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The Beauty And The Tragedy Part Two |
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Chapter Two: March, 1857
“Where are you running off to?” Eva asked Benjamin the next morning. He’d made an attempt to sneak off without anyone knowing but Eva had caught him before he could make it out the door.
“I was um…I was going to see Claire again,” he said.
“You should bring her here!” Eva exclaimed, “Bring her here this afternoon for tea. I would love a chance to get to know her! And I’m sure Mother and Robert would enjoy it too.”
“I’ll ask her,” Benjamin said, “Aren’t you going with Father and Emma to town today?”
“I am,” Eva replied, “They’re going into town on business. I have no intention of being present for that. I’m going to explore, look around.”
“Then why go?”
“Because it’s gotten so boring here,” Eva said, “I want to see something other than these walls.”
Benjamin shrugged, opening the front door, “I’ve gone through town many times. It’s nothing special.”
He quickly shut the door and hurried to his carriage waiting for him before Eva could open the door and respond to him. Just as he had done last night, he stopped the carriage a block away from Joseph’s brothel and walked the rest of the way. He didn’t want anyone to know he was making a second visit to the brothel. He didn’t know what was compelling him to even see Claire again. He knew that he could never be with Claire. She was a fallen woman and it would never happen. But he had really enjoyed her company. He wanted to see more of her.
Benjamin asked one of the girls where Claire was. They told him her room was at the end of the hall on the left and he did as she said. The door was open a bit and he looked in just to see what she was doing. She was sitting on a rocking chair, rocking back and forth while she sewed. Benjamin lightly knocked on the door and opened it. Claire stopped sewing and rocking, “Benjamin.”
“I wanted to come back here and see you,” Benjamin said, “I hope that’s alright.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Claire mumbled. Benjamin took a step closer to her, seeing how far he could go before she started getting nervous. He stopped halfway even though she never began to panic.
“And why is that?” Benjamin asked, “I thought we had a pleasant evening.”
“We did,” she replied, “But what brings you back here?”
“Most men you meet don’t come back?”
“They do,” Claire said, “But they don’t come back just to see me.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not like all those other men?” Benjamin said, sighing heavily, “I didn’t come here with an ulterior motive.”
“Benjamin, you must not understand what I do,” Claire said.
“I understand perfectly,” Benjamin shot back.
“Then why are you here?” Claire asked.
“Why is it so strange that I’m showing you kindness?” Benjamin inquired, “Is it so strange that a man is good to you?”
“I’ve never known a man who does show any kind of compassion,” Claire said, “Except for my father. But he was the only compassionate man I ever knew. I have never once seen a good man since I’ve come here.”
“Well then allow me to be the one to change your mind,” Benjamin said. Claire stared at him for awhile, not saying anything at first. She finally looked back down at her sewing and continued with it, “I can’t. Not for free anyway. Mr. Hayward wouldn’t like that.”
Benjamin dug around in his pocket with a smile, “I figured that Joseph Hayward wouldn’t offer you to me for free twice. So I brought some money with me.”
He dropped the money into Claire’s lap and she just stared at it like she had never seen anything like it. She finally took it and put it down on top of her bed, “Thank you. I suppose I would be able to go with you.”
“My sister and my step-mother wanted you to come by for afternoon tea,” he said. Claire started chuckling and she put her sewing aside. Benjamin stuffed his hands in his pockets, “What’s so amusing?”
“I’m just not used to this,” Claire said, “My apologies. I wasn’t laughing at you. I will come to the house this afternoon. I promise.”
“Perfect!” Benjamin grabbed Claire’s hand and kissed it. Just like the first time he’d kissed her hand, she flinched a bit but she relaxed after that, “I’ll see you then Claire.”
Claire nodded and returned to her sewing and Benjamin left her bedroom. Just as he closed the door, a soldier stopped in front of him and gestured to the door, “Are you done with her?”
Benjamin clenched his fists inside his coat pockets and nodded, forcing a smile, “Yes I am.”
“I’ve been with most of the women here but Claire Baldwin is my favorite girl,” he said. He walked past Benjamin and opened Claire’s bedroom door. Before he closed the door behind him, Benjamin watched him take off his coat and toss it onto a chair. Claire looked up at him and her facial expression changed again the same way it did yesterday. She put her sewing down and stood up, reaching for him. Before the door closed, Benjamin sat there and watched Claire close her eyes and kiss this man. This man walked into this place with his uniform. Though Benjamin was aware that it was expected of a soldier to visit brothels but he shouldn’t be coming in here wearing his uniform. He stormed out of the brothel and angrily walked that extra block before getting into his carriage and riding home, failing to understand why he was getting so angry about this. Claire was just a woman wasn’t she? She wasn’t special…right?
Robert and Emma left Eva alone in town to explore as she wished while they handled some business and she could buy whatever she wanted in town. It was still wintertime but the snow had melted almost completely in February and now there will dirty mounds of snow left in the streets. Eva purchased a nice cup of hot cocoa and continued walking around, visiting almost every single shop to look around and talk to the owners, who seemed surprised that she was even acknowledging them. Eva continued walking and sipping on her hot cocoa when she noticed a blacksmith pounding away. She couldn’t help but stop and stare. He was tall with dark hair that fell over his forehead and some stubble, which she liked. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing lovely chiseled arms. He had black smudged all over his skin and his skin glistened with sweat. She found herself walking closer to him and once he stopped pounding, he heard her heels clicking and he looked up. He pushed his hair back off his forehead and wiped the sweat off with the back of his hand, “Can I help you?”
“Oh. No not really,” Eva said, sipping her warm drink, “I just wanted to see what you were doing.”
He smirked, “Really? You’ve come here to observe me? You’re doing a horrible job at it. What you’re doing is distracting me.”
Eva looked down at her red walking suit, tugging at the black laced cuffs. Her mother always scolded her if she caught her doing that but Eva only did it when she got nervous, “Well my mother and step-father came into town on business. I wanted to look around on my own.”
He nodded, “I see. Very interesting.”
“Well enough about me,” Eva chuckled, “What’s your name?”
The tall blacksmith grinned roguishly and raised his eyebrow, “Isn’t it rude to ask for someone’s name without giving your own first?”
Eva tugged on the lace cuff even harder and she heard the thread attaching the cuff to her sleeve snap a little but the cuff remained so she dropped her hand before she could tear it right off, “Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Eva Weston.”
“Eli Kenward,” he said. He was about to continue pounding on the metal but then he stopped and waved his finger at her, “Aren’t you Robert Weston’s daughter?”
“Robert Weston is my step-father,” Eva replied.
“Your family is very high class,” Eli said, “Mr. Weston is a merchant and your mother has connections to royalty. Why in the world would you be interested in a blacksmith’s work?”
Eli at this point was beginning to bother her. She’d already been asked the same question at least three times today when she went into other shops. And not only that, but normally Eva was filled with wit and she had answers for everything. But Eli somehow caused her to be at a loss for words.
“Well Mr. Kenward I was just trying to be friendly,” Eva said, “I didn’t realize that was so foreign to you townspeople.”
As Eva walked away from Eli, she heard him laugh as he continued pounding away on whatever it was he was making. Eva had never even looked at what he was making. She could only focus on those bright blue eyes of his. And she hated that he’d stolen her ability to make quick remarks. She turned and looked at him over her shoulder and glared at him. He just so happened to look up and see her give him a dirty look and he winked at her, which made her turn the same color as her walking suit.
Yay Eva has more stuff to say this time! Yay Eva! Haha so here is PART TWO and stuff. Read away.
 Rockstar_Angel17 · Sun Sep 29, 2013 @ 08:32am · 0 Comments |
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