SAM

Vigil

Sam took the stairs two at a time hoping to miss both her father and Cecile so she wouldn't have to make excuses to duck out of dinner. She headed toward her room only to find Cecile and Ann fussing over some clothes on her bed. Leaning on the doorframe she crossed one leg over the other, cocked her head to the side , coughing to get t heir attention.

"Sam! You startled me!" Cecile exclaimed placing a delicate hand on her breast.

" I'm sure you need more than that to startle you," Sam scoffed walking in long strides toward the tub. Seeing it was ready for her, she then turned to the two women who were watching her. "Would you mind telling me what all that is?" Nodding towards the bed.

Cecile jumped in quickly, before Ann started telling Sam she was dessert. Taking one of the brushes in hand, she walked toward Sam. "We have a dinner guest and I would really appreciate it if you wore-- one of these--your father almost blew his top off when Bryan told him he thought you were a lad."

Sam walked over toward the bed, saw some frocks placed there and she sighed, there was no way around this without hurting Cecile's feelings. She rested her forehead against one of the bed pillars and took in a deep breath.

"Bryan huh? Moving in fast is he?" She asked sarcastically as she turned toward the two women.

"Sam, really-" Cecile walked to her and took the hat from her head and gave it over to Ann. "Here turn around, I'll undo this knot you do to your hair and help you bathe," she reached to undo the braid but Sam walked away undoing the braid herself.

She hated doing this to Cecile but she was not in the mood for the motherly games, the fight with her father had left her irritated and the poachers had worsened her mood and all she wanted was to get herself out of this scheme. She looked toward Ann who stood dutifully by the tub waiting for her to make her mind up.

"Ann, you can leave. Be a sweetheart and bring up some dinner for me." Sam asked gently as she hugged the old woman's waist. Ann gave her one of her maternal frowns but kissed the top of her head and left the room.

Sam started unbuttoning her shirt and watched form the corner of her eyes how Cecile sat on her bed. She was not going to leave, well... Sam shrugged, letting the shirt fall she turned and caught Cecile's stare.

"What do you have on?" she asked staring at the strange jacket she had on.

"It's a body jacket, Dan's wife made it for me. She started undoing the straps and let it fall.

Cecile watch the young body emerge from its cocoon. The small waist, the upturned breasts, the flat stomach and the young hips, she was a beautiful child; she could never understand her need to hide.

Sam sunk herself in the bath resting her neck on the edge, why? Why could they just not leave her alone? She did no one harm with her ways. She worked, she was decent. She sighed as she heard Cecile heading to her.

"I will never understand why you bury yourself under all this clothes," Walking over with a brush on her hand and brushed the golden tresses free from the remaining braid, they reached her shoulders. Cecile knew Sam cut them every month. George had caught her once and had told her she would shave it all off if she cut it again. The last thing he had expected was to see his daughter grab a pair of scissors and cut her hair chin length in front of his face. Cecile had stood there caught between them and watched both father and child stare each other down. She had winced when she heard George suck in his breath in a rush, certain he would strike her, but he didn't, he lifted a shaky finger and yelled at her to get out of his sight before he did something he would have to regret. Cecile had pushed Sam out the door and had come down hard on her. George had not spoken to his daughter in a week and finally Sam had begged for her father's forgiveness. They had made a deal where she promised to keep it at shoulder's length.