Josephine Cox - Blood Brothers

Content, he closed his eyes and let the feelings flow through him. He wished the world might stand still for this one, precious moment. Or maybe even forever.

The guilt was never far away: for his was a love both forbidden and wicked.

He spent every waking moment wanting her. She was the last thought on his mind when he went to sleep, and the first thought on his mind when he woke.

She had caused him such turmoil.

That was what she did to him.

Fearful, the injured bird fluttered in his arms, desperate to escape. ‘Ssh!’ He looked down into those piercing dark eyes that twinkled up at him. ‘She’s much like you,’ he whispered. ‘Wild as the wind; part of the earth itself.’

Acutely aware of the need to tend the bird’s injury, he was loath to tear himself away. So he lingered awhile, watching as she waded ankle-deep through the water and on to the far bank. Behind her, the lambs continued to graze on the moist grass.

‘She’s away to the farmhouse!’ Drawing the small creature nearer to his chest, he carefully folded its damaged wing into the palm of his hand. ‘We’d best make our way there too.’ He stroked its feathers with the tip of his thumb, ‘Let’s hope we can get you flying again.’

Carrying the bird gently he took the shortest route: down the hill and across the stream, carefully negotiating the stones and boulders as he went.

Soon he caught sight of Alice, running through the long grass, her voice lifted in song. It made him smile.

He continued on, to the farmhouse; the place where he grew up.

The place where he first met Alice.

The anger was like a fist inside him, ‘…yearning after a woman who’s already promised to your brother is a dangerous thing,’ he murmured.

Though what he felt for Alice was more than a yearning. It was a raging fire that, try as he might, he could not put out.

With the farmhouse in sight, he grew anxious; remembering why he was here. He was sobered by the knowledge that in just a few short days he would stand at the altar, where Alice and his brother would be pronounced man and wife.

It was a prospect he would rather not dwell on.

‘I wonder if he’s on his way?’

Bustling about in the cosy farmhouse kitchen, Nancy Arnold walked over to the window. A small, round woman of fifty years and more, she had the cheekiest, chubbiest face, pretty dark eyes wrinkled with laughter-lines, and a long thick plait of dark brown hair, lightly peppered with grey.

She was a woman of high standards; a woman who stood no nonsense and took no prisoners. Yet she was the kindest, most understanding woman on earth. When the neighbours suffered ill-health or encountered trouble she was the first to lend a helping hand. And when attending a merry occasion, she could outsing and outdance any man or woman; her manner and laughter was so infectious her husband Tom claimed she was shaking the ground with her terrible screeching! Her laughter filled his heart, and he loved her more with every passing year.

‘Stop wittering, woman!’ he grumbled at her now. ‘Sit yer busy backside down an’ give us a bit o’ quiet!’ Peering over his newspaper, he firmly chided. ‘Your son will be ‘ere when he gets ‘ere, and all yer fussing and fretting won’t get him here any the sooner!’ Having lived in the countryside all his life, Tom had learned to take things as they came.

‘Aw, Tom, I’m that worried.’

She turned to look at him. ‘We should have had word by now. The wedding’s on Saturday. It’s Monday already; less than a week to go, and we’ve heard not a whisper from him. What if he can’t get ‘ere? What if he’s had an accident on the way…oh dearie me!’

‘Hey!’ Crumpling the newspaper to his knee, Tom wagged a finger at her. ‘We’ll have none o’ that kind of talk! Why don’t yer make us a nice cup of tea, eh? Happen it’ll calm yer nerves.’

‘The only thing that’ll calm my nerves is the sight of our Joe coming through that door.’

‘Mebbe, but watching out for him every two minutes won’t bring him ‘ere any the quicker.’ With his large frame, thick, beard and piercing blue eyes, Tom Arnold was a man of fierce appearance, though like his wife, he had a soft heart.

In no time at all the kettle was whistling on the hob, and Nancy had brewed a pot of tea. She got out the tray, along with two mugs, into which she spooned a generous helping of sugar, then a drop of milk for Tom, and a good measure for herself. After that she took a small plate from the cupboard and sliding four ginger-snaps on to it, she rearranged the whole lot on the tray, before waddling over to the table. ‘There y’are then!’ She plonked the tray unceremoniously before him. ‘So, is there anything else you want?’

‘Nope, except for you to sit still. Yer making my nerves bad. First yer at the window, then yer at the door, then yer upstairs at the window again. Then yer ‘ere and now yer there, and soon yer off somewheres else. In and out, up and down, making me that dizzy I can’t settle to read my blessed paper. Why can’t you sit down, drink your tea and be patient?’

‘Don’t be like that.’ Already on her way to the window again, she looked at him in a way that usually melted his heart. But not this time. This time he was desperate to pick out his horses for today’s race. ‘I know I’m a fidget, but I can’t help it,’ she complained. ‘I’m on edge d’you see?’

She paused, feeling as though she had the weight of the world on her mind. ‘Tom?’

He groaned. ‘What now?’

‘I really am worried.’

‘Well you shouldn’t be!’ Frustrated, he rolled his eyes to heaven. ‘Like I said, our Joe will turn up. In any case, as long as he gets here before Saturday morning, it’ll be fine. Stop panicking, woman!’

‘It’s not just about Joe being late,’ she replied quietly. ‘There’s something else…’

‘Something else?’ Now, he was interested. ‘Come on then. Let’s have it!’

Nancy had not planned to say anything, but it was on her mind and she needed reassurance. ‘Has it never puzzled you why our Joe took off like he did,’ she asked. ‘I mean…one minute he was ‘ere, and then he were gone, just like that, without any explanation.’

‘I did wonder at the time, but I can’t say I’ve lost any sleep over it. Besides, young men are notoriously unpredictable, so don’t worry about it. Anyway, I’m sure he had his reasons.’

That was not good enough for Nancy. ‘The way I see it, if he could go off on a whim like that at the drop of a hat, without any explanation, who’s to say he’ll not have another whim and decide to stay away?’

‘Because his brother tracked him down a month back and asked him to be his best man, that’s why! Like I say, Joe won’t let his brother down, and well you know it.’

‘He didn’t write back straightaway though, did he? It was a whole month before Frank got a reply.’

‘Yes, but that’s only because like all other young men, Joe is not a letter writer.’

‘What if he doesn’t want to be best man at his brother’s wedding?’

‘Don’t be daft, woman!’ Tom put his newspaper aside. ‘What the devil’s got into you, Nancy?’

‘I just wondered, that’s all.’

‘About what?’

Nancy shrugged her shoulders. ‘I’m not really sure. It’s just that when Joe left I got the feeling he was upset about something. You remember a couple of nights before he left, Joe was introduced to Alice? Oh, he smiled and gave her a kiss and everything seemed fine. Only, after that, he was too quiet for my liking.’

She recalled it only too well. ‘He hardly said two words over dinner, then he went to bed early.’

‘That’s because he’d been working out in the field all day, doing the work of three men. Me and the farmhand were away at the market with the calves, and as you recall, Frank had hurt his back. On top of that, it was the hottest day of summer. Joe was drenched with sweat and completely done-in when he finally got home. Frank was all excited because he’d brought Alice home and straightaway she was thrust under Joe’s nose. He was even made to welcome her with a kiss, and him being so shy an’ all!’ Tom gave a hearty chuckle, ‘I can’t say I’m surprised he had little to say for himself!’