Selcouth (adj.) Unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvelous
November 9th 1989
Bern, Switzerland
9:12 am
There was a light rap on the door. Bella turned to find Edward standing in the doorway. "Are you almost ready in here?"
"Just about." Bella fastened Eloise's shoe before lifting the little girl off the bed and grabbing her coat. "Now we're ready."
"Great. The car is waiting outside," he said, holding his hand out for her. Once she was near he wrapped an arm around her and Eloise and led them down to the car.
The car ride was a quiet one. Bella spent the ride gazing out at the beautiful town while Eloise bounced impatiently in her seat. Geoffrey eventually stopped the car outside of what looked like an upscale restaurant. He got out, holding the door on Edward's side open.
Edward turned to Bella gently resting his hand on top of hers. "I have a meeting this morning. Geoffrey is going to take you and Eloise to the Rose Garden and then I will meet the two of you for lunch."
"Okay," she nodded, feeling dazed by his closeness. Edward was the type of man to plan things to the detail, but never inform anyone of those plans beforehand. Simply, expecting that his decisions be followed as he saw fit. In a way, it made sense considering she was simply his employee and she should be able to adapt to his unusual schedule.
He muttered something in German to Geoffrey and placed a kiss on Eloise's forehead before briskly entering the restaurant. Geoffrey pulled the car away and they slowly drove through Bern.
"You like flowers Bella?" Eloise asked, looking up at Bella with her big inquisitive eyes. "I love flowers. Papa and I went to the Rose Garden before, and they have lots of flowers."
"I do love flowers El," she said, tickling the adorable little girl, causing her to giggle sweetly. "My Mémé had a beautiful garden full of flowers in England. I used to visit her with my mom and Dad when I was little like you. I loved smelling the flowers and picking them."
"Papa said we can't pick the flowers at the Rose Garden today," she said with a disappointed sigh.
"Did he?"
"Uh huh," she nodded. "And we have to obey him because he is…Papa."
Soon Geoffrey was pulling the car over and holding the door open for Bella and Eloise. "I will return with Mr. Edward soon," he informed her in his rudimentary French.
"Danke Geoffrey," Bella said, climbing out of the car and taking Eloise's hand.
The park was absolutely beautiful. It had a calming effect that lifted her spirits at the same time. Edward always knew what he was doing when it came to keeping them occupied. It was the perfect place to spend a leisurely morning. It would have been even more perfect if it was summer or springtime.
Bella and Eloise wandered around the park, taking in the beautiful roses, azaleas, rhododendron and irises. Bella stopped at the café for a cup of coffee for herself and a pastry for Eloise. Then she and Eloise ran around the lawns and Eloise made a few new friends among children who were there with their families.
Eloise was particularly happy with a little girl named Adeline and her puppy, Ancel. She knew Eloise wouldn't let her and Edward hear the end of it once they got home.
They chased the dog around the park happily shrieking, "Ancel! Ancel!"as they ran. It was nice seeing Eloise interacting with children her own age. The child usually spent the majority of her time in the presence of adults. Bella was sure that her playing with children like Adeline would be a good thing.
Bella snapped pictures with her camera, documenting her adventure. She also made sure to buy postcards from a nearby stand to send home to her family. She knew her parents must have been sick with worry due to the irregularity of her phone calls and letters. She made a mental note to send them some pictures of Bern and the Chateau in France.
Before they knew it, Edward was strolling in their direction. He had ditched his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his button-down. "There are my girls," he said as he approached. "I was worried I wouldn't find you. Are you two having fun?"
"We are," Bella giggled, snapping another picture of Eloise.
"Good," Edward sighed, lightly resting his hand on her shoulder. "We can go get some lunch now. I know you must be hungry."
"Would you like me to take a picture of your family?" Bella turned to see a French woman she and Eloise had met earlier in the park. She had twin daughters around Eloise's age.
"Oh, well we're not –"
"Sure," Edward said cutting Bella off. He scooped Eloise into his arms and wrapped an arm around Bella. She handed the woman the camera with shaky hands. Her body heated where his hand lay.
The woman snapped several pictures of them as they stood in the park looking like a happy young family.
"Your husband is very handsome." She smiled at Edward and looked between him and Eloise. "She is like his twin. Beautiful family," she said, handing the camera back to a red-faced Bella. Bella noticed that Edward seemed completely unbothered by the woman's assumption.
"Thank you." Edward flashed the woman a grin as he led Bella and Eloise away from the woman and her two children. "I hope you have your appetites."
"May I have chocolat for dessert Papa?" Eloise jutted out her bottom lip, pulling the cutest face ever. Her eyes were wide and pleading.
"She has quite the sweet tooth, in case you haven't noticed," he chuckled.
The sound sent tingles up Bella's spine.
What was he doing to her? She shouldn't be having these feelings about her employer.
The entered the large open air restaurant and sat down for their meal. Eloise ended up getting the chocolate she wanted and Edward's deep, intense eyes were on Bella throughout almost the entirety of their meal. Bella tried her best to remain composed while her boss slowly drove her mad with desire. She wasn't sure how much longer she could control herself.
November 9th 1989
Bern, Switzerland
8:30 pm
"Come in," Edward's deep voice hollered from the other side of the door.
Bella opened the door to find Edward seated behind his desk, with the telephone pressed to his ear. "Victoria, I already told you," he sighed, rubbing his temple wearily. He sounded tired and annoyed. "Perhaps another time. I have some business to attend to. Goodnight."
Bella took a seat on the dark brown leather chair across from him. Whoever was on the phone was not cooperating with Edward.
"Geoffrey will take you an Eloise shopping tomorrow," Edward informed her, as he hung up the phone. "You need to get a nice evening dress. Money is no object at all."
"An evening dress?"
"Yes," he said, distractedly opening and closing drawers. "We are attending a dinner party on Saturday. Eloise needs a new dress as well, I suppose."
"Oh, what is the party for?" She was surprised she and Eloise would be attending a party with him. In his line of work, she assumed he only attended business functions with rich men in suits. She wondered what would be child and nanny appropriate. It certainly couldn't be for work.
"It's work related," he said, simply. She knew he wasn't going to elaborate. He wasn't one for detailed or elaborate explanations.
He pulled out some papers, quickly sifting through them. "Everybody brings their family, drinks wine, and does dinner party things."
"How would I know what kind of dress to pick?"
"Good point," he said distractedly, his eyes raking over her form. She waited for him to say something else but he went back to the papers in front of him.
"Well…I'll um…"
Edward looked up at her expectantly as if he didn't just disregard her question. "Was there something else Miss Swan?"
"I…I just told you that I," Bella looked at him with confusion. "How will I know what to pick out to wear?" She took a seat in the chair across from him.
"Don't worry you will get help. They will know what you need once you let them know what function it is," he said, focusing on a particular paper. "Is Eloise asleep?"
"She is. She was no trouble at all. She went down pretty quickly actually," she said. "I guess she was worn out from all the fun she had today."
He beat a stack of papers together before rising to his feet and walking around to where she sat across from him. "Come on," he said, taking her hand. "It's a beautiful night." She knew he meant to the roof patio. They grabbed their coats from the entranceway closet and walked up the stairs to the patio in comfortable silence.
"It's funny how life is," Edward mused, once they were seated under the stars with a bottle of wine. "Who would have known that we would meet again? How did you end up in Bergerac?"
"It's actually a funny story," she laughed. "I had planned to get a picking job in southwestern France anyway, but it was almost like I was pushed in that particular direction. My friend left me, I got robbed in Paris and then I decided to get on a train to Bordeaux. I got a ride and ended up in Chamadelle where I met a little old lady who told me about a wine family about an hour away in Bergerac. Then I met Esme and the rest is history."
"Robbed," he gasped. "Well Paris is filled with pickpockets. I'm sorry that happened to you, but I am glad you are here. I wouldn't have been able to replace Vanessa on such short notice and Eloise absolutely loves you. Everything worked out in the end. It was almost like fate bringing me the perfect…nanny."
"I guess so," she agreed. She couldn't help thinking that there was more to his words. Fate. She supposed that was possible.
"It's beautiful," she said, standing to take another look at the lit town below.
"Yeah. The Old-town is a World Heritage Site now," he said. "I can see why. You should take Eloise out there sometime. It is beautiful. You could get some nice shots with your camera."
"We definitely will," Bella said. "How does that work? If I want to go out to get fresh veggies from the market do I let you know first and let you call Geoffrey? Should I call Geoffrey?"
"I'd prefer you let me know in advance if you want to take her out," Edward said. "I trust you, of course, but I prefer knowing. It gives me peace of mind to know where my…daughter and her nanny are. I'm sure you understand."
"Of course." She didn't miss his pause. She thought back to earlier in the day when he referred to her and Eloise as his girls. He was also completely fine with the woman referring to them as a family.
"My family wasn't happy about me coming on this trip." She pulled her knees to her chest settling back into her seat. "They thought it was too risky. I bet if it were my brother, they would have had no problem with it. I mean, it's 1989. I am completely fine."
"Other than the robbery thing."
"You're always sassing me." Bella rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, holding back laughter.
"Sassing? I've never heard that one before."
"Sassing is –"
"I know what it is," he chuckled. "It's never been used to describe me before. I'm flattered."
She laughed. "You don't stop, do you?"
"No idea what you mean Miss Sawn."
"You seem close to your parents," she said, getting back on the subject. "I hope my relationship with my parents will stay like that when I leave home and have a family. I want us to be close and where I can always come and visit them with my family."
"We are pretty close," he agreed.
They were quiet for a while, enjoying the cool night. Bella hugged her jacket closer to her body.
"Too cold?"
"Just a little bit chilly," she said quickly. "The wine warms me right up though. It's fine." She didn't want him to suggest that they go inside. She knew if they went inside, he would disappear into his bedroom or his study. She wasn't ready for him to leave yet. She enjoyed spending time with him.
"Philippe isn't my biological father," he said suddenly.
Bella sat up straighter in her seat, listening attentively. It sounded like she was about to learn more about him. "My father ran off to England when I was little. My mother never really spoke about him. He hurt her. Meeting Philippe was good for her. For both of us. I'm glad he adopted me. Like you said, I have a great family." He sighed, reaching for the wine bottle to pour his self more wine. "Without him…" he shook his head sadly.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this," he said, laughing humorlessly. "I guess you…" he trailed off. "I couldn't imagine not being in Eloise's life. Children need fathers sometimes."
"That's true," she agreed. "I couldn't imagine my life without mine." The talk of father's brought back a nagging question she had. Where was Eloise's mother? Nobody ever spoke of her.
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