Hey everyone. I'm sorry it's taken two weeks to get this update out - I've been absolutely rushed off my feet and have barely stopped to snatch a few hours' sleep. Sad times :( This chapter is one of my longest ever, though, so hopefully that will make up for it.

Some of you may also have noticed that I have posted two new one-shots called 'Backwards' and 'To Love An Angel', both of which are entries to bethaboo and THEEDWARDEMMETT's Make It Count Contest. There are some really great stories entered so you should really go along and check them out, and don't forget to vote on your favourites. Voting opened yesterday on both authors' profiles so what are you waiting for!

The link to bethaboo's profile is on my own profile, and you vote via the poll at the top of the page. If you like my stories then I would so appreciate a vote (you get three) so I don't feel like a total reject, but of course you have to vote for the best. I wouldn't want to pervert the course of justice now, would I?

Another reason why I have been so busy recently is that we've had some relatives come to stay from the US of A and they've been keeping me occupied. I hadn't met them before but they were really lovely and friendly, but some of the things they said astounded me. I'd never heard the phrase 'pop a squat' before and it seems crazy to me, but apparently it is said. Furthermore, they actually have a marching band at their high school! I mean, they play instruments while marching up and down! Why? Absolutely no idea. Seems pretty strange to me, but to each their own, right?

Anyway, enough of my sad autobiography and on with the story. If you remember, Edward is billeted in Allonville and he and Bella met up once when her shift ended. Then Bella had a fever so they couldn't see each other, but now she's better and has agreed to go with Edward, Ben and Marie to Brest to see Angela. You got all that?

THERE IS A SPECIAL DEDICATION FOR THIS CHAPTER TO ONE SUPERB VAMOSRAFA07 WHOSE HELP WAS INVALUABLE WITH THE FRENCH DIALOGUE ETCETERA. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND THIS CHAPTER IS IN YOUR HONOUR :)

Thank you, again, to Cullenista for her ever reliable beta skills. She's the best beta I know! God, I make bad jokes...

To His Love

EPOV

The regular thrumming of the train beneath me rippled up my torso, encasing me in the rumble of the wheels and the throbbing of the engine. The puffing, chugging locomotive sped through the French fields, manicured neatly in regular squares, shimmering with different coloured crops in the morning sunlight. It was a beautiful day, warm rays of sun peeking from behind light, fluffy clouds, and as I sat by the window, I felt that it could not be more perfect.

Turning to the seat next to mine, I picked up Bella's hand, resting on her lap, and squeezed it happily. She looked up at me, her soft face breaking into a smile, and I beamed back. I treasured the feel of her fingers enclosed within mine, knowing that I could hold her hand without fear of reprimand from either my parents or the Sisters in Corbie. The feeling was immensely liberating, almost intoxicating, and my smile widened as I wove her fingers through mine, revelling in the sensation.

The landscape flew by outside the window, but Bella's warm body pressed up against my side kept my attention from being dedicated to its observation. "Edward," she began, and I turned my head to look down at her face, her full lips puckered up in an adorable pout.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

She rolled her eyes and my lips twitched as I recalled her distaste for terms of endearment. It had always bemused me, and I ignored it for the most part, but her reaction seldom failed to make me smile.

After a moment, she continued, "Tell me more about Angela, please. I feel like I should know a little about her if we are to spend time with her."

"I'm not really the right person to ask," I replied with a shrug, nodding towards Ben on the bench seat opposite hers.

"Ben," she tried again, "will you tell me more about Angela, please?"

His face visibly lit up at the mention of her name and his fingers, which had already been clenching the sides of the seat in anticipation, turned white as he squeezed them ever tighter. "She's incredible," he said fervently, his eyes taking on an almost reverent expression. "You'll like her, Bella, I know you will."

"I'm sure I shall," Bella agreed, "but I would like to know some more about her. She lives in Brest?"

"Yes," he affirmed with a quick nod of the head. "She lives with her mother and her younger siblings in a small house in Brest. She told me that she has two sisters and a brother, all younger than her. She works as a serving girl in one of the local taverns to help support the family."

"She can't be much older than I am," Bella mused, and Ben shook his head.

"No, she's nineteen. Her birthday's in February."

Marie's small voice from the corner by the window spoke up, asking, "What about her father?"

Ben hesitated, then answered, "Nobody knows where he is. He just upped and left one day when Angela was only a small child. Though that doesn't mean they're a bad family or anything!" He surveyed us fiercely, daring us to challenge his valiant assertion.

"Of course it doesn't," Marie soothed. "I'm sure Angela is a lovely girl."

"She is," he told us, slightly mollified. "I don't see how anybody could help but like her. She's the sweetest, prettiest girl I've ever met."

I squeezed Bella's hand tightly as Ben spoke and leaned slightly closer to her on the seat. The chugging of the train meant that you had to speak up to be heard, so I used that excuse to whisper in her ear, brushing her cheek with my lips. "Do you feel alright, love?"

She nodded, nuzzling in closer and resting her head on my shoulder as she replied, "I'm fine Edward. Really, you don't need to worry about me."

"Yet you know I will."

She rolled her eyes, making me smile. "Yes, I know you will; you can't seem to help yourself."

Murmuring into her hair, I explained, "If you had any comprehension of how much I love you then you would not think I worry too much. You would think me positively blasé!"

She snorted in disbelief, closing her eyes as her body relaxed into mine. I longed to wrap my arms around her body and hold her closer to me, but I knew that I could not in a crowded train compartment. My heart jumped at the thought that later, however, we might finally get a little time alone.

Marie and Ben talked quietly as the train chugged through the countryside, my mind registering their voices but not the meaning of their words. I was tempted to close my eyes as well and sleep for a while, but I was loath to miss a second of having Bella so close. I wondered idly if it would be possible for me to avoid sleeping at all until we were back at our respective conscriptions.

The four-hour train journey seemed to pass quickly, the four of us talking and whiling away the time with easy camaraderie. Whenever possible, Ben talked about Angela, his face seeming to be permanently lit up like a street lamp, and I alternated between annoyance and satisfaction at his happiness. Anytime that I was tempted to tell him exactly how interested I was in Angela's favourite colour writing stationary, I bit back my snide retort, acknowledging that I was probably twice as persistent and irritating with details and anecdotes about Bella.

We pulled into the station in Brest at four o'clock in the afternoon, stretching our dormant limbs as we stood up and made our way onto the platform. A porter stood at the door of the train and he lifted down our cases, offering his hand to Marie then Bella. She thanked him, and he shot her a tooth-flashing smile and kissed her hand, speaking in a low voice to her in French, making her giggle and blush. I seethed at his audacity, feeling a sudden desire to tear him limb from limb, and took her firmly by the arm, leading her away from the smooth-talking porter. I felt his glare on my back and smirked as I pictured his face, holding her hand and planting a sweet kiss on her cheek. She beamed up at me.

The station was large compared to Amiens, where we had departed from, and Forks, which I was used to. We stood in the middle of the bustling platform, looking for some indication of which exit we should take to make our way to the tavern where Ben knew Angela worked.

"Maybe we should ask someone?" Marie suggested, glancing around her in a bewildered fashion.

"Excusez-moi, Madame," Bella spoke up, addressing a voluptuous woman stepping from the train just behind us.

The woman looked up, a kindly smile spreading across her ample face. "Oui, Mademoiselle? Est-ce que je peux vous aider?"

"Pouvez-vous nous indiquer le chemin du Renard et La Plume, s'il vous plait?" Bella asked, naming the tavern that we had met Angela in during our first memorable visit to Brest.

"Oui, oui, je le connais bien! Le propriétaire est très gentil. S'il vous plait, donnez-lui mes amitiés! Nous sommes amis depuis, hein, quelques années maintenant."

"Ah, oui? Je serais ravie de faire sa connaissance."

"Oui, oui, bien sûr! Il faut que je vous présente! Peut-être devrais-je vous accompagner?" She waved her arms around excitedly, face lit up, and I leant backwards to stay safely out of range of her flapping hands.

"Bella, what's she saying?" I asked, leaning in to speak in a low voice, my basic French inadequate to keep up with this rapid exchange.

"She's going to take us to Angela's tavern," she told me, smiling at the woman, bedecked in a peacock-blue coat and large hat which had slid back a little on her head, revealing flyaway hair framing her face.

"Ah, pardon!" the large woman exclaimed, reaching in my direction with soft, fleshy hands. "Je ne me suis pas encore présentée! Je m'appelle Mme Fouilleul."

"Enchanté," I replied, grasping the proffered hand and tucking it under my arm, as there seemed little else to do with it.

"Quel gentleman!" she squealed, and began to walk down the street, clasping my arm firmly as she paraded me for all to see.

Bella and Mme Fouilleul began speaking again as we meandered through the busy streets, and I was impressed by how Bella's French had improved since I had been away from Forks. She had always been more proficient than me, but it had come on in leaps and bounds since my leaving and this puzzled me considering how little she enjoyed her studies. I made a mental note to ask her about that later.

Having introduced the four of us with dazzling swiftness, they progressed to chatter away rapidly, Bella stumbling but managing to hold up her side of the conversation with relative competence. At one point, my ears pricked up as I recognised the word for soldier, and I listened with difficulty as Mme Fouilleul described how soldiers had been encamped recently near her home.

"Ton chéri, est-il soldat?"

Bella smiled and blushed, nodding her head. "Oui, il lutte à Amiens."

"Euh, c'est dangereux, je vous dis. Je ne voudrais pas le faire moi-même!"

Bella nodded again, biting her lip, and the woman hastened to reassure her. "Non, non, ma chérie! C'est dangereux, oui, mais je suis sûre que ton petit ami s'en tirera très bien! Après la guerre, vous marierez-vous? A-t-il fait sa demande en marriage?"

She grabbed Bella's left hand, and I understood just enough to realise that she was looking for a ring.

"Non? Ah, vous rougissez!" It was true; Bella's face had flushed a deep red. She tried to splutter out a response, but Mme Fouilleul cut her off again. "En temps et en heure! J'espère que vous serez heureuse, ma chérie."

She patted Bella's hand, who was still looking embarrassed and incredibly awkward, and released her to point with a flourish at the tavern before us.

"Voilà!"

She led us inside and proceeded to vigorously embrace the bartender, kissing him twice on each cheek. The minute we entered the inn, Ben began scanning the room for Angela, trying to pick her face out from the crowd that had already begun to gather, even given that it was not yet five o'clock. Marie stayed latched to Mme Fouilleul's side, seeming equal parts awed and terrified by the way the conversation was progressing.

We milled around for a few moments, then I led Bella to a table and we sat, watching people negotiate the crowd with varying amounts of success. After we had sat in silence for a minute or two, I remembered that I had wanted to ask Bella about her French and leant in to speak into her ear, glad again to use the excuse of background noise.

She turned her head to face me and we looked at each other, and in that moment all thoughts flew out of my head and I wanted only to kiss her. She raised her eyebrows, however, reminding me that I had been about to say something, so I cleared the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat. "Your French has got very good recently," I told her, annoyed with the stilted compliment and my inability to form intelligent sentences when she was this close to me.

She shrugged, nonchalantly brushing off the praise, but I persisted, honestly curious. "I didn't think you liked French."

"I didn't."

She seemed to think that was the end of the matter, but I was not so easily deterred. "What changed your mind?"

She paused, a faint pink colour seeping into her cheeks, and I waited for her response. "Bella?" I prompted after a moment.

She didn't look at me as she mumbled her reply. "France got a lot more interesting as soon as you were in it."

I could think of nothing to say in response, so I merely kissed her cheek instead, my lips lingering on her downy skin. When I pulled back, her eyes met mine and they were bright and shining, and as I met her gaze, I was sure that mine were the same.

We looked up after a while, and I saw that Ben had moved from the middle of the tavern to the bar, perching on a stool as he searched around him, seeming not to know what he should do next. Behind him, I saw a door swing open and a woman backed into the bar, carrying a tray balanced on one hand. When she turned, her hair fanning out due to the current created by the door opening, I could make out Angela's face, lips slightly rouged and pouting as she tried to manoeuvre the stuffy room.

Ben was glancing in our direction at the time, so I caught his eye and pointed behind him, raising my eyebrows as I did so. He turned, confused, and seemed to catch his breath as his eyes set on Angela's slight figure. At that moment, she spun towards him as well, and when she saw him, her pursed lips spread into a wide smile. She walked hesitantly towards where he sat, setting the tray on the bar and stopping in front of him, separated by the bar top.

I could not hear their exchange, but from the looks on their faces, they were both very happy to see each other. There seemed to be a slight awkwardness between them, as there would be if most if your relationship had been conducted via letters, but their faces were lit up as if each had a fire burning within them. With inane curiosity I speculated whether that was how I looked when I saw Bella.

Ben looked as if he would not be wanting to move anytime soon, and Marie still seemed engaged by our memorable guide, so I decided that we should try to secure a couple of rooms for the night. I left Bella sitting at the table and made my way over to the bar to speak to the bartender, tearing him away from Mme Fouilleul who seemed to be getting merrier by the moment.

We bargained for a few minutes, him insisting that he had no rooms to spare, until I offered a larger sum, at which his space miraculously freed up. I managed to secure two double rooms, after some negotiation, and turned back towards Bella feeling quite pleased with myself, even if my pocket was considerably lighter. It did not matter to me; money could not help me in the trenches and it was hard to think past them at this point.

I started to walk back towards our table but I couldn't see Bella behind a large crowd that had converged in the middle of the tavern. It was already becoming rowdier, as afternoon faded to evening, and I could see that the ale was beginning to flow faster now.

I pushed my way through the crowd, vaguely noticing that Marie had joined Ben and Angela at the bar, in search of our table. When I emerged from the bunch of bodies, however, I noticed Bella still sitting where had left her, two men leering down at her, both clearly drunk.

Immediately, I sped up until I was in hearing distance of the table, furious that they should make her feel uncomfortable in any way. She was shrinking slightly in her chair, looking a little intimidated and awkward, and I wanted nothing more than to scoop her up into my arms and take her home.

The taller of the two men leaned down until he was almost face to face with Bella and sneered, "Come on, darling, don't be like that."

She muttered something in reply which my ears could not quite catch, although her lips seemed to be forming the words, "I'm not your darling."

The shorter, stockier man lounged on the other side of her, resting his elbows on the back of her chair and moving his face close to hers; she shrank away. Fury boiled up inside me and I broke into a run, barging through the people that stood between me and the table.

As I did so, I saw Bella leap to her feet, possibly in response to something the man had murmured in her ear, her eyes flashing dangerously and anger written plainly across her face. "Do not talk to me like that!"

The stocky man sized her up, sidling closer, backing her up against the tall man behind. "I'll talk to you however I like, darling."

When she replied, her voice was harsh and steely, cold fury bubbling up beneath her calm exterior. "I already told you that I'm not your darling. Go away and leave me alone."

"Come on, sweetheart! We could show you a good time! Don't be so unfriendly!" The tall man behind her reached out to brush the hair from her shoulder, his fingers grazing her neck, and she visibly flinched.

I was nearly upon them at this point, so I could clearly hear her next words, uttered calmly but enunciated with cast-iron determination. "I want you to get away from me. Now."

She turned to push her way between them, but the stockier one grabbed her left arm, preventing her from leaving. Enraged, she spun back around and her palm hit his cheek with a sharp crack and I could see, even from this distance, a red mark where her hand had made contact.

"You bitch!" he shouted, grabbing her other arm and shaking her roughly, backed up by the tall man behind who did not touch her but blocked any possible exit.

I sprinted the last few feet to the table, practically vaulting over a table that obstructed the path, and grabbed the shorter man's shoulders, flinging him aside with violent fury. "How dare you!" I bellowed as I turned on the taller man who merely watched, bemused, as my fist swung towards his face. He roared as it made contact with his eye and pressed his palm to it, but I had already turned to the other man who was about to spring on me. He swung at my face and missed, but I was off balance so failed to make contact when I threw a punch of my own.

By this point, the tavern had erupted around us, and there was a contrast between shouts and cries of alarm, and jeers egging us on. Through the rage-tinted fog in my mind, I heard Bella's voice shrieking, "Edward!" and swung around to check that the tall man had not recovered enough to hurt her.

She was standing a few feet away, the man on the other side of the table, but her face implored me to go to her. "Edward, please," she said, holding out her hand to me.

I could not, however, obey her summons, needing to teach these idiots a lesson they would not soon forget. The anger still burned inside me and I turned on them again, now standing between the two of them and Bella. "You bastards!" I roared, my face twisting up as I tried to resist flinging myself into the fray again, and they glared back at me from a few yards away.

"Who's this?" one of them called, leaning round me to sneer at Bella, but I moved to block his view.

"Don't speak to her."

"Who the hell are you, man?" the stocky one asked aggressively, cracking his knuckles. "Stay out of this."

"Don't tell me what to do!" I shouted, angered beyond reason or sense. "You do what I say! Stay away from her! If I ever see you within so much as a mile of her, you'll have hell to pay! Understand?"

"Check out Mr Big-shot!" they jeered, but I did not stay to listen to their taunts. Instead, I used every fibre of my self-control to spin and grab Bella's hand, storming out of the tavern with her hot on my heels. The shouts and catcalls followed us out, but I tried to ignore them, blocking out the rage still shuddering through me with the feel of her hand in mine.

The cold air outside brought me back to my senses and I gasped it in thirstily, pinching the bridge of my nose as I tried to regain control of my temper. I led Bella round the corner so that we were in a side alleyway, leaning against the brick wall of the tavern as I breathed evenly in and out. Eventually, I was calm enough to speak, and I turned to Bella, an apology written all over my face. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I should never have left you alone. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Edward," she soothed, pulling my other hand from my face so that she could hold both in hers.

"I was so stupid!" I berated myself, not really able to look at her. "I was such an idiot to leave you by yourself, even for a minute!"

"I'm not a child, Edward," she snapped. "I can look after myself."

"Do you expect me to believe that? After what happened back there?" What almost happened, I corrected myself.

"Edward!" she demanded, her voice firm. "Edward, look at me."

Reluctantly, I met her gaze and saw the strength of will and fiery determination present there. "What happened back there was not your fault. You mustn't blame yourself! There are some people like that who just cause trouble. It was bad luck."

"Bad luck! God, Bella, you can't imagine how I felt watching them push you around! I was so angry, so furious –" I broke off again, breathing deeply to control my temper.

"I know, Edward," she murmured, stroking one finger down my cheek, and I held very still as I revelled in the sensation. "I could see it in your face. You know, that terrified me more than those idiots ever could. I didn't know what you were going to do and I thought you might hurt yourself or do something stupid."

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"I know."

We were silent for a few minutes then, each reliving certain points of the events that had just transpired, and enjoying the closeness of our bodies pressed warmly together in the cool air.

Behind me, the door to the tavern swung open again and I tensed, expecting the louts to have come out for round two. I heard, instead, a familiar voice and turned just as Ben was exclaiming in relief, "There you both are! We were looking for you! Are you alright?"

He was towing Angela by the hand, Marie trailing behind, and he looked between the two of us worriedly. I did not meet his eye, not wanting him to see the anger that still burned under the surface.

"We're fine, thank you, Ben," Bella spoke up, smiling sweetly at him, as I continued to stand immobile.

"That was some fight in there!" he went on, wide-eyed. "Geez, Edward, you throw quite a punch!"

I said nothing, staring at a spot several inches wide of his head.

"Edward?"

I didn't move.

"Are you sure he's alright?" Ben asked Bella anxiously.

"Yes, Ben," Bella replied, threading her arms through mine and pressing herself closer to my body. "He'll be fine. He's just a little upset."

That caught my attention, and I snapped my head down to look at her, nostrils flaring. "Upset?"

"What was the fight about, anyway?" Ben asked curiously, and Bella opened her mouth to answer, but I cut her off.

"It was nothing, Ben," I spat. "Just some drunks acting like –" I broke off, sneaking a quick glance at Bella who looked entirely unfazed. "Well, like scum," I finished lamely.

Ben glanced from one of us to the other, then back at Angela and Marie who stood slightly behind him. The three of them shared a look that clearly showed they recognised there was something more going on, but that they thought it best not to press it.

"Right," Ben said slightly awkwardly, shifting his weight. Then a sense of purpose seemed to fill him again and he stood up straight, asking eagerly, "Do you want to get out of here? Angela's asked us to dinner back at her house, if that's alright with you?" He turned the statement into a question, his eyes pleading with us to accept, and Bella did so happily for the two of us.

Together, the group of us strolled through the streets, conversation flowing easily between us. Ben refused to leave Angela's side and Bella and Marie talked quietly together, so I was left mostly to my thoughts. That suited me, however; I was still mulling over the incident in the tavern. Wondering what would have happened if I had taken longer with the bartender. Berating myself for being so stupid and careless.

BPOV

Edward was quiet as we walked to Angela's home, slightly outside the centre of Brest, and I watched him frowning distantly out of the corner of my eye. He didn't seem to desire any company, so I fell into step with Marie, the two of us walking comfortable together as darkness began to fall over the town.

"Bella," she began after a period of quiet between us, "what really happened in the tavern?"

I looked at her in surprise and she blushed and stared at the ground, hastily adding, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I mean, I just thought I'd ask –"

"It's alright, Marie," I assured her, taking her arm so we were strolling companionably. "I don't mind telling you."

"Edward seems really angry," she whispered, stealing a look at his clenched jaw and furrowed brow, and I sighed.

"Yes. Although he is slightly prone to over-reaction." We shared a small smile.

"I saw you, in the tavern, with those two men – before the fight." She stopped and looked at me hopefully, leaving her statement open-ended and almost questioning.

"Yes, they made themselves known to me, in a subtle and gentlemanly way," I told her wryly.

Her lips twitched in a mixture of amusement and sympathy, and I went on, "They couldn't take 'no' for an answer, then one of them tried to grab me and Edward went mad. He punched one of them."

"I saw that," she said, nodding. Then her eyes narrowed shrewdly as she continued, "I also saw you slap one man, the short one," almost as if she expected me to correct her.

I did not deny it, and her eyes widened as she surveyed me. "You're much braver than me," she whispered, awe ringing in her voice.

"Don't be ridiculous, Marie," I scoffed, brushing off her comment. "You would do the same thing if you were in that situation."

"Maybe," she sighed, almost wistfully, and I looked sharply at her.

"I don't doubt it. Never wish to be anybody but yourself, Marie. If anyone should be a model for others, anyway, it's you. I've never known a more unselfish person."

Marie went pink and hung her head, falling silent again for some minutes. I did not wish to break the peace so we walked along quietly, arms still linked. I only hoped that my words had got through to her.

Angela, still firmly attached to the end of Ben's arm, directed us to a small road a short walk from the town centre. The houses stood in a rickety row, seeming as if they were leaning on each other for support, a jumble of different characters and states of disrepair forming one long higgledy-piggledy street.

Angela's house, like all the others, was tall and thin, seeming to be three or four storeys high while only one room wide. She pointed it out to us, announcing completely without embarrassment, "This is my home. It's not much but we all work for a living."

"It's beautiful," Ben murmured reverently, and Angela positively beamed at him, leading him in through the wonky front door.

We all traipsed after them, Edward holding the door for Marie and I in his typical fashion. He still seemed preoccupied, but less perturbed than he had been half an hour ago.

Angela called out in rapid French and a shout came from deeper in the house; she led us down a narrow hallway lined with stacks of laundry and papers to a warmly lit kitchen where a plump older woman, whom I assumed to be Angela's mother, was standing over a stove. She welcomed us immediately, opening her arms in an all-embracing fashion, and ushered us in to stand by the burner.

She smiled a wide, dimpled smile, then turned and hollered up the stairs, bustling back to the stove to return to her pots. Angela invited us to sit, and we took chairs around the kitchen table, my eyes straying to the selection of garlic hanging over the stove and the bright copper assortment of pots and pans suspended on hooks on the walls.

The clatter and thump of footsteps on the stairs was followed quickly by the kitchen door swinging open and two young girls bursting through, laughing and slightly pink in the cheeks. We all stood up and Angela stepped forward to pull her sisters into the group, gesturing to each as she introduced them.

The first must have been about Alice's age, the second a year younger, with blonde and light brown hair respectively. We learnt their names to be Elise and Cécile and, amid their giggles, the fact that the youngest, their brother, would be home later.

The group thus swollen, we sat back around the table, Angela's two younger sisters sitting with their chairs pulled close together, whispering with furtive laughs and mirthful glances. For a while, I noticed their stares directed at Edward who shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. I thought I heard the words 'brooding' and 'smouldering' bandied around in colloquial French, and I narrowed my eyes as I watched them.

Apparently Angela caught the same phrase as I had as she shot a sharp rebuke at Elise and Cécile, after which they sulked for a few minutes before beginning giggling and chattering again. I smiled gratefully at her, and she shrugged her shoulders in response, rolling her eyes. That gesture alone seemed to tell me that they were flirtatious and silly, but not really dangerous. I was liking Angela more and more every minute.

About half an hour later, Angela's mother served a steaming pot of creamy stew, ladling generous portions into chipped porcelain bowls and passing them round the table. We all tucked in with abandon, burning our tongues as we foolhardily hastened to swallow the rich mouthfuls; we had not eaten since early this morning as no-one had thought to bring food for the train.

There was a brief lull in conversation as people ate, but it soon built up again as bowls were emptied, the last morsels scooped up with torn pieces of crusty bread. I professed that I had not eaten such a good meal in who knew how many months, and Ben, Edward and Marie quickly agreed. There was just something about home cooked food that not even the most skilled hospital chef could ever replicate, and I had been missing it since I had left Forks.

Angela leapt up to help her mother clear the dishes, and then the whole party sat on the tattered wooden chairs, talking and laughing in a strange mixture of French and broken English. I tried to keep up with the French asides spoken between Angela's mother and sisters, not trying to eavesdrop but genuinely curious, but I often found they were beyond my limited grasp of the language.

Twice, Angela's mother praised my French, saying stiltedly, "You speak the French very good. You learn it from a book?"

The evening passed in a blur of warm comfort and friendly company, but it was soon getting late and I knew Angela's mother had to get up early the next morning. After a rapid and, on Angela's side, pleading exchange with her mother, Angela extended an invitation to Ben to stay the night, explaining she could make him up a bed on the sofa. "I have so much to show you in the morning and we'll need an early start." Ben agreed instantly.

The three of us took our leave of the family, therefore, as the clock began to strike eleven and made our way back out into the cool evening air, the darkness swallowing us whole as we stepped from the light into the shadowy street.

Edward reached out and grasped my hand firmly in his, and I gripped back, our fingers staying intertwined the whole walk back to the tavern. Marie floated along on my other side, and although twice I tried to pull her out of her distraction, she barely seemed to be present with us. I decided, therefore, to leave her to her thoughts, sure that she was just tired and that a good night's sleep would do her the world of good.

The night was slightly chill and I tugged at the lapels of my coat, at which Edward immediately slipped off his jacket and hung it around my shoulders. Pulling it tightly around me so that I was cocooned inside, he gently kissed my forehead and then tenderly took my hand again. "Can't have you catching cold, can I? I don't want you to be ill again."

The town was quiet as we walked, seldom seeing another person pacing the dark streets. On any other night, I would have felt alone, but tonight I could not with two people I care for so dearly at my side. How can you feel alone when you're surrounded by people you love?

Eeeeeeee! It's so exciting! Just me? Oh well.

Actually, I have something else that I think is pretty worthy of celebration. I have practically got 500 reviews (currently 497) which I think is pretty amazing. So a huge thank you to everyone who has ever left me a review! THANK YOU!

To say a better thank you, cos let's face it, that one was pretty lame, I'm going to offer a teaser to anyone who leaves me a review for this chapter. And let me tell you, it's worth having :) Due to my incredible organisational skills, I have actually started work on the next chapter and so I have this little gem to offer you. If anyone doesn't want it, just tell me in the review and I won't force it on you ;)

Anyway, I'll try to be a lot quicker about the next update, but it won't be up tomorrow, if that's what you're wondering. Life does get in the way, malheureusement, but I'll try to avoid another big delay. I promise, though, I would never intentionally abandon this story, so if I haven't updated for three weeks or so, just PM me to check I'm alive. If any of you listen to the Temptation podcast, they were talking about that very thing last episode which is funny cos it's something I've thought about a bit. What if I did die and there was no-one to finish the story???

Thank you for reading my story and the strange ramblings that seem to accompany some chapters. My appointment with the psychiatrist's scheduled any day now. A bientôt and don't forget to vote in the contest!

RosieWilde