A Ripple In Time | Captain James Nicholls

Chapter Nine

James's sisters had been persistent about seeing the lady that captured his attention and with persuasion directed towards the Captain and their father it was soon decided that they would invite Izabella Brighton to dinner on a summer evening. Where stories could be shared and life could be celebrated, James always spoke highly of the woman and in digression from his sisters he had even spoken to his father about marriage. The thought of marriage had rarely crossed his mind since the school days where many men would sport a woman for nothing more than a trophy of class and wealth but the longing was there. To settle down as his mother and father had done, to have that relationship and the love that never died. One day as Jamie came to ride with the Captain he had even made mention about looking at rings. To which the Major laughed, all in good nature, of course.

"What did I tell you Jim? From that day we all had tea together, hook, line, and sinker." James rolled his eyes and urged Bill into a gallop, Topthorn never straying too far behind. I love her, his heart was very adamant about reminding him of that fact, every time the two were together, whether it be a day's outing or the few nights he had stayed with her. Questions ran rapid through his head. How do I tell her? Is this too soon? When should I tell her? Will she return my affections? But there was that nagging voice in the back of his head, that voice that told him that becoming involved with her was dangerous, not just because of his profession and that the threat of war could arise, but because of the strange things that he had seen of the course of their months together.

Her disappearances on the nights he stayed, though brief did not sit right with him. The glass he had seen on her bedside table stained a dull red as if it had once held blood. The avid avoidance of attending church and while many homes still had small crucifixes to show devotion to the religion there was nothing holy on the Brighton Estate. Often she had mentioned and spoke of events that had long been in the past as if she were there and experienced them first hand but he had always excused it because of her education and collection of historical books.

The meticulous way she never wore silver, not a necklace nor a hair comb, not even accents on her gowns when silver would have been the more appropriate match to some ensembles. And when he was attacked by the wolf, he could see the cringe she gave at the sight of blood, and the way her pupils dilated with bloodlust. On some nights and occasions she seemed to forget the elongated canines and smiled and while it was breathtakingly beautiful it also reeked of danger. All the pieces clicked, all the clues were there but the only thing that kept him from labeling her as such a creature was that she could walk in the sun, but despite that his brain told him that she was one, even though he could not bring himself to use the word, and yet his heart still held nothing but love for the woman.

The Brighton Estate, London; June 29, 1913.

Her outings with James had grown more frequent as for a long while he had no duties to attend to, they rode often and visited the shops of London on more than one occasion, pointing out ridiculous items and those that they felt would be suiting for one another. Hand in hand they would walk down the streets though her heart stalled when he slowed down at the shop front of a jeweler's store, elegant diamond rings sitting in the windows display. They had even passed an art supply store that had been hidden away in one of the alleys, the pastels and paints were all aligned by color, pencils and pieces of charcoal had been sharpened and were ready to be purchased and used but what had caught Belle's attention were the sketchbooks. Some were large, obviously for landscapes and perhaps planning as well, the size range was impressive but it was a leather bound book that held her focus. It resembled James's, the make and style, though it was a tad bit larger and the leather had been stained to appear the color of cognac. She knew that she would return before his birthday to purchase the book and fresh tools, a smile grew on her lips at the thought.