The Broken Daylily

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Arthur

Thomas was in the carriage, trying to calm down his mind. But twas not possible. He kept thinking of Madilyn's words.

Much too late, he got to know that his wife was to marry Colston and her sister was married to Arthur. Colston was the reason why she came to him and became pregnant. She knew he was a bad man and she had wanted to avoid him. He had compared himself to Colston while he did not know what he meant to Madilyn.

And Adelaide's husband – Arthur – was no stranger either. He was not certain, but his gut feeling was rarely wrong. Also the lie about Everton was not convenient enough to make him doubt.

When he was fourteen, his oldest brother, Arthur, was banished from his family. Thomas did not know the reason for it, only that he had become a bad man with a bad influence. And one day – a year before their father died – their parents decided it was best if he left the family.

Arthur was nineteen when he had to leave the house. Ever since, no one had heard of him, nor seen him – luckily. Thomas had always feared the man his brother might have turned into, but to believe that that same brother was now a henchman to a kidnapper, was something he could not even comprehend.

He had to tell his family of his, but he did not want to spook the ladies. So he decided to make Andrew his first stop. His older brother, who was only one year younger than Arthur, knew most about what had happened. He was also the one with the most rational mind, so he would know what the best thing to do was.

He did not wait for the carriage to come to a full stop before he jumped out and rushed to the door. He knocked on it and impatiently waited until the butler opened the door.

"Where is Andrew?" he demanded.

"He is in the study, my lord," the older man kindly answered. Before his sentence was even finished, Thomas made his way through the house and into the study. His brother startled upon the sudden opening of the door, but then he smiled.

"Thomas, you are here too. Is this a family reunion I did not know about?"

"What?" Thomas asked confused, his mind still on Arthur.

"Elizabeth is in the parlour with my wife," he explained. "But you look like you have seen a ghost. What is the matter?"

Thomas shook his head. "Not seen a ghost. Heard of one." He took a deep breath. Elizabeth was here too? Mayhap that was good. Twas better to discuss a family matter like this with more people than just Andrew. "Get Elizabeth here."

"What?" Andrew asked, probably surprised by Thomas' rudeness, but he did not have time to explain.

He turned around to the butler who was still in the doorway, also baffled by Thomas. "Fetch Elizabeth."

The butler looked behind Thomas – probably at Andrew who nodded at him – before he turned away and toward the parlour.

"What is the matter?" Andrew asked. Thomas shook his head and went to sit down on the couch near the window. He shook his head, indicating he will not tell now, for then he would have to tell twice.

So they waited in silence. And the wait seemed to take forever. How long could it take someone to walk from the parlour to the study?!

Finally the door opened, and Thomas could smash his head against the wall because of his rude thinking. Victoria came along – of course – but was almost nine months pregnant. Of course she could not walk fast.

"Thomas," Elizabeth said surprised. "What are you doing here? I have not seen you leave the house often."

"This is no time for jests, Elizabeth," he told her, irritated by her lack of seriousness. He stood up while Victoria sat down on the couch he had occupied before. He paced the room for a while, before he was finally able to speak.