Broken (Disappeared #2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

A fire blazed, giving the nursery a cozy air. Nanny was there, dressing eight-year-old Louisa for bed in a frilly white nightgown and cap. The little girl squealed when she saw her sister, ran full tilt towards her, and hugged her with all her might.

"Hello, sweetness," Theodosia said, kneeling down and burying her face in those darling carroty curls. "I missed you terribly." She looked up at Nanny, who was frowning. "That will be all. I can put her to bed."

"Miss Louisa must go to sleep now—" the woman began.

"That will be all," Theodosia repeated sharply. "Goodnight."

The woman bustled out, a sour expression on her face. Theodosia pulled back and kissed Louisa's freckled face over and over. She smelled like soap and a tinge of smoke from the fire. The little girl began to giggle and pushed her away.

"You're tickling me!" She began to play with a ribbon on her sister's dress. "Thee, why did you go away? Mama told me you went to a place called Franch across a whole lot of water and that you would be gone a long time. I read your letter but you really should have said goodbye. It was awfully mean of you."

Theodosia's heart squeezed as she thought of that early morning when she had kissed a sleeping Louisa goodbye. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. You see, Mama wanted me to get married. I decided to go away so that I wouldn't have to."

Louisa frowned as she played with the ribbon. "Mama said I would have to marry someday, too. I told her I wouldn't and she got very angry."

Theodosia sighed. "It's better not to talk to Mama or Papa about such things. They won't understand."

She tied Louisa's cap in place, picked her up and put her in bed. She blew out the candles and drew the drapes. The nursery was dark and wonderfully cozy in the low light. Theodosia sat at the edge of Louisa's bed and tucked the sheets right up to her chin.

"I'm so glad you're back," the little girl whispered, her chubby fingers clutching the top of the blanket. "It was ever so lonely without you. Nanny is mean."

"She's a beast," her older sister replied, chuckling. "Don't you worry. Soon enough you'll have a governess and your own room. You'll be out of the nursery and Nanny shall never bother you again." She stroked the little girl's plump cheeks. "Was it so bad without me?"

Louisa sighed. "I was in the nursery a lot more. Nanny doesn't like to take me outside. I hated that and I missed you dreadfully. But I sat with my books every minute and I learned all the birds for you. Can we go for a walk tomorrow? I'll show you, Thee."

Her sister smiled waveringly. Guilt pressed upon her heart. "If we can," she whispered. "You know you would be fine even if I wasn't here, right, Lou? You're smart. You're strong. That's all you need."

Louisa's expression soured. "But you will be here. You're not going away again, are you?"

Theodosia kissed her freckled forehead to hide her pain. Ahuil had told her Louisa would be fine on her own. Now she wasn't so sure.

"I don't know, sweetness. I won't live in this house forever. Mama and Papa forbid it." She sighed. "Let's forget all that now. Would you like me to tell you a story?"

Louisa's face changed immediately from skeptical to excited. She nodded eagerly. So Theodosia sat at her side in the dying firelight and told her what had happened in the Nextic world, though she left out the more disturbing or violent bits.

At first, her little sister wanted to know everything about Yoltzin, the half-beasts, and the strange buildings. Eventually though, sleep overtook her and her fair lashes began to flutter on her cheeks. A few minutes later, gentle snores came from her snubbed nose.

Theodosia sat there for a long time, watching her sister sleeping peacefully. She was overwhelmed by how happy she felt seeing Louisa again but felt guilty, too, for leaving her.

In the background lurked despair over their future. Were they both simply to be married off to overstuffed tyrants? She already knew she had to forget Ahuil. Did she have to forget the freedom and innocence she had felt with him too?

It seemed inevitable, but the stubbornness in Theodosia's heart told her that anything was possible.