Making a Home
Chapter 10:
Word About Town
By Ranma15177
AN: As usual, I'm in the hole on updating. I apologize. I've been incredibly busy. I hope to be updating more often soon. Maybe if they force me into jury duty like they seem to want to… not my favorite prospect.
As always I want to say a huge thank you to Cullenista the writer of the story "Blue Moon Over Manka's," which is an excellent relationship story, for doing the beta for this story. It's always nice to have a sounding board and she's definitely one of the BEST! She let me keep my strange Britisism in this chapter. : )
Alrighty… On with the show!
Chapter 10
CPOV
It had been another three months since that night in the rain. Esme was slowly getting more integrated to her new life, and body. She hardly ever broke things due to her strength, and although she still needed to feed often, the bloodlust was more manageable for her. I didn't ever ask her personally about this, but it is what Edward insisted to be true, and my son would know people's minds better than anyone else.
We had cleared off the destroyed remains of Edward's piano from the parlor, the strings, ivory, and pedals sold off and against my better judgment Edward had burned the remains. A 'bonfire of the vanities' he had called it, and I knew that he just simply couldn't stand the thought of the wood rotting away…
Either way, we were in the midst of purchasing a new piano, and there was some holdup at the auction house that was making Edward downright impatient. 'You would be too if your one constant diversion was absent.' He'd said one day, and I realized immediately that he was right. What would my life be like without my research?
Speaking of preoccupations… the house was now in remarkable shape. We had left behind frightening and rundown a long time ago, and we were now at a stage that Esme called "Comfortable Construction Revival." I wasn't sure at what point we'd reached this plateau, whether it was when the new staircase went in, or when she'd resealed the windows so that the inside wasn't sharing the outside, but it was now well worth the work involved. I was amazed at her progress, and with every book she read she'd become a bit more of an expert.
It wasn't often that I didn't find Esme tending her beautiful garden, or working on the house in some fashion. She was currently not bustling about though, and it made me wonder at how focused she was on the projects around her. She was just as crazy about the renovations on the house as I was about being a physician.
"I would argue more-so." Edward looked up from his sheet music and continued to scribble out notes against the shadows from the fire of the oil lamps placed strategically for the benefit of others. We didn't really need light… but if someone were to come by, it would be strange for us to be awash in darkness.
"Yes… I sometime break to do other things," I smiled with his comment. He knew full well that Esme and I were often to be seen wandering those gardens together. I would often use the time at night to tell her stories of my past, and she would take my arm and listen. She would interject with comments and sometimes laughter. On a rare occasion she would "cry" and at those moments I often found myself comforting her and feeling that even at the saddest times I felt happy and complete in spite of myself. The last few weeks I had been away more often, and been devoting more time to research than I would particularly like… but Esme swore to me that she understood.
"Sometimes, although I agree that you are both incredibly focused, especially you of late. I would say that it probably makes it easier to avoid things." Edward spoke with a very muted tone and continued to compose his music.
"I'm not particularly avoiding anything at current. If you would like to do a few of my case files I wouldn't argue," I prompted. "More time for fun would not meet with any objections. I wonder how others in the field do it sometimes. It really is a twenty-four seven kind of job."
"Throw the cases on my desk. I'm not busy, as long as the diagnosis isn't complicated… I've been through most of your medical journals now Father… I would probably make for a respectable physician, if not for the fact that people are filled with blood." Edward said this last bit with a small touch of frustration.
'Is that something you'd be interested in?' I asked silently. I was quietly pleased with the notion of Edward following in my footsteps like a son would… it was somehow satisfying.
"Medical school probably wouldn't be a bad avenue. I think the challenge would be within my means," Edward continued aloud. "I'm not sure that my control is anywhere near to your own. I often feel an almost unholy pull toward certain individuals, and I don't know that I could resist if I had them bleeding profusely in front of me."
"Don't feel badly Edward… I honed my craft over centuries. It's not a lack of skill or trying. It's sensitivity. You aren't very old yet, maybe in ten or twenty years?" I consoled. "Honestly, I always thought that you would be interested in law…"
"Are we expecting company?" Edward asked before I could continue my thought, and he must have known what I was going to say. His reluctance was enough to make me stop the line of conversation.
"It's probably Curtis. If I'd known going to that blasted function of his would have made him believe that it was an invitation to pop by whenever, I'd have told him to pull the other one." I rolled my eyes and felt a small wave of annoyance.
I sighed and allowed myself a small smile, "Still, it is nice that he thinks of us. I suppose it's a sign we left a good impression that every time he sees me I'm in for an evening. It always ends in me coughing up something unpleasant, but he's trying, and I can't fault the intent. The fact that he hasn't been by the house without any notice since that first time was keeping me happy… I wonder what would cause him to change that now?"
"I don't know, it's definitely him. He's humming kind of nervously to himself right now… so that's not particularly helpful to you. Oh, and he's rather afraid of the dogs." Edward sighed. "Honestly, I'm surprised he's speaking with us. Did you know that he was deeply offended when I didn't dance with his daughter?"
I felt my brow arch at his remark.
Edward continued before I could comment, "Before you say anything, I didn't do it out of spite to cause the reaction. I just didn't appreciate the way she was thinking about me. Not to mention that she had honestly spread a rumor that Esme didn't come because she thinks she's too good for all of them. I was offended, especially since we'd made her excuses."
"I suppose I can't fault you for feeling protective." I smiled back. "Now… speaking of our dulcet angel… where is Esme?"
"Esme," here Edward paused with a smile knowing that he was only calling her attention directly to us. "Esme, is upstairs darning an afghan… if you'd believe that… for the local pumpkin festival. She says that as your wife she has to give people a good opinion of us. She thinks the way to go is to help raise funds for the local schoolhouse. If I do ever get back to my education, I fear that we're going to be up to our eyeballs in quilts and sweaters." Edward answered back. "We have about two minutes before our company arrives."
"I heard that Edward!" Esme called back, "Both things! I'm proud to play whatever small part I can in this life we live! What kind of sister and wife would I be if I didn't provide some small service to the community?
The object of my affection came literally gliding down the polished stairs and into my embrace. Esme looked into my eyes before continuing, "Especially the wife of a country doctor? I'm supposedly bed ridden… so that leaves me plenty of time to knit, sew, and craft. I've been planting a…" Esme took a large swallow and looked a bit panicked for a second.
"Esme?" I could hear the concern in my own voice.
"How about we go down to the stream and find some proper stones for the garden?" Edward took Esme's hand and smiled indulgently. "He's going to be here any second Esme… and you're losing your composure, I know that you've been meaning to do this regardless." They left quickly in a flash of wind and I was left alone in the house.
"I'll come get you when he's gone," I intoned after them just as a loud knock sounded on the door.
"Dr. Cullen!" The knock came more forcefully than before. "Dr. Cullen!" This was obviously more than a visit for the sake of visiting… he was always in the habit of calling me Carlisle.
I opened the door to the house and the bank man walked through my door, taking off his hat and worrying it in his hands. "Curtis." I welcomed him with a nod and he did likewise.
"There's been some kind of disturbance in town, and I wanted to let you know before it came to you." The older man seemed to be extremely confused and bothered about something.
"Please Cutis, I'm sure I don't know what's going on… but I would be more than happy to clear up any confusion that might be lingering…" I tried to be calming, but I wasn't sure how effective it was considering the fact that I was becoming worried. "With the way that you were banging away, you'd swear the villagers were coming with pitchforks and torches… they aren't… are they?" I asked in a manner that I hoped would be received as a joke.
"Oh, of course not Carlisle, I would never let something like that happen!" He smiled warily back. "It has to be some kind of ridiculous misunderstanding."
"These sorts of things usually are…" I hedged. Although, without Edward's mind reading abilities I was at a bit of a disadvantage since I still had no idea exactly what was going on. "Curtis, please, I'm at a loss…"
"Sorry Carlisle, I feel like I'm going on like one of those ladies who gossip around town. Unfortunately I think your lovely wife might be the height of their list for months with this little disturbance. There is a man here from out of town who was asking after you. He seemed a little unbalanced, so everyone was giving him a wide berth, but at the Tavern at the Inn he really started to ask questions. Where did you live? Did you have anyone living with you? Who they were? Was one of them named "Esme?" The bank manager looked at me and waited for me to react.
"Did you satisfy his curiosity?" I asked feeling as if the world was shifting under me.
"I was called up by the tavern keeper, I never even met the guy personally. She didn't want to tell the guy anything, but that Cissy Lewis… she's got a mouth on the back of her head. She told him just about everything." Curtis seemed disappointed with this "Miss Lewis," and to be honest I was a little angry with her as well. "I hate to be giving you second hand information, but with Cissy running her mouth I figured I should come see you first."
"Thank you Curtis, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. Do you know what he did say?" I asked with a bit of trepidation. "Did this man have a name?"
"He said his name was Charles Evanson… that his wife's name was Esme Evanson. This guy said that he's been searching for his spouse who ran away over a year ago. He implied that you must have run away together when Esme told her mother and father where she was and that he was here because he'd followed you." Curtis raised his eyebrow at me. "I want to believe that you're free of any wrongdoing here Carlisle, but the way Esme is shut in… the way that no one has ever met her. You can only imagine that people are jumping to conclusions…"
I didn't know what to tell him. Certainly I couldn't just compromise Esme's safety or her good name. I also knew that it was a matter of time before Charles was at our door. I had almost allowed myself to fantasize about having the opportunity to have an altercation with the cad that once called himself Esme's husband, but I had believed that such a thing would never occur.
We had always been so careful about moving, and Edward had not been believed to have been missed in such a widespread epidemic we hadn't really even had to worry about finding a replacement for his "corpse." Unfortunately I had not gone about establishing a death for Esme, because of the way that she'd "died."
I'd recorded it in a haphazard sort of way with the state of Ohio. Unfortunately everyone in town seemed to know Esme, so it was easier for her to just "disappear" instead of going to the trouble of giving her a funeral and the opportunity for someone to open an autopsy with the real possibility once again of someone figuring it out.
Looking back and remembering the story she had told, I had been careless. Now… we had to find a way to fix all of this while also not killing Charles, because that was a real solution. One I was not sure if I was willing to entertain, even if he was the lowest, basest kind of monster.
Esme would never want this… My love would not want me or Edward to lower ourselves to this kind of revenge. She'd already turned such a thing down although I had offered it in honesty. Now I had to deal with Curtis.
"Thank you Curtis. The claim is baseless. The gentleman was one of my patients, and he was unstable. He grew an unusual attachment to my wife, and we left my previous practice to avoid further contact. You can understand why we would be discreet about such a thing." I offered and Curtis shook his head, agreeing immediately.
"That's exactly what I thought might be happening. I knew there had to be some rational explanation." His voice sounded relieved.
"Thank you Curtis. I shudder to think what might have happened if we had been unaware of his presence. He could have hurt Esme or her brother…" I shook his hand and he looked around warily.
"I'm impressed Carlisle. This place used to be a real pit." Curtis intoned and I couldn't help but agree.
"Yes. My Esme is a marvel. She has really done wonders to this old place." I backed up his earlier statement with one of my own and a smile.
"Where are the dogs?" He asked with a wary expression.
"Edward is out right now… the dogs are with him." I smiled in a way I hoped would be comforting. "They should be back again soon."
"Well, that would be my cue to leave! Thank you for the hospitality Carlisle." The bank manager placed his hat back on his head. "I'll see you around, and I'll let everyone know it was a false alarm. That would have been the biggest scandal of the season if it had been true. I'm glad it was something more honest."
"Have a good day Curtis, I'll keep my eye out for Charles. If he's insistent on being this way we'll have to involve the police," I said with a real look of concern marring my features.
"See that you do!" The bank man walked back to his Ford and sped away as I stared after him. This was a nightmare, and I had no idea what to do next. There would be no easy way to deal with this situation, and I feared now for Esme's mental health. There would be no painless solution this time.