You Promised

Chapter Thirty Three

After attempting to teach Lily how to sew, I clean the dozens of pin-pricks on my fingers and change to go to Hazel's house for the night. I'm just heading down the street, pulling my gloves over my fingers, when I hear a voice calling after me.
'Ami! Slow down you crazed creature!'
'Hurry up then John, I'm already late!'
He catches up with me easily, and loops my arm through his. 'So what has you looking even more mad this afternoon? Lily get tired of you and attempt to take your life with a thimble?'
'Why are you late? You left in plenty of time.' He asks softly.
I look at my feet as they sweep over the dusty pavement rather than meet his eye.
'Mr Greene was upset.' I mutter after a few feet of silence.
John says nothing, instead he just squeezes my arm as we arrive at Hazel's house.
Before he pushes open the door, he turns me around so I face him. 'Amelia. There is nothing I can say to you. Not really. Just...' He pauses and takes a tense breath. 'Just remember that just because he left doesn't mean that he doesn't love you. He left because he wanted to save those whom he loved.'
His words confuse me but I smile and walk away, leaving him staring after me.
I follow the sound of chatter towards the sitting room of Hazel's house, hearing John's heavy footsteps following me.
I hear someone playing a piano as I push open the door to see the room aglow with light and laughter as Hazel spins around the center of the room in the arms of a tall man who I almost didn't recognize.
'Colton?!' I exclaimed, watching as the American finished the dance with Hazel wrapped between his strong arms.
'Amelia!' He drawls back at me, waddling over to me with Hazel still between his arms.
Hazel's face is red with exertion and she giggles as he tries to shake hands with me without breaking hold of her.
'Ami, please.' I say, trying to signal to Hazel that my jealous brother is hot on my heels.
He arrives behind me and pushes past me into the room and stares at Hazel in the young man's arms.
'Have we met?' He snarls, grabbing Hazel's wrist and pulling her harshly out of Colton's embrace and behind himself.
'No I don't think so.' Colton answers, his jaw tense. 'Colton...I'm American.'
'John. I don't care.' He snarls, barging past him, dragging Hazel behind him.
Hazel looks at me, startled as John pulls her close as glares back at Colton.
'What did I do?' Colton asks me, stunned.
I blush for my brother and stammer an apology.

The evening continues in a hostile silence, with the occasional fire of conversation and unspoken cord of dislike running from my brother to the American soldier.
Anna and I have brief discussions about small things of nothing, trying our best to stop the tension.
The atmosphere in the room gets steadily worse like the humidity before a thunder storm.
'Where's Thomas?' I eventually ask Hazel who has a slightly panicked and guilty look on her face.
'He's em...' She trails off and looks at Anna for guidance.
'I'm here and he didn't want to be.' Anna states, sounding almost bored with the news.
I look between her and Hazel in confusion until Jayne explains that Anna and Thomas have become independent of one another.
'I'm sorry.' I tell Anna but she shrugs it off.
'It's okay. Really. It wasn't serious anyway, I'm only sixteen.' She says laughing. 'And so is he.'
'Not too young to be thinking about it though.' Jayne says, winking at us.
Then the simple-minded chatter ends and the room falls into silence again.

One of Hazel's maids brings in tea for the party before leaving quickly. We sip our tea in silence until John coughs.
'Where in America are you from?' He asks cooly, stirring his tea.
'Washington.' Colton says, a hard line in his tone.
'And do you like tea?' John asks, still stirring slowly.
'Yes. We don't drink as much of it in the States as you do though.' Colton makes an attempt to get the room to laugh but only manages a weak snicker.
'Would that have anything to do with the old tax on tea we used to have on you while we occupied there?' John asks, finally looking up from his teacup.
'John.' I warn as the eyes of Hazel's guests drop to the floor.
'No.' Colton replies calmly. 'We just think of it more as a woman's drink.'
'Alright enough.' Hazel hisses, finding her voice and getting to her feet between the men as they get up and glare at each other. 'Both of you are acting like little boys.'
John and Colton say nothing but continue to scowl at each other. John opens his mouth with another sharp comment but I cut him off before he gets to speak.
'Alright. John and I need to get home.' I say, grabbing his arm and pulling him away.
'No Ami no!' He tries arguing with me but this time I stand firm.
We start walking home in the cold evening air in silence.
'We shouldn't have left her alone with him.' John snarls at me as he starts to stomp off ahead of me. 'I don't trust the American.'
'You don't have to trust him. You just have to trust Hazel.' I reason with him.
He scowls at me, which I take as acknowledgement of my point. He falls into step beside me.
'Did Adam tell you why he left?' John asked suddenly after a few minutes of silence.
His question surprises me and I tell him that Adam was conscripted, it wasn't a choice.
He doesn't accept my answer. 'But he must have something he's actually fighting for. There must be something he's willing to die for.'
'Adam is fighting for you and me John. He's fighting to come home.' I say, exasperated.
'But what about England? Isn't he fighting for her freedom?' John presses.
'Where's this coming from John?'
He shoves his hands in the pockets of his trousers. 'Just thinking.'
'Well don't. And stop worrying about Hazel. You need to trust her and stop being so jealous.' I lecture as we arrive into our house to find everyone else gone to bed.
'Get some sleep Ami.' John says tiredly. 'We'll see what's going to happen in the morning.' He wearily climbs the stairs and vanishes into his bedroom.
I follow upstairs, already thinking about how I'm going to apologize to Hazel tomorrow.
Collapsing into bed, I can already feel dreams of Adam leaking into my mind as sleep takes over.