Watching

Chapter 3: Ana strives to stop thinking about Edmond, who becomes happier and more "infuriating" than ever before

Watching

 

            "Edmond!" I cry as I jolt up in my bed. The suddenly forgotten dream looms in the back of my mind. I settle back, trying to calm myself and remember the dream. A man I do not know appeared in all of them, some "Edmond". I try to remember.

            A small gasp escapes my lips. Everything rushes back to me, the kiss, the story, the light in the window. I sit up in bed so quickly that my head smacks against the wooden beam above me. I silently curse that Edmond LeDego for causing me yet another pain. Rubbing my aching head and quietly stringing together a line of profanities, I dress then stalk down the hall to the kitchen.

            Aunt Marian is there already, starting her washing for the day. We still have nothing to say. I quietly butter my bread and sit at the table. Without looking up from her scrubbing, Aunt Marian addresses me in a surprisingly controlled tone. "We were unable to discuss your punishment last night." I sigh, this was inevitable. "You will not come down to town with me for a very long time. You will not even leave this house unless your chores require it. And, of course, men are off limits, for a very, very long time." As if that changed anything from my day to day life.

            I do not have the strength to fight her any more. On some level, I deserve this. And I have no plans to meet Edmond ever again. "Yes, Aunt Marian." I reply solemnly. She says nothing but continues her washing. I feel no obligation to continue this conversation. I cannot spend another minute in this confining house. Without another word, I slip out the front door, planning to begin the chores I do outdoors early.

            Outside, I linger in the cool, moist air. Thin clouds still cover the early morning sky. I feel the wet grass beneath my feet. I can smell the rain in the air, but the muffled light of the pink morning sun glows in the east. The storm has passed from the sky, but not from my life. I cannot rid myself of the feeling that this is only the beginning of my trouble brought on by Edmond LeDego.

            I love these times when I am alone. The thought of staying indoors for such a long time because of such a wretched man hurts me. Not wanting to linger too long on such a sad thought, I move to the small garden to, once again, fight the merciless weeds away from our sickly vegetables.

            As I dig into the dark soil I sully my hands and wipe them on my dress. After some time of this filthy work, I look down at myself. I look a fright right now, my hair is untamed, my dress is completely grimy, but it occurs to me that no one would ever notice in Portown, where everyone is just this dirty. Among the w****s of this town, I would actually look quite clean. My closest friend since I have come here, Roseanne, has been a w***e since sixteen and I am sure I look just like her right now.

            Then, I hear a sound in the distance, a splash, over the wall and far off in the ocean. I quickly run to the edge of the wall to see what goes on. Far, far off in the distance, so far away it is little more than a dot on the horizon, I ship sits motionless. All it has left behind is one small rowboat, which is even harder to see from the distance. I watch, enthralled, as it floats closer and closer of its own will, with no navigation at all. The waves carry it in easily to the shore. I can only hope that this boat brings better cargo than the man brought to shore yesterday.

            As is gets closer, I can see it is not completely empty, as I thought before, but contains one wooden chest. When it is only a little way away from the docks, now in the shallows, I am surprised to see a man wading out into the water to retrieve it. He grabs the edge of the small boat and begins to pull it in alone. I cannot tear my eyes away. When he returns to the shore, the man pulls out his sword and breaks the lock with one blow. My eyes grow wide. Inside there is riches, more than I will make in my entire lifetime. He turns, smiling, the sun in the distance breaks through the clouds, and I gasp.

            "Edmond." I say the word louder than intended. I did not mean to say it at all, but it echoes off the rocks. I stagger backwards in shock and fall back into the dirt. He must have heard the echo, because he looks up at me. His smile grows wider to see me in such a state.

            "Good morning, Miss Divendy." He calls loudly from far below. "You certainly look well." He mocks me. My face burns. Edmond turns away. I am sure he is laughing like a moron at his own joke.

            Unable to look at him, I turn away in fury. I see the boat has indeed not left, but drops another rowboat into the water with a great splash. It holds another chest. I watch again as it floats alone to Edmond. This chest, too, contains more riches than I could ever imagine. The cycle continues. After six or seven chests of gold I can watch no more. Such a cruel man should not prosper so. I storm back into the house.

            I stomp to the sitting room to pick up my mending. Aunt Marian waits for me. "What were you watching?" she says slowly, her voice controlled.

            I pretend not to understand. "What?" Without a word, she holds up her pocket watch. I have been outside for nearly an hour. "I was just outside, doing my chores."

            "Do not toy with me. I saw you looking over the wall for all this time and I want to know why."

            I decide to deny it. "I looked at nothing. I was simply doing my chores, as you requested."

            "Oh," she says with sarcasm, "then I suppose the laundry is drying then." I glance out the window. I had not hung it up at all.

            I sigh, tired of quarrelling. "I will go." I trudge out the door.

            I can still hear the splashes as more and more chests are tossed on to the waves. I refuse to look at Edmond and his money. I do my chores as proudly as I can, but it surely does not look as dignified as I would like.

            When my work in done, I turn and wipe my brow, the sun has made the air humid. I turn involuntarily. Edmond still stands on the shore, but now he watches me and only me. The thick afternoon haze seems to frame him as a perfect, god-like portrait. Despite his cruelty, I cannot deny his beauty. He runs his fingers through his dark hair, now wet with salt water. His sleeves are rolled up, showing off muscular arms I can see even from so far away. His damp shirt clings to his well built chest, which makes me blush in spite of myself. His expression is lighter than before, his eyes less troubled. He is happy with his day's work, mocking me and acquiring such a large fortune in such a short time.

            When he notices me again, he smiles even bigger and waves. I cannot understand what has brought on such social behavior, but I cannot accept it. I wipe my hands on my apron and cross my arms. He seems to find this even more amusing and laughs all the harder. I cannot understand how one man can be so irritating.

            Once inside again, I realize it is time to begin supper. I begin to cut the carrots for the stew. Aunt Marian comes into the kitchen.

            "I'm off to market, Ana. I need more soap for the laundry. I will be back in time for supper, so have the stew ready." I nod and my aunt walks out the door with her basket in hand. I wish I could tell her to say hello to Roseanne for me, but Aunt Marian does not approve of my friend, she being a w***e.

            As I continue to chop, I think about Edmond. How dare he mock my social position? So what if I am not wealthy? At least I do not make my way through life plundering and murdering. He has no right to treat me in such a way. I realize how quickly and forcefully I am chopping. I will surely take off a finger if I continue in such a way. I slow myself, calming down.

            Why has this man taken control of me? Why have I handed him my life. This no way to live. No man has ever captured my attention for so long. I have never hated a man and I have certainly never loved one. I have never felt quite like this. It must be the hate, it must be. I play this thought over and over in my head. I tell myself the kiss means nothing, nothing to him, nothing to me. Nothing to me...

            The door flies open. Aunt Marian walks in. "Is the stew ready?" she asks. I look down. To my surprise, it is finished. I completely lost track of what I was doing. I nod. "Good." She says. We sit down. I pour the stew into our wooden bowls.

            We eat in silence for a while. Then, completely randomly, my aunt exclaims, "Do you know what gossip I heard at market? Some one has bought the Schindler Mansion." I smile a very small smile.

Author's Note

For this and all future chapters: if you see the name "Olivia" consider it "Roseanne" I recently changed character names and may have missed one

Reviews

[Julie Beth]

She just broke the rules shortly after she got them, i thought that was funny. Her aunt is already starting to catch on a bit too. This is turning out really good you're doing an awesome job :)
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