by Ivy Hayes
“Yes, I have noticed that. She is a smart girl and she figured out the reason behind your presence. None of us have confirmed it, but I am afraid she is only viewing you through jaded glasses.”
“Is all the secrecy so important? If you are still set with the match, can’t we just tell her the truth?”
“I promised my sons I wouldn’t say anything to her. They made a valid point, Gwen deserves happiness and she will never have it if she knows she was forced into a marriage.”
“But she already thinks that.”
“It is all in her head right now, so she will get over it if she starts to develop feelings for you. Our hope is she will want this marriage before we have to announce anything, so she will never know it was arranged.”
“Am I supposed to keep that secret from her, forever? That is a big lie I wouldn’t want to start a marriage with.” Even though the way things are going, her and I will never marry.
“You make a good point. I am sure we can spin it in a way where she would not harbor resentment towards you, only me and your father. We can play you as an unwilling part.”
“That might work, but I am learning Gwen can hold quite a grudge.”
“She can,” he smiles at that, “she always did have a strong resolve.”
“Do you have any tips on how I can get her to not hate me? I fear I am fighting a losing battle, she won’t even talk to me right now.”
“This is where Gwen is similar with my sweet Cat, chocolate is the way to her heart.”
We both share a wide grin and he stands up to make his leave, “Good luck, my boy.”
“Thank you, John.”
I shut the door behind him and plan to head to the market today and get something special for her.
I approach my desk and stare at the letter from my father. Whatever is inside, it won’t be pleasant. I have been in Cliffden for ten days and haven’t sent any information yet. It’s not for a lack of trying, I just haven’t found anything of note.
I can guarantee that is something he does not want to read. I can practically feel his disappointment at me radiating from the enclosed letter.
The biggest reason why I haven’t written to him is I am convinced my father is crying wolf. I can’t find any reason Lord Cliffden would attack Westhaven. I know they wouldn’t broadcast it to me, but this town shows none of the obvious signs of leading to an attack. They are not desperate, or overly successful. They are not stockpiling arms or preparing an army.
When I write him, I am going to have to tell him all of this. The trouble is, I don’t think my lack of findings will be enough to stop the attack. My father has everyone convinced, so even if they saw the letter from me, they wouldn’t listen to it. I doubt it would get that far though, my father would likely burn it once he read it and saw it didn’t contain the propaganda he wanted to spread.
Biting the bullet, I slice open the letter, breaking the seal and unfold its contents.
Parker,
Need I remind you of your mission? Your lack of correspondence is irksome. You have two days to send me information on Cliffden’s defenses, armies and weakness. Don’t make me send someone else to join you.
Westhaven
Short and to the point. He never does anything wasteful and even better, a deadline, one I have probably already missed due to Lord Cliffden having the letter for who knows how long. I need to find something to tell him, that will at least keep him at bay for a little while longer while I gather more evidence.
Besides, I don’t have the stomach for writing him a letter right now and what difference will a few more hours make.
I am in a strange mood as I exit my room. My day has only just begun, but it is already more complex then I would like.
When I make it to the dining room, I see food has already been served on the typical hot platters Rose uses in the mornings. I am the only one in the room, so I settle myself around the middle of the table and pour myself a cup of hot coffee.
A moment later, Grant joins me in the room and plops down on the other side of the table.
“Morning,” I mutter out over my mug.
“Can you pass the bacon?”
Grant doesn’t waste any time to start eating, so I join him. While we are scooping out the food I ask him, “What are your plans for the day?”
“I don’t have much planned. I was thinking of hanging around the house, probably train and catch up on some business. Why?”
“Would you be willing to give me a real tour around town? I would like to see more of it. . . and see the school Gwen works at.”
A laugh, “I see. Sounds more fun than what I was going to do, count me in.”
“Count you in for what?” Gregory asks from the entryway. Him and Ash enter the room holding hands.
“Oh, just something Parker and I are going to do today. Nothing special.” He winks at me and I can see the questions in the others’ eyes.
“Geez, Grant, you make it sound like it’s a conspiracy. He is just showing me around town.”
“I’ll join you guys for dinner at Nash’s! No tour would be complete without that.” Gregory said excitedly.
Ash patted his arm, “Don’t stay out too late.”
He smiled wolfishly at her, “My sweet, I promise to be home well before you are asleep.”
Gregory and Ash started making promises to each other that I had no business hearing, so I turned my attention away from them. Grant saw and said, “They sometimes forget they are in a room with other people. I keep waiting for the honeymoon period to end, but I worry it won’t with them.”
“They are happy, there are worse things to have to see than two people in love.”
It comes out more depressing than I mean it too, but I can’t help it. My time in Cliffden has already showed me the difference in our two households, theirs is full of love, happiness, and laughter whereas mine is nothing better than cold and lonely.
EIGHT – PARKER
I quickly learned Grant takes his tour guide job seriously. On the walk into town, we paused every few minutes, so he could point out different things, like whose farm we were passing or what the old broken-down building used to be. At one point, he pointed to a normal looking boulder and tried to tell me it was all that was left of the original manor built by his ancestors.
Like I said, he took his job very seriously.
During the walk I have a pit in my stomach. Everything he was telling me was ultimately serving the purpose of my father. Grant was unknowingly telling me the different strengths and weaknesses of the surrounding area. But I already know I won’t pass on any information that will damn Cliffden, I just need to dance the fine line and give my father enough information it will satiate him until I can come up with some plan to stop all of this.
As we approach the town, the first few sets of buildings we pass are dwellings. They belong to either families or young people that work in town, but do not own property of their own. We don’t have anything like this back in Westhaven and there are no places directly in town for people to live, unless their business has a room for them built in. Usually that is only the innkeepers or tavern owners. I pocket this idea, with the intention to implement something similar after I am back home.
Next, we enter into the market courtyard, where there are a mix of permanent stalls and ones that are no more than an open cart with a tent over them. I glance around, remarking how different it looks from when I was through here a short time ago.
The market it the intersection of the three roads that lead into town, so there is a constant bustle of activity. Surrounding the courtyard are a string of buildings, consisting of places to eat or sleep. There are a few hotels and a couple taverns, but Grant tells me the locals only frequent Nash’s as he has the best food.
Taking the road heading north, we soon arrive at Gwen’s school. It is a two-room building, what looks like it used to be an old farm house.
“Is she here today?” I ask
“Yes.�
� He pointed to the window to the left, “That is her room. I would show you, but I doubt she would be too happy if we came barging in.”
“You’re right about that, I don’t need to give her any more reason to be upset with me. Will she be in tomorrow?”
“Nope. She only does Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”
That is perfect. I can use tomorrow to set up my surprise. A plan is forming in my head and I know I can order what I will need at the market. Eager to head out, I ask, “Where to next?”
“Well. . . There is not much more, you have seen most of the town. All the surrounding area is farmland and homes.”
“Really? How about we go to the market then, there are some things I need to pick up?”
“Works for me.”
When we arrive, I figure Grant probably knows where I need to go to get the items I am thinking of, “Hey, Grant. Where is the best place to buy books?”
“That would be Den’s shop.” He points me towards one of the permanent buildings in the middle of the market.
“Thanks, I shouldn’t be too long in there,” I say as I already start walking in the direction he pointed.
“Take your time, I am going to get a snack.”
He is already walking off towards another end of the market, so I make my way over to the shop he indicated to. I enter and am immediately greeted by a jolly looking man about my age.
“Hello. Welcome. What can I help you with?”
“Hi. This is an impressive shop you have, you have quite a bit of stock.” The room was about bursting with goods.
He grins, “Thanks. Were you looking for anything in particular, or just browsing?”
“I do need something specific. Do you have any education books? Ones that deal with teaching things like reading, writing and math?”
“Hmm, I will have to take a look,” he starts heading towards the bookshelf behind the counter and peers close to a section near the middle. “I have one on the proper usage of grammar, one that discusses basic algebra, a few elementary level novels and a dreadfully boring looking book on calligraphy. I am afraid that is all.”
“Are you kidding? I didn’t expect you to have this many, over in Westhaven, it’s hard to find any sort of book, let alone one I was actively looking for. I will take all of them.”
“Alright.” He smiles, obviously pleased and starts lifting them off the shelves and placing them on the counter.
I watch as he moves about, on another shelf I see a variety of novels, I point to them and ask, “What about those?”
“Those aren’t educational, just a mix of different fiction novels. Nothing too special, I’m afraid.”
I think about it for a second, then decide to get those as well, figuring the girls would likely enjoy them immensely, “Well, I would like those as well. Do you mind wrapping them up? I don’t want anyone seeing what I bought.”
He smiles at me, again then says, “Not a problem. I can even put them in a box to add to the mystery.”
“I appreciate it.”
Once he finishes packing everything, we exchange money then I head out, arms much fuller than when I entered. I have one more stop to make before I find Grant again, and I am nearly to the bakery when I hear a feminine voice call out my name. I turn to look and see Lucy briskly walking towards me and I suppress a groan.
“Parker, funny bumping into you here. What are you doing at the market.”
I look down at my hands, as if it is obvious, “I had some things I needed to buy.”
“Oh? What did you get?” She moved closer, trying to peek inside.
I move the box slightly away from her, “Just some personal things.”
“Okay. I was about to head into the bakery to get a coffee, would you like to join me?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have the time. I need to do another quick stop, in the bakery actually, then meet back up with Grant.”
“I see.”
We are only a few steps from the entrance, so we walk in together. Once we are inside, Lucy takes a seat at one of the empty tables and I approach the counter, placing my box on the floor to free my hands. Lord Cliffden said Gwen likes chocolate, I thought that would be easy to accomplish, but now that I am in here, I see there are far too many options.
There are truffles, cakes, bars and a whole mess of chocolate concoctions. Not knowing where to start, I head over to Lucy. She looks up at me expectedly, “Lucy, do you know what kind of chocolate Gwen likes best?”
Her face falls into an instant frown, but she still answers, “She likes the truffles, especially the ones with salt on the tops.”
I beam at her, “Thank you, I had no idea where to start.”
“No problem,” she grumbles out then looks down at the table, ending our conversation.
The lady at the counter helps me and I am soon walking out with six truffles wrapped in a small box with a bow. I thought the bow was a bit much, but she insisted.
NINE – GWEN
The girls are in a riot. They are excited about the gifts that were found on my desk this morning. We all walked into the room together, as we usually do, when I noticed first the giant vase of overflowing wildflowers on my desk, then the stack of wrapped packages right next to them.
The girls ran past me and surrounded the desk. Jane was the first to say anything, “There is a card, Miss Gwen, on the flowers!” She pointed at it, as if drawing my attention would make me open it faster.
“Quiet down, girls,” I say as I near the desk. My curiosity leads me to open the card first, before unwrapping the packages. I want to know what it says and who these are from.
Inside all it says is:
I hope you find use of these. Please forgive me.
No signature, but I have an idea who they are from. The packages must be books, and there are so many, I wonder what they could all be. Addressing the group of girls, I ask, “Shall we open these together?”
A bunch of excited heads nod in agreement, so I add, “Everyone grab one, we will take turns opening them and reading what they are about.”
As the last one was opened, I can’t believe the spread that was given to us. These are books I have been unable to buy on my own, lest rumors start about why I need books on teaching math and writing. I hadn’t wanted to risk losing my students.
These books will make my life so much easier. I will no longer plan lessons from scratch, I will be able to use parts of these to come up with them. Plus, the novels. There are such a variety, I can find one for each level of reading the girls are at.
I know this was Parker, he is the only likely source. We had a fight about my class right before he kissed me, and I have been angry towards him since. He made one hell of a gesture and I am not going to lie, I am stunned. He is more thoughtful than I thought him capable of being.
A good chunk of the morning was already lost from the opening of the packages, but there was still enough time to have the girls do the math lesson I prepared. I clap my hands to gain their attention, “Alright, if you could all place the new books on the shelf by the window then take your seat, we will get started on the lesson for the day.”
When they are all seated, I continue, “We are going to work on math problems today. I will write them on the board. Try and do them on your own, but if you are stuck, you may find a partner to help. Don’t just copy the answers, I want you to learn how to work out the answers for yourself. If you have any questions, raise your hand and I will come help.” There is a rustling as they all bring out some paper and I get started on the board.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a busy blur. The questions were meant to be challenging, and I was busy explaining multiple times how to complete each one. Most of the girls stayed late, but they were more interested in the novels than extra teaching, so I let them have some fun and read.
Two of the girls requested to take the book they had home, and I allowed it, if they promised to turn in a report of what it was about in two weeks.
After they all left, I stayed longer to investigate some of the more lesson-based books and decided to take a few of them home, so I could dig in deeper before the next class. I loaded up my bag, making it much heavier than it usually is then headed towards town.
I would have gone straight home, but I am starving, and Nash’s is much closer. Being a Wednesday, things shouldn’t be too rowdy in there at this time. Opening the doors, I see my assumption is correct, inside there is only Nash, the new barmaid – Ash’s replacement, and a couple guys in the corner I don’t know.
I sit at the bar and Nash greets me.
“Hello, Gwen. I haven’t seen you in here in for a while.”
“That’s because, most times I try and come in, the noise of rowdy men turn me away before I get too far.”
“There has been a lot of that lately.” He looks pleased, Nash always did like a crowd.
“What did you cook for lunch today?”
“You will like it! I made a pasta dish with some fresh basil, nuts and oil mixed together for the topping.”
“Are you sure it’s good, that sounds like an odd combination.”
“Gwen, would I serve anything that didn’t taste good?” He showed mock offense.
I laugh, “You have me there. I will give it a try.”
He hurries back towards the kitchen and the new barmaid approaches, “Can I get you anything to drink? Nash is too excited about his new creation, he keeps forgetting to ask people today.”
“Any red wine open?”
“Yup!” She reached under the bar and pulled out an open bottle, poured a hearty amount into a deep class, then passed it my way.
I take a sip, “Thanks! So, what is your name?”
“Paige. Yours is Gwen, right?”
“It is. How has it been going, working here? Ash told me some stories that were enough to scare me about grabby men and rude customers.”
She laughs at that, “There are some of those, but Nash’s presence keeps most of the men in line and nothing more than annoying has happened.”
“That’s a relief to hear.”
