~Water Reeds~

In Your Eyes I See Dead Love

They had talked of weather, parties and business. They talked in pleasantries and implied money matters. The proposition itself was talked of little- only mentioned once- but after an approving nod from both Mr Kirkland and Mr Reed the deal was sealed. In just a nod of the head Arthur Kirkland was to be betrothed to Eleanor Reed.

After the meeting Arthur left calmly. He had left with a smile and with a laugh, as did his mother. Out of the presence of others his steps became brisk, the happiness gone. He strode down the hallway, his mother hot on his heels. A murderous expression claimed his face and his skin became hot with rage.

"How dare he!" He slammed the library door open with such force it had the potential to fly off its hinges. His mother hung back by the doorway, watching him stomp around the room with a grim look upon her face.

Arthur paced back and forth growling and muttering under his breath for a few minutes before reaching his limit. His anger burst forth and he lashed out, kicking at his mother's worn armchair she often read on. His foot travelled straight through the fabric covering the side of the seat, creating a large hole.

"Bugger!" Arthur cursed as he reeled back, hissing in pain. For a moment he was too preoccupied with his throbbing toes to realize what he had just done but once he did he span to face his mother, his face morphing into one of guilt. "Mother, I..."

He knew the armchair had some kind of sentimental value to her. She had once mentioned that her Uncle Russell had given it to her- the man who had apparently travelled all over the world. He was treated as a bit of a mad man by the family but Arthur's mother had always spoke quite fondly of him and Arthur knew it most definitely meant something when she spoke fondly of someone. He had never even heard her speak that fondly of himself so Uncle Russell must have been a great man.

He could only watch in silence as his mother stepped past him to inspect the chair, unable to summon any form of apology. She crouched by the hole and ran her fingers along the damaged material. She took her time in getting up (all the while keeping her back turned to Arthur). When she was once again upright he heard the smallest of sighs pass her lips before she faced him again.

She spoke to him as she always did, seemingly unfazed by the matter. Arthur knew better. "Let us talk in the Rose garden. It seems I will not be able to make use of this room for some time yet. I'll have to get Jones on it."

They travelled to the garden without much thought to which turns they should make in the expansive halls of their home. Arthur knew this route as well as the back of his hand. The number of times he had escaped his father by scampering off to the gardens was far too many to count. The idea of escape was used by his mother too- who also enjoyed the solitude the secluded rose garden supplied. They enjoyed the isolation together.

Quite gracefully his mother took up her usual space on the white bench and patted the spot beside her, much like she had done so many years ago. Arthur complied with little hesitation, joining her on the seat, mouth still set in an uncomfortable frown.

Arthur was waiting for his mother to speak which took some time. She let the silence drag on for a while, the only sound permeating the air being the occasional chirp of a bird and the rustle of leaves. Eventually she began in a solid-sounding voice yet she did not look at her son as she spoke. Her eyes were steely, fixed dead ahead, staring intently at the sparrows that fluttered and splashed in the bird bath.

"I wish to tell you about when I married your father."

Arthur, who had also been watching the birds, snapped to face his mother. He had not been expecting her to say that. He had never expected to hear about this particular part of his mother's life, especially not from his mother herself.

"I was very young- younger than you now. I was younger than the Reed girl. It was arranged by my parents without my knowledge. I thought it was coincidence that your father and I always attended the same parties, gatherings, social functions... And when he asked to dance with me or wanted to walk with me or steal a kiss by the fountain I thought that was all him. I thought he did that all on his own initiative. So when he eventually proposed I thought that too was his own imitative- his own love. But it was all set up. Your grandparents were scheming fiends Arthur. They were so clever about it but also so cruel."

Arthur was shocked. What was he hearing? These were his mother's innermost thoughts and feelings. They were not something she told people about- even him.

"Do you now the worse part Arthur?" He shook his head. She smiled ruefully at him. "I fell in love with him along the way. He was rather dashing back in the day and quite the charmer, and I... I was a silly frivolous girl. Foolish."

He really didn't know what to say. Was he even meant to say anything? Somehow that didn't seem wise. His mother was not one to be comforted by a pat on the back or some feeble words. Yet he wanted to do something- he couldn't bare hearing about this. He didn't want to hear about the events that changed his mother irrevocably. He found himself worrying her words may push him to hate his father, alike the hatred she felt. No matter how much he loved his mother Arthur did not wish to become like her. He was already halfway there and was unwilling to be pushed off the edge into the dark pit of detestation.

He thought of Alfred. He forced his smiling face to appear in his mind, to let it engulf him, to drown out the abhorrence.

"He will try the same thing with you Arthur." His mother continued gravely, gazing down with empty eyes at the golden strip wrapped around her ring finger. "He learnt many things from your grandparents. He will make it happen again since it worked so well the first time. You will be him and she will be me. You have to trick Eleanor Reed."

I made this short just to keep the cogs turning in my brain for this story. I need to keep it in motion!