Army of Sorrow (Donegal Sidhe #1)

Chapter 3

Trevor watched the girl walk silently out of the house, back rigid, head high. He couldn’t believe he’d walked in on her in a towel. Mortification heated the back of his neck. His granddad hadn’t said a thing about her being there. He was still ill; perhaps it had slipped his mind. Had he wanted him to meet her? Surely it would have been a better first impression had she been dressed. Granddad better not be playing matchmaker… He wasn’t really the type to do that, but one never knew. Trevor had been looking forward to a vacation from the pressures of the opposite sex.

“Who was that?” It was a casual question, and Trevor was confused when he felt his granddad tense up next to him.

“No one really. Just a girl from town. I know her family, and she offered to come keep me company and cook until you arrived.” Trevor could tell from the look on his face the subject was closed. He was confused at his granddad’s reaction. If his words were true, then his reaction made no sense.

Trevor hoisted his bags onto his shoulder, moving them into the bedroom. He noticed the bed had been stripped and new linens set out for him. That was thoughtful…and quick. She’d only been in here a couple of minutes before she’d come out completely dressed and packed. Heaving his duffel onto the mattress, he began to unzip it. There was a small dresser along one wall, and he yanked open the top drawer. It had stuck as long as he could remember.

Carefully he hung his cap on a nearby wall hook. Considering how much he wore it and how old it was, the hat still looked great. Granddad had given him his first patchwork cap on his sixth birthday. Whenever he outgrew it, lost it, or ruined it, another one came in the mail. The current one had been a gift for his sixteenth birthday. It was his trademark. At college people had made snide remarks about it, but he hadn’t cared. That hat was his best reminder of his favorite granddad in Ireland. When his father had died he’d been so young his mother had moved back home to Norfolk to be with her family. His grandfather there was aloof to say the least, and his Irish granddad had been the one grandparent he could confide in. At first there had only been letters and phone calls with the occasional visit, but once he’d gotten old enough to make the trip, he had flown out and spent a week with his granddad each summer. It was odd how it had always been the same time each summer, but his granddad had insisted.

He began to methodically load each drawer. His luggage was soon empty, except one small toiletry bag that he took into the bathroom. After sliding his bags under the bed, he made it. He was tucking the blanket in, hospital style of course, when he spotted something. There on the floor, partly under the bed, was a book. Picking it up, he noted that although it was old, it was in excellent condition. He flipped it over and read the title Pride and Prejudice Vol. 1. Vol.1? Since when was it a two-volume novel? he thought. Beginning to suspect that the book belonged to the mysterious girl and not his granddad, he opened the book. The front cover had an inscription inside. Looking closer he read, “This book is the property of Br…” the rest of the name was impossible to read. Trevor had been hoping that the girl’s name might be in it, but the writing was spidery and old fashioned—the ink so faded that it seemed this must be the name of the original owner. Thumbing a couple of pages more, he gasped when he saw that it was a first edition. It had to be worth a fortune. What kind of small-town girl not only owns a first edition of a classic but carries it around to read?

Sure that she’d want it back, Trevor was halfway to his granddad’s room before he remembered the odd reaction to his simple question about the girl. Granddad wasn’t going to be very forthcoming with information, and more than likely he’d end up just taking the book and promising to return it to the girl himself. For some unknown reason, this bothered Trevor. He wanted to be the one to give it to her. Probably because this would assure him a second chance at an introduction, and it couldn’t possibly be any worse than the first impression he’d made, standing in the doorway like a statue until she had to run to the bathroom for some privacy. Trevor returned to his room, dwelling on what little details he could remember of her. He was sure her hair was reddish, though not what shade since it had been wet at the time, and he’d not had time to notice what color her eyes were. She seemed to avert her gaze when she came out—not that he blamed her—so he’d been able to glean little else before she left.

It was several hours later when he heard his granddad calling him. Jumping up, Trevor felt guilty at having let himself behave so childishly. He was here to care for his granddad, not moon over some girl he’d barely seen once. Besides, he wasn’t staying for very long, so there was no point in forming any kind of attachment here, romantic or not.

As he chewed his food, some kind of casserole the girl’s mum had apparently made up for them, he noted that she’d made and frozen several, so that he wouldn’t have to cook for nearly a week.

Suddenly realizing his granddad was asking him a question, he managed to pull himself back to reality.

“…you showed up a couple of days early?” Granddad was looking at him expectantly. Trevor quickly swallowed his bite, not chewing quite enough and felt it scrape down his esophagus.

Clearing his throat he said, “I finished my finals early, and mother had nothing planned, so I thought I’d come up sooner rather than later. I’m sorry if it inconvenienced anyone.” The pixie face of the girl swam across his vision. “I hope I didn’t ruin someone’s summer plans. She won’t get her full payment she was expecting now, I suppose.” He watched Granddad carefully across the small table. A flicker of something crossed his face too quick for Trevor to process what it was.

“Oh, I don’t think you need to worry. I still sent her the full amount.” The way he said it almost made Trevor believe that he hadn’t sent anything, but he knew that the Bradigans were almost fanatical about taking care of their debts. Granddad abruptly stood, leaving part of his dinner uneaten. Trevor began to say something about finishing but was interrupted.

“I’m very tired. I think I’ll retire early. I’m guessing you would probably enjoy an evening alone after your trip, so I’ll see you in the morning.” And with that he left the room. Trevor heard his shuffling footsteps echo down the small hallway and the door squeak shut. Well that was one way to change the subject. Whoever this girl was, apparently Trevor was not supposed to have anything to do with her. A million reasons, some possible, some fantastical, crossed his mind as to why. Perhaps she was a cruel princess forced to serve others until she learned kindness and gratitude. Or maybe she was just a girl from a poor local family that Granddad felt was not a good match. Granddad had never seemed capable of being that shallow. More than likely he really was tired and still not feeling well. Laughing at himself, he threw their dishes into the sink before crawling into his bed and turning off the lamp. 

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Thanks for reading!  Please vote or leave me a comment and let me know what you think!  Be sure to check out A Hasty Retreat, the story of why Trevor showed up early!  (ID# 11683117)