hello all! Hope you guys enjoy this segment! Thank all of you for the encouragement! It is lovely to read!:)
Elsie woke up slowly. She was pleasantly warm and she cuddled further into...her eyes shot open, and she saw what she was cuddling into. The warm mass of Charles' body. The previous nights events flashed before her eyes and she took in the room. She looked at the clock, willing her eyes to focus. 3:30 am it read. They needed to head back, the dream was fading with the coming daylight.
She traced patterns on his chest absentmindedly. She kissed his cheek and smoothed the errant curl back into place. His eye flustered open and he caught her hand, only to press a sleepy kiss to it. Then he pressed a kiss to forehead. They stared at each other for a minute and shared a glorious morning after kiss.
She had to get up before they did anymore, and she was already mentally noting that she would need to check this room. But as she swung her legs over the side he grabbed her by the waist and she knew the question before it came. She looked back into is soft concerned and questioning gaze.
"Spare the rod, spoil the child. That is certainly accurate for my mothers thought process. She had my da convinced I was evil. I was a bit more outgoing than my older sister, so naturally I got into more things than I should. And they would beat me. It got worse when they would both drink." She swallowed thickly, "But the worst scar, that came from when I came home for my sisters wedding after my first maid job. I was so happy, but mother was less than pleased. Joe had already asked me once. I had refused and gone off to work. My da, well mother had convinced him to tie me down. She just kept hitting me with the damned leather belt. I screamed and screamed, and finally my mind went black. My...my sister had come home. She had ran and gotten Henry. He had carried me to my grandparents house. I didn't come back to reality until the day of the wedding. That was three days after the beating. I haven't been alone with my parents since."
He watched the tears run down her cheeks, and he knew she was ashamed. He took her face in his hands and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. Suddenly a thought then struck him.
"Elsie, do you think what we did makes you evil or bad?" He asked gently.
He watched her nod and tears flooded her eyes once more. He cradled her to his chest as the sobs wracked her body. His beautiful and very capable, was actually a fragile person who had been broken, had been made to believe that she was bad.
He looked at the clock, 4:15. They needed to go. "Elsie, meet me back here tonight. We need to discuss some things. But please know, you are not bad. Or ruined by what we did."
She nodded and silently donned her nightgown and dressing gown. She quickly braided her hair and then with one final look to see he had his shirt and trousers on, she made her way up to the attics and sank into a bath.
This talk tonight would be the second hardest thing in her life. But as she got ready for the day, she knew it was worth it. He was worth it.
Let me know what you all think!
much love- Samantha :)