Disclaimer: Um… you know what it's s'posed to say, right? Good…
Liam, Caden, Basil, and Gwyneth looked at eachother, then back to Cassandra.
"That's—that's wonderful father." Basil struggled out, forcing a smile.
"Fantastic." Caden sighed.
"Now, if you'll excuse us, we must go unpack our things." Liam said.
"Children, wouldn't you rather sit and get to know your mother?" Abraham asked, glancing at Cassandra, who was staring at Gwyneth, lips pursed.
"Later, we promise." Liam replied, grabbing Gwyneth's arm. He pulled her out of the room, along with Caden and Basil, and they gathered in Liam's room.
Immediately, Basil exploded. "This isn't right! How could he do this to us? We don't need a mother! We—we don't even know her!" He spat.
"But we will." Liam stated calmly.
"But I don't want to know her!" Basil protested.
"She does look a bit shady to me." Caden commented.
Everyone nodded.
"But how could father do this to us! He's going to ruin our lives!"
"Don't say that, Basil. He wouldn't have done this if he didn't think necessary. He probably thinks Gwyneth needs a good woman influence on her." Liam suggested.
Gwyneth looked to him. "Why would I need that?"
"Well, maybe father thinks you're not—you know—lady-like." Liam shrugged.
Gwyneth raised a brow. "What would give him that idea?" Liam shrugged again. "Well, I think this is ludicrous, just bringing some strange woman into our lives without us getting a chance to know her. I can't believe father didn't wait for our approval." Gwyneth muttered.
"Well, love can do strange things to ya'" Basil said a bit distractedly.
Everyone looked to him. "How would you know?" Caden questioned.
Basil flushed. "Just—just guessing…" He mumbled.
Gwyneth bit her lip a little and stood up. "I'm leaving. You three can argue about this Cassandra all you want, but you know we can't stop father from marrying her." And she left. She slowly walked down the hall, dragging her trunk behind her, and quietly entered her bedroom. She put her belongings down, and looked around the room.
The same as I left it, Gwyneth thought relieved. She sat at her desk chin in hand.
I don't understand why father would do this. It's not like him. She sighed unhappily, and opened her desk drawer. She pulled out a roll of parchment, a bottle of ink, and a quill. She unrolled the parchment, opened the inkbottle, and loaded her quill with ink. Then she froze.
What am I doing? What am I writing? She pondered, confused. She reached over, and took her owl off of her trunk. She set its cage on the desk, and stared at the white bird, chewing on her lip.
A
letter? Hmm… A letter asking for advice? Maybe… But whom would I ask?
She thought about everyone she knew. Okay, I know a lot of people… Unfortunately, all of them hate me… She continued to chew on her lip.
Suddenly, the answer hit Gwyneth. But, she wasn't too fond of it. The only person who would actually talk to me is Mr. Rosewood…But that seems kind of creepy, sending letters to a teacher over the summer… She sighed with frustration.
Okay, I'll do it. He won't care, I don't think. She decided, holding her quill to her parchment. She drew a breath, and began writing.
Dear Mr. Rosewood,
Gwyneth grumbled and scratched it out.
Mr.
Rosewood,
Gwyneth looked at it and smiled. Much better.
Mr.
Rosewood,
I
know it must seem awkward to receive a letter from a student during summer, but
you are the only person I could think of to ask my questions to. In this
letter, I will not begin to list my problems, in case someone else gets a hold
of it.
Thank
you,
Gwyneth E. Venusheart
Gwyneth looked over the letter, and sighed. It will do. She rolled up the parchment, tied a string around it, and opened her owl's cage. "Here you go, Tristian." She stroked her owl's feathers, and tied the letter to its foot. "Bring it to Mr. Rosewood, okay?" She fed the owl a treat, brought it to the window, and let it fly away. She watched the white creature until it was out of sight, and then flopped on he bed.
If, Mr. Rosewood doesn't get my
letter, she thought, I think it will be just fine with me. It was a dumb
idea anyway.
Gwyneth put on an artificial smile as she, her brother, Abraham, and Cassandra settled in the sitting room later that night.
"Cassandra, these are my beautiful children I've told you about. This is Basil—" He gestured to his oldest son. "Caden, Liam, and Gwyneth."
"They seem a wonderful group, Abraham, really they do. Such handsome boys, and what a beautiful daughter." Cassandra beamed pleasantly, holding onto Abraham's arm.
The children gave strained smiles. "Where did you meet eachother, if I may ask?" Basil asked, actually no very interested.
Abraham and Cassandra looked at eachother, and grinned. "Well, I was new here, and my old boss told me to come to the ministry's office. I was lost, so of course your father, being the helpful man he is, helped me. He showed me around the office for my first week. Then we started meeting regularly, out of work. We couldn't help but fall in love." Cassandra explained happily.
She's too perky for my liking, Gwyneth thought.
"Sounds positively lovely." Caden commented, trying to please his father. "Don't you think, Gwyneth?" He added.
Gwyneth jerked her head up. "Huh? Oh… yeah, um, very lovely."
Cassandra chuckled amiably. "What is distracting you, dear?" She questioned.
"Nothi—what makes you think I'm distracted?" Gwyneth stammered.
She giggled once more. "Oh, I understand dear, you're just tired from school. You can go back to your room if you like, we can speak later."
Gwyneth tilted her head a bit. "Thanks." She stood, looked at her family, and bowed, before exiting the room.
She let off pretty easily… Oh well, there's no use in over thinking it…Gwyneth entered her bedroom, and was surprised to see Tristian back, letter beside him.
She approached the white owl, stroked it's feathers, and eyed the rolled up note. "Is this from Mr. Rosewood? Or is it my letter?" There was no use in asking, but Gwyneth enjoyed talking to her owl. She fed him another treat, and picked up the note. "Well, it's not mine, Tristian, I tied a green ribbon around mine, and this one has a red one."
She removed the ribbon, and unrolled the letter. She read it:
Dear Miss
Venusheart,
I'm glad to hear from you, but not so
glad that you will soon be telling me some bad news. I'll gladly answer you questions,
if you are willing to ask me. What, do you think I would've said no? Please write
soon, you will not be interrupting anything, I promise you.
Sincerely,
J.
Rosewood
Gwyneth folded it up and smiled; sitting at her desk, ready to write once more.
A/N: I used some of my own direct thoughts in this chapter, such as: She's too perky for my liking. I use that one often. I just don't do perky. Well, I hope you like it… Oh! And if anyone has any questions, comments, or suggestions you'd rather have me alone see, e-mail me at Pikac222@aol.com (That stands for Pissed Incarnations Keep Addresses Carefully 2…22. Weird, I know, but that's the kind of things I made up when I was eight!)