Hey guys!
Back with another chapter of BTB! Again, I'd like to thank you guys for all the awesome emails and comments on the previous chapter. Keep 'em coming!
Much love,
Lily xoxo
When Lady Madison received the letter, she collapsed onto the nearest settee. It couldn't be, she thought. Not her son, not James! This had to be some sort of cruel joke! But she knew Ruth Tatiana, and the respectable woman wouldn't lie. Of that, she was sure.
Madison rang for tea and a splash of brandy before adjourning to her chamber with the letter clutched tightly in her trembling hands. An island girl, she screamed in her mind. What was James thinking?
She should've expected something like this from the boy. He was always one to do things differently, a trait he'd inherited from his rogue of a father. But marrying a colored girl was completely, utterly unacceptable. Why could he not follow in his father's footsteps and make the girl his island mistress? There would be talk about his actions in the ton, yes, but at least it would not affect the family lineage.
If Madison knew her son – and she prided herself that she did – he was a man who did what he felt was right. And if he wanted to marry this girl, he would. With or without his mother's blessings. She could not let that happen. It would ruin the family's name, and she would not be able to show her face in society for years to come.
Madison spread the letter out on her writing desk, re-reading each line to make sure she was not reacting overmuch to the situation. But when the words 'to wife' played in her mind, she knew she had to take action immediately. She was a woman of great knowledge and a web of connections; she would be able to figure a way to get her son's mind off the girl. She could not have her first-born son wedded to a... a... servant!
Panic fluttering in her heart, she picked up a pen and wrote to Sir Roger, her husband's closest friend. He was a good companion of hers, and had helped her cope with the knowledge of her husband's faithlessness when she'd thought she was going to die from the pain of it. She wanted his advice on the current situation so that she knew she was making correct decisions regarding her son and his mischief.
She wrote to Roger, asking for an audience with him, and sent the note through one of the servant's boys. Standing by the windows in her room, she watched as the boy rode out on a sable mare, head down and galloping towards the Woods' land. Madison hoped dearly that Roger was in residence, for she feared she would fall apart without another soul to speak to.
*
Anita awoke feeling troubled. It was not yet morning, she knew, and Jay still slept by her side, and arm curled around her waist as he'd had for nearly a month. She didn't know what had awakened her, but she knew something was not quite right.
She turned around in Jay's arms and he mumbled something against her hair, pulling her closer. Smiling lightly, she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, burying herself in his warmth. Her body still hummed from their lovemaking, and she would've gone back to sleep without encouragement if it wasn't for the niggling feeling in her heart.
It was a long time before the uneasiness went away, and it was only then that she slept, comforted by Jay's even breathing.
*
By mid-afternoon, she was convinced that her nighttime uneasiness was due to the fact that she hadn't gone to the temple for a long, long time. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to, but she simply hadn't had the time. The ill-effects of it were creeping up on her now, and she made a promise to herself that she would go to the little temple near her old home at the nearest opportunity.
The opportunity presented itself much too soon, further confirming her suspicion that it was her infrequency in visiting the temple that was causing her to feel troubled. It was after lunch, and she'd just finished washing all the lunch plates. Meera was still in school and Nanthini was upstairs, cleaning the guest rooms. There wasn't much else to be done for the day, save taking down the clothes when they were dry, but that could take another few hours. On a regular day, she would head upstairs and help Nanthini with the cleaning, but today, the need to be somewhere peaceful and holy was foremost on her mind.
She set the clean plates in the drawer and made her way upstairs. Even before her foot left the first step, she could hear the typewriter in the library and knew that Jay was at it again. But, even as she thought about it, she couldn't leave without telling him. He would be worried if he came out of his imaginary world and found her missing. Leaving a message with Nanthini was as good as doing nothing because the older woman spoke so little English that Jay never bothered talking to her. Sighing, she pushed the door to the library open slightly and poked her head through it.
"Jay?" she called, then mentally cursed herself. If Nanthini had heard her using Jay's first name, there would be hell to pay. The Indian community was a small one on the island. "Sir?"
He looked up when she called him a second time, but his eyes were unfocused, his hands scribbling something on a piece of paper.
"Sir, I'm going to the temple for a while," she said, wondering if her words were even being heard or if she was talking to a wall.
He continued writing something on other pieces of paper as he said, "Yes, sure. Whatever you want."
Her eyebrows rose at that. She wasn't sure that he was actually answering her. That was probably a general answer he gave to anyone who interrupted him as he wrote. She hoped, at least, that he would remember what she'd told him. Somewhat satisfied by his answer, she closed the door to the library, hurried down the corridor, told Nanthini that she was going to the temple, then went downstairs to change.
She changed into a blue sari and grabbed a shilling out of her savings to put into the offerings box. Then she was on her way, walking towards the neighborhood she'd called home a few months before.
It took her about half an hour to get to the temple, but once she was there, she didn't waste any time in taking her slippers off and washing her feet. She wanted to do an ancient ritual that involved walking around the temple 108 times. She would pray for Meera and Jay; for the gods to give them good health.
She attended a little prayer service before starting the walk around the temple. It was long and tiring, but the prayers she chanted were like a balm to her aching feet. By the time she was done, more than an hour had passed since she'd left the house. She said another conclusive prayer, put her shilling in the offerings box and collected the sacred ash from the priest. She'd just smeared the ash on her forehead when the voices of two women reached her ears.
They were seated near the entrance of the temple, but at a corner, so no one would hear what they were speaking about. But the younger woman was getting agitated and her voice was rising, catching Anita's attention. The older woman seated next to her attempted to calm her down, but the young woman began to sob quietly.
There was a toddler lying on the young woman's lap. A girl, and how beautiful that girl was. Short, dark hair that fell in ringlets around her flushed cheeks; cherubic lips that were parted in sleep. The girl wore a red skirt and a green blouse, and as Anita watched, the girl's limbs began to thrash as her mother started to cry. The older woman took the toddler from her mother and began rocking her soothingly.
Anita could not help but watch the scene unfold. It began to dawn on her that she would never have this, any of this. She did not have a mother, nor would she have a mother-in-law who would comfort her when she cried. She would not have a child whom she could cherish and love. She would have nothing, no one, especially after Meera married and had her own family. For years, Anita had been completely fine with the knowledge that she would be alone for the rest of her life. But now... it was painful.
She knew what had caused the change in her thinking. But she'd known he would leave one day when she'd agreed to be intimate with him. So why had she let herself become entrapped and entangled in the now where she dreamed of some kind of future with the man she adored?
She'd thought she had some kind of rein on her emotions, but apparently, she did not. It was all she could do not to give in to her girlish whims and fantasize about how a future with Jay would be like. It would be glorious, she knew, but she had to be realistic. If she were him, she wouldn't have wanted to marry someone like herself. Why, there were probably tons of English ladies willing to marry him at a minute's notice!
Sighing, Anita walked to the entrance of the temple to put on her slippers. Just as she did, she heard the young woman cry, "How do you know, mother? How could you possibly know that he isn't seeing another woman?"
Startled, Anita waited for the other woman's reply. But the older lady's voice was too calm and too soft for Anita to hear.
"I cannot stop him from taking another wife, you know that! We have five daughters, and that alone is enough reason for him to take another wife. He's always wanted sons, you know that."
Anita's heart ached for the poor woman, and she shook her head sadly as she turned away from the temple. She was lucky she did not have a problem like that with Jay.
As soon as that thought entered her mind, she let out a frustrated groan. Jay was not her husband, so why would she have that thought in the first place? Gods, she was going crazy! She needed to get her situation clear in her head.
She was deep in thought, taking the short route home through a forest clearing, when she felt someone following her. It was early in the evening and the sun was still bright, so she didn't worry too much about things a woman should worry about when walking through the forest. But when she turned around to see if there was anyone walking behind her, there was no one there. She walked a few more steps and turned around again, quickly, and saw something jump hastily into a nearby bush.
Relieved that it was not some kind of sexual predator, but amused at the creature, Anita resumed walking towards home.
But it wasn't long before she felt like she was being followed again. She turned, and the mongrel looked startled. It took two steps back then yipped at her. Anita laughed. It was so adorable, not more than a pup, in fact. When she moved toward it, it moved back. When she walked, it followed her.
At the end of the clearing, she knelt and called for the puppy to come to her. It seemed hesitant, looking at her then around her for signs of danger. Seeing none, it took little steps forward until Anita could reach out and scratch its head.
She'd never seen a dog like this one before. It had so much hair – too much, in fact. It had to be a special breed or something. She'd never seen dogs like that, but she'd heard of them. A lot of English people kept dogs like that in their houses.
