Chapter 3
Suzette skittered from one side to the next. She was more manageable than Cain (who had taken a liking to bringing home amphibians and planting them in various areas of the house in hopes of scarring the servants and Lenora).
I turned the page of my text book.
Suzette screamed and I looked up sharply.
"EW!! GROSS!! IT'S A TOAD!!" Suzette screamed, running from Cain who had caught another hapless frog. It wasn't poisonous (thankfully), but I set the book down and chased after them.
"Cain Christopher Hargreaves!" I shouted, pulling him away from Suzette, "Put that back where you found it!"
"You're not the boss of me!" he shouted back, squirming.
If I remember, when Cain started bringing home frogs, I finally began to exercise proper discipline with him. "Cain, I mean it! Put the frog back!"
"NO!!" Cain screamed. The frog squirmed in his hands and Cain held tighter. I feared he might kill the poor thing.
"Cain! I'm not messing around here," I growled. Cain stopped squirming and the fearful look in his eyes came back. I didn't like disciplining Cain any more than he liked being disciplined. He understood that if he didn't put the frog back, he'd be spanked.
Yes. I dared. The first time I did, I felt terrible and went to talk to Uncle Neil. It wasn't my place to discipline as such, but when the frogs kept coming, Neil thought that it'd be better if I held a disciplining hand (even if it was more for the sake of the frogs and the servants).
I let Cain go and he ran back to the lake still holding onto the frog. I followed, making sure the poor frog didn't die in the four-year-old's hands. Cain set the frog down in the water and ran back. I saw the frog dive underwater and smiled at Cain, ruffling his hair.
"You need to leave them alone, ya wobbly duck," I said.
"I'm not a duck," Cain snapped, pouting. He ran around so much, that I was reminded of a duck, so I took to calling him a "wobbly duck." I ignored Cain's protest to his nickname.
"How would you like it if you were snatched up and were taken away from home?" I asked him.
Cain's eyes widened.
"You'd be scared, right?"
Cain nodded.
"That's how the frogs feel when you take them from the lake back to the house. If you want a pet, we can talk to Uncle Neil or Mother, but leave the wildlife around the house alone, alright?"
"Okay."
Cain ran back to the house. "Suzette! I got frog slime!"
Suzette screamed and ran away from Cain. I wanted to slap my hand to my head. Now I had to deal with him bullying Suzette.
Well, he wasn't bullying the frogs anymore. Or so I hoped. Suzette ran behind me and tried to make me a safe haven from Cain. I hoisted Suzette into my arms and placed her on my shoulders.
"Horsey!"
And I still had homework to do too…
I trudged along the path beside Ben. Cain hopped beside me. Sometimes he'd run ahead and then beg me to get some candy or a toy. Each time, I refused. I hadn't much money to spare and yet Cain didn't seem to make that connection. Instead, he thought I was purposefully being "mean."
"Your brother really is spoiled."
"He's still more bearable in comparison to Oscar," I said. "Last year, he kept making stuff up about me. Now, that brat's saying that if I really want to court Alice, I have to go through a series of tests set up by him. He's so pathetic, it's sickening. Thank the Lord, Cain at least behaves."
"Hate to break it to you, Jiz, but that's only because Cain looks up to you."
"Jiz! Can I take him home?" Cain asked, running by holding a kitten.
Oh shit, I thought. A kitten…he's figured out my weakness. "Er…well…"
"Mew."
I caved in. "I guess it'll be alright, but hold her more gently."
"It's a boy."
Great, now I'd have to explain how to tell the difference to Cain. "No, Cain, it's a girl," I corrected, gently taking the kitten from him and showing him the proof of the kitten's gender. After quickly explaining it in a way that Cain could understand, he literally said that he guessed that I'd be smarter at him about that. Well…he was right…I showed him how to hold her. "Cain, wait!"
"What?"
"Don't run with her. If you want to run, give her to me."
Cain waited for me to catch up before handing me the kitten and running off again. Ben laughed.
"Jiz, I want your brother."
"I'm not switching with you. I don't want to deal with a hell child."
"And your brother's an angel?"
"I never said that," I snapped, stroking the kitten's head. She purred loudly and curled up in a ball against my chest. I smiled. So cute…
"Hey, Jizabel, is it true that you figured out what you want to do with your life since you can't take over the family?"
I nodded. I decided to become a multi-practice physician. In other words: I'd be a veterinarian, a pediatrician, and a normal physician.
Is that not clear enough? I was aiming to be the Hargreaves' family doctor and a veterinarian on the side. I was fascinated by biology and the development of diseases and since the Hargreaves' needed a reliable doctor…
Well, who better than a relative, right?
I explained this to Ben. I don't think he got it.
"But…wouldn't that require a lot of schooling? You'll be in college for ages!"
"True, but it's what I want to do."
"But if you want to be the family physician, then why be a veterinarian also? Don't you just need to be a normal doctor?"
"I don't want to live off just my Uncle's inheritance," I snapped. "And you just saw what happened. When it comes to animals, I can't seem to help myself. I've had to rescue frogs from Cain not a month ago. He kept bringing them inside and rough housing with them. I've never been so angry with him. Each time, I've snapped."
"You become a different person when it comes to animals, don't you?"
"You've no idea," I admitted. I looked in front of me and stopped. "Where's Cain?"
"Eh?" Ben looked around and we both turned to each other, worried.
"CAIN!!"
"CAIN HARGREAVES, WHERE ARE YOU?!!" I shouted, startling the kitten. She looked at me wide eyed. I petted her head to calm her and myself.
"Found him," Ben said, pointing behind us at a carriage. Cain was standing in front of it. I handed the kitten to Ben and ran after Cain. I grabbed him around the waist and pulled him away.
"Cain, what are you doing?"
"But he said he had candy."
"That's a lie," I snapped at him, carrying him away.
"Is he your cousin?" the man asked, stepping out of the carriage. I turned to him, glaring as hard as I could. The man had strait brown hair and a stare that frightened me. He was older than I was, but certainly still considered young.
"Leave us," I snarled at him. I was surprised, but glad, that I sounded braver than I felt. Even Ben shook, but stood his ground. The man raised an eyebrow.
"I guess not. Perhaps closer? Your younger brother?"
I turned around and kept walking away, I forced Cain's head against my shoulder, trying to hide his eyes from that man. I don't know who he was. A noble, certainly, but the air around him was sickening and horribly uncomfortable.
Cain didn't protest. I think deep inside, he understood that something about that man was wrong.
The man's hand grabbed my shoulder forcing me to turn around. He took my hand and set a few gumdrops in my hand.
He smirked and walked away.
"Creep," Ben said when the man finally entered his carriage again. "I don't know about you, but that guy really made my spine tingle."
"I got the same reaction. Cain," I said.
"Am I in trouble?" he asked, looking at me sadly.
"No," I answered, putting him down. "But never do that again. If anyone stops and offers you candy or anything, run as fast as you can and scream for help. Do you understand, Cain?"
"But he did have candy," Cain said.
I looked at the gumdrops in my hand and looked around. I walked toward the river and threw the gumdrops into the river.
Cain didn't protest in any way when I returned. I picked him back up and we continued walking back home.
I hoped that we'd never encounter that man again as long as we lived.
