A Noble Cause

XX - Ruins

Twenty: Ruins

Two weeks had passed since the year had started and not much happened in Bright Manor. Their lordships left on the 1st, with no intentions of coming back anytime soon, as had been somewhat pre-established after the argument between Samuel and Anne, so their intentions did not really come as a surprise to anyone who had witnessed it. Whatever happened between them and Samuel was a mystery and it would still take some time for him to open up about it with anyone else; not even Isaac knew of it, and he was probably the closest person to Samuel that there was.

Talking about them, nothing else happened since their kiss on the 31st, it was almost as though that never existed. Almost, however, is the key word here, because its use largely depends on which person involved in the kiss one refers to. Samuel had moved on from it entirely and had been in such a terrific mood that not even the small altercation he had with his mother seemed to affect him: he smiled more, talked more, ate more and Arlene even caught him humming in his office one day as she was cleaning the corridor. She told the news to the rest of the staff and they all concluded that happiness suited him well, and they all blamed it on the new year: new year, new man.

Whatever magic state of well-being Samuel found himself in was clearly not shared at the other end of the kiss. Although Isaac was not, in any way, thinking about it or regretting how he acted towards it — after all, his opinion on the matter had not changed —, it was how he felt while at it that tormented him. The fact he could not connect with Samuel, even though there was nothing to dislike about him: he was fond of Samuel, who was fond of him and had started the move and he also found him quite handsome. Still, when Samuel kissed him, he could not think of Samuel: he thought of Egbert. This hammered his head every night before bed since New Year's; on the 13th of January, after nearly two weeks of torture, he decided to put an end to it.

Isaac was going to speak to Egbert, but that would happen somewhere far from Bright Manor, where they could both talk in private without the fear of being caught — or heard, should things turn out rather loudly, which was not at all discarded. Isaac rushed downstairs to the kitchen; lately, Egbert had been attending the vegetable garden, which was conveniently located behind the kitchen, so going through its back door was the fastest way to reach him.

"Good morning, Isaac," Olivia greeted him.

"Good morning, Olivia."

Isaac was already reaching for the handle when he suddenly stopped. A tingle on his ear told him to do something, so he turned around; he faced it as setting the terrain for the news that was sure to come sooner than later. One of the few things he had been certain of since last year was that Samuel had been right when he said he should tell her and building the courage to do so has been consuming his days, as well.

"Olivia, you like Jason, don't you?"

Olivia, who had been occupied cutting potatoes, raised her gaze to meet Isaac's. It was not that the question was indiscreet, as much as it was completely unexpected. She blinked for a moment, then dropped the knife and answered him sincerely.

"I do."

"And how do you like him?" Isaac asked, approaching the table by which she stood so he could lower his voice. "I mean, the way you like him."

Olivia tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes.

"I am not sure I understood."

Isaac nodded.

"Of course, I barely understood myself. Um... What I mean is did you intend to like him the way you do now when you first met him?"

She shook her head and chuckled.