I cannot define just how flattered I am by you guys' keeping up with this, and your demanding more has only spurred me on to get it up soon for you people.
...I suppose that was the idea....
lapsus calami- One of these days, I'm probably gonna give Jeremiah a girlfriend and base her after you. This chappie's for you and for French Connection. XOXOXOXO
Go read Lapsus Calami's stuff, people! Seriously! She's a freakin' incredible writer!
You May Be Just Yet Chapter 10
"Barrett Bonden, I said COLD water! Can you not tell the difference between warm and cold?!"
"This was what was in the water pot!"
"Then go to the well and get fresh water! You don't tame a fever with warm water!"
Barrett narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, shoulders dropping in easily obtained exasperation.
Lily, hearing no obedient footsteps, looked over her shoulder and jerked her head in the direction of the door. "Well, go on! Hop to it! Whip your lazy-horse self in the rump!"
He snorted and rolled his eyes, complaining to himself as he walked sulkily out the door. Immature, yes, but it still managed to seem acceptable with his boyish appearence.
"What have I told you about that mouth?! Keep that kind of language on the SHIP!"
"I KNOW!" He shouted back like an annoyed child constantly pestered by his mother. "I 'EARD YOU AFORE, POND LILY!"
"OBVIOUSLY NOT!" She glared at the open door, hoping the ferocity would chase him, though he was around the corner and out of sight.
Hannah lay solemnly on the couch, eyes closed delicately, both hands laid at her sides. Dead was the only word to describe the way she looked, the only indication that she wasn't being the fact that her skin was too dark for her blood to not be running strongly in her veins.
She'd been in the sun too long, Mrs. Bonden had diagnosed firmly. Heat stroke, without a doubt.
"Mama, what's wrong with Mizzus Pullings?" Joshua asked, staring at the unmoving woman while absentmindedly tugging at his mother's loose shirt sleeve.
"The warmth outside made her ill."
"I di'n't know that could make ya sick..." Jeremiah was still staring at her like she was some bizarre animal on display, despite how many times he was told a passed-out woman was nothing much to look at, let alone gape at.
Little Moses looked on wide-eyed and open-mouthed, looking just as ridiculous as his older brother. He attracted his mother's attention, however, when he cursed in awe.
"Moses Bonden, I'm gonna tan your hide..." Lily knocked him roughly upside the head, causing some of his bushy blonde hair to flutter.
"Och, Mama!" He whined, grimacing and rubbing the sore area. "It slipped, 'm sorry!"
"That's what you get for taking after your father." She picked up Hannah's cut hand, dropping the subject. "Here's what I want to know. Where did this come from? And the little white bits wood in it, too? Which that seemed odd to me..."
The slit had been tightly wrapped in clean strips of cloth soaked in salt water. Hannah probably would have been crying if she'd been conscious. Salt in a wound stung like hellfire, but it killed infection, and a few hours of pain was surely a better verdict than the remainder of a lifetime without an extremity.
"Poor, poor darling..." Lily patted her on the cheek. "Aubrey, Jeremiah, listen here. Do you know where Mr. and Mizzus Pullings' house is?"
Aubrey nodded. "I know a short cut to the road it's on through the back fields, Mama."
Jeremiah looked rather clueless, but he didn't need to say anything to make it known he would just follow his sister.
"Good. Go get Mr. Pullings. Don't worry him; I don't want him hurting himself by running over here like a spooked rabbit. So make sure you reassure him his mizzus is fine. BARRETT BONDEN, WAS THE THIRTY FEET TO THE WELL REALLY SUCH A LONG TRIP THAT YOU HAD TO STOP TO PISS?! FOR GOD'S LOVE!"
"I DI'NT STOP TO PISS!" He heavily set the water bucket down by the door indignantly, some of the contents splashing upward.
...
Tom flopped onto the couch face down, cheeks moist. "Augh, where are you, apple tart?"
He'd scoured the house only-God-knew how many times until he'd completely worn himself out, with barely enough will left to want to continue. He wanted to bawl, but found himself completely dry.
"Sir?"
"My God, what have I done..." He rasped to himself, voice trailing off. A dazed look was plastered across his face, both tired and wallowing in sadness, and he didn't notice Sarah leaning out the kitchen doorway, nor the smaller face that momentarily peeked past her shoulder.
"Sir?" Sarah said, a notch louder.
"Yes, Sarah?" He droned, looking over at her, moving no more than his eyes.
"You've visitors, sir." She stepped back and let Aubrey and Jeremiah pass into view.
"I say, are you alright, sir?" Aubrey asked in a positively darling concerned voice, curtseying slightly while her brother dropped a bow.
"Yes, yes, perfectly fine," Tom grunted, pushing himself up on shaky arms.
The little Bonden faces looked at him so disquietly, both of them with their father's substantially great eyes that would thaw the most bitterly frozen of hearts.
"Do you need something, little ones?"
"Yessir," Aubrey responded, clasping her hands behind her back innocently. "Now, Mama wishes it that you don't worry yourself..."
He tilted his head at her.
"Da' found Mizzus Pullings," she continued, but quickly added, "And she's perfectly alright!"
He stared blankly a moment, then rose, vigor suddenly returning. "You've found my Hannah?!" The almost beautiful surge of liberation that followed the comprehension of her words was enough to strengthen him for the rest of eternity. No mention of good will or announcement of breathtaking hearsay would ever bring him such exultance, such a feeling so close to that of an angel holding him close. Deep down, he'd expected the words somehow, but his body was unprepared for the joy they brought.
"Yessir! And she's quite alright!" She looked near frantic.
"Oy..." He breathed a sigh of relief, struggling not to let the extra tears fall in the reprieve, and hugged the two youngsters. "Thank you, little ones, you've no idea the illness you've just cured!"
Jeremiah just stood, surprised at the embrace, but Aubrey hugged him back.
"Where is she now?" He loosened his grip enough to look down at the wavy-haired girl.
"She's at our house, Mr. Pullings."
"I'll give you a ride home. Sarah! Fetch the carriage around, won't you?!"
...
"Barrett Bonden, how do you lose-"
"'Twasn't my fault, Pond Lily! I only turned my back for a second!"
Lily stood on her tip-toes to get right in his face, putting her hands on her hips. "What's WRONG WITH YOU!?!?
He crossed his arms. "I didn't do anything!"
"What are we gonna tell-" She froze at the faint sound of hoofbeats, then glared fiercely at him. "Well...guess who gets to explain this to Mr. Pullings?!"
"Why me?!"
"Cuz' it's your fault!"
"Which it's NOT!"
She violently pointed at the door, and snarled through clenched teeth, "You get out there, or I'll sleep on the couch until either one of us dies and breaks this marriage!"
He could only glare back, and eventually stomped outside. "Miserable woman, you are!"
"And you married me!"
Lily trotted across the house and out the backdoor, scanning the street thoroughly, Barrett yelling in the background...
"Oy! I think you best unhook them 'orses, sir! Mizzus Pullings done run off!"
...I suppose that was the idea....
lapsus calami- One of these days, I'm probably gonna give Jeremiah a girlfriend and base her after you. This chappie's for you and for French Connection. XOXOXOXO
Go read Lapsus Calami's stuff, people! Seriously! She's a freakin' incredible writer!
You May Be Just Yet Chapter 10
"Barrett Bonden, I said COLD water! Can you not tell the difference between warm and cold?!"
"This was what was in the water pot!"
"Then go to the well and get fresh water! You don't tame a fever with warm water!"
Barrett narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, shoulders dropping in easily obtained exasperation.
Lily, hearing no obedient footsteps, looked over her shoulder and jerked her head in the direction of the door. "Well, go on! Hop to it! Whip your lazy-horse self in the rump!"
He snorted and rolled his eyes, complaining to himself as he walked sulkily out the door. Immature, yes, but it still managed to seem acceptable with his boyish appearence.
"What have I told you about that mouth?! Keep that kind of language on the SHIP!"
"I KNOW!" He shouted back like an annoyed child constantly pestered by his mother. "I 'EARD YOU AFORE, POND LILY!"
"OBVIOUSLY NOT!" She glared at the open door, hoping the ferocity would chase him, though he was around the corner and out of sight.
Hannah lay solemnly on the couch, eyes closed delicately, both hands laid at her sides. Dead was the only word to describe the way she looked, the only indication that she wasn't being the fact that her skin was too dark for her blood to not be running strongly in her veins.
She'd been in the sun too long, Mrs. Bonden had diagnosed firmly. Heat stroke, without a doubt.
"Mama, what's wrong with Mizzus Pullings?" Joshua asked, staring at the unmoving woman while absentmindedly tugging at his mother's loose shirt sleeve.
"The warmth outside made her ill."
"I di'n't know that could make ya sick..." Jeremiah was still staring at her like she was some bizarre animal on display, despite how many times he was told a passed-out woman was nothing much to look at, let alone gape at.
Little Moses looked on wide-eyed and open-mouthed, looking just as ridiculous as his older brother. He attracted his mother's attention, however, when he cursed in awe.
"Moses Bonden, I'm gonna tan your hide..." Lily knocked him roughly upside the head, causing some of his bushy blonde hair to flutter.
"Och, Mama!" He whined, grimacing and rubbing the sore area. "It slipped, 'm sorry!"
"That's what you get for taking after your father." She picked up Hannah's cut hand, dropping the subject. "Here's what I want to know. Where did this come from? And the little white bits wood in it, too? Which that seemed odd to me..."
The slit had been tightly wrapped in clean strips of cloth soaked in salt water. Hannah probably would have been crying if she'd been conscious. Salt in a wound stung like hellfire, but it killed infection, and a few hours of pain was surely a better verdict than the remainder of a lifetime without an extremity.
"Poor, poor darling..." Lily patted her on the cheek. "Aubrey, Jeremiah, listen here. Do you know where Mr. and Mizzus Pullings' house is?"
Aubrey nodded. "I know a short cut to the road it's on through the back fields, Mama."
Jeremiah looked rather clueless, but he didn't need to say anything to make it known he would just follow his sister.
"Good. Go get Mr. Pullings. Don't worry him; I don't want him hurting himself by running over here like a spooked rabbit. So make sure you reassure him his mizzus is fine. BARRETT BONDEN, WAS THE THIRTY FEET TO THE WELL REALLY SUCH A LONG TRIP THAT YOU HAD TO STOP TO PISS?! FOR GOD'S LOVE!"
"I DI'NT STOP TO PISS!" He heavily set the water bucket down by the door indignantly, some of the contents splashing upward.
...
Tom flopped onto the couch face down, cheeks moist. "Augh, where are you, apple tart?"
He'd scoured the house only-God-knew how many times until he'd completely worn himself out, with barely enough will left to want to continue. He wanted to bawl, but found himself completely dry.
"Sir?"
"My God, what have I done..." He rasped to himself, voice trailing off. A dazed look was plastered across his face, both tired and wallowing in sadness, and he didn't notice Sarah leaning out the kitchen doorway, nor the smaller face that momentarily peeked past her shoulder.
"Sir?" Sarah said, a notch louder.
"Yes, Sarah?" He droned, looking over at her, moving no more than his eyes.
"You've visitors, sir." She stepped back and let Aubrey and Jeremiah pass into view.
"I say, are you alright, sir?" Aubrey asked in a positively darling concerned voice, curtseying slightly while her brother dropped a bow.
"Yes, yes, perfectly fine," Tom grunted, pushing himself up on shaky arms.
The little Bonden faces looked at him so disquietly, both of them with their father's substantially great eyes that would thaw the most bitterly frozen of hearts.
"Do you need something, little ones?"
"Yessir," Aubrey responded, clasping her hands behind her back innocently. "Now, Mama wishes it that you don't worry yourself..."
He tilted his head at her.
"Da' found Mizzus Pullings," she continued, but quickly added, "And she's perfectly alright!"
He stared blankly a moment, then rose, vigor suddenly returning. "You've found my Hannah?!" The almost beautiful surge of liberation that followed the comprehension of her words was enough to strengthen him for the rest of eternity. No mention of good will or announcement of breathtaking hearsay would ever bring him such exultance, such a feeling so close to that of an angel holding him close. Deep down, he'd expected the words somehow, but his body was unprepared for the joy they brought.
"Yessir! And she's quite alright!" She looked near frantic.
"Oy..." He breathed a sigh of relief, struggling not to let the extra tears fall in the reprieve, and hugged the two youngsters. "Thank you, little ones, you've no idea the illness you've just cured!"
Jeremiah just stood, surprised at the embrace, but Aubrey hugged him back.
"Where is she now?" He loosened his grip enough to look down at the wavy-haired girl.
"She's at our house, Mr. Pullings."
"I'll give you a ride home. Sarah! Fetch the carriage around, won't you?!"
...
"Barrett Bonden, how do you lose-"
"'Twasn't my fault, Pond Lily! I only turned my back for a second!"
Lily stood on her tip-toes to get right in his face, putting her hands on her hips. "What's WRONG WITH YOU!?!?
He crossed his arms. "I didn't do anything!"
"What are we gonna tell-" She froze at the faint sound of hoofbeats, then glared fiercely at him. "Well...guess who gets to explain this to Mr. Pullings?!"
"Why me?!"
"Cuz' it's your fault!"
"Which it's NOT!"
She violently pointed at the door, and snarled through clenched teeth, "You get out there, or I'll sleep on the couch until either one of us dies and breaks this marriage!"
He could only glare back, and eventually stomped outside. "Miserable woman, you are!"
"And you married me!"
Lily trotted across the house and out the backdoor, scanning the street thoroughly, Barrett yelling in the background...
"Oy! I think you best unhook them 'orses, sir! Mizzus Pullings done run off!"