Note: This is a short story I wrote based on one of my favourite audio roleplays/dramas on YouTube. I will post a link below in case any of you want to check it out and might I also recommend subscribing to him because his content is top tier!

I should also note in the original version, the soldier doesn't have a name, but I thought of inserting a random one just because he deserves one. Story Summary: Y/N has been a member of the Healer's Guild for the last three years. She has seen her fair share of death and seen many broken soldiers, but none of them have managed to capture her heart as swiftly as Everett, who, little do they know, is someone from her distant pasts.

Story Warning(s): Angst, descriptions of war, but I promise there's a happy ending.

Word Count: 3,915 Inspired by this audio:

When I first arrived here on this forsaken island, I tried so hard to ignore it: the haunting, shrill whispers of countless weapons, gunfire, people crying and screaming out in agony, and artillery barrage sounding as though the earth were cracking up like an egg of super-gigantic proportions tapped by a gargantuan spoon, that’s what my father, who was once a soldier himself, described it, and now and then, the unmistakable roar of aircraft hovering the starless, smokey-gray sky, ready to fire at will at any given moment, with absolutely no remorse, mercy, nor regard for the multitudinous lives that will consequently and regrettably be stolen.

I used to close my eyes and imagine I was somewhere else — some place where the only sounds to break the peaceful silence are the crickets chirping in the cattails, frogs calling to one another over the still-sounding water, or a child’s laughter. In this place, you won’t look up and see those heavy storm clouds of smoke, but an endless, purple sky where the stars pour out, and the air hasn’t been poisoned by the smell of rotting corpses, blood and ashes, instead, it smells of wildflowers and earth.

But the longer I stayed, the more suffering I saw, not even my imagination could make it go away, and the harder it became to pretend it wasn’t happening and to keep up this brave front that I’d constantly tried to put on.

People assume that my job is easy, caring for wounded soldiers, and perhaps in a way, they’re right. I should count myself fortunate that I spend most of my time shielded by the fabric of this tent and not out there with a weapon in my hand, praying that when I fall asleep, I’ll survive to fight another day, but you shouldn’t assume that we don’t have our own stories to tell, stories of hopelessness and grief and heartache.

I, too, have seen the many horrors many soldiers tell us about when we’re young and curious, I’ve seen many a man’s flesh be torn apart by bullets and shells, I’ve heard their piercing cries of pain as the poison takes over their bodies and minds. I’ve heard the desperate calls for friends long lost, and I’ve seen their eyes go cloudy as everything around them goes quiet and still as they take their last breath.

Surely there are better places for a man to die.

And it is not easy. Not in the least, and I do not wish these horrors on anyone. Not even my worst enemies, which by the way, there are few.

As I and several other members of my guild make our way down a steep hill toward the beach, trying hard not to slip and tumble all the way down to the bottom — though I will admit it would save me a lot of time and effort — I strain my ears and scan the landscape for any survivors, guided by the cries of seagulls and the sound of the ocean crashing against the sand.

My throat tightens the closer I get and my stomach churns and swirls, both from nervousness, and the monstrous waves of impending doom that threaten to pull me under minute by minute.

Reaching the bottom of the hill at last, I stand there for just a moment, frozen by fear and by sadness. Sheets of rain pour down on us, as though God Himself is trying to wash away any evidence of battle, to cleanse away that dark, crimson liquid staining the ground and tainting the once blue waters and restore the beach to its original beauty.

I wish it were that simple, to just wash it all away as if it never happened.

Many of the men here once thought the same. They’ve tried to forget, to put that part of their pasts behind them, but the dying cries of their friends and enemies, and the sounds of gunfire still plague their dreams, and not even the god of sleep has the power to take them away. For some, the memories are too much to bear and the only way for them to have some form of peace, is to drown them all in drink or to find a way to put their minds to rest permanently.

Amidst the symphony of sounds and through thick haze of smoke the smoke, I spot someone kneeling on the sand, his one arm pressing hard against his chest, inches away from where his heart should be. His damp, chestnut brown hair sticks to his forehead and his head slowly tilts upwards to look my way before he squeezes shut.

His mouth moves. I don’t know what he’s saying and it’s hard to tell if he’s speaking to me or to himself, and then he lies down on the ground. My breath hitches and wasting no more time, I trudge the sopping, wet, almost muddy ground, trying to block out everything else and get to him before it’s too late.

“Did you not hear me? I-I said leave me.”

Despite his protests, I sit down on the ground next to him and gently bring his head to rest in my lap, moving his hair out of the way and checking his body temperature with the back of my hand.

He has a terrible fever. I need to get him back to the campsite, though I cannot do it on my own without risking further injury.

Speaking of which, I need to put pressure on the wound to keep him from bleeding to death.

“Why would I do that?” I ask, tilting my head to one side.

“Because I failed. That’s why,” he replies, a mixture of anger and regret causing his voice to shake. He swallows thickly and sighs deeply. “I failed to save those I swore to protect; and it’s not that I failed once. It’s time and time again and it never ends. I was hoping to be like the great ones, hoping to be a protector, but all of my efforts have been in vain.”

His heavy-lidded, icy blue gaze shifts from the sky, to the ocean, and then to me as raindrops run down his cheeks, or maybe they’re tears.

“I’m sorry.”

Something in the way he says these two simple words pierces me. Why is he apologizing as if this whole thing is somehow his fault? I can’t say I haven’t been in the same position before. Whenever one of my patients dies in my care, I go over every possible scenario in my head, wondering what I could have done right in order to prevent it from happening. I think about their families whose lives will be shaken because I failed to help them.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I tell him after a long beat of silence and trying to figure out what to say to ease his guilt, though from experience, it is not an easy thing to do, to not blame yourself for what has happened to someone else. “No one among us could have prevented this. Some things are far beyond our control.”

I reach into my sack and pull out a small canteen that’s filled with fresh water. He shakes his head, his eyes becoming misty once more. “You shouldn’t waste this on me. I’m sure there are others who need it more. Besides, I have nothing left in me. I probably wouldn’t stand if I had the strength.”

“Well, in that case, I would carry you away from here myself,” I counter, “You might look at me and think, ‘this girl couldn’t possibly be strong enough to lift and carry a fully-grown man, but trust me, I’d find a way.”

For one split second, I see the briefest, most microscopic smile flicker across his face and if I had blinked, I may have missed it.

“Why do you treat me with such good will?” he asks, his voice sounding less scratchy now, but still tinged with sadness. “Why do you insist on being so kind and helping someone who has done you nothing? A stranger? A broken soul?”

“Because you are someone worth saving. No one deserves to die out here alone and afraid, and because you’ve done so much more for me and for many others than you’ll ever realize.”

Before I can say anything more, two uniformed men come running toward us with a stretcher and lift him onto it, carrying him towards the campsite.

For a second, my composure falters.

I stop feeling the ground beneath me and my chest tightens as though my heart might actually break, but then somehow, I am on my feet again and marching back to the tent, trying my hardest to keep the tears at bay for just a while longer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The long hours drone on and day turns into night. The rain has calmed down to a light drizzle, the thunder now a quiet, distant rumble and the time being, the sound of gunfire has ceased. We take every advantage of the opportunity to tend to the wounded, stock up on supplies, and for some of us, this may be our only chance to get some rest.

As the broken soldier lies in a bed, covered in blankets and breathing softly in and out, I sit on a wobbly wooden stool by the bed, and count the number of times his chest rises and falls, keeping track of each breath, worried that if I close my eyes, even for a second, he will slip away.

Moments ago, we gave him a sedative to keep him asleep and something for the pain while I worked on removing the bullet and managed to close up the wound. I made sure to leave it open for a little while and to check for swelling or infection before dressing it with gauze and some medical tape. Once that was done, we put him in some dryer clothes and then hung his wet uniform to dry above the fire.

His fever has gone down significantly, but he’s not out of the woods yet. He will need constant care, at least until his wound has fully healed, so for now, I stick to making sure the dressing is clean and that when he rouses now and then, he has something to drink before going back to sleep. He doesn’t say much aside from thanking me for the water or for asking me where he is.

I resist the urge to run my fingers through his dark locks or to press a gentle kiss to the side of his forehead, however, I do allow myself to hold onto his hand and whisper soft, reassuring words in his ear if I see that he’s having a nightmare.

It isn’t until the middle of the night when I hear him mutter something about two suns staring down at him and he opens his eyes again, groaning softly as they adjust to the dim lighting of the tent and they focus on my face.

“Such soft hands,” he says, running his thumb across my knuckles. “I’ve received kindness before, but not to this loving extent. I mean, I have no ties to you, but here you are, bandaging my wounds and staying awake to watch over me. I remember that sweet sorrow as I lay there in the mud, waiting to die, and then feeling your gentle touch.”

He pauses, halting his movements and then his eyes look right into mine.

“I used to be a thief. Spent my entire life on the streets, stealing what I could to survive, searching for work and being unable to maintain a job, which is how I ended up taking to this horrid lifestyle. I was hoping to redeem myself, to make my life mean something, but it seems I couldn’t even do that well.”

“Please. You mustn’t speak of yourself that way,” I respond, trying my hardest to keep my own voice from breaking. “Seeing you lying there reminded me of my father who served in the army, hoping to return to his wife and children, and I thought, maybe you had someone waiting for you. A family, a lover, children, and I wanted to make sure you got back home to them. Not only that, you saved my life once before.”

For a long time, he searches my face for something. Some semblance of someone he met long ago, a memory, and soon enough, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together.

“I was leaving a tavern late one night and these men started following me, circling around me like vultures at the feast, ravenous, looking for an easy meal. But then you stepped in and defended me. You remember that, don’t you?”

“I- I remember how terrified you were and throwing the first punch, knocking one down and then I saw you run. I never knew whether or not you got to safety, I just knew that you were away from them. Did they hurt you?”

“Thanks to you, they didn’t get the chance.”

“All this time, you remembered,” he says and a new expression comes over him. His one hand reaches outward and I feel his warm hand brush across my cheek.

“See? You’re a better man than you give yourself credit for.” I smile, leaning into his touch, wanting to remember it forever.

“And I shall never forget how you reminded me of that.” He pauses again and then breathes in deeply. “Thank you. Not just for this, but for all you’ve done for me. If it’s not too much to ask, might I stay here for just a little while longer? There’s something comforting about being with you. I can’t place what it is exactly, but all I know is that I don’t want to let it go just yet.”

“Then hold on, hold onto me for as long as you need.”

As the days unfold, the war presses on. The wounded keep coming in, seeking solace from cries of pain and the distant rumble of artillery, and I and the other nurses do their best to put an end to their pain and sorrows, to listen as they speak of their fears—fear of the battles that awaited, fear of the darkness that clung to their pasts, and fear of the unknown that lay ahead.

Each life saved carries the weight of those lost, but no matter how hard the earth around us shakes, and the bond we have formed from the threads of shared pain and healing, grows stronger. Our conversations become a lifeline, a thread weaving through the fabric of the night, binding two souls in the midst of turmoil. This tent, once a small sanctuary of respite amidst the chaos that raged beyond its flaps, transforms into a cocoon of shared stories and whispered confessions between the two of us.

He tells me more about his childhood, about how his mother died shortly after he was born, leaving him in the care of his father who was so overcome by grief that he could barely look after himself, much less a newborn. As a result, he spent most of his life in an orphanage, until he was old enough to leave. He didn’t wish to, but times were hard, and there were other young boys who needed a bed to sleep in and food to eat. That’s how he ended up as a thief, guided only by his wit and his determination to survive.

In turn, I tell him fragments of my own life — about my family, where I grew up, the endless days spent playing in the meadows with my friends, and how much my mother and I cried when my father joined the army and how happy we were when he finally came back home to us. I even tell him about when I joined the guild, the one place where I could use my skills and truly make a difference in the world.

One night, as the dim light of a flickering lantern casts shadows on the tent walls and I’m changing the bandages, I notice that the rain has stopped and that only the wind rustling the leaves on the trees and the soft snoring of the other men in the tent can be heard. It’s almost too quiet and I’m just praying it lasts.

“It’s funny. I’ve known you for so long and yet I never asked your name,” he confesses suddenly and then I remember all the conversations we’ve had. He’s right. Out of all the conversations we’ve had, not once have we asked each other what our names were.

I smile. “Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”

“You’re something else, I’ll give you that. Very well, you can call me Everett.”

“And you can call me Y/N.”

“Y/N,” he repeated, savouring the syllables. “A name as gentle as the hands that saved me.”

My cheeks suddenly feel warm. I’d like to believe that it’s because of the candles burning on the desks to keep out the chill outside, but then again, it could be because of the way Everett is looking at me with those eyes. Eyes that if I stare too long into, I might end up drowning and unable to come up for air.

“Wow. I’m sorry. That sounded a lot more poetic in my head than it did out loud.”

“Don’t apologize,” I reply, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear. “No one has ever said anything so romantic to me in my whole life.”

“Really?” He tries to sit up and adjust his position while being mindful of the stitches so they won’t tear.

I tilt my head to one side. “You sound surprised.”

“Well, if you’ll forgive me for sounding forward, but I thought you had someone back home. A husband, a lover, someone who says things like that to you all the time, but it seems to me that’s not the case.”

“No, I’m not married,” I respond, “nor do I have a lover.”

“So, I have a chance then?” He sounds so hopeful that it makes my heart skip a beat and brings a smile to my face. “I hear all the girls where you come from love rugged, rogue soldiers with messy hair.”

I laugh softly, unable to resist that charming smile of his. I cannot deny that Everett is in fact the most attractive man I’ve ever seen in my life and the bravest I’ve ever met. No one has ever made me feel those sparks and those butterflies like he does and he’s the only person who can make the outside world seem distant and out of reach even as the war presses on.

“Only if you try and get some sleep,” I whisper, gently putting my hands on his shoulders and easing him back against the pillows. “You’re sitting up well enough on your own now. That’s a good sign. How about tomorrow we shall see if we can get you up and walking again?”

“Only if you stay here with me,” he says, patting the empty spot on the bed beside me. I stare at the spot and then look over my shoulder, hesitating.

“You know, I normally have very strict rules about sleeping next to my patients, or any man I’m not married to, for that matter. However, we’re both grown adults. I will not cross any boundaries and I trust you to do the same.”

“That’s true. I am above all things, a gentleman and I give you my word of honour that I will not lay a finger on you unless you wish it.”

“Just for tonight.” I crawl into the empty space beside him. It’s not the most practical sleeping arrangement, considering how the bed is technically only big enough to fit one person, not two, and there’s little room for personal space, however, it’s not as if we’ll be locked in a passionate embrace.

We’ll just be sleeping. That’s it.

“Just for tonight,” he confirms.

It’s just like the sleepovers I had with my friends back in school, only much, much different.

I bury myself under the blankets and lay my head down on the pillow. We are so close to each other that I can feel his warm breath on my neck as he buries himself deeper under the covers and I swear he can hear my heart ramming against my chest and see the blush on my cheeks.

“See? That’s not so bad now, is it?”

Even with the lights out, I can tell he’s grinning from ear to ear and I’m sure he can tell that I’m rolling my eyes.

“Careful, or I might hit you with a pillow,” I say in a non-threatening tone.

“Ah, but if you do that, then I might have to hit you back,” Everett replies, “and if I may offer a word of advice, I think it’s only fair for me to warn you that all rules I have for the battlefield are thrown out the window when it comes to a pillow fight.”

“Hmm, now that I think about it, it would be unwise for me to challenge a soldier to a pillow fight and perhaps it’s best to keep our pillows to ourselves.”

“Smart girl,” he chuckles softly. Suddenly, I feel his lips on my cheek and lay still for a long, long time and I hear him add, “You said nothing about keeping my lips off of you.”

“Oh, well, I should have been more specific,” I shake my head and then without thinking, I lay my head down on his chest. “This doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“Y/N, you could never hurt me. Not in a million years.” He wraps his arm around me, rubbing his hand up and down my back in a comforting gesture. “If we ever make it back home—”

“When,” I correct him.

“When we make it back home, I want to marry you. I want to save up enough money to afford to buy you a proper ring.”

“I don’t need a ring. It’s a piece of jewellery and could never be as valuable as the love we feel for each other.”

“What about a house? Surely we will need a place for the nine of us to live in.”

“Nine of us?” I question.

“Yes. Nine of us. You, me, and our seven beautiful children.”

“Not so fast, Romeo. Let’s start with one and see how we feel afterwards.”

“And this is why I love you,” he says, giving me a gentle squeeze. “You’re smarter than me in so many ways and you have given me a reason to keep going, something worth fighting for.”

In the quiet, we whisper words of commitment and our hearts entwine in a dance that transcends the present chaos. We find hope in the idea that beyond the battlefield, a life awaits us beyond the confines of the makeshift shelter—a life built on love, resilience, and the promise of a tomorrow, where the echoes of war would be replaced by the laughter of a family.

And as I write to you here, dear reader, as I look out the window and see my husband and our three beautiful children playing in the meadow outside the window, I can confirm that our dreams did indeed come true, and that love does in fact, conquer all.

The End.

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia In May ~ Chapter Six

Chapter Summary: Jessie and Tommy finally spend a little time together, the two of them and the kids go on a picnic and there may or may not be ducks involved.

Chapter Warning(s): None.

Word Count: 5,067

Chapter Six

One week had passed. Life at Arrow House went on. A routine was quickly established and I took great care in sticking to it, ticking off each task like a list in my head. Predictability, to be able to know what was going to happen in advance, how things were supposed to go, and what was expected of me, eased the anxiety and gave me a sense of safety and security. Every morning, I rose early and got dressed. I always laid my clothes out on my bed the night before and had one outfit for every day of the week so I wouldn’t waste too much time picking something to wear. Then I would quietly go down the hall and wake Ruby and Charlie for breakfast.

Suffice it to say, neither of them appreciated having to leave their beds when they were just so comfortable, but we took things slow and steady, giving them time to get their bearings before I dressed them and brushed and combed their hair. Then after they’d eaten and brushed their teeth, they waited in the classroom for their instructors to come. They told me their last governess, a buxom, round-faced woman named Margot acted like a drill sergeant, practically dragging them out of bed. Charlie said if she had a whistle, she’d probably blow it to wake them up. They were also told that children should be seen and not heard.

Governesses were supposed to like children, or at least that was what I led to believe. She didn’t read to them, play with board games and cards or make up stories with them, she even brushed them away when they wanted to show her what they’d learned on the violin and piano and it hurt their feelings deeply. Long story short, they didn’t like her one bit and I can imagine the feeling was mutual, which is why she left before Thomas could fire her himself.

Now and then, we would go outside. I let the kids run around on the grass for a bit to get some fresh air in their lungs, and I would stand on the cobblestone, watching them play, like kids their age should be doing. Sometimes we drew on the driveway and played hopscotch, or we would simply sit on the grass to eat lunch. I wanted them to live life as stress-free as possible, to be kids.

Today, since the weather was nice, I’d asked Mister Shelby if I might take them out for a little drive; a change of scenery might do them some good, and maybe we would even stop by the park. Between the many business meetings and being shut up in the study, we didn’t see him much, aside from mealtimes.

He agreed, though he insisted I carry a weapon with me at all times. “Do you know how to shoot?” he asked, leaning back against his chair. There was no trace of humour in his eyes, or in his voice. This was a serious matter. Of course it was. These were his children he was talking about.

I shook my head. I had never used a gun before. I’d never even held one. The best form of self-defense I had been given was a rulebook that every woman needed to follow.

Rule number one: Never go anywhere alone, always travel in groups of three or more. Rule number two: Never venture out after dark, that’s when it’s the most dangerous. Rule number three: Stick to the roads you know. Rule number four: If anyone follows you, go into a crowded place. This way, they’ll be less inclined to do any harm. Another tactic is to shout or scream, take a few different turns and confuse them, make it as though they’re going through a maze. If all else fails, fight. Punch, kick and bite, like your life depends on it.

When I turned fifteen, the age where girls started going to parties and hanging out with boys, he became a tad more protective. He gave me a small steel dagger with a jagged edge and a wooden hilt with my grandmother’s initials carved into it. It wasn’t much, but if used correctly, he said, it could do enough damage to render my opponent defenceless and give me enough time to make my escape.

Eliza also became more protective, too. She sat me down one night after my cousins had gone to bed and gave me the talk that all mothers (or in this case, aunts) are supposed to give. It was unappealing back then.

When I explained all of this to him, he stood from his desk and unlocked a drawer. In his right hand was a revolver and I drew a long breath as he lined six led bullets up on the desk in a nice, neat row. They were gold and the tips were that odd colour between grey and blue. He loaded it and my heart lurched as I heard it click and he pointed it my way, not to hurt me, but to show me how I was supposed to hold it.

Then he unloaded it again and then went out of the room, asking me to follow. Soon we were outside and a wooden door which looked like it had been ripped off its hinges, stood in the middle of a patch of grass.

“Stand here,” he instructed, then he placed the weapon in my hand, using his own to adjust my hold on it. “All you have to do is raise it, point and squeeze the trigger. Aim for the lower chest, that’s where all of the vital organs are, or anywhere on the head. That will damage the brain.”

The anxiety wound up in my stomach once again. My eyes never left the weapon.

Maternal instincts had been instilled in me since I was a little girl and everytime I looked at Charlie, everytime he spoke or I saw his eyes twinkling, and everytime I would see Ruby walking toward me with a smile or heard her laugh, I felt something warm and endearing fill my heart.

The very idea that I needed to know how to use this, that there were people in this world who were capable of harming me or the children and that I would have to take a life in order to protect them, terrified me.

“Don’t shoot until you have a clear shot where no one else will get hurt. Once you have your target locked, shoot. Don’t hesitate. Don’t show them mercy, because they aren’t as noble and compassionate as you are. I should know.” His hands released mine and he stepped back a bit. “Now, repeat back what I just said.”

“Raise, aim for the vital spots, wait for a clear shot and then…” I heard the gun click as I squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened, of course. It wasn’t loaded.

“Very good, now let’s see if you can hit those marks, eh?” He reached into his pocket and put three of the six bullets into the cartridge and then handed the revolver back to me, standing back and placing his hands on his hips.

The weapon shook with my trembling hands and he placed one of his on top of mine again. “Sorry, I’ve never done this before.”

“Don’t worry, everyone gets nervous their first time,” he assured me, but while his tone was soft and calm, his face was serious. “But when it comes down to protecting yourself or your loved ones, you must do whatever’s necessary. I have already told the children what to do if the worst should happen. They’re more likely to take them to get to me than harm them.”

He paused again, that wandering look from when he talked about France, appearing in his eyes. Then as if coming out of a daze and remembering I was there, he continued.

“I almost lost Charlie once. He was too little to remember any of it, but one minute he was in my arms, the next he was gone. I will never forget the way my heart stopped, how it felt like the air was sucked out of my lungs and my whole world shattered. If that happens, find a safe place to hide, stay there until I come and find you. Don’t go after them yourself. I will take care of it, do you understand?”

Imagining Charlie in the hands of some monster, it made my stomach drop and my heart ache with anger. Who would ever dare to harm a child, especially a boy as sweet and innocent as he is? Exhaling, I could feel him move some hair away from my eyes with his fingers.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Shall we get back to it?” He drew a long breath and his easy smile returned and his mind came back to the present as I raised the weapon. I imagined a face, a black patch over one eye, and a sickening grin on his face. I also tricked my mind into hearing the children screaming, which motivated me. “That’s right, deep breaths. Focus. You won’t be able to do much if you can’t think clearly. Loosen your grip….Aim….and…now.”

The gun clicked, the bullet flew and made a big dent in the old door as it ricocheted off the top. Without waiting, I tried again, lowering it until it was locked onto the right (technically left) side, where the heart was located. My nose wrinkled in concentration and I almost managed to hit it, but I went too high up.

“It’s alright. That’s why we’re practising. Third time’s the charm.”

Once more, I raised the weapon and it hit right where I wanted to.

“See? You’re a natural. Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

I felt my heart race a little bit at the comment, a blush coming up on my cheeks and the heat rising to my chest. He was teasing me…I knew as much. But his tone was soft and playful and I thought I could detect a spark of flirtatiousness there, as well, but maybe it was just me overreacting?

“Are you alright?” he asked me, brushing a hand along my shoulder. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m fine,” I answered, still catching my breath and recovering from my adrenaline rush. I lowered the gun, moving my finger away from the trigger. It wasn’t loaded anymore, but I needed to be just as careful as I would be carrying scissors and knives. “I just thought of a scenario and I gave it all I had.”

“And what did you think about?”

“The kids. You.” I swallowed a lump in my throat and looked down at the ground, hoping he didn’t see the tears gathering in my eyes, but he was smarter than I was in many ways. He easily picked up on my fear and without warning, brought me into his arms, resting his chin on my head and rubbing my back soothingly.

“It’s alright. No one is going to lay a finger on them, or you. Not if I have anything to say about it, yeah?” I nodded and eased into his touch, only looking away when from the corner of my eye, I saw Frances standing near the door to the inside of the house, leaning on the frame as she caught her breath.

“Mister Shelby, is everything alright? I thought I heard gunshots and I came as quickly as I could!”

“Everything’s alright, I’m just initiating the new governess, that’s all. I’m sorry if I worried you there for a moment.” She seemed to know what he meant and I could sense the relief on her face. “Are the children awake yet?”

She shook her head. “Yes, sir. They’ve been asking for Jessie.”

“Tell them she’s talking to Daddy and that she’ll be there soon.”

“Of course,” she nodded. “Will there be anything else?”

“No. Thank you. That will be all.”

Frances retreated back inside and I could see her own worries lifting a little at seeing his friendly, reassuring smile. One of the main reasons I loved my place at the Shelbys was that Ruby and Charlie clearly followed their father’s example, saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and apologising when they unintentionally did or said something wrong.

They even volunteered to help cook and clean sometimes. I am not proud to say that not all households I had stayed in treated their staff with the same level of respect and gratitude as they did. A few of the maids I’d eventually become friends with told me the very same thing.

Eventually, I would learn that this was because Thomas knew what it was like to have every bit of dignity stripped away. He also knew that no matter how far up the social hierarchy he and the rest of his family managed to climb, or how legitimate they became, who they were and where they were from, would always be a harsh reminder that politicians, judges, lords and ladies, would look down upon them, never admit them into their palaces, as he’d said, and would treat them like the scum of the earth.

“Would you care to join me?” he asked suddenly.

“Join you, Mister Shelby?” I tilted my head to one side, confused.

“Tonight,” he added.

My pulse quickened. I was surprised by the question to say the least. Or maybe it was because my thoughts had started to wander and twist the meaning of his words. I knew I should probably say something to avoid looking foolish. “Do you mean….”

He raised an eyebrow and a smirk made its way onto his face. “What?”

“I…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. My mouth went dry, my tongue felt like it had gone numb. I couldn’t put my words together. I was completely and utterly speechless and it was humiliating. I knew I was flushing, just like I did that night at the dinner table when all he did was push in my chair for me like any other gentleman would do. In the background, I could hear the birds singing in the trees and a little grey squirrel scampered up the trunk and into its nest.

Realisation hit him and he laughed. “There’ll be plenty of time for that, love, I promise, but there are other things I wish to do first. After all, I don’t have just anyone in my bed. Unless that’s what you want, I’ll be happy to oblige.”

He paused and the pressure in my chest dissolved.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

“Have you ever laid with a man?” His voice dropped and I looked at him, astonished. He was bold, perhaps a bit too blunt, but there was also that mischievous glimmer from before.

“I—” I paused and then shook my head. “Those are not the sorts of questions you should be asking a lady, Mister Shelby.”

He stared at me for a few moments and then nodded, acknowledging his error and kicking up a bit of dirt with his boot. “Forgive me, that was a bit rude of me to ask such questions. I was going to say, before I let myself get carried away, that we could have dinner together, just you and I.”

“What about the kids, are you sure they’ll be alright without us?”

“I have already asked Johnny if he could take the kids for a few hours. He’s coming by later to pick them up. They’ll be happy over there and would probably stay all day long if I let them.”

I wasn’t sure who Johnny was, but if Thomas trusted him with his kids, that meant he was harmless and I wouldn’t have to worry about their safety while we were together.

Later, I walked with the kids to the car. When I told them we were going on a picnic, they were positively thrilled. They’d hoped their father would be coming along with us, and I was prepared to tell them that he’d join us another time, but to my surprise, just as I was about to climb into the driver’s seat, he came running out of the house and said he didn’t have anything important to do so he’d be joining us after all.

I wish I could have captured the look on their faces. I’d never seen them smile so brightly, and I could tell it had been a while since Thomas saw them smile like that, too. They were glad that he was finally going to be spending some time with them outside of meals, which was exactly what they’d been hoping for.

“We’re not taking the car,” he said, inclining his head and Charlie stepped out.

“Then how are we going to get there?” he asked. Ruby climbed out after him and their eyes met their father’s. I also wondered what sort of tricks this man had up his sleeve. With a smile, he made a motion with his head for us to follow him, which we did and when at last we stopped, we were standing a little ways away from a vardo, a traditional horse-drawn wagon held up by four wheels, with two being used for steering.

This one was painted a mossy green. Brown curtains provided a suitable entrance as well as shelter from the harsh rays of sunlight. A green tarp covered the bow-top roof and a black horse stood. He was content enough to munch on the blades of grass that sprouted at his hooves while he was waiting. The whole scene looked like something I had seen in a Van Gogh painting!

The kids glanced at each other and ran up ahead, seeing who could get to it first, and once they did, they climbed inside, already itching to get going. It was a good thing I held off telling them about the plans we had made until now or else they probably wouldn’t have slept the whole night because they would be too excited.

“Come on!” Charlie said, impatiently, waving me over with his hand in an exaggerated way. I could hear Thomas chuckle beside me and when I turned my head to look at him, his smile reached all the way up to his eyes.

“We’d better hurry, or they might leave without us,” he said, slipping his hand through mine and then without warning, he took off into a sprint, practically dragging me along with him. We eventually caught up with the kids, who were sitting inside and waving at us. There was a three-step ladder that they could use to climb in, and they were short enough not to bump their heads on the roof. Whereas Thomas and I needed to duck.

The inside looked fancy and well-kept, and there were some built-in seats up near the front where the driver and a few other people could sit and brown curtains that could be drawn to keep out the sunlight, or to provide a little bit more privacy.

One of my uncle’s dearest friends’ name was Patrin Holland, but everyone else called him ‘Paddy.’ He had one that looked almost exactly like this one, except now and then there would be these stunning pieces of antique furniture that they would take from the side of the road, items that were often discarded and would otherwise rot away, polish them, give them a fresh coat of paint and they would look almost brand new.

“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure,” he would say.

His main occupation was training and trading race horses, but now and then he would stop by the cottage for a chat and a cup of tea and would let the children go for a ride in the vardo if they wanted to, and it didn’t come as a surprise that the answer was always ‘yes.’ Alice always said it was better than Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage, because there was no magic spell that had been cast on the vardo to make it look beautiful, it was perfect the way it was.

They often wondered why we couldn’t have one, but Eliza and Albert said that they didn’t have any room for one. Plus, if we did, it would make the rides in Paddy’s less special.

Paddy and his wife, Sarah, had six children of their own. Four boys and two girls. Their oldest son, Django, was (and still is) one of my dearest friends and one of the kindest, most loyal men I’d ever met. He was tall, with beautiful brown hair and brown eyes and he had a warm laugh that made me feel at ease, even when I didn’t feel like smiling, or laughing.

Eliza used to tease me and say we might end up married someday, and really, I wouldn’t say ‘no’ if he asked me. She wasn’t even mad when I told her I’d once snuck out of the house one night and walked to his family’s camp. The air was cool, it was nearing the end of summer and autumn was making its entrance a little earlier than usual. He’d just come back from collecting wood for the fire and as soon as he saw me, his face lit up.

We sat on a log in front of the fire while his father put the younger kids to bed and his mother washed the laundry and pinned it up on the clothing wire. She did her own washing, but she also did the washing for her friends and neighbours. The girls, Theodora and Tillie, would often pitch in and help and came with their mother on errands.

Crickets chirped in the long grass and the full moon was shining, a rare sight in these parts. It was actually pretty romantic, much so in fact, that he kissed me. I had never been kissed before, but I knew what to expect. It would be awkward at first, and it kind of was, but then as we got more comfortable with it, and each other, it became more and more like the kisses I’d read about.

And that was pretty much it. We didn’t say a whole lot and sure enough, I went back home. I didn’t want Eliza and Albert to worry or to think something bad happened to me. No, it was the total opposite.

She was on the bottom step when I got home. She looked pale and I knew there was no sense hiding the truth about where I’d gone and who I was with. I trusted her with everything that was going on in my life and she was… thrilled. Was it because she was relieved, or because I’d just kissed a boy? Something she evidently never imagined me doing in her wildest dreams.

“Something on your mind, love?” Thomas asked in jest, his voice light and joking as he settled into his own seat. Coming back to the present moment, I looked around the vardo as Charlie adjusted his position on the seat. Ruby laid her head on my shoulder and I brought a hand up to stroke her hair. She was smiling, too.

“Just thinking,” I replied.

“About what?” she asked, her eyes were big and bright.

“About how excited I am,” I said, and it’s true. I was excited. I hadn’t gone on a picnic since last autumn, but now that it was nice and warm outside, it seemed like a good opportunity to get some fresh air.

He then turned to me with a teasing smile and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. I could see now where Charlie got his good humour and mischief from. It was as clear as day.

“Well in that case, I hope you’re ready for an incredibly lavish picnic day,” he commented, his tone playful and flirty.

“I’m never one to pass up some fine dining!” I replied with a laugh of my own. With a flick of the reins, we started driving out of the estate into the countryside and took in all of the sights for the first time. It really was a beautiful day, and the bright, warm sunshine added a certain ambiance to the trip. I could feel my heart feel a little lighter as we left the estate behind and started the journey.

Despite it being only my second day working for Thomas and Charlie, I was really beginning to feel welcome in this family, as though we had known each other for years, and I felt my heart warm with each passing moment spent in their comfortable presence.

“Such a beautiful day,” I said. The place was beautiful, the sun shone on the lake, making the water shimmer. The soft breeze blew through the neighbouring trees and tall grass. We got out of the wagon together and I took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air.

“It is indeed,” Thomas agreed with a soft smile as he looked around, his eyes full of delight and happiness as he let out a sigh of satisfaction. He really did seem to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

“Look! Look at the ducks!” said Ruby, pointing a little ways ahead of us to where a family of ducks were swimming in the lake. I knelt down beside her to get a closer look at them.

“There’s four of them! A mama, a papa and two little babies,” I said in glee after seeing how cute they were, playing and swimming in the lake below.

“Just like us,” said Charlie, putting a hand on my shoulder, then turned to his father. “Right, Daddy? That one’s you, Jessie’s the mama, that one’s me and Ruby’s the smallest one.”

“You’re right, that does look like us,” he nodded.

“Daddy’s making a lot of noise,” Ruby giggled and I smiled at her.

“Daddy does make a lot of noise, doesn’t he?” I asked jokingly.

“Yeah,” said Charlie and Thomas gasped in mock offence.

“I do not!” he said.

“Do to,” Ruby argued, moving from her spot, over to her dad.

“I can’t wait to tell my cousins!” he exclaimed with a grin.

“Hold on! I have an idea!” I reached into my brown bag, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen. I turned to an empty page and began to draw the ducks. Charlie watched me as the pen moved across the paper.

“How do you do that?” he commented.

“Magic!” I replied, putting up my hands and their eyes widened.

“Can you draw a cat, too?” Ruby asked, looking up at me with a curious expression. I smiled back at her, then once I was done with the ducks, I began to sketch a cute little cat on the paper and a yarn ball.

“What about a soldier?” asked Charlie. “Or a teddy bear.”

“Not sure if I can draw a soldier, but I can draw a teddy bear.”

Beside the cat, I drew a teddy bear. It wasn’t anything spectacular, just a few quick little doodles.

“Daddy, look at the kitty cat.”

“How charming!” Thomas exclaimed enthusiastically, looking over my shoulder at the little drawing I had made of the cat.

“Meow!” Charlie said, mimicking a cat.

“Meow!” Ruby repeated.

“Meow!” I replied.

“Daddy, you try,” said Ruby.

“Oh, do I look like I can do a good cat meow?” Thomas teased with a playful smile. She sat up and then got on her knees, holding one of her white hair ribbons above his head, like it was an actual cat toy, a pleading look on her face and a grin appeared on Charlie’s face.

Tommy couldn’t hide his delight at the challenge, and he began to make quiet purring noises from his chest, laughing to himself as he did his best impression of a cat purring. He pantomimed a pretend cat’s paw in the air, his voice trying its best to mimic meows.

Even if it wasn’t the best cat impression I’d heard, there was something very endearing about the noises this grown man was making just to put a smile on the faces of his children who were giggling non-stop now. I found myself smiling happily along as well as I watched the three of them.

“Well, do you think that’s an accurate depiction of a cat, or am I too far off the mark?” he asked with a small, joking laugh.

“No, I think that’s pretty accurate.” I chuckled softly.

I couldn’t help but feel my heart flutter and my stomach flip just the slightest bit and I felt myself slowly inching closer towards him in response, pulled in by the pull of that invisible magnetic force. I tried my best to hold back a little blush that was rising on my face.

“Can we eat now? I’m absolutely starving!” Charlie announced excitedly, looking towards the basket that sat a few inches away from where we were sitting.

“Me, too,” said Ruby. “Daddy, listen. My tummy’s making noises.”

He pressed his ear to her stomach and nodded. “It sounds hungry.”

I stood up and heard her giggle as he scooped her up in his arms.

“Wanna help me get the basket, Charlie?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He followed me back to the vardo and we brought the basket with us and put it on the ground.

“Alright, let’s see.” I opened the basket and looked inside as if I were looking into a chest of treasures. “My, my! What do we have here? Some sandwiches, a jug of lemonade, now this is a perfect picnic if I’ve ever seen one!”

The kids happily ate their lunch and chattered excitedly, tossing the crusts of the bread to the ducks and I laid down on the grass, listening to the wind rustling in the treetops and hills all around us.

Ruby crawled across the grass and laid down beside Thomas, putting her head on his chest. “Daddy, can we do this everyday?”

“Wouldn’t you get tired of it, my darling?”

“I guess,” she shrugged.

“Every other day?” Charlie asked, hopefully.

He laughed and I closed my eyes. Tomorrow, there would be new problems and challenges to face, but for now, we continued to eat sandwiches and drink lemonade and feed ducks, enjoying the peace and quiet. It was nice just to disappear for a few hours, anonymous, where no one could find us.

To be continued!

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