Wolves

Chapter One

"Debt?" I echoed my fathers words, but he just nodded and hung his head.

"I'm afraid so, Grace" he didn't look up as he answered, he seemed ashamed. Gideon was never a gambler, not that I was aware of; now he'd sent our family into debt and he wasn't even alive to help us pay it off.

"How much?" I asked but it came out as a whisper. My heart was thumping and my mind was spinning off into millions of directions.

"Too much. We will never pay it off" my father simply sat back in his chair and sighed deeply, "they'll come for him" he smoked his cigar once before daring to face me.

"Well, someone got there first" I murmured quietly sadly.

"Grace. Don't speak about your brave brother like that! You ungrateful girl!" My mother stood her ground in the entryway to my fathers study, her long dark plait which was threaded with pale grey strands was lightly draped over her thin shoulders. The brown of her hair was contrasted by the pale cream of her silk dressing gown; but her eyes were filled with rage and sadness.

"Sorry Mother" I looked at my feet, Gideon had died in the Civil War; he was brave I don't deny that but he wasn't knowledgeable and my parents knew that. He gambled away everything on a gamble for a new life that we both wanted. Gideon knew I didn't want this, he didn't either but at least he could do something about it, he was gambling for us both, and I valued his efforts but not the mess he'd abandoned us with.

"Off to bed now, dear. I need to talk to your father" my mother gestured for me to leave but I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned.

"It's barely dark Mother!" I complained like a little girl but she placed a hand on her hip and scowled angrily.

"Go for a walk then" she smiled all to sweetly for it to be anything but fake and gestured again for my departure.

I sighed and turned quickly before briskly walking out of the now silent study to allow my parents a chance to discuss how they would fix the situation at hand.

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I did what my mother had said and was wandering around our grounds, I enjoyed the area at the back, near the forest, because I could see the lights of my house without hearing the voices of my family. I loved them but none of them understood me like Gideon did, he and I were always worlds apart. I was raised by our mother to be ladylike and daintily whereas he was solely raised by our father to be strong and powerful. Despite all our differences and the undeniable age difference of nine years, we were siblings and that gave us a connection that I didn't have with anyone else even with our other brothers Bertie and Teddy.

I used to spend all my free time, that wasn't spent sipping tea and curtsying in a mirror, down by the river with my brothers, we would run threw the fast flowing water and scream on the days it was cold. I sometimes wondered if those days would ever see the light of day then I remember we were missing our leader, Gideon was gone. Bertie wasn't ready to be the older sibling when Father joined Gideon, it scared him. I know it did.

I'd passed the stream to walk past the enormous oak tree we climbed on when we were little. I remember hearing Teddy's little screams when he was too small to climb to where Gideon and Bertie could climb to, but now I only heard the fragile sound of my heeled boots on the crooked path. The sound brought back the memory of when my mother first bought me lady's shoes.

"Grace!" My mothers high voice pierced my eleven year old imagination. I was dreaming of working with my brothers, farming the land and ploughing the fields.

I look back now and wonder when I ever thought a lady like myself would ever be able to work like a man, work a job made for a man.

She entered my room with a square box coated with a layer of white lace. Her smile was bright and excitable which had instantly made me skeptical. She'd laid the box beside me on my bed and opened it to show me a pair of white ankle boots laced to the top with just enough heel to force me to walk like a 'lady'.

The only aspect that changed was the size, they were still made to make me seem dainty and frail but underneath I was still the girl who climbed trees with her brothers and swam in rivers til she was nine. I smiled at all the memories of Gideon and the life that was taken to soon, my eyes welled up but I refused to let myself cry. Over the past month I'd let myself go like that too many times and I was finally ready to grow into the woman my mother wanted me to be.

"Grace? Is that you?" A feminine voice slipped into my memory, I turned to see Claire walking quickly towards me, it had been hard to make out her shape as she, as the rest of us did, wore black in mourning for her lost husband, Gideon.

"Claire." I smiled kindly to my sister-in-law, she approached me swiftly then thread her arm through the loop in mine and we continued our walk around the garden.

"Did your father tell you?" Claire sighed in the darkness, I could barely make out the worry lines that covered her round face, the main change in her since my brother died was the loss of her warm rosy cheeks; she was now pale and lifeless, her entire face was white with grief. The entire family had lost all hope since his death, especially Claire.

"Yes he did and I am speechless" I locked my hands and focused on the crack in the ground, I walked along the straight line and Claire took a deep breath.

"So it's the completely incorrect time to be with child isn't it?" She let out a little humourless laugh before swallowing hard.

"Excuse me" I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at Claire, she didn't look at me but found lots to look at in the nearby tree, her attention was entirely on the discussion but she most definitely didn't want to be having the discussion.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you Grace but I didn't know if you'd be sad or happy and if I didn't tell you it would make you angry so I just told you" she gasped and released my arm in order to stand in front of me. "Now. Please tell me you are happy Grace! I really need someone to be happy!"

"I - I don't-. Actually! I'm ecstatic Claire!" I giggled and hugged her tightly but she still had sadness glinting in her hazel eyes. "Who was sad? Mother? Father? I'm sure Bertie and Teddy were delighted! Or haven't you told them?" I smiled.

"No it was my mother and father, they believe the child will be considered illegitimate despite that Gideon and I were married" she fiddled with the material of her dress instead of looking at me.

"Your a widow Claire, your baby is the most legitimate baby! Don't listen to them, this child will bring the hope back into our family!" I hugged her again then looked back at the house, the voices were beginning to be heard, Teddy reading a book out loud and Bertie discussing farming with Freddie the farmhand. I felt different, ready for this new start.

"You're right. This is exactly what we all need to lift our spirits" she joined my view and took my hand.

"That is if we can afford it now" I looked worryingly at her before walking back to the house we were staring at.

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Thank you for reading! I will write longer chapters so don't worry 😂

Please let me know if you have any questions about the characters!!

I'm writing a new story called "The Cure" which is more modern teen fiction so check that out if it's more your speed!

Thank you again!!! Xxxxx❤️❤️❤️