Promises Unkept

Dry Apple leaf

Eden smiled at her exuberant judgment.  Just then, Maggie shot the one question to her she was not ready to answer.

“So, how do you like my Lord Stephen Adelwood?”

The smile fell off Eden’s face. Her pace got quickened.

“Eden..!” Maggie called rushing as fast as Eden. “Tell me.”

“He is….nice.”

“Just nice?”

“He is good.”

“Just good?”

Eden quickened her strides some more but Maggie was no slower. “Yes. What else?”

“Eden, look at me!” and Eden did look at her.

“Seriously?” Maggie inquired with an exaggerated look on her face. “Just good? Don’t you think magnificent is the precise word?”

“I…” Eden had just begun to clarify why magnificent was infact not the right word when she collided into something hard at her front. Someone hard, perhaps, was the right word. “Oh!”

“Easy.” A masculine voice cautioned.

By her side, Maggie was no diverse for she too had managed bump head on into another man.

“Ouch!”

“Oomph! Ughh!”

Eden had hardly backed away from the man she had bumped into and had just been able to mutter her apology when her eyes flew by to Maggie. Or rather, the pot of jam that she had been carrying.

Was it unfortunate that the jar now lay on the floor, broken in two, bleeding jam?

Well, perhaps.

But it was surely more unfortunate that that before falling, that silly little pot had managed to spill most of its content onto the person infront.

“Oh … damn!” she heard Maggie curse under the breath.

The man on whom the jam had been spilled stood as shocked as the other three, gaping down at his partly scarlet patched white shirt. His probably_ expensive_ white shirt, for Eden just realized that she had not seen the man here before and he was probably one of Lord Adelwood’s guests.

“We are so sorry sir.” She stuttered hurriedly on Maggie’s behalf and kicked her partner on the ankle meanwhile to grab her attention. Successfully.

“S-Sorry….Sir.” Maggie stammered as shock left her eyes and fear took over. “I am so sorry I was not looking where was I going and you suddenly came in front and I didn’t realize I had to stop until i_”

Another kick from Eden.

“_ bumped. Into. You.” The girl swallowed. “Sorry.”

The man in front looked up very slowly, right into Maggie’s face. And it gave Eden chills to think what he might say in the next moment. Or shout. Or bark. Complain the master of the manor, maybe. He could have done all that.

He did none of that.

He just chuckled.

A slow, deliberate laugh.

“Sir…?” Maggie was looking at him as if she firmly believed that he had got one screw lose.

“It’s okay. I am fine. Are you alright?” And that was all he had got to ask.  After all that happened.

Are you alright?

“Yes...Ehem…Yes.” Maggie nodded reluctantly. “I…I am alright. I am sorry though I…”