Chapter 12.
Home.
That's what was before my eyes.
Home.
Nothing had changed. The cottage still looked exactly the same. The dented pots and pans still sat on the rotting shelf, the table still had scratches in it from various pieces of cutlery, the chair still lent heavily over to one side.
But it was home.
I had been greeted at the edge of the village by my family.
Well, greeted is one word for it. I would describe it better as attacked.
Tom and Robbie ran straight at me the moment I emerged from the forest and barrelled into me with such force I thought I was going to fall backwards. Gwen wasn't far behind them, but that was to be expected, she didn't like it when the boys left her behind. She also stuck to my side and refused to let go. The older ones arrived shortly after, and began the task of slowly peeling the little ones off my legs.
Daniel complained in his usual sarcastic manner that I was late, and therefore had ruined his plans for dinner. Clara just seemed thrilled that I was back, she said she was far too sick of male company. Richard gave me such a tight hug, I thought I was going to be suffocated.
Father and Alexander were still in the fields of course, so I knew I would have to wait until later to see them. But I was bombarded with so many questions from the rest of them that I hardly noticed.
'What's Milton like?'
'Can I go with you when you go back?'
'When are you coming home forever?'
'Can you read me a bedtime story?'
'Why do you have to go back?'
'Can we make baked goodies again?'
I tried to answer as many as I could, but there was rather a lot of them. It became just a cloud of noise as we walked back towards the cottage. I had been walking for nearly two days, and I just wanted to sit down.
Gwen, however, had another idea, and practically jumped on my back and demanded to be carried in. I knew I had a weakness for my youngest sister, and I could never deny her anything. At least Richard offered to carry my bag for me.
The door swung open with its usual creak, the hinges groaning as they moved. It opened to reveal the familiar sight of the main room.
Everything was exactly the same, and I eagerly drank up the sights of home. My heart soared for joy.
I was back home.
I barely got in two words in before I was pulled in three different directions by Tom, Gwen and Robbie, all trying to show me something. Their little voices turned into a wall of sound as they shouted at me.
Daniel and Clara managed to pry them off me again, with a surprising amount of success. They had obviously gotten used to this while I was away.
Once I had two seconds to breathe, Richard quickly pushed me into the girl's room and deposited my bag on my bed. He told me he was under strict orders from Alexander to let me rest once I got back, and that he, Clara and Daniel were to distract the small ones until Alexander and Father returned.
That made me smile. Of course Alexander had thought of that.
And with that, Richard walked out of the door and closed it behind him.
Nothing had changed in here either. There were still the three small beds, mismatched and worn down, covered in those straw filled mattresses. There was still that yellow blanket with holes laying on my bed, on top of the sheets.
I had missed this place. The memories I had here, the happy times, as well as the sad ones. There was so much enclosed within these walls. I knew it wasn't a great palace or castle, full to the brim of history of great men and women, but it did contain history, our history. And I cared more for that than any riches or jewels of rulers.
This rotting, small, run down little cottage was more precious to me than anywhere else in the world. I had wanted to leave, to go and see the world, and I still wished to return. But this little corner of the world was still my own, our own. And nothing could ever change that.
I unfastened my boots, and sat down on the bed, and took the short amount of time I was allowed to rest. I guessed it wouldn't be very long before one of them burst through the door. It didn't take long for me to drift off into a restful afternoon nap.
Two hours later, I heard the door groan open, waking me up. I didn't have to wait long as I heard the familiar voices of my father and brother.
'Arry? Where are you?' Alexander shouted through the door. I couldn't help but beam when I heard it. I practically bounded out of the door, into the front room.
And there they were. Standing before me.
Father. His hair slightly greying, and his face beginning to show signs of age. His grey eyes alight with joy. And Alexander, stood beside him, looking like an almost exact copy of father, just twenty years younger, still with his hair a little too long so it fell over his eyes a tiny bit.
'Hello.' I said.
Alexander said nothing, but took large strides and was soon wrapping his arms around me. He was still taller than me, a fact that irritated me to no end, and he had to lean his head down to embrace me properly.
Stars, I had missed them. Missed them all.
I felt his arms very tightly around my frame, as if he didn't want to let go. He even smelled like home.
'Alright, Alexander, let the rest of us have a turn.'
I looked up as Alexander loosened his grip on me. Father step towards me and engulfed me in an even larger hug.
'You're back.' He whispered in my ear.
I only nodded in response. This was the place I felt the safest, the place I had always felt the safest. Right here, at home, in my father's arms.
By the time he released me, Gwen and Robbie had decided to run back inside and attack me again.
Father only chuckled and bestowed a small kiss on the top of my head.
'Right, food. Marion can tell us all about Milton over dinner.'
And so, the madness of our daily mealtime began.
I was one again bombarded with questions all the way through dinner. It seemed never ending. Father and my siblings did not seem satisfied until they knew each and every single detail about my new life.
True to my word, I did not mention Blanche. She had reminded me of my promise when she bid me farewell once we arrived just outside the village. We had parted on friendly terms, despite our little argument. And she told me she would be waiting by the edge of the forest on Thursday, so she could accompany me back to Milton.
And back to a certain boy.
Of course, it didn't take long for my family to begin to ask questions about Jack. I didn't want to keep my friendship with Jack a secret, but I kept some of the finer details out.
My father, on the other hand, seemed to have a very different idea about what I should be telling him, and pestered me for a good long while on my exact feelings towards Jack, and his intentions.
I did point out that they had all at least seen Jack before, at Ella's wedding celebration. But that only proceeded to make the questioning more intense.
The more he questioned, the more I grew embarrassed. After all, nothing had actually happened between the two of us. As much as I would have liked something to happen, nothing had, and so there was very little I could answer.
That didn't stop them though. Every detail about him was drawn out of me. They also seemed to be quite interesting in Isabelle and Amelia. Clara told me she would very much like to meet Amelia, she thought they would get on well with each other.
Richard however wanted to meet the young inventor. He was enraptured by the idea of Isabelle's inventions. I guessed he was probably trying to figure out ways to recreate what I had told him, here in the cottage. I could imagine him sitting at a table with a variety of ropes and pulleys and cogs, trying to make a device for seeing through a door, or something for feeding chickens. He had a mind that worked like that, and I was sure that he would make a much better inventor than I ever would.
Dinner appeared to go on forever and ever, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I had spent the previous night in the forest, on the floor of a cave, and had spent two days walking. My feet ached and so did my shoulder from carrying my carpet bag. Despite my nap, I wanted nothing more than to lie down on a real bed and sleep for a day.
Eventually, Alexander started to notice that I was staring off into the distance, and the dark circles that I imagined were forming under my eyes. He began to move everyone towards thinking about bed and sleep, told everyone that they should leave me to rest after my long journey. I was so grateful to him.
It felt strange, being back in a room with my sisters, but a nice sort of strange. And I didn't have long to ponder it as sleep crept up on me, quickly and silently, and I was out before even five minutes had past.
The next morning, I awoke slightly later than usual, and to my surprise, a ready-made breakfast. I had become accustomed to making it myself, and especially at home, making it for everyone else. So, to walk out of my room to a waiting bowl of porridge was such a pleasant surprise.
Daniel told me he had made it specially for me (and by that he meant had added a little sugar). Clara as usual was still asleep, but everyone else was up.
Father and Alexander wished they could stay and spend time with me, however there was work to be done in the fields, and we couldn't afford for them to not work. And so, with a swift kiss to my forehead, they both set off to the field.
As soon as I finished my porridge, Gwen grasped a tight hold of my hand and insisted on playing with me outside. Once again, I couldn't deny her anything and was quite happily dragged along.
We spent the morning playing hide and seek, blinds man bluff and races. I let her and Robbie win everything. Well, I wasn't about to let an eighteen year old beat a seven year old, was I?
The others came and joined in not long after we started, and we spent hours and hours just playing and talking, and just being with each other.
This was the part I had missed most of all. Just the simply being a family. The laughter and the screaming and the companionship. Pure and simple and good.
We didn't mind that we had next to no money, we didn't mind that everything we owned was broken and old, we didn't care that we had no place in high society.
We were just content, purely content with what we had. And that's all we needed.
We all just needed home.
Just home.
My week was up before I knew it.
I had spent most of it playing with my siblings. I had sampled Daniel's much improved cooking, I had gone to the market with Clara, I had taught Richard some of the basic mechanics Isabelle had shown me.
I had played cards with Alexander, just like I always used to. I had read and recited stories to Tom, Robbie and Gwen, and I had talked, properly talked with my father.
I had gone to visit Mother's grave as well. I couldn't have a visit home without going to see her at least once. Even though it had been almost a year and a half since she passed, it still hurt. Not as it once did, but it still was like an ache in my heart, a void that could never quite be filled.
I told her about everything that had happened to me in Milton. I even told her about Blanche, and how incredible I found her. I figured that she wasn't going to tell anyone about her.
It felt nice, to get it off my chest a little.
And I told her about Jack. She would have liked Jack, she would have enjoyed his art and his quiet manner. I told her all about the hopes I harboured towards him, and the happiness I felt every time we met. I told her how he made me smile, and laugh, and how he seemed to care for me.
I told her how much I missed her. How I wished she could come back to us.
But all too soon, Clara came to collect me and bring me to dinner. And so, I had to bid farewell to my mother. Our mother.
Thursday came around far too fast for my liking.
My bag was once again packed and ready to go by the door on Wednesday evening. My final dinner was prepared by Daniel; carrot soup, with more carrots than water.
Gwen was yawning before we had even finished eating, and so Father carried her to bed. Tom, Robbie and Clara weren't far behind her. Then Richard, Daniel and even Father followed all them to sleep.
Soon, it was only me and Alexander left. We sat by the hearth, a cup of tea in hand.
'Eager to get back Arry?' He asked.
'Sort of.'
'Anything to do with your new friends?'
I could hear the tone of voice he used for the word 'friends'. I knew exactly what he was implying.
'Maybe.' I teased right back.
Alexander took a deep breath. His head turned to look directly at me, his tawny curls spilling across his forehead.
'This Jack, is he really as good as you say?'
'Define good.'
'He won't hurt you.' He said very matter of factly.
I was touched by his protectiveness. He always was the one to look after all of us, even if he was a year younger than me.
'Well,' I started, 'I don't know anything for definite, I can only hope.'
Alexander gave me a look of questioning.
'That doesn't answer my question.'
I knew with Alexander there was no escaping answering the question.
'No, I don't believe he'd hurt me. He's not like that. Not at all.'
'Well, if it makes any difference, I liked him better than that other one, the lord who always looked smug.'
'James.'
'Yes, him. At least this Jack didn't seem full of false charm and flattery.'
'James wasn't full of false charm.'
He just gave me a look.
'Not all of it was false.' I said in a quiet voice.
Alexander just rolled his eyes and sipped his tea.
'I just hope that if I ever find a girl, I will have to go through less drama than you.' He said with a small smile.
'So, there isn't anyone you like yet?'
'Arry, I'm in the fields all day, every day. Please tell me when I have time to even meet girls, let alone court them.'
'Well, clearly there must be some time in the day. Father courted Mother when he was working in the fields. It must be able to happen.'
He simply shrugged.
'If anyone catches my eye, you'll be the first to know.'
'I better be. And she'll have to be quite a remarkable to catch your eye.' I teased.
'I hope so. But you know I'm not like you. I don't need adventure in my life, or drama. Just someone who loves me.'
'Then I wish you luck, brother.'
'And I you, sister.'
