Arabella

Fourteen Years Later.

“Sebastian?” Arabella called and walked through the hall, looking for her son. His light brown hair, the same as his father’s, appeared in the doorway to the house. Arabella stopped and watched him from a distance across the hall. He was restless, practically bouncing on his toes as he looked out toward the grounds. “They’re not here yet, you know.”

“I know.” Sebastian turned back to look at her with a sigh. He was growing up, now having reached his thirteenth year. He smiled broadly, revealing dimpled cheeks that were similar to her own. “I can still watch for them.” He turned back to look at the driveway again.

“So, you and Kathryn can drive us all mad with your mischief?” Daniel called from across the hall.

Arabella laughed as she turned to look at her husband. He was walking down the stairs, striding quickly toward her. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face as he walked her way, thinking of all that had passed between them these last fourteen years.

I didn’t know it was possible to have such a happy life!

Daniel must have caught her look, for rather than walking toward their son, he walked toward her instead. He rested a hand delicately on her arm and bent down toward her, kissing her on the lips.

“Eww.” Sebastian’s disgusted sound had them both laughing and pulling apart from each other.

“You won’t be thinking that in a few more years,” Daniel said with a chuckle and took Arabella’s hand, entwining their fingers together. He drew her forward, toward the door. She hobbled a bit on her feet, laying a hand to her rounded stomach.

Soon, there will be another to join our family.

She sighed happily with the thought, wondering how near they were to the point when Sebastian’s little brother or sister would join them in the world.

“I will still think that,” Sebastian said, frowning deeply. “Eww.” Daniel laughed again before the sounds on the driveway drew their attention.

They all turned together to look toward the drive as a carriage rode forward. The horses trotted at a steady pace, pulling the coach easily.

“They’re here,” Arabella said with a contented smile. When the coach pulled to a stop, Sebastian couldn’t wait anymore. He hurried down the front steps of the house and ran toward the coach.

“Seb!” Daniel called after him. “One of these days you’ll end up running into the horses.” Daniel ran after him and managed to steer Daniel away as the horses turned on the drive. Sebastian barely seemed aware of the danger he’d put himself in, leaving Daniel to turn and look at Arabella with his hands held outward, in despair.

She laughed, knowing how difficult it was to keep Sebastian’s excitement at bay, especially when his cousin, Kathryn, was coming to visit. The two of them were very much like siblings, having spent so much time together as they grew up.

They have a strong bond between them.

Arabella leaned on the doorframe, feeling a little weary. She placed her hand to her stomach and looked down at the bump.

Soon, there will be another to share in that bond.

The carriage door was pulled open, and Kathryn burst out of that door before the footman or even Daniel could jump forward to assist her.

“Sebastian!” she called, running round Daniel’s legs and heading straight for her cousin. Just two years his junior, she had a habit of dragging him along with her, into her own games. Now appeared no different as she handed him some of the books she had brought from home. “Here, these are for you.”

“Oomph!” Sebastian took the books, in danger of dropping them all. “What are these?”

“They’re parlor games. We shall play later today. I even got Mama and Pa to agree to play this time,” she declared happily, flicking back her raven black hair that was just like her father’s.

“Yes, I was wondering why we agreed to that.” Clara’s voice came from inside the carriage. She stepped down, holding onto the hand of her youngest child. Bernard, or Bernie as he was more affectionately known, was just old enough to walk. He tottered at his mother’s side as he stepped down onto the shingle drive. “I’m tired enough as it is already.” Clara yawned widely.

“Then let me give you some help, Sister.” Daniel quickly crossed to her side and kissed her on the cheek before he bent down and lifted Bernie off his feet. He tickled Bernie in the air who giggled with delight, then carried Bernie away, coming closer to Arabella.

“Dear Bernie,” Arabella said softly as she reached for him.

“Go to Auntie Arabella,” Daniel murmured, passing the boy into her hands. He paused long enough to whisper in her ear. “We will have another to take care of soon.”

“Let us hope he’s quieter than this one,” Arabella whispered playfully and they laughed together.

They both adored Bernie, but just like his sister and his cousin, he had a habit as a baby of crying an awful lot through the nights. When he wasn’t getting attention, those tears soon came again. Fortunately, Kathryn and Sebastian had grown out of such need for attention. They preferred being in each other’s company and playing games.

“Maybe we should take the opportunity to sleep whilst they all play games,” Horatio’s voice said from the carriage as he stepped out, following his wife. “I’ll be glad of a rest.”

“I see Bernie is keeping you up at night,” Daniel laughed. “Come on in. We have lunch set up for you already.”

“Lunch!” Arabella turned happily, carrying Bernie with her, making the family behind her laugh.

“She eats everything there is in sight at the moment,” Daniel jested with his sister and brother-in-law, just loud enough for Arabella to hear as she carried her nephew into the dining room.

“She’s allowed to. She’s carrying your child!” Clara pointed out, making them all laugh again.

A short while later, they were all sitting for dinner, though not everyone was calm. Sebastian and Kathryn kept arguing over who got to eat more, trying to snatch food off one another’s plates, and Bernie was more interested in pressing his bread between his fingers, forming little dough balls.

Arabella sat back, watching her family happily as she gazed around the room. There were a myriad of conversations happening at once, and she felt strangely at peace amongst the raucousness.

Feeling an itch in her ear, she took out her earring and laid it on the dining table beside her. At the movement, Kathryn sat forward beside her, practically pressing her nose to the mahogany table to see the earring better.

“That’s pretty,” Kathryn said, poking at the earring.

“Thank you, dear.” Arabella smiled, then noted Kathryn took the earring and held it in her hand.

“I’ve never seen such beautiful earrings before.”

They were gold bands, studded with two pearls and a diamond on each. Arabella adored the earrings, for they were a present given to her by Daniel on their first anniversary together.

“Thank you, dear. Perhaps you’ll have some like it yourself someday.” Arabella held her hand out toward her niece. Kathryn seemed most reluctant to give it back, but she did eventually, looking a little sad as she did so.

As dinner was finished and the children moved into the adjoining room, ready to play their games, Arabella took a cup from beside her plate and sipped delicately. The tea she had specially made herself to try and quell some of the discomfort she was feeling as of late. It had been the same shortly before Sebastian had arrived in the world, and she took it as a sign that her next child would be on the way shortly. She sipped the tea eagerly, aware that the dining room was slowly emptying around her.

Horatio took Bernie and followed the other two children into the adjoining room, and Clara went after them, doing her best to cover up her yawns. Daniel took the opportunity to come to Arabella’s side and sat down, smiling at her.

“How are you feeling?” he asked in hushed tones, glancing toward the door and clearly taking care not to be heard by the others.

“I think it will be soon,” she whispered and pushed the teacup away. “I’m sure of it. The last time I made this tea was just before Sebastian arrived.”

“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” Daniel took her hand from off the table and lifted it to his lips, kissing the back.

“Very!” she confessed.

“What’s all this?” Kathryn’s voice called from the next room. “What are these recipes?”

Arabella’s smiled dropped and she looked at Daniel, wide eyed.

“What is it?” he asked.

“She’s found my recipe box.”

“Oh.” They both stalled then moved to their feet hurriedly. Daniel ran out of the room first with Arabella struggling to waddle behind with the extra weight she carried.

When she arrived in the room, she found Kathryn and Sebastian were bent over a box she had brought out from the library. In the box were the scandal sheet articles published back when she and Daniel had first met. In there was the story of a suspected witch, and though it didn’t mention Arabella by name, they both knew who it referred to.

Long ago when they had married, Arabella had locked the scandal sheet away along with one of the recipe books and various note cards. There were a few rare ingredients too that she kept there, just in case she needed them. That morning she had brought out the box in order to find the recipe to make her tea, but she had neglected to put it away again.

“Mother?” Sebastian called to her, lifting his head from one of the recipe cards. “This has your name on it.”

“It’s nothing,” she said hurriedly. She and Daniel had decided many years ago there was no reason to worry their child with the suspicion of witches in the village. Sebastian only knew his mother was a good healer.

I have no wish for him to know more than that.

“It is just some of your mother’s old healing recipes. It’s nothing more.” Daniel spoke with ease and took the recipe cards out of Sebastian’s and Kathryn’s hands. He put them hurriedly into the box, sealed it tight and tucked it under his arm.

Kathryn looked most put out, folding her arms and huffing, though Sebastian looked more curious, raising his eyebrows in his father’s direction.

“How about one of those games now? What do you say, Horatio?” Daniel said swiftly to Horatio who stood from his seat and nodded, clapping his hands together. He clearly took the hint it was time to distract the children from the discovery of the box.

“Kathryn, where are those books on the parlor games?” he asked.

Kathryn and Sebastian were immediately distracted and happy to play, but Arabella sat hurriedly in a nearby seat, sighing under the extra weight she carried. Once the games began, Daniel moved to her side and patted her shoulder comfortingly.

“They don’t know, love. They have no need to know if you do not wish to tell them,” he whispered in her ear.

“I do not wish Sebastian to know,” she confessed in a low voice. Her eyes tarried on the son she loved so much. He was now being blindfolded by his cousin and turned in a circle, ready to play blind man’s bluff. “I wish to protect him from how cruel people can be in this world.”

“If only we could all do that forever,” Daniel said softly and kissed her on the cheek before standing tall and walking over to his son. “Right, Seb, let’s see how many of us you can catch!”

Arabella smiled as she watched her son try to catch his father, but she was still left with an unsettling feeling. Sebastian may have known she was a good healer, yet part of her feared what he would think if he ever saw the scandal sheet article.

If he has to face the harsh realities of the world someday, I pray he understands how cruel people can be in their gossip.

She pushed away the fear and laid a hand to her stomach, thinking of her next child that was to come into this world, as she watched Sebastian laugh and turn in a circle. He at last caught his father around the waist and Daniel dramatically tipped his head back and proclaimed his surrender.

“Let us be this happy forever,” Arabella whispered.

The End...