***FREE STORY***As World War One rages, in the quiet village of Trevannic, a young stranger washes up on the idyllic Cornish shore. His appearance and origins are a mystery. His Greek god muscular good looks and musical genius charms the little vil...
The following morning, Jakob had a prodigious appetite. He sat up in bed and devoured free range chicken eggs, drumsticks, cornish pasties and saffron cake. For the ladies, being in the company of a young man with a healthy appetite was a genuine compliment of their hospitality.
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As the sisters sat down to breakfast in the balcony, Janet poured tea into the delicate porcelain cup Dorcas laid out for her. Janet put sugar and milk into her cup.
"Jakob must have a selection of clothes for every occasion," Janet was practical as ever.
Jill agreed, "I'm knitting a matching cap, scarf, gloves and socks for him. A present from you, Dorcas and I." Jakob had enquired about the progress of her knitting project. Jill's insides flipped each time she thought about him.
Janet steered the conversation back, "Father's clothes are in the trunk upstairs, should we consider lending clothes that hold such precious memories?" Janet thought Jill was getting carried away with accessorising and without giving any thought to the main issue of Jakob's clothes.
"Father, may he rest in peace," Jill signed the cross on her body, "was generous enough to have given Jakob his clothes," replied Jill.
"You're right of course. We've been blessed and should help the sick and needy," conceded Janet. "In addition to father's clothes, I'm resolved to give Jakob my legacy of twenty five pounds to buy a suit. When doing the laundry, Dorcas said he didn't have a penny in the pockets of his old clothes."
Three years before, a paternal aunt had bequeathed Janet a legacy, the disposal of which had been the subject of much discussion between the sisters. Janet referred to the sum as my twenty five pounds.
"Is that quite proper, dear," said Jill after considering the proposition over a delicate sip of aromatic tea.
"Proper? What do you mean," quizzed Janet.
"The propriety of you giving him all your inheritance from Aunt Elizabeth," Jill piped in, "It would place Jakob under too great an obligation to you personally. Dorcas, you and I take turns looking after him. Just as the accessories I'm knitting has had input from all three of us, money for any clothing should come out of our monthly income that is more than sufficient to cover the expense," Jill finished in a reconciliatory tone.
"I don't think there's any impropriety but if you feel strongly about it, we can use our income," Janet's nose was obviously out of joint.
"You're not angry with me, are you Janet," Jill was apologetic.
"Of course not," Janet surprised at an unexpected independent thinking on the part of her younger sister. "Don't be silly. I'm just surprised that someone as impulsive as you would question the propriety of how I spend my twenty five pounds."
The tension quickly passed as the sisters discussed plans for the family porcelain production works over breakfast. By the time they rose from the breakfast table, the sisters had kissed and made up. Jakob had conjured the first shadow of dissension between the sisters.
As Jill went to finalise food preservation, Janet set off for the family porcelain production works to discuss expansion plans agreed over breakfast with the foreman.
That night, Jill closed the double connecting doors between their bedrooms for the first time.
November 6, 2015
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