Burn - Edmund Bridgerton II's story

Chapter 7 - Jack's Birthday (Part 2)

Having quite rudely ran away from Miss Amelia Fife, Eddie hurried outside where the sun was already setting and steered his steps behind the old granary, where he found Jack smoking a cigarette with some of his friends.

"Eddie! Come, have a smoke with us." Jack grinned and offered Eddie a cigarette. He took it, lit it with the matches one of Jack's friends offered and inhaled the smoke deep into his lungs. Jack cast a curious look at Eddie's trembling hands and grabbed him by the arm. "Ed, what's going on?" He wondered as he pulled Eddie away from the others and into the nearby wheat field. They walked for a while in silence amidst the tall grain stalks.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Eddie finally lied and sucked on his cigarette.

"No, you are obviously not. Come on, let's sit down here." Jack suggested and sat down in the middle of the field. Eddie followed his lead a bit reluctantly and soon they were surrounded by a protective wall of wheat. "Is it the girl, Miss Amelia?" Jack tried again.

"Maybe..." Eddie muttered and had a sip of the bottle Jack had with him and now offered.

"Eddie, I am your oldest friend. You can tell me if something is wrong and I'll do my best to help you. Remember when you fell into that old dried up well in the woods and I had to run to get my father, because we were too scared to tell yours?" Jack smirked a bit awkwardly.

"Of course I remember..." Eddie smiled melancholically. "I guess I did have a tendency to fall into dangerous things, I also almost fell through that rotten hayloft of the old barn as well."

"And now you have fallen in love with that lovely Miss Fife." Jack filled in, quite cleverly.

"Well, I am fighting very hard not to..." Eddie sighed and let out a puff of smoke.

"Why on earth? She seems wonderful." Jack wondered with wide eyes.

"Because her family has a somewhat tarnished reputation and my father seems to have some serious issues with her parents..." Eddie muttered and tugged at a wheat stalk.

"I don't understand, is she a member of high society or not?" Jack asked in a confused tone.

"She is, but she is like down here..." Eddie patted at the ground. "And we are up there." He pointed towards the sky that was turning pink by the setting sun. "I am not even sure if she likes me. She is as good as betrothed to another man and she is his guest at the house, not mine."

"'As good as' betrothed is not the same as actually betrothed and judging by the way she looks at you, I am quite sure she likes you back, Eddie." Jack smirked. "Just tell her how you feel!"

"It's not that simple!" Eddie exclaimed, all hopeless. "My feelings and her theoretical feelings are irrelevant. She needs a marriage, which that other man can offer her and I cannot."

"Well that's just... Sad and wrong." Jack stated disappointedly.

"I know, but that's the world we live in... You should be happy that you can marry whoever you want. I wish I lived here and not up there..." Eddie muttered, sounding utterly sad.

"True, but we have plenty of our own hardships down here as well, you know." Jack replied quite dryly.

"I know, I'm sorry Jack, I did not mean to sound like a spoiled brat..." Eddie sighed, just as the wheat began to swoosh and swing. Soon Hannah and Miranda, followed by Amelia, appeared in their sight and sat down as well, although Amelia joined the circle a bit hesitantly.

"How did you find us?" Jack wondered, mostly speaking to his older sister.

"Your friends told us you went here." Hannah replied matter-of-factly.