He did not smile.
In the seven days, and hours inside of his office I had spent, he did not smile not once. His thin lips were always in an discernible frown. His eyes always remained upon the paper he wrote, or the books he sent me to obtain for him. He would only look up to stare at the curtains, or to ask me for something. Bring him fresh ink, tea, bring him a new quill, anything that a writer would need. I was always kept busy, and when I was not he allowed me to take a book and read it. It was a fair trade I thought.
"Bryony!" Sascha's voice became quieter for my ears, I grew used to her yelling. I think she believed she was speaking in a calm voice instead of her ear splitting screaming. Sascha was as I learned, a very curious woman who no one understood except for her very self.
"Yes?" She placed the little girl that sat on her hip unto the floor, the curly blonde girl quickly scurried away to pour the chopped potatoes pieces unto a pan.
"Go to the east cottages and tell them we need this." She handed me a small piece of paper, one I folded neatly into my skirt. "Do not let them speak you into buying more, we have no space for things we do not need."
"Yes."
I left through the kitchen, covering my head with my scarf, guarding it from the cold winter day. Eventually I found a path, but my legs burned in fury as I struggled over the hills. They were immense and I felt as if they were innumerable and endless. I nearly cried when I saw the cottages, the farmers working on their land with children laughing and running all around them. It was not a familiar sight, for I was born in the city. A port, the dark blue seas was a familiar sight for me. Not the endless fields with plows, and women picking the harvest.
I did not know who to give the paper too, and looked around for the one I knew could always help me. I entered the small village, and looked everywhere in search of his golden hair.
I was being watched I could tell by many people, and I felt my cheeks blush when I saw them mostly staring at my dress, they knew I was from the manor without second thought. Alas before I started to panic I finally found his familiar head, but it was not facing me but a girl. She had long lucid red hair, and held a basket of strawberries as she spoke with an immense smile on her face to him. Her freckles curled up as her smile grew bigger, and her green eyes had a glint to them from the sun. He was standing beside a cart with radishes, and he held a boyish smile like any man would after receiving such a smile.
I stepped closer, and he rose his head towards me from the noise of my feet crushing the rocks beneath them. His smile I noticed grew larger, and I returned the smile as I started to walk closer to him. He excused himself from the girl who stared at me, I had yet to know what her expression meant but I did not recieve her gracious smile. She simply turned around and made her way.
"Bryony." He said as he rubbed his hands on his pants. He was dressed as if he had just come from a field, sweaty, and smudges of dirt were upon his face and clothing.
"Sascha said she needed this," I open the letter and stood beside him to read it. Edsel had a very warm presence, and I was far too shy to admit it to myself that I thoroughly enjoyed being near him. He was the closest thing I had to home.
"Ah yes, come with me," He took my hand and pulled me away. It was hard to keep with his pace, for he was much more taller than I and I felt like if I were to have let go of his hand I would kiss the ground hard. We arrived in front of a stand holding an array of vegetables with an old woman standing behind them. Her smile grew fair, letting us both see the lack of many teeth.
He gave her the paper, and she nodded as she read it. I gave her the basket and he said nothing as she delicately placed each vegetable into it. The vegetables were to be of no cost for it was for the master, and Sascha's stamp was on it. Something only the vendors knew of. Edsel took the basket and I had accepted his company without saying it aloud, I did not mind having a companion to take me back to the manor.
