Chapter Four: Of Murderers and Rain
Will and the twins sat down in the dining room for lunch. "Is Alaina coming down?" Jack asked, looking to see his sister's place empty.
"Yes!" A voice laughed, coming in the room.
They all turned to see Alaina with her hair done up and one of her nicer dresses on.
"Wow," James gawked as she took her seat.
"Oh, I hope you don't mind, but Jill and I made plans for this afternoon to meet
Alex," she said, winking at her brothers.
Will smiled and nodded. "That's fine. I wanted to show the boys the ship anyway and knew you'd get to see it later."
Jack raised an eyebrow at his father but Will didn't say anything more.
"So what are you and Alex going to be doing?" James teased, picking up a forkful of chicken.
"The normal, running around, getting into trouble deal," she said with a smile, pushing around the broccoli on her plate.
"Hey, that's not fair," Jack told his father.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be plenty of trouble for you to get into down at the dock." Will assured him sarcastically.
"No, how come she gets to roam around while we have to stay in sight of the house?" James asked, expressing his brother's thoughts.
Will smiled and picked up his glass of water. "Because she's older."
Jack groaned at that response, and Alaina took a small bite of her chicken. The rest of lunch was silent except for the few squabbles James and Jack had. Presently a knock was heard on the door, and Alaina strained her neck to look out the dining room door and into the front hall.
"Come on Alaina, we don't want to be late," Jill's voice was heard, and Alaina scrambled out of her chair.
"I'll be back later," she promised, giving her father a kiss on the cheek and rushing out of the room.
As they heard the door shut Jack turned to look out the window and saw the two strolling down the street with smiles plastered on their faces. "I don't trust them," He said finally as they walked out of sight.
"And why do you say that?" Will asked, taking a sip of his water.
"Neither one of them will wear dresses without a fuss, and now they both show up in nice, pretty, uncomfortable dresses on their own and decide their going out. I smell deceit," Jack explained, turning to his twin who was looking at his broccoli uncertainly.
"I smell bad breath," James disagreed, scooting his chair away from his brother.
'No meal at the Turner house is ever normal,' Will thought with a smile as Jack picked up his fork and put it up in front of him.
"En guarde!" he cried as the piece of broccoli that was on it flew at James.
James immediately put his up and the boys went at it.
Will watched with amusement and cleared hi throat. "Is this not how you two got Alaina in trouble yesterday?"
James immediately set down his fork and nodded.
Jack was a little more relentless. "But Alaina's not here," he argued.
Will laughed. "No, but I am," he reminded.
"Oh," Jack said, and shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth.
***
"No way," Jill said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I think you're lying," Alex told her, swinging on the rope that hung from the rafters.
"I don't care what you think Alex, but I'm not lying," Alaina told him, giving the rope a playful yank.
The three were sitting in their favorite spot: a partially run down barn that had a perfect view of the docks.
"Well I think that's wonderful," Jill told her, looking out the large open barn doors.
"Well yeah, but I'm nervous about it," Alaina told them, and a large grin appeared on Alex's face.
"What? Miss Alaina Turner nervous? Never!" he mocked, and Jill threw a large clump of dirt at him.
"Why?" she asked.
Alaina shrugged smoothed out the front of her dress. "Well, for one, I don't want to leave the twins with that witch. Second, I don't know anything about sailing other than from what I've read in books and heard from my parents. And third, my mother's murderer is still out there, and I don't want to run into him."
Alex swung down from the rope and landed in front of her. "Well, for one, I'll be happy to play with your brothers while you're gone, second you're a born sailor, and third—"
"And third, nothing's going to happen to you; your father won't let it," Jill cut in, scooting closer to her friend.
"I know, but I just can't forget his face, and I have this feeling—"
Alex's laughter cut her off, giving her an excuse to kick his leg. "Ow, sorry Allie, it's just," he started, sitting across from her, "you're getting paranoid with all this murder stuff. I mean seriously, your father's looked for him since it's happened and he's found nothing. So what makes you think that you're just suddenly going to come face to face with him?"
"I am not getting paranoid!" Alaina shouted, glaring at him.
Jill shot a worried look to Alex but he didn't pay any attention. "Yes you are!" he argued, getting up.
"You try to take your mother's place and see how great you are!" she screamed, getting up and standing not two inches away from his face. "You try to live with the fact that you saw your mother's murderer and didn't even tell your father about it!"
Alex's face suddenly softened, as he understood what she was talking about. "I'm sorry," he said, lowering his voice.
Alaina blinked at him, her fury not going away like his. "You always were one to give in," she said insultingly.
Alex shrugged and smiled at her. "How can I not when it's one of my best friends?" he asked with a grin.
Alaina stomped her foot in frustration. "I hate you!" she cried, then turned on her heel and walked out. She hated how he was so nice to her even when she insulted him.
"I don't think that was so smart," Jill said from where she still sat on the floor.
"It's not the fist time she's said that," Alex reminded.
"But it is the first time you called her paranoid," Jill told him, getting up and hurrying after Alaina.
Alex sighed and sat back down on the straw covered floor. 'Women,' he thought with a groan.
***
Will stood by the window of his study, looking out the window, watching for
Alaina. A storm had gathered quickly around Port Royal, making him have to cancel going to the ship with the boys. The rain came pouring down and he hoped that she had taken shelter somewhere.
"Dad?" a voice yelled from upstairs, and Will walked out of his office to see James standing on the stairs. "Jack and I are bored and we wondered if we could play chess."
Will nodded and went back in his study to get the box from the shelf it shared with the books. Picking up the heavy wooden box a small piece of paper slipped out from under it, landing on the floor. Will ignored it for the moment and brought the box into parlor where Jack was staring out the window.
"It's really raining," he commented as he noticed his father setting the chess box on the table.
Will nodded and all three jumped as a large flash of light came in the room with a crack. Will started to laugh at his jumpiness and the boys quickly opened the lid and began to set the game up trying to focus on something else.
"Hello? Mr. Turner?" a voice called from the front hall.
Will went out to see Jill standing in front of the shut door, drenched. His amusement soon turned to concern as he noticed Alaina wasn't with her. "Alaina's not with you?" he asked as Mrs. Bates came in the room.
"No. She isn't here?" Jill asked, also becoming worried.
Will shook his head.
"Jill, unless you want to catch your death of cold you should head upstairs and put on one of Alaina's dry dresses," Mrs. Bates advised.
"No, I shouldn't. It's only a few minutes walk from here, and I can probably make it in one if I run," Jill told her with a grin; she was notorious for running around in the rain. "And I'll look for her on the way," she told Will, smiling as she went back out the door.
"She's going to get herself killed one of these days," Mrs. Bates commented, shaking her head as she left the hall and went back to the kitchen.
Will shrugged and went back to his study, too preoccupied as to where Alaina could be to remember the paper that sat on the floor. The thunder was deafening and the lightning was blinding as well as the rain, impossible to see through. He prayed that she was at least with Alex. Especially with the odd people the twins had reported seeing around the house. From where he stood against the window he could barely see the flowerbed in the front only a few feet away and jumped when he heard the door burst open.
"Mr. Turner!" a voice cried from the main hall.
He quickly walked out to see Alex standing in the open doorway with Alaina in his arms. The sounds of the storm were deafening, but Will didn't notice. His eyes were fixed on his daughter, who was soaked, dirty, and looking at him warily through half open eyes.
"I'm sorry." She began to sob, closing her eyes tight so she didn't feel any more humiliated then she already did with Alex carrying her.
Will raised an eyebrow at Alex who quickly looked away, and Will went up to take Alaina from him. Jack and James raced out of the parlor at all the commotion but stopped to see their father carrying Alaina up the stairs and Alex standing in front of the open door.
"Alex what happened?" James asked; Alex snapped out of it and quickly turned and went back out the door, shutting it behind him.
Jack ran to the door and opened it to find Alex already out of sight. "I told you I smelled deceit," Jack told his brother, shutting the door again.
"Yeah, well I smell victory," James said, heading back to their chess game.
Alaina buried her head in her father's chest and clung onto him tightly, not wanting him to let go. Will tightened his grip protectively on her as he felt her begin to shake and wondered what possessed her and Alex to go running around in the rain.
"I'm sorry," Alaina whispered again, puzzling Will.
'Sorry for what?' he wondered, but didn't say anything.
Alaina instead fell asleep in the security of his arms as they went to her bedroom. The door was already open and clothes and things were scattered around the room. 'How in the world can she live like this?' he thought with a grin, kicking a few things out of his way as he made way to her bed.
"Dad?" Alaina mumbled sleepily as he laid her down.
"I'm right here," he assured, pulling the heavy covers over her.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled again before drifting off to sleep.
Will was extremely puzzled but went out and shut the door.
***
Will and the twins sat down in the dining room for lunch. "Is Alaina coming down?" Jack asked, looking to see his sister's place empty.
"Yes!" A voice laughed, coming in the room.
They all turned to see Alaina with her hair done up and one of her nicer dresses on.
"Wow," James gawked as she took her seat.
"Oh, I hope you don't mind, but Jill and I made plans for this afternoon to meet
Alex," she said, winking at her brothers.
Will smiled and nodded. "That's fine. I wanted to show the boys the ship anyway and knew you'd get to see it later."
Jack raised an eyebrow at his father but Will didn't say anything more.
"So what are you and Alex going to be doing?" James teased, picking up a forkful of chicken.
"The normal, running around, getting into trouble deal," she said with a smile, pushing around the broccoli on her plate.
"Hey, that's not fair," Jack told his father.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be plenty of trouble for you to get into down at the dock." Will assured him sarcastically.
"No, how come she gets to roam around while we have to stay in sight of the house?" James asked, expressing his brother's thoughts.
Will smiled and picked up his glass of water. "Because she's older."
Jack groaned at that response, and Alaina took a small bite of her chicken. The rest of lunch was silent except for the few squabbles James and Jack had. Presently a knock was heard on the door, and Alaina strained her neck to look out the dining room door and into the front hall.
"Come on Alaina, we don't want to be late," Jill's voice was heard, and Alaina scrambled out of her chair.
"I'll be back later," she promised, giving her father a kiss on the cheek and rushing out of the room.
As they heard the door shut Jack turned to look out the window and saw the two strolling down the street with smiles plastered on their faces. "I don't trust them," He said finally as they walked out of sight.
"And why do you say that?" Will asked, taking a sip of his water.
"Neither one of them will wear dresses without a fuss, and now they both show up in nice, pretty, uncomfortable dresses on their own and decide their going out. I smell deceit," Jack explained, turning to his twin who was looking at his broccoli uncertainly.
"I smell bad breath," James disagreed, scooting his chair away from his brother.
'No meal at the Turner house is ever normal,' Will thought with a smile as Jack picked up his fork and put it up in front of him.
"En guarde!" he cried as the piece of broccoli that was on it flew at James.
James immediately put his up and the boys went at it.
Will watched with amusement and cleared hi throat. "Is this not how you two got Alaina in trouble yesterday?"
James immediately set down his fork and nodded.
Jack was a little more relentless. "But Alaina's not here," he argued.
Will laughed. "No, but I am," he reminded.
"Oh," Jack said, and shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth.
***
"No way," Jill said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I think you're lying," Alex told her, swinging on the rope that hung from the rafters.
"I don't care what you think Alex, but I'm not lying," Alaina told him, giving the rope a playful yank.
The three were sitting in their favorite spot: a partially run down barn that had a perfect view of the docks.
"Well I think that's wonderful," Jill told her, looking out the large open barn doors.
"Well yeah, but I'm nervous about it," Alaina told them, and a large grin appeared on Alex's face.
"What? Miss Alaina Turner nervous? Never!" he mocked, and Jill threw a large clump of dirt at him.
"Why?" she asked.
Alaina shrugged smoothed out the front of her dress. "Well, for one, I don't want to leave the twins with that witch. Second, I don't know anything about sailing other than from what I've read in books and heard from my parents. And third, my mother's murderer is still out there, and I don't want to run into him."
Alex swung down from the rope and landed in front of her. "Well, for one, I'll be happy to play with your brothers while you're gone, second you're a born sailor, and third—"
"And third, nothing's going to happen to you; your father won't let it," Jill cut in, scooting closer to her friend.
"I know, but I just can't forget his face, and I have this feeling—"
Alex's laughter cut her off, giving her an excuse to kick his leg. "Ow, sorry Allie, it's just," he started, sitting across from her, "you're getting paranoid with all this murder stuff. I mean seriously, your father's looked for him since it's happened and he's found nothing. So what makes you think that you're just suddenly going to come face to face with him?"
"I am not getting paranoid!" Alaina shouted, glaring at him.
Jill shot a worried look to Alex but he didn't pay any attention. "Yes you are!" he argued, getting up.
"You try to take your mother's place and see how great you are!" she screamed, getting up and standing not two inches away from his face. "You try to live with the fact that you saw your mother's murderer and didn't even tell your father about it!"
Alex's face suddenly softened, as he understood what she was talking about. "I'm sorry," he said, lowering his voice.
Alaina blinked at him, her fury not going away like his. "You always were one to give in," she said insultingly.
Alex shrugged and smiled at her. "How can I not when it's one of my best friends?" he asked with a grin.
Alaina stomped her foot in frustration. "I hate you!" she cried, then turned on her heel and walked out. She hated how he was so nice to her even when she insulted him.
"I don't think that was so smart," Jill said from where she still sat on the floor.
"It's not the fist time she's said that," Alex reminded.
"But it is the first time you called her paranoid," Jill told him, getting up and hurrying after Alaina.
Alex sighed and sat back down on the straw covered floor. 'Women,' he thought with a groan.
***
Will stood by the window of his study, looking out the window, watching for
Alaina. A storm had gathered quickly around Port Royal, making him have to cancel going to the ship with the boys. The rain came pouring down and he hoped that she had taken shelter somewhere.
"Dad?" a voice yelled from upstairs, and Will walked out of his office to see James standing on the stairs. "Jack and I are bored and we wondered if we could play chess."
Will nodded and went back in his study to get the box from the shelf it shared with the books. Picking up the heavy wooden box a small piece of paper slipped out from under it, landing on the floor. Will ignored it for the moment and brought the box into parlor where Jack was staring out the window.
"It's really raining," he commented as he noticed his father setting the chess box on the table.
Will nodded and all three jumped as a large flash of light came in the room with a crack. Will started to laugh at his jumpiness and the boys quickly opened the lid and began to set the game up trying to focus on something else.
"Hello? Mr. Turner?" a voice called from the front hall.
Will went out to see Jill standing in front of the shut door, drenched. His amusement soon turned to concern as he noticed Alaina wasn't with her. "Alaina's not with you?" he asked as Mrs. Bates came in the room.
"No. She isn't here?" Jill asked, also becoming worried.
Will shook his head.
"Jill, unless you want to catch your death of cold you should head upstairs and put on one of Alaina's dry dresses," Mrs. Bates advised.
"No, I shouldn't. It's only a few minutes walk from here, and I can probably make it in one if I run," Jill told her with a grin; she was notorious for running around in the rain. "And I'll look for her on the way," she told Will, smiling as she went back out the door.
"She's going to get herself killed one of these days," Mrs. Bates commented, shaking her head as she left the hall and went back to the kitchen.
Will shrugged and went back to his study, too preoccupied as to where Alaina could be to remember the paper that sat on the floor. The thunder was deafening and the lightning was blinding as well as the rain, impossible to see through. He prayed that she was at least with Alex. Especially with the odd people the twins had reported seeing around the house. From where he stood against the window he could barely see the flowerbed in the front only a few feet away and jumped when he heard the door burst open.
"Mr. Turner!" a voice cried from the main hall.
He quickly walked out to see Alex standing in the open doorway with Alaina in his arms. The sounds of the storm were deafening, but Will didn't notice. His eyes were fixed on his daughter, who was soaked, dirty, and looking at him warily through half open eyes.
"I'm sorry." She began to sob, closing her eyes tight so she didn't feel any more humiliated then she already did with Alex carrying her.
Will raised an eyebrow at Alex who quickly looked away, and Will went up to take Alaina from him. Jack and James raced out of the parlor at all the commotion but stopped to see their father carrying Alaina up the stairs and Alex standing in front of the open door.
"Alex what happened?" James asked; Alex snapped out of it and quickly turned and went back out the door, shutting it behind him.
Jack ran to the door and opened it to find Alex already out of sight. "I told you I smelled deceit," Jack told his brother, shutting the door again.
"Yeah, well I smell victory," James said, heading back to their chess game.
Alaina buried her head in her father's chest and clung onto him tightly, not wanting him to let go. Will tightened his grip protectively on her as he felt her begin to shake and wondered what possessed her and Alex to go running around in the rain.
"I'm sorry," Alaina whispered again, puzzling Will.
'Sorry for what?' he wondered, but didn't say anything.
Alaina instead fell asleep in the security of his arms as they went to her bedroom. The door was already open and clothes and things were scattered around the room. 'How in the world can she live like this?' he thought with a grin, kicking a few things out of his way as he made way to her bed.
"Dad?" Alaina mumbled sleepily as he laid her down.
"I'm right here," he assured, pulling the heavy covers over her.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled again before drifting off to sleep.
Will was extremely puzzled but went out and shut the door.
***
