Forbidden

Chapter 9

A sob escaped before Julia could speak.  "It's... It's your father. We got a letter and...oh!  He...he has to g-go off to war, Catherine."

Fear washed over Catherine's body, paralyzing her, trapping her breath, freezing her to the very bone. Her limbs numbed, her spine prickled and her throat dried and cracked. Sadness and anxiety gnawed at her heart, tightening their grasp until it collapsed into thousands of pieces. Her eyes welled up, threatening to burst into waterfalls any second. Her shaky hand slowly went up to her mouth, and the other felt around for support.

"W-war?" She croaked, holding on to the tiniest hope that she had heard wrong.

Her mother nodded between two sobs, and Catherine couldn't take it anymore. She fell in her mother's arms, abandoning her body to the tsunami of tears that had finally caved in. Mother and daughter held each other for several minutes, each seeking comfort in the other's embrace. The sound of a clearing throat pulled them out of the moment, and both looked around to see Tom standing at the door of the living room. Without a word, Catherine hugged her father. Surprised by the mark of affection, he hesitated in answering it, a single tear forming a river on his cheek. Catherine freed her father and went up to her room.

Sleep escaped Catherine​ that night, the thought of her father at war haunting her every time she dared close her eyes. Her heart felt heavy in her chest, each breath held the menace of breaking into uncontrollable sobs. The possibility of losing him terrorised her, making her realise how much she loved him. Despite the fights, despite the anger, despite the tears, she loved him with all her heart and soul. She lay awake that night, the agony of her father's uncertain future steering her away from the much-needed rest. The blue charm bracelet found its way into her mind, and for a moment she wondered where it was. Remembering she had thrown it across the room and quite possibly broken it, her heart dropped. She promised to find it the next day, and rolled onto her side. After hours of tossing and turning, she finally fell into a dreamless slumber.

"What do we do today, mom?" Catherine asked the following morning, after her sibling's departure.

"We have to put our usual schedule on pause, dear. For the following weeks, we will be knitting socks and scarves, as well as making travel-friendly foods your father can bring with him. He leaves in 2 weeks, so until then we must work very hard. Afterwards we will still send things but we will do less and concentrate more on our usual lessons. Does that work for you?" Catherine nodded, and Julia continued. "Very well. I'll go get the knitting things."

She came back a few moments later, and both set to work silently. Most of the day was spent like this, quietly, neither of them feeling a need to talk. The mere presence of the other was enough, and so the silence continued in an unspoken mutual understanding.

After dinner, Catherine retired to her room to do some homework for the NS. She kept her ears wide open, only half concentrating on the work at hand, terrified at the idea of being caught doing school work yet again. Although she didn't regret her decision, another punishment wasn't high on her to-do list.

"Catherine?" Her father's voice pierced the silence. Catherine gathered all the work and shoved it under the blanket, sliding her legs with it so it wouldn't look suspicious.

"Come in."

The door creaked open hesitantly, Tom unsure whether he had heard correctly. "Your mother and I have talked, and we have decided that cotillion will no longer be necessary. Uhm...Julia feels there are more important things to do here to, uhm, prepare for my departure."

"Oh, okay. Uhm...thanks for letting me know."

Understanding that was his cue to leave, Tom nodded and left. As soon as he left, Catherine grinned to herself, barely retaining from laughing, not believing her luck. She didn't have to go to Cotillion after all! She gave her father a few minutes to go downstairs before rushing down to find her mother.