Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 5

The next morning, I awoke to breathless news from Rosalyns servants that her prized dog, Penny, had been attacked. Mrs. Cartw even up summ wizardd me to her daughters chambers, saying nothing had stopped Rosalyn from screaming. I tried to comfort her, but her wracking sobs n invariably abated.The whole time, Mrs. Cartwright kept giving me disapproving glances, as if I should be doing a better job calming Rosalyn.Y have me, Id said at adept arcdegree, if only toou appease her. At that, Rosalyn had flung her arms around me, crying so hard into my shoulder that her weeping left a wet mark on my waistcoat. I tried to be sympathetic, but I felt a stab of annoyance at the way she was carrying on. After all, Id never carried on uniform that when my mother had died. Father hadnt let me.You have to be strong, a fighter, hed said at the funeral. And so I was. I didnt cry when, fitting a week after Mothers death, our nanny, Cordelia, began absentmindedly humming the French lullaby Mother had always sung. non when Father took down the portrait of Mother that had hung in the front room. Not even when Artemis, Mothers favorite horse, had to be put down.Did you appear the dog? Damon asked, as we walked into town together that wickedness to get a drink at the tavern. Now that the dinner where I was to publicly give notice to Rosalyn was on the button days away, we were heading kayoed for a whisky to celebrate my impending nuptials. At least, thats what Damon called it, elongating his accent to a flat Charlestonian drawl and wiggling his eyebrows as he said it. I tried to smile as if I thought it was a great joke, but if I began talking, I knew I wouldnt be able to nurture dressing my dismay just ab push through marrying Rosalyn. And there wasnt anything wrong with her. It was just it was just that she wasnt Katherine.I turned my thoughts gage to Penny. Y Its es. throat had a gash in it, but whatever the brute was didnt go for her innards. Strange, right? I s aid as I rushed to keep up with him. The army had made him stronger and faster. Its a strange time, brother, Damon said. Maybe its the Yankees, he teased with a smirk.As we walked down the cobblestone streets, I spy signs affixed to most doorways A reward of one hundred dollars was being offered to anyone who found the wild animal responsible for the attacks. I stared at the sign. Maybe I could find it, so take the money and debase a train ticket to Boston, or New Y ork, or rough city where no one could find me and no one had ever chance ond of Rosalyn Cartwright. I smiled to myself that would be something Damon might in reality dohe never worried about consequences or other peoples feelings. I was about to point out the sign and ask what hed do with one hundred dollars when I saw someone devilishly waving at us in front of the apothecary.Are those the Salvatore brothers? a voice called from up the street. I squinted across the twilight and saw dip, the apothecary, standing o utside her shop with her daughter, Anna. Pearl and Anna were two more victims of the war. Pearls preserve had died at the Vicksburg siege just last spring. After that, Pearl had found a bag in Mystic Falls, and she ran an apothecary that was always busy. Jonathan Gilbert, in particular, was almost always there when I walked by, kick about some ailment or purchasing some remedy or another. Town blab was that he fancied her.Pearl, you remember my brother, Damon? I called as we walked over the square to greet them.Pearl smiled and nodded. Her front was unlined, and a game among the girls was trying to determine how old she was. She had a daughter who was only a a couple of(prenominal) years younger than me, so she couldnt be that young. Y two certainly lookou handsome, she said fondly. Anna was the cough up image of her mother, and when they stood side by side, the two looked as if they could be sisters.Anna, you look more beautiful distributively year. Are you old enough to be going to dances yet? Damon asked, a twinkle in his eye. I smiled despite myself. Of course Damon would be able to charm both a mother and a daughter.Almost, Anna said, her eyes sparkling in anticipation. Fifteen was the age when girls were old enough to stay through dinner and hear the band strike up a waltz.Pearl used a wrought-iron key to lock the apothecary, then turned to face us. Damon, can you do me a favor? Can you make sure Katherine gets on tomorrow night? Shes a lovely girl, and, well, you complete how people talk about strangers. I knew her in Atlanta.I promise, Damon said solemnly.I stiffened. Was Damon escorting Katherine tomorrow night? I hadnt thought shed come to the party, and I couldnt opine proposing in front of her. only when what choice did I have? Tell Father that Katherine wasnt invited? Not propose to Rosalyn?Have fun tonight, boys, Pearl said, breaking me out of my reverie.Wait I called, the dinner momentarily forgotten.Pearl turned around, a quizzical e xpression on her face.Its dark, and there have been more attacks. Would you like us to escort you ladies home? I asked.Pearl agitate her head. Anna and I are strong women. Well be fine. in like manner She blushed and glanced around, as if afraid to be overheard. I believe Jonathan Gilbert wants to do that for us. But I do thank you for your concern.Damon wiggled his eyebrows and let out a low whistle. Y get it on how I feel about strong women,ou he whispered.Damon. Be appropriate, I said, slugging him on the shoulder. After all, he wasnt on the battlefields anymore. He was in Mystic Falls, a town where people liked to eavesdrop and loved to talk. Had he forgotten so quickly?Okay, Auntie Stefan Damon teased, raising his voice in a high lisp. I laughed despite myself and slugged him again on the arm for good measure. The punch was light, but felt gooda way to let loose some of my annoyance that he was able to escort Katherine to the dinner.He good-naturedly slugged me back, and we would have broken out into an all-out brotherly brawl if Damon hadnt pushed open the wooden door to the Mystic Falls Tavern. We were immediately greeted by an enthusiastic smile from the voluptuous, red-haired bar amah behind the counterpunch. It was clear that Damon had made himself at home here on several(prenominal) occasions.We elbowed our way to the back of the tavern. The room smelled of sawdust and sweat, and men in uniform were everywhere. Some had bandages on their heads, others wore slings, and some hobbled to the counter on crutches. I recognized Henry, a dark-skinned pass who practically lived at the tavern, alcohol addiction whiskey alone in a corner. Robert had told me stories about him He never socialized with anyone, and no one ever saw him in the light of day. There was talk that maybe he was associated with the attacks, but how could he be, if he was always at the tavern?I peeled my eyes away to take in the lay of the scene. There were older men tightly grou ped in a corner, playing cards and swallow whiskey and, in the opposite corner, a few women. I could tell from the rouge on their cheeks and their miscellaneous fingernails that they werent the types to spend time with our childhood playmates, Clementine Haverford or Amelia Hawke. As we walked past, one of them brushed my arm with her varicolored fingernails.Y like it here? Damon pulled out a woodenou table from the wall, an amused smile on his face.I suppose I do. I plunked down on the hard wooden bench and surveyed my milieu once again. Being in the tavern, I felt Id stumbled into a secret society of men, just one more thing I knew Id have little chance to discover before I was a married man and expected to be at home every evening. Ill get us some drinks, Damon said, making his way to the bar. I watched as he rested his elbows on the counter and easily talked to the barmaid, who tipped her head back and laughed as if hed said something hilarious. Which he probably had. Thats why all women fell in love with him.So, how does it feel to be a married man?I turned around to date stamp Dr. Janes behind me. Well into his seventies, Dr. Janes was slightly senile and often loudly proclaimed to anyone whod listen that his longevity was receivable exclusively to his prodigious indulgence in whiskey.Not married yet, Doctor. I smiled tightly, wishing Damon would come back with our drinks.Ah, my boy, but you will be. Mr. Cartwright at the bank has been discussing it for weeks. The fair young Rosalyn. Quite a catch Dr. Janes act loudly. I glanced around, hoping no one had heard.At that moment, Damon appeared and gently set our whiskeys on the table. Thank you, I said, drinking mine down in one gulp. Dr. Janes hobbled away.That thirsty, huh? Damon asked, taking a small sip of his own drink.I shrugged. In the past, Id never kept secrets from my brother. But talking about Rosalyn felt dangerous. Somehow, no matter what I said or felt, I still had to marry her. If any one heard even an inkling of regret from me, thered be no end to the talk.Suddenly, a new whiskey appeared in front of me. I glanced up to see the pretty bartender Damon had been talking to standing over our table.Y look like you need this. Seems youve had out a rough day. The barmaid winked one of her green eyes and set the sweating tumbler on the rough-hewn wooden table in front of me.Thank you, I said as I took a small, satisfying sip.Anytime, the barmaid said, her crinoline skirts swishing over her hips. I watched her retreating back. All the women in the tavern, even those with loose reputations, were more interesting than Rosalyn. But no matter who I glanced at, the only image that filled my mind was Katherines face.Alice likes you, Damon observed.I shook my head. You know I cant look. By the you end of summer, Ill be a married man. Y ou, meanwhile, are free to do as you please. Id meant it to be an observation, but the words came out as a judgment.Thats true, Damon said. But you do know you dont have to do something just because Father says so, right?Its not that simple. I clenched my jaw. Damon couldnt understand because he was wild and untamableso much so that Father had entrusted me, the younger brother, with the future of Veritas, a role I now found stifling.A sliver of betrayal shot through me at this thoughtthat it was Damons spot I had to shoulder so much responsibility. I shook my head, as if trying to remove the nous from it, and took another drink of whiskey.Its very simple, Damon said, oblivious to my momentary annoyance. Just tell him you are not in love with Rosalyn. That you need to find your own place in the world and cant just follow someones orders blindly. Thats what I learned in the army Y have to believe in what you do. Otherwise, ou whats the point?I shook my head. Im not like you. I trust Father. And I know he only wants the best. Its just that I wish I wish I had more time, I said finally. It was true. Maybe I could get to lo ve Rosalyn, but the thought that I could be married and have a child in just one short year filled me with dread. But itll be fine, I said with finality. It had to be.What do you approximate of our new houseguest? I said, changing the subject.Damon smiled. Katherine, he said, drawing the name into the full tierce syllables, as if he could taste it on his tongue. Now, shes a girl whos difficult to figure out, dont you agree?I suppose, I said, glad that Damon didnt I suppose, I said, glad that Damon didnt know that I was dreaming of Katherine at night, and by day pausing at the door to the carriage house to see if I could hear her laughing with her maid once I even stopped by the stable to smell the broad back of her horse, Clover, just to see if her lemon and ginger scent had lingered. It hadnt, and at that moment, in the barn surrounded by the horses, Id agnize how unbalanced I was becoming.They dont make girls like her in Mystic Falls. Do you think she has a soldier somewhere? D amon asked.No I said, annoyed once again. Shes in mourning for her parents. I hardly think shes looking for a beau.Of course. Damon knit his eyebrows together contritely. And I wasnt presuming anything. But if she needs a shoulder to cry on, Id be happy to lend it to her.I shrugged. Even though Id brought up the subject, I was no long-term sure I wanted to hear what Damon thought of her. In fact, as beautiful as she was, I almost wished that some far-flung relatives from Charleston or Richmond or Atlanta would step beforehand to invite her to live with them. If she were out of sight, then maybe I could somehow force myself to love Rosalyn.Damon stared at me, and I knew in that moment how miserable I must have looked. Cheer up, brother, he said. The night is young, and the whiskeys on me.But there wasnt enough whiskey in all of Virginia to make me love Rosalyn or forget about Katherine.