Twisted Every Way(Phantom Of The Opera Fic)

Chapter 110: The Fair

Winnie sat at the dinner table apprehensively. 

Jesses father and older brother had solemnly dredged into the room twenty minutes ago, and except for a few civil words had said nothing more. 

Winnie couldn't help but stare at the Father. He was tall, well built and muscular as her Father was, only his right arm was severed at the shoulder. 

A sleeve with no occupant.

After Amy had brought all the food to the table and Winnie had said a prayer to herself, she began to eat. 

"Alright," The man said bluntly, startling Winnie and interrupting one of Jesses rants about his love of trees. "You want to know how?" 

Winnie looked at him strangely, he was French.

"I wouldn't dare intrude," Winnie said filling her mouth with mash potatoes and causing small laugh from the elder brother.

"She wants to know," May nodded, "I see no reason not to Thomas, those days are far behind us." 

"You are French yes?" He asked her and she nodded emphatically. 

"I took Amy to see a show one night, a new Opera. There was an accident, the whole place caught fire. I got caught under a beam, it was my arm or my life." 

Winnie set down her fork and looked at the man's tired grey eyes.

"I'm sorry sir," She stated, "No one should have to go through that." 

"No, they shouldn't," The man mumbled, "And yet here we have hundreds of men and boys no older than my sons throwing their lives away in Europe." 

"My brothers in the war," Winnie said. 

"Your brothers a fool then." 

"Tom!" Amy snapped, "She's our guest pay heed to your manners!" 

"No Miss," Winnie shrugged, "I think him a fool. He has a daughter. He needn't fight. Yet there he is." 

Tom seemed surprised by her answer and gave a small nod of approval. 

"I told you you'd like her," Jesse beamed proudly. "She's a mighty fine tree climber too." 

"Jesse don't tell me you put that poor girl in a tree," Amy said with a wince of horror. 

 "It was beautiful." Winnie stated proudly, "I love it up high. It puts my troubles behind me." 

"A couple of nut jobs you two are," Henry scoffed with a laugh, "Jesse's finally found someone crazy as him." 

Jesse went to knock his brother on the head with some peas and corn but Amy restrained him. 

"If your both liking heights so much why don't you go see the Ferris wheel. I hear they light it up awful pretty at night," Tom noted, his voice more mellow than gruff this time.

Winnie looked over the gentleman, he wasn't clean shaven like her father, didn't wear fine suits or cufflinks. he had a simple thin white workers shirt, slacks and a strange marking around the wrist of his left hand.

A scar, she supposed must have come from a rope or machinery pulling at his wrists for an extended time. He didn't look at her with worry, with anxiety or fear, his eyes simply looked with interest into her own. 

How she wished her Father could see her, and her alone as this man did, in a way that felt no need of over protection.

"Do you want to go?" Mary asked her earnestly. 

"Oh," Winnie mumbled, "Well, I can't. Well, rather I shouldn't." 

"Why not?" Jesse laughed helping himself to some chicken.