Love's First Flames (Banished Saga, 0.5) (7 page)

“That’s not true, and you know it. Our parents loved us and were proud of us,” Gabriel snapped.

“Are you calling me a liar, Gabriel McLeod? Your own dear aunt, who took you crying, penniless orphans off the street, saved you from the horrors of an orphanage? A liar? I’d hate to think you were that uncharitable. But then I’d expect nothing less from children spawned from one such as your father.”

“He was an admirable man, devoted to family,” Gabriel said as he scooted his chair back from the table. “I don’t have to listen to this.”

“You leave before I’ve excused you, and you won’t be welcomed back into my home and my good graces.” She pinned him with her most severe glare. “You will learn to respect me, Gabriel.”

“Respect is earned, Aunt, and you’ve done nothing to earn it.” Gabriel clenched his fists at his side as he and his aunt had their daily glaring match.

“You know nothing about who is deserving of respect, you cretin.” She reached over to hit him on the head with the spatula, but he grabbed it as she lowered it toward him.

He shook his head side to side once with a forbidding glare before wrenching the spatula from her grasp. “I’m not a child to be treated so, Aunt. I’d learn that lesson if I were you.”

“And I hope you learn that my patience with your presence in my home is wearing thin.”

Gabriel glanced for a moment at Richard before tilting his head toward the kitchen door. Richard spoke after a few second’s hesitation. “Aunt, if we may be excused so that our presence does not ruin your exalted event this afternoon?”

“Of course. Leave this instance. And I do not want you to return until at least six o’clock! I wouldn’t want anyone of importance to see relatives such as you.” She held her hands on her hips as they turned to leave. “Ensure that your horrid brother Jeremy is aware to remain away too. I don’t want any of you here with the possibility of causing me any further disgrace.”

Richard and Gabriel walked down the darkened hallway and up the back steps into the fresh morning air. “Do you have a lot of work to complete?” Richard asked Gabriel as they walked quickly, their long legs forming great strides. From behind, they could have been mistaken for twins, each young man reaching over six feet in height with broad shoulders. Their black hair blew in the soft breeze, and, after a few blocks, they boarded a trolley and sat, continuing their conversation in a low whisper.

“Yes. I’ve many commissions now that I’m a Master.” He came closer to Richard and lowered his voice further. “Not that I want Aunt to know that I’m anything other than an apprentice. We don’t have the means to leave yet, and I worry she’d throw me out were she to discover I had a trade.” He watched Richard with concern. “I’m surprised you aren’t already at the smithy. I’d hoped you’d take your apprenticeship more seriously after it took so long to find work.”

“I’m only going to be a few minutes late, Gabe. And the first bakery really was closed.”

“That’s not what’s got you in a fine mood today. You didn’t even join me in my fight with Aunt. For once, I was the one about to come to blows with her rather than the one calming you down. What’s going on, Rich?” Gabriel turned to stare at him with avid curiosity, concern hidden in his gaze.

“Nothing, Gabe. It’s just a fine day, and I realized that, if things go well with my apprenticeship, we might be able to move out soon.”

Gabriel sighed with pleasure. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Jeremy’s about done with school. And you and Henry can’t seem to stop whaling on each other. I can’t think of too many more excuses for your ripped clothes to give to Aunt.”

“He’s a snotty little . . .”

“I know, Rich. But if you keep fighting him, we’ll all be thrown out, and we won’t have enough to live on.”

“You’re a Master of your craft, Gabe.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I make enough for us to live on. Not yet. And I couldn’t bear it if . . .” Gabriel broke off, unable to voice his worst fears.

“We won’t be separated. I know you won’t allow that to happen. You’ve done everything you can to ensure it. I don’t know how you’ve managed not to kill her in all the time we’ve been in her house.”

“She complains about us being such burdens to her, but I think she enjoys the free labor we provide. And the fact she can extoll her virtues to her exalted friends.” He mimicked his aunt’s tone and shook his head in disgust.

“Listen to you. You’ve been reading your fancy library books again,” Richard teased with an elbow to Gabriel’s side. “I finish at six. I’ll come by the workshop.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Jer always stops by anyway. He’d rather be there with me than at Aunt’s place.” He nodded to Richard as he departed a few stops ahead of Gabriel’s. Gabriel watched Richard maneuver his way around a woman with a baby carriage, his smile brighter than usual, and frowned again with concern.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“HELLO, MISS BUTLER,” Richard said as he matched his longer lope to her shorter stride. He met her at the corner he’d seen her disappear around the previous day. “How are you this fine morning?”

She smiled at him, a hint of a blush warming her cheeks. She wore the same clothes, although it appeared she had attempted to tame her wild curls into a stylish bun. “Well, sir, I thank you.”

“Where are we off to? The bakery?”

“Yes. Mrs. Kruger thought the cake I brought home yesterday was particularly delicious and wanted to thank the young man who helped me find a new bakery. If you are ever free to call on her, she’d be delighted to meet you.”

Richard held out his elbow, and she slipped her arm through it. They walked at a leisurely pace, each step becoming a bit slower so as to prolong their time until they reached the bakery. “Where does Mrs. Kruger live? I’d like to know where I should call.”

“In Chester Square in the South End.” Florence fought a smile, biting her lip.

“What’s it like? Living there with her?”

“She’s a nice woman. She treats all of us who live with her well and wants us to have the chance to make more of our lives than that of a life in service.” Florence paused as they approached the bakery and attempted to pull her hand from Richard’s arm.

He used his other hand to hold hers in place. “She sounds like a nice woman. I’m glad you ended up with her rather than with someone like my aunt.”

Florence’s eyes clouded as he mentioned his aunt. She freed her arm from his and preceded him into the bakery. “I can’t imagine she’s that bad. At least you have family.”

“If you want to call her that,” Richard said. Any further questions he had were forestalled by Florence turning to the baker and ordering fruitcake. He watched as she charmed the baker’s assistant with her smile.

“Are you purchasing anything today?” Florence asked.

“No, nothing for me,” Richard said. He led her out of the bakery and continued the short walk toward the corner she turned down to return to Chester Square. “What did you mean, at least I have family?”

“You’re not alone in this world, and that’s a blessing,” Florence said.

“With or without my aunt, I’m not alone, Miss Butler. I’ve my brothers. They’re all the family I need.”

Florence turned toward the South End. “Then you are even more fortunate that I realized. Good day, Mr. McLeod.”

***

“WHERE DO YOU GO in the morning, McLeod?” Henry demanded as Richard and his brothers returned home that night.

“Henry, if you have any sense, you’d stay out of my way until I’ve bathed. Or else you’ll . . .”

“Or else, what, you worthless pile of horse manure?” Henry taunted, throwing a punch and missing as Richard ducked. “You think you can tell me what to do in my own home? I ask the questions, not you.”

Richard feinted to the right and left a few times as Henry threw wild punches, and then Richard leaped forward, tackling his cousin in a full-body blow that left Henry winded and Richard on top, pummeling him with his fists. “I was going to say, you idiot, whose mother wasted a fortune on education trying to instill some sort of knowledge in a brain with less intelligence than that of a warthog, that I was covered in soot, and you’d do better to let me pass and wash.” He grunted as one of Henry’s knees hit his thigh. Richard rose with lithe grace, no worse for the wear after his tumble with Henry.

Henry, on the other hand, had black splotches of soot on his previously pristine pants, shirt and coat, and sported the beginnings of a black eye. “My mother will hear of this!” Henry cried as he clutched at his eye.

“Yes, acting just like a grown man. Running to Mummy to have her kiss it better and fight your fights. You gutless wonder,” Richard taunted.

“Rich,” Gabriel warned but stayed out of the fray as Henry launched himself at Richard. Richard sidestepped his cousin’s stumbling attack, and Henry slammed into the wooden shed. His howl of pain at the sound of a crack as his hand connected to the wood caused all three McLeod brothers to cringe.

“Well, that’s sure to get Aunt’s attention,” Jeremy said with a shake of his head. “Weren’t we just saying how we didn’t want her to notice us for a while? I’d wash up fast before she takes that away from you, along with dinner.”

Richard swore under his breath before rushing past Jeremy and Gabriel, down the steps into the house. Henry followed him a few moments later, his hand cradled against his chest, each step eliciting a whimper of pain.

“I’d fight him too, Gabe,” Jeremy said as Gabriel heaved out a sigh, “before you become angry with Rich for fighting him again.”

“I’m not angry. I’m resigned. I’d hoped we wouldn’t have to move out until you’d finished school, but I’m beginning to think it will be sooner rather than later.” Gabriel sat on the back steps for a moment, enjoying the early evening air.

“I don’t need any more schooling, Gabe. I’ve never understood why you insisted I continued on until I was eighteen. I don’t need to graduate from high school. I can apprentice out for something like you did.”

“No, Jer. I’m earning some money now, and I want you to finish school.”

“If you didn’t have to worry about paying for my clothes, paper and a few books, we’d be able to move out sooner,” Jeremy argued.

“Your education is worth more than all the turmoil of living here. Mum and Da wanted their sons to be educated. And you will be, Jer,” Gabriel argued.

“You’re educated. Just in a different way. And you never seem to stop reading. I’ve never known someone to check out so many books from the library,” Jeremy said as he rose to follow Gabriel into the house, just in time to hear the screeching of their aunt.

“Oh, how I miss Mrs. Thynne,” Jeremy said. “She had a way of calming Aunt down.”

“And of keeping us fed, even against Aunt’s orders,” Gabriel muttered. “I can’t believe it’s already been six years since Mrs. Thynne died.” Gabriel shook his head mournfully as he remembered learning of the irreverent, disobedient, affectionate cook’s passing. His mouth firmed as he said, “The latest cook is under Aunt’s thumb, and there’s no hope for us.”

“At least Mr. Smithers always has food,” Jeremy said as he rubbed at his rumbling stomach. They grimaced as they heard their aunt’s voice rise to a loud shriek.

“Yeah, although I don’t know as he was planning on having to feed three hungry McLeods,” Gabriel said with a chuckle. “Let’s go listen to her sputter. Rich shouldn’t have to hear it alone.”

They walked down the hallway, entering the kitchen just as a loud crack rendered the air. Gabriel saw Richard’s head jerk to the side as he was slapped by his aunt.

Gabe raced for his aunt, placing himself between his brother and her, his blue eyes darkened with anger, daring her to strike him. “You’d strike someone who only defended himself from a vicious attack? It’s no one’s fault except your son’s, who is a bumbling oaf, who trips over his own feet and crashes into walls. You’d do better to remember that there are always two sides to a story, Aunt.”

“And your side is forever tarnished with lies and half-truths,” she snapped. “I will always believe my son over the word of a contemptible McLeod. You will spin a tale to make it seem you are all that is shiny and good when, in truth, you are the spawn of . . .” She broke off as Gabriel took a warning step toward her, a growl leaving his throat.

“Don’t, Aunt,” Gabriel hissed.

“I’ve already instructed Cook to hold your dinner for the evening and for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Jeremy needs to eat to be successful at school,” Gabriel argued.

“You should have considered that before you caused the expense of a doctor and new clothes for Henry. You must learn that your actions have consequences.” She smiled with malicious pleasure. “We will think of you as we enjoy our pot roast with potatoes, peas and carrots. I heard the bread pudding is one of the best Cook has ever created.” Her smile took on a triumphant gleam as she turned.

They heard her heels click on the wooden stairs.

“Witch,” Jeremy said, holding his stomach. He glared at Richard. “Couldn’t you, for once, not fight him?”

“What did you expect me to do, Jer? Just slide on by as he belted me?”

“Stop it, this instant,” Gabriel commanded in a deep, authoritative voice, reminiscent of their father’s. “You’re allowing her to win. She wants us to start fighting among ourselves so that we are no longer united. She’s wanted that for nine years. Are we going to finally allow her to succeed?” He turned angry eyes to his brothers and watched the frustration on their faces turn to embarrassment. “Come, let’s see what we have stashed away,” Gabriel said as they entered their tiny room.