Letters to the front

Chapter 38 - Close to the edge

Edward 

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"Eyes on the road, Kingston" she mocked, her tone light and teasing. 

Shaking my head, I surpressed a laugh and pushed the horse forward, taking her by surprise, she instinctivly grabbed my arm to steady herself. "Steady on, Hardwick, we aren't even engaged yet"

Her face turned to one of wonder at my choice of words, no matter the joking tone. I shouldn't have said it, not yet. I wasn't sure if it would work, and hell knows I wanted it too. But my family would make things difficult, and life would not be easy for her, living amongst people like me.

Closing my eyes briefly, I pushed the thought back, enjoying the feel of Alice's head resting on my shoulder, relaxed and happy, for the first time in a long time. "Take a left" she said. I remembered what she told me about changing direction, it really wasn't so complicated. "Will you do something for me?" I asked.

She sat up and looked at me, "of course, anything"

"Come back with me, I want you to meet my family" 

No matter how she felt, she didn't convey it on her face, in her eyes I saw apprehension, but her face remained calm. With a distanced smile, she simply said "If you like, i'd love too"

I could understand her nerves, my family were...well rich, and Alice just wasn't, and she knew as well as I did they would not accept our relationship easily. "Steady" I said, pulling the horse too a stop outside the barn. Before I could stop her, she had jumped down and was unloading my cases. "I'll do that" 

She ignored me, putting them in the dry and then moving on to unhitch the cart. "Just go put your cases in the house, someone will show you where you're sleeping"

I did as she asked, not wanting to be a burden. I watched her walk the horse into the barn and then turned, climbing the steps to the patchwork cottage. The cottage was like nothing I was used too, back home. It was a mismatch of stone brick, with a faded slate roof, the door was made of an ancient oak, and the handle bronze, which must have been an heirloom, as judging by the families lifestyle, they didn't have much in the way of money. 

Edward was sat in the dining room when I came in. We stood for a moment, the silence growing increasingly awkward. "Alice told me to ask where I was sleeping" I said. 

He nodded, grabbing a walking stick and hobbling down the corridor. I followed behind him. He kicked open the door to a cold and drafty room. There was a small bed in the corner and a fireplace, a bedside table was perched at the foot of the bed, a candle resting crooked on it. "Not much but..." he said.

"It's fine" I said, placing my cases by the bed, "thanks for letting me stay, and...Alice told me about your leg, i'm sorry"

"Don't pity me" he spat. 

"Wasn't pity, it was compassion" I said.

"You are full of it" 

I spun around, angry, "We were friends once, what happend?"

"You died, and she grieved, she wept and cried and it was agony just to watch, where the hell were you?" yelled Edward.

"Well, terribly sorry, but I was too busy being kept prisoner by a group of germans...funny thing about prison, they don't seem to let you leave when you like" 

He flinched, "sorry" he muttered, "a lots happened, and it hurts to think of how much my cuz has suffered"

"Don't worry about it" I said.

"Good to see you, luitenant" he said, leaving the room. As he walked along the corridor, I could hear the faint click as his walking stick hit the cold stone. Outside the window, I could see the vast expanse of fields and hills, it was easy to see why Alice loved her home, it was beautiful. 

Beyond the fields lay endlessly blue skies, clouds dotting the great space, floating above the land. The door slammed shut and I heard footsteps followed by raised voices, immediatly I recognised Alice's voice amongst the confusion, then another slamming door. I followed the sound into the kitchen, to find Alice stood at a table, with a man i'd never seen arguing with her. "Just leave" she hissed, "no one wants you here!"

I looked between them, trying to fathom out the situation. 

"Alice I-"

"Save it! You made your opinions clear" she spat.

"Alice" I said, she turned, her eyes blazing with anger and her brow furrowed.

"Edward, there is someone you should meet" she said sarcastically. I raised an eyebrow and looked between the two of them, the man was looking murderous now. "Another suitor? Where did I go wrong? I raised a slut!" 

"Charming, as usual" she said, "Edward, meet my father"

"You're the bastard" I spat, suddenly furious. I remembered the letter I recieved by mistake, and how her father had tossed her out her home without a second thought, and I wanted to kill the man who had hurt her so much. "Who the hell are you?" he sneered, "her lover, wouldn't shock me, not very virtuous this one"

Without second thought, I charged forward, fueled by rage, and slammed him against the wall. He struggled but no match for my strength, I had him in choke hold, I with narrowed eyes as he scrambled for air, and spoke quietly, "you absolute bastard, you will leave this family and go far away from here, you could not be more wrong about Alice, threaten her or even come near her again, I will kill you" 

His face was turning puce, and the dark part of myself that only usually emerged in battle had taken hold, all I could see was evil, that I wanted to destroy. "Edward!"  

That high pitched, now terrified brought me back to reality, away from the darkness consuming me. Hardwick collapsed onto the floor before scrambling to his feet and retreated to the door before shooting me one last deathly glare. The door frame shook as he slammed it shut. Alice stood dumbfound, swaying unsteadily on her feet. 

Darting across the room, I caught her as she collapsed into me. She leaned against me, taking slow deep breath, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Thank you" she said.  I ran my hand through her hair, feeling the silken softeness of it beneath my hands. Her glistening eyes looked up into mine and her lips trembled. "I was so....angry, I wanted to kill him" she said, gripping my arms tightly. 

"I know, it's hard to control, I almost lost it...you saved me from it"

She choked up a bit, "That's what i'm here for" she said thickley.

I swept the hair off her face and smiled at her, "My Alice" I said.

"Yes, yours" she sighed, leaning forward and kissing me. I was pleased by her boldness, normally I instigated this kind of behaviour, I was happy at her growing confidence. Her lips moved against mine and I pulled her closer, feeling her flush and the smooth curves beneath her dress. I lifted her on to the dining table, continuing to kiss her, pushing her back onto the table as my hands grasped her waist, she sighed and knotted her fingers in my hair, pulling me down to her. "We shouldn't" she said.

"I know" I agreed, continuing to kiss her. I put her leg around me and allowed myself to be wrapped up in her. Hearing the faint hum of chatter and growing footsteps we both broke apart hastily, she was crimson and pulling her clothing back into place. I smirked like an errant school boy and shot her a wink, making her giggle. "Have you two been alone?" asked Dorothy. 

"It's fine" she insisted, "I just got back, Edward's been settling in"

They all visibly relaxed and then Alice's mother turned to her. "There is a dance in the village tonight, at the pub, are you going?"

"I didn't know" she said, looking a little flustered all of a sudden, turning to me she asked, "do you want to go?"

"I'd love too" I replied, kissing her cheek, "now if you'll excuse me, I must nip into morpeth"

"That's miles away! You'll never get there today!" protested Alice.

"Don't worry" I laughed, "I have it all arranged a car is picking me up, i'll be back in time before tonight" 

"Okay" she said, I kissed her lightly before leaving, in a rush. I wasn't really going to morpeth, but I did have business to carry out, something that was extremely important and Alice wasn't quite ready to know what. 

I left the cottage and headed into the village, knowing that the next few hours would change my life forever.