Will You Teach Me…?
We are now entering the last part of this fiction (!) and now that I'm basically done writing it (and almost done translating it), I wanted to ask you if you would like me to publish the next nine (and final) chapters every week, as I did for the Clover and the Tartan? Or if you'd rather have 1 chapter every 3 weeks? Tell me in the comments!
Special thanks to Rath101, Vorst and greengoldlight4 for the reviews, as well as Itmeltsmybutter and AscendingSea for hitting the follow/fav button!
Rath101: ahahahah I love your comment "I think it's going to come down to which emotion is overpowering her at the moment". You think her choice is hard at the moment? It's gonna get harder, but not in the way you think… hehehe. Enjoy this chapter (I know you will, it's full of sweet sexy domestic bliss… but also something more. Lol)
Vorst: thank you so much for your comment! I really put a lot of effort in building their relationship and it took me months only to come up with the chronology and ensure Brianna's psychology after her trauma was credible. So, thank you very much! I hope you'll enjoy the final part of this story!
Greengoldlight4: Thank you so much for your comment in chapter 2! I don't know if you read all the other chapters but I hope you keep enjoying this story!
~o~
26. Burning Books
October 1774.
While Brianna was making up her mind about whether or not she should use the ledger, Phaedre had asked for Stephen's permission to go to Wilmington for the fabric fair. They had agreed that Brianna would let her know before she left if she had to pay a visit to the apothecary. Which gave her three weeks… twenty-one days to decide if she really wanted to go on the offensive against Stephen Bonnet and William Tryon. Twenty-one days during which she would put the Irishman to the test and decide if he was worthy of her forgiveness.
A part of her was confident: as far as she knew, Stephen had had an impeccable behavior toward her since last March and if he kept going like this, her choice would be simple. She would keep the ledger for a few months, years maybe, and then get rid of it permanently. But if he were to make another stupid mistake… she would show no mercy. Of course, it would all depend on how stupid the mistake is…, she thought, mechanically stirring her morning coffee.
"YAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!"
Brianna jumped so hard she almost dropped her teaspoon and knocked over her cup. Jeremiah had just squealed with joy somewhere in the house, and she soon heard his little feet scurrying down the hall to the dining room.
"Mommy, mommy! We're gonna sleep outside!"
Brianna frowned. "S-sleep outside? What do you mean?"
Jeremiah was about to answer when Stephen entered the room and walked around the table to kiss the top of his wife's head.
"I have to leave for a few days at the end of the week, but before I do there is one last plot of land that I would like to sell. It is quite far from here, on the banks of the Cape Fear River. But it looks like the measurements on the old deed are wrong, so I have to go and check them before I can sell… And I thought…", he fell silent, turning his head towards his son who was hopping up and down impatiently. "What did I think, Jeremiah?"
"That we could go and camp there!", the child answered enthusiastically and Stephen nodded.
"You're right! But also?"
Jem scowled slightly and looked down. "That we had to ask Mommy first…"
Brianna swallowed a sip of coffee and her eyes widened. "Why are you making that face?"
"Because you're going to say no. You always say no...", the boy muttered.
"I don't say no all the time, Jeremiah..."
"So, is that a yes then?", Stephen added with a triumphant grin.
Brianna alternately looked at her husband's mocking face, then at Jeremiah's hopeful eyes, and suddenly felt like she had fallen for it hook, line and sinker. If she refused, Jeremiah would have one more reason to think she was a killjoy. Also, she had to spend some time with Stephen before making her decision. Especially if he had to leave soon.
"All right", she sighed and winced when her son let out another joyful and deafening howl, before looking up at Stephen. "Where are you going?"
"I must be escortin' the tax money convoy to New Bern. The Catawbas have been out of control lately. They attack everythin': mail coaches, goods, anything that belongs to the Crown… Lord Tryon does not want to take any chances."
"When will you be back?"
"Probably a week or so before Phaedre's departure for the fair...", Stephen answered and a cocky smile appeared on his lips. "Why? Will you miss me?"
Brianna chuckled loudly and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, definitely", she said in a tone that implied the exact opposite, but far from being offended, Stephen shook his head in amusement while cutting a piece of bread in his plate.
"You ungrateful woman… I should tie you to a chair every time I leave. My presence between these walls would be a bit more appreciated."
Squinting and tapping her chin, the young woman pretended to think and Stephen's smile widened as he wondered what she was going to answer. "Well, I guess… it depends on the chair…?"
A ball of breadcrumb hit Brianna right on the nostril, but she immediately sent it back to its owner with a mischievous smile. Stephen was about to throw it again when a cute moralizing voice rose between them.
"Do not play with your food!"
Brianna cleared her throat and immediately put on a serious face. "You are right, Jeremiah. We'll stop immediately", she promised, as Stephen threw the crumb again at his son. Fortunately, the ball missed its target and Jeremiah went to sit in his chair while Bree mouthed "That's enough" to Stephen, as the pirate hid his smile in his cup of tea.
"Is this land so far away that we have to sleep there?", she asked, helping Jeremiah spread jam on his toast.
"It's a three or four hours' drive in cart..." Brianna raised her eyebrows so high that Stephen felt the need to explain. "From what I've seen in your aunt's paperwork, the late Mr. Cameron had bought it for next to nothin', hopin' that he could later buy all the surroundin' land up to the plantation. But when he died, your aunt stopped expanding the estate and this land has remained isolated and untilled ever since. We'll get nothin' out of it as it is and I need a bit of money, anyway...", he finished with a smirk.
"What for? Is everything alright?"
The Irishman's lips stretched a little more and he nodded. "Aye, do not worry, darlin'. It's a surprise..."
Knowing from his enigmatic look that she wouldn't worm the information out of him, Brianna finished her breakfast in silence, trying to ignore the strange feeling that twisted her insides at the thought of being left on her own for more than a week just when she wanted to be around Stephen as much as possible. How would she make an informed decision if he was absent most of the time? If she sent Phaedre to deliver the ledger, wouldn't she regret it later if her husband made no further mistakes? Or on the contrary, if she chose to keep it, wouldn't she regret it the next time Stephen did something wrong? No… After all, she had already waited more than a year to find information and the hardest part of their marriage seemed behind them. She would know how to be patient, if another opportunity presented itself...
Two hours later, comfortably seated in a simple cart, the three Bonnets left the property to reach the land where they would spend the next twenty-four hours. The place was a vast stretch of sparse forest bordering the Cape Fear River, and Brianna immediately felt at peace there. The murmur of the wind in the leaves, the deafening noise of the river waters flowing between the rocks in small rapids, and the whistling of hundreds of birds above their heads reminded her of her first months at Fraser's Ridge, when she was pregnant and slept in a makeshift cabin near the house under construction. Unspoilt, natural landscape, never yet touched by human hand. At least until now: Stephen had just delicately picked a wild azalea flower to tuck it behind her ear.
"A flower among flowers…", he said pompously with a theatrical wave of his hand, causing her to laugh. "You like this place, aye? One word from you, darlin', and I won't sell it..."
Brianna shook her head. "No, it just reminds me of… Fraser's Ridge." She had almost said home, but had changed her mind for fear that he would get offended.
"One word, Brianna…", he purred, brushing the flower with his finger.
"No, sell it… It's in the middle of nowhere. We won't use it, unless you've decided to settle a whole colony in the area..."
"Mama, can we play hide and seek?", Jeremiah's excited voice came from behind them.
"We will… after lunch! I think Mr. Fitzpatrick put a delicious meat pie into our basket…", she announced with a greedy smile. Jeremiah loved meat pie and rushed to the cart to unload the heavy basket which contained a few dishes, their two meals of the day and some snacks for the next morning. Stephen rushed to help him and after Brianna spread a blanket by the river, they settled on the floor to enjoy their lunch.
"He even thought about the wine. Good man...", Stephen said, taking a bottle and two glasses from a velvet-lined wooden box.
"Can I taste the wine?", Jeremiah asked, watching the red liquid flow into the glasses.
Brianna cringed. "Absolutely not, Jeremiah."
"But why?", the child whined. She was about to scold him, but Stephen beat her to it and handed Jeremiah his own glass.
"Why not, indeed?" Jeremiah grabbed the glass and put it to his mouth, as his father went on: "If you do like wine, then you will officially be a man."
But Jemmy winced at the first sip and stared at his father as if he had just betrayed him by giving him the most disgusting drink on Earth.
"Hmm... It seems to me you're still a little boy, son...", Stephen said apologetically. "And what do little boys do? They listen to their Mama. So when Mama says no... she means no. Come on, give me your plate."
Under Brianna's amused gaze, he served Jemmy a piece of pie before doing the same to her. "I thought for a moment that you would actually allow him to drink wine…"
"Who do you think I am, ye woman of little faith?", he joked, before smiling when he saw her giggle. "If he's like me, the day he'll start drinkin' will come soon enough. Might as well take advantage of his young age to disgust him a little…"
If someone had told Brianna a few years earlier that she would one day have a picnic with Stephen Bonnet – AND have a great time – she wouldn't have believed it and would have seriously questioned the other person's mental health. However, she had to admit it: this moment away from their home in an idyllic setting, was not only pleasant but also did her a world of good. She was breathing again – just like when she freed her ribcage from her corset after a long social event and she could finally lay in her cozy bed, with a warm hand resting on her breast. Not a hand… 'his' hand, she corrected internally, her cheeks burning. Her confusion did not go unnoticed and she quickly finished her plate of pie and her glass to blame this change in complexion on the alcohol.
"More wine?", Stephen asked, grabbing the bottle.
"No, thank you... and you shouldn't either, or we might have some surprises when you measure the land."
Stephen chuckled and corked the bottle, putting it back in the basket. "You're probably right… But before that, I think we promised a game of hide and seek to a little boy…"
"Me, me!", Jeremiah roared, putting his empty plate on the blanket to jump on his father's back. The latter somehow got up with the child perched on his shoulders, while Brianna put their leftovers in the basket and gathered the dishes to go rinse them in the river. But Stephen rolled his eyes.
"We'll deal with that later… Close your eyes, cover your ears and count to twenty, Jeremiah and I are goin' to hide."
Brianna sighed and watched them walk away before turning and yelling over her shoulder. "Jeremiah, you stay away from the river!"
"Yes, Mama!", the child answered and Brianna covered her ears confidently. She had called him to order out of habit, but since his mishap in the pond, Jeremiah had refused to put a single toe in any body of water that wasn't his bathtub and she doubted that Stephen would let him venture too close anyway.
"18...19...20! Ready or not, here I come!"
Brianna removed her palms from her ears and opened her eyes, momentarily dazzled by the brightness of the autumn sun. Turning around, she saw that neither of the boys was visible and walked first towards a huge oak tree, probably torn down by a storm and whose massive trunk was lying across the forest. But no one was hiding behind. A large rock, a hollow trunk, tall grass, she searched so many possible hiding places but those contained nothing but a few bouncing grasshoppers and a blackbird that flew away on a nearby tree.
The characteristic sound of a breaking branch made her turn around, and a little further on she noticed some thick thickets that were high enough to hide a grown man. Brianna walked around the bush to spring on the other side, with a triumphant "ah-ah!"… but there was nothing. That's weird... I could have sworn-
Two strong hands grabbed her waist and she whirled around with a brief cry, beathing a sigh of relief as she recognized her husband. "You scared me to death!", she protested, before feeling Stephen's hands roll up her skirt. "What are you doing?"
"I want you, mo fhíorghra…", he purred against her ear and Brianna felt her heart race, despite her firm intention to get her hands on her hidden son.
"I haven't found Jeremiah…"
Stephen straightened up with a mischievous look. "I hid him under the covers in the back of the cart. And I told him not to move until we found him. Which gives us some time…"
Brianna opened her mouth to refuse, but a pleasant shiver rising from her lower abdomen made her reconsider the question as Stephen buried his face in the crook of her neck. Under other circumstances, she would certainly have found an excuse, but here far from River Run, far from any kind of pressure and in this heavenly place, nothing came to her mind. And that is why she just clang to the Irishman's shoulders and panted: "All right, but let's make it quick."
Stephen did not need to be told twice. Grabbing her bare thighs under her dress, he lifted her abruptly, before taking a few steps to lean her against a nearby tree trunk. Brianna grabbed a large branch to take some of her weight off him and after untying his breeches, he penetrated her unprepared. She let out a loud moan before remembering that Jeremiah was only a few dozen yards away and pursed her lips for more discretion. There was something strangely exciting about doing this in the wilderness, where any boat sailing on the Cape Fear could catch them in the act, and Bree could not say she didn't like it. For a few minutes, Stephen gave quick and powerful thrusts between her thighs and even if it wasn't long enough for Brianna to actually climax, she didn't end up frustrated – going as far as to conclude their antics with a languorous kiss after Stephen had released himself inside her. A kiss that Stephen reiterated just before they came out of hiding and went to look for Jeremiah.
But as he lifted the blanket, no little boy came out springing like a devil from its box, asking whether he had chosen a good hiding place. Jeremiah was there – curled up between the tents and a heavy bag – and he was sleeping soundly, his tiny chest rising and falling with the steady rhythm of his breathing.
"Poor child", Brianna whispered with a fond smile. "He waited for so long that he dozed off. I feel bad…"
Behind her back, Stephen grabbed her hips and circled her waist with his arms, staring fondly at their son. "Hmm, for some mysterious reason… I don't."
~o~
The next day, as they rode back to River Run, Brianna Bonnet's cheeks were colored with a persistent and bright shade of pink. After their little sexcapade against the tree, Stephen had left to take his measurements and she had set up camp for the night, then made a fire. Right after sundown, Jeremiah had snuggled up in the cart between bags and warm blankets, and his parents had laid down under the tent where they had made love. Again.
Brianna discreetly turned her head towards her husband, who was holding the reins and her cheeks flushed when he smiled imperceptibly. Even with his eyes focused on the road, he could feel her blue irises on him, and Brianna's face turned crimson this time. And we did it again at dawn…, she thought as she finished her internal debriefing. After these two perfect days, she hated that she had to go home and then spend at least a week without her husband. Brianna fought the urge to roll her eyes. After months of running away from him, she was now always wanting more. What had happened to her? Had he turned her into a hormone-wrecked teenager? No, a pragmatic voice said in her mind. I'm just a woman who's attracted to her husband. Nothing extraordinary.
But maybe it was extraordinary, considering the marriage was not a love match and the groom had more than one crime to his credit? Brianna did not have the answer to that question. Many other women before her had certainly married men they did not like or did not know, and yet affection was born over time, with children, tragedies and happy moments. Why would she be an exception?
The next day, Stephen had taken his horse and left the property – his saddlebags filled with food and spare clothes for the trip. Brianna had watched him leave – with a surprisingly painful lump in her throat – and had decided to take her mind off things by going with Jeremiah for a walk in Cross Creek, chaperoned by Hennessy. Her mother's birthday was coming up and she wanted to find and send a gift for her.
A vial caught her attention at the local apothecary: "Frobenius' Liquor", a chemical used as a solvent in Europe but whose analgesic and especially recreational properties had been discovered by some curious scientists. A product that would be better known in the future under another name…
"Ether…", Brianna whispered with a victorious smile. Immediately, the wheels in her brain started turning and she began to imagine how she could make a mask and offer the complete system to Claire, allowing her mother to anaesthetize her patients and perform more complex procedures. Still smiling, Bree grabbed the vial, as well as natural sponges displayed on another shelf, and after having Hennessy pay for her purchases, they went to the carpenter's to buy a pretty wooden box, then a velvet fitting and some very thick fabric in another shop.
"May I ask what you intend to do with all of this, Madam?", Hennessy finally asked, his arms full of boxes, as Jeremiah dashed towards a flock of pigeons, making them leave the ground in a concert of rustling wings and angry cooing.
"I want to send a present to my mother for her birthday…"
The butler immediately frowned and shook his head. "I don't know if I can allow you to send anything without Mr. Bonnet's approval..."
"He did allow me to buy a gift for my father", the young woman reminded him and as Hennessy remained unyielding, she added in a childish voice: "I'll let you check the package and the letter, if that's what's bothering you. Please…"
Hennessy opened his mouth, frowning, but did not have time to speak.
"Please-please-please-please-please-"
Around them, some people cast a few curious glances in their direction and Hennessy groaned. "Yes, Madam..."
As Brianna let out a cry of triumph, he hastened to add: "But if Mr. Bonnet hears about it and disagrees..."
"I promise I will put in a good word for you at your trial", she taunted, rolling her eyes and running after Jeremiah.
"Oh, there will be no trial…", Hennessy muttered, dragging his feet behind them. "He will drag me by the collar to South Carolina and feed me to the alligators…"
"What did you say?", Brianna asked from a few yards away, but only a gruff growl answered her.
~o~
Eight days went by faster than Brianna had expected. She had first made some sketches and patterns of the mask, then a compartment for the sponge and the product so that they were not in direct contact with the patients' respiratory tract, and arranged the box nicely to place the precious liquid and her gift before putting the whole thing inside a beautiful blue velvet bag. Then, she had written a few standard and absolutely not suspicious words, had them checked by Hennessy, who approved the gift and had it sent by courier. Brianna was convinced that her mother would love this new tool and this thought alone made the days less monotonous.
But Stephen did not return. On the ninth day, a letter had reached River Run, explaining that the journey would take longer than expected but that he would be back as soon as possible, and Brianna started to find the time quite long. And it wasn't just because she needed to spend time with him to make her mind about the ledger. To tell the truth, her daily life within these walls lost its entire meaning when he was gone. She had nothing to look forward to, no activity except taking care of Jeremiah, and no body to warm up her own after dark.
On the tenth day, her sketchbooks—usually blackened with portraits and landscapes where the little lines and dots of her menstrual cycles were hidden—were covered in technical sketches, notes, and other inventions she had always wanted to recreate here in the eighteenth century, in order to make her parents' life at the Ridge easier. A paddle wheel, matches, a spinning wheel, a storm lamp, gradually appeared on the pages and she started to feel the urge to scout around the outbuildings of River Run for tools and materials.
The dawn of the eleventh day, on the other hand, put an end to her creative impulse when the pain of her coming menstruation forced her to stay in bed, with nothing else to think about than the cold, empty spot next to hers. No big, toned chest to snuggle up against, no hands to caress her body, no legs to intertwine with hers, no green eyes burning with desire for her. Brianna sighed as her right hand unconsciously slipped between her thighs, rushing to ease the pain of her contracting womb but also to fill up the cruel void caused by the pirate's absence.
The orgasm came quickly under her expert hand but far from satisfying her, she only came out more frustrated. Because of the first drops of blood that now smeared the tips of her fingers, but also because the name "Stephen" had escaped her stupid lips in pleasure. A name that she had hated, even feared, and that she now moaned in her most intimate moments. Fuck...
Finally – after fifteen days of absence and three days before Phaedre's departure to Wilmington – Stephen's horse had showed up at the gates of River Run, much to Jeremah's delight but also his mother's, even if she would rather have died than admit it. The two of them were playing in the child's room when Stephen's voice echoed in the hallway and Jeremiah immediately screamed like a madman, piercing Brianna's eardrums, before scurrying down the stairs.
"Daddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
Brianna sat on the floor for a moment, trying to decide how she felt about Stephen's return, but finding no answer, she decided to figure it out by herself and got up to follow Jeremiah. Her son's happy voice echoed in the entire house, and as she walked down the stairs, the sight of the little boy floating in mid-air and falling back into his father's arms made her smile. But the screaming soon stopped when Stephen put his son down – so that Lloyd could take off his traveling coat – and his eyes finally landed on the one and only woman who had haunted his thoughts for two weeks.
"Brianna…", he breathed when she reached the last step and looked up at him.
The intensity of the Irishman's gaze hit her hard and for a moment, she felt like Claire every time Jamie and her reunited after being separated more than a week. Her heart raced and when he ran to kiss her passionately, Brianna abandoned herself heart and soul in his arms.
"I missed you, mo fíorghrá…", he breathed, pressing his lips on her forehead, while Brianna whispered a shy "I missed you too" that caused him to smile. "You were in my thoughts, every moment of every day… 'thought I was losin' me mind…"
Hennessy briefly cleared his throat from the service corridor to catch Stephen's attention. "Mr. Bonnet?", the butler said simply with a nod, before turning away and heading toward the kitchens.
"I'm comin', Mr. Hennessy…" Stephen looked down at Brianna again, most likely already thinking of the blissful moment when he would be able to undress her and quench two weeks of unbearable thirst for flesh. "I'll be right back."
Bree nodded with a tight smile, and he kissed her again before following their butler down the corridor. What the hell does he want to tell him?, Brianna thought as she watched him walk away. If Happy wants to blab about my mother's present, he could at least do it in front of me, so that I can defend myself... I have done nothing wrong, after all!
Leaving Jeremiah with Lloyd, Brianna silently followed them and stopped by the kitchen and its half-opened door. Hiding in the shadows, Brianna peeked inside the room and saw Hennessy grab something from a drawer. Something that looked like a leather-bound book.
"Another book came from Fraser's Ridge, Sir...", Hennessy mumbled, handing it to Stephen who took it, his face darkening. "Do you want me to burn it, like the others?"
Brianna's heart skipped a beat and she miraculously managed to suppress a cry of surprise. For more safety, she clasped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound of her quickening breath. Do you want me to burn it, like the others? Like the others… The others… Hennessy's words were playing on a loop in her mind, as if her brain needed that to process the information and all that it implied. There had been other books, other hidden messages from her parents. But they had been destroyed, without her even knowing of their existence. When? How many times? Why? Had Stephen discovered the hidden message in Hamlet? Or was he just being suspicious? Her eyes were tearing up and her vision blurred as she now stared at Stephen, his blank stare and pursed lips. And she started to beg.
Don't do this... Not now... I'm begging you, Stephen, be honest and give me that book... I'll forgive you for all the other books, but only if you give me this one...
Stephen turned the book over in his hands, examining it from every angle before exhaling through his nose. Meanwhile, Brianna's mind was literally screaming and she wondered how he could not hear it.
Show me that you changed... Show me that you trust me... Show me that you love me... Show me that I have no reason to use the damned ledger... STEPHEN!
"You are not even sure if there's anything hidden inside, Sir...", Hennessy went on in a soft voice. "Maybe these are just books…"
The slowness with which Stephen was making his decision threatened to drive Brianna crazy, and the hand holding her mouth shut started to shake uncontrollably, so she clapped her second hand over it and squeezed. As hard as she could.
I'm begging you, Stephen, don't do this… I don't want… I don't want to do this… Stephen, give me the book, please, love-
"Burn it…", Bonnet blurted abruptly, handing the book back to his butler, who suppressed a disapproving sigh.
In the corridor, Brianna felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces and she instantly knew she had to leave at all costs before exploding with anger, sadness and disappointment. She left as quickly and silently as possible, climbed the stairs four steps at a time and locked herself in the small closet where Phaedre stored the household linen. Panting, she leaned against the nearest wall and took a long breath, occasionally broken with sobs. She needed to calm down and regain control of herself. Stephen could not know that she had spied on them, he could not even suspect her emotion. But that was easier said than done and for a minute or two, she let her tears run free before grabbing an embroidered handkerchief from the shelves to dry her wet cheeks and lips.
Maybe it was better that way. It would definitely make things easier. It would make her decision easier. He would never really change. Even if he managed to make her the happiest of wives, he would still have this fear, this mistrust, this sick need to keep her all to himself and himself only, to lock her up, to isolate her, to lie to her… And he had just proved it once again. Everything could have been different. He could have walked out of that damn kitchen with the book in his hand and he could have given it to her. He could have chosen to trust her and she would have followed the path of forgiveness. She would have written to her parents to tell them that she didn't want to get revenge anymore, that she wanted to give their couple a chance. They could have been happy, but-
Burn it.
Two words. Another shitty decision. One last chance wasted. Brianna wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and waved her hands in front of her face to blow some fresh air on her red nose and eyes. And when she felt ready, she left her hiding place, coming face to face with Phaedre on the left side of the corridor and Stephen on the right, as he reached the second floor landing.
Brianna immediately smiled, trying to ignore the pain in her heart when Stephen smiled back at her, as naturally as usual. Without any single trace of guilt.
"What were you doin' in there, darlin'?", he asked, frowning bemusedly.
"I…" Brianna cleared her throat, holding up the wet square of cloth between her fingers, "I was looking for a handkerchief. I think I caught a cold…" And to back up her diagnosis, she gave a short sniff.
"Hmm… this is what happens when I'm not here to warm you up…", he joked, reaching out for her hand. She took it stiffly, thinking that she would have put a lot more effort into it if he had just given her the goddamn book.
"Come on, let me take care of this cold and shivery little body...", Stephen muttered with a charming smile and Brianna let him take her to their room; only to stop and turn toward Phaedre when they reached the door.
"Oh, Phaedre…", she said matter-of-factly, "I forgot to tell you… When you go to Wilmington, would you please buy some chamomile at the apothecary's? I would like to make more lotion for Jeremiah's hair…"
Phaedre blinked, obviously surprised by this turn of events, but Brianna would surely tell her the reason later. The young servant did a brief curtsey and nodded. "Yes, Madam."
One second later, Brianna had disappeared inside the bedroom, abandoning herself – probably for one of the last times – to Stephen Bonnet's arms.
Or so she thought...
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
I KNOW, I know what you're going to say. How – after all these sweet, loving scenes – can she end the chapter like this? Well not only I can, but I also can tell you that the next chapter will be a Hell of a surprise! No matter what you think is going to happen, you are wrong...
Despite the heartbreaking ending for this poor Brianna, did you enjoy this chapter and the lovely family moments? The picnic and camping? I really like how Stephen has evolved and will continue to evolve in the next chapters. I know that he is not perfect, but he can still surprise you (and in a good way, I swear). Chapter 27 will be updated on April 23rd and until then, I wish you all a happy April fools' month!
Xérès