"Well, what are you waiting for? We've got a date to get to!"
Chapter Thirteen
"A peach for your thoughts?"
Daisy snapped out of her trance at the sudden voice, almost knocking over the untouched mug of tea sat on her bedside table. It was still full, almost to the brim, but the cloud of steam once hovering over it had long disappeared. Daisy didn't have to taste it to know it had become stone cold. She pushed it aside, away from the edge of the table to prevent it from falling.
"Sorry?" she turned to the doorway of her bedroom. Grant stood leaning against the doorframe, a yellowish ball-like item clutched in his hand. He tossed it up in the air and caught it with ease when it fell back down, his lips stretching into a lopsided grin.
"A peach for your thoughts," he repeated. Daisy scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. Before she could ask her brother for clarification, he tossed the rounded object to her. Daisy reached her hands out, grabbing it in time before it could fly pass her head but just barely. She took a good look at it and noticed its thin, velvet skin. A sweet, fruity aroma wafted from it and into her nostrils, the pleasant smell providing her with much comfort.
"Catch," Grant said a little too late. Daisy knew he did it on purpose, but she let it slide. She cupped the fruit delicately in her hands, treating it as if it were pure gold and admiring its beautiful colours.
"It's a penny for your thoughts," she corrected her brother's earlier statement. Grant shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers, shrugging. "I know. But I had a peach, and you were in your own little world again so I had to adapt. Clever, huh?"
"Very," Daisy answered. "Where did you get this?"
"You know the fruit cart down by the graveyard? There were baskets of these for sale this morning and no one was in line yet. Thought I'd bring some home for you. There are more downstairs if you want," Grant informed.
"How were you able to afford them? They must have cost a fortune," she said. Peaches were not all that cheap to buy, especially for the lower class like them. It was considered a luxury to have one in possession, and Daisy couldn't imagine what Grant must have done to obtain the load he had brought home.
But her brother's answer surprised her. He shook his head, moving to sit next to Daisy on her bed. "That's the thing. I didn't even have to spend a penny on them. They were given to me without any charge."
"Why?" the girl stared at him quizzically.
Grant shrugged. "No clue. But it was too good of an opportunity to say no to, so I took them." He nudged his head in the direction of the peach still in the grasp on his sister's hands. "They are your favourite, aren't they? Eat up."
Daisy turned away from him and lifted her hands to her face, the fragrant scent of the peach growing stronger as it was inches away from her mouth. She had only tasted it once—a few years back when her father had brought home an armful and Grant had stolen one from his stash for her to try. But the second she took a bite from it, she immediately recognised its familiar taste, as if she had been eating it for all her life. Sweet, with a hint of tanginess. The mixture tickled her taste buds. She sighed in content as she took another generous bite of the succulent fruit.
"Never thought I'd witness someone being so dramatic while eating a peach," Grant commented at her expressions. Juice dribbled down Daisy's chin and he reached over to wipe it away with the pad of his thumb.
"Don't judge me," Daisy told him, her words slightly muffled as her mouth was stuffed with fruit. "I haven't had this in forever."
Grant chuckled. "You're welcome." He pointed to her lap. "I'm going to take a guess and say that that is what has been keeping your mind so occupied. What are you writing?"
Daisy glanced down at the opened journal laid in her lap. To anyone, it may seem as though she hadn't written anything at all—the entire page was blank, not even a dot of ink on it. But the prior pages told otherwise. In fact, Daisy had written so much that morning her wrist had begun to hurt. She snapped the book shut, setting it onto her bedside table.
"Nothing," she lied. "I haven't been able to come up with anything good yet. I've been racking my brain all morning."
Grant eyed her suspiciously, which caused her to feel a bit guilty for not telling him the truth. She had to come up with a white lie, though. There was no way she would admit to him that she had been writing about Tewksbury. Never in a million years.
Fortunately, Grant didn't get the chance to question her. The sound of a pebble hitting glass was clear enough to make the siblings' heads swivel in the direction of Daisy's bedroom window. Not even a split second later, another pebble was being launched at it. They both stood up and walked towards the window, Daisy pushing it open and peering down to locate the source of the sound.
Hidden in the thick bushes which lined the perimeter of her home, was none other than the boy she couldn't seem to keep out of her mind.
"What are you doing?" she questioned. Tewksbury had bent down to collect more pebbles, and the abrupt voice of the girl he had grown fond of made him jump. He threw a pebble at her in defence, unaware she had moved aside to let her brother poke his head out of the window.
"Ow!" Grant yelped, raising his hand to his temple. He narrowed his eyes at the younger boy below him. "What was that for?"
"Sorry," Tewksbury apologised with a sheepish smile. "My reflexes kicked in."
Daisy pushed Grant away and stuck her head out again. "We have a front door, you know. You could have just knocked."
"I know, but I didn't want to risk running into your father again," Tewksbury called. A cheeky grin played at his lips. "Well, what are you waiting for? We've got a date to get to!"
"It is not a date!" she called back, rolling her eyes at his final statement. The audacity of this boy! she thought, shaking her head. But the new warmness of her cheeks was too prominent to dismiss. Daisy stuck her head back into her bedroom and quickly walked towards her bed, hiding her face from Grant so he wouldn't be able to see how pink it was turning.
The girl knelt on the floor and reached under her bed, fumbling until her fingertips grazed rough cloth. She stretched her arm a little further and pulled her old knapsack out.
It was nothing special, really. Definitely not one of her finest works. Daisy had spent hours collecting scraps of fabric she could find around the house, carrying them up to her room and trying to create something usable with a needle and thread. She ended up with a knapsack, a patchy one due to the different kinds of cloth she had used, but a knapsack nonetheless.
Resting against the bottom of her bed, she placed the knapsack in front of her and dumped its contents onto the floor.
"Woah, I didn't know you had a secret stash," Grant said, gaping at the various items sprawled around his sister. Bandages. A compass. Money, though not very much. A pocket watch. A packet of dried apricots.
"For emergencies. Or for spontaneous trips. Doesn't really matter which, but at least I have something prepared," Daisy told him. She began to put everything back into the knapsack after doing a quick check. Once she was finished, she stood up and slung its strings over her shoulders. "I am ready to go!"
"Are you going to climb out the window?" Grant inquired, watching as she swung her right leg over the window ledge. Daisy took a peep at the ground where Tewksbury was still waiting for her. It wasn't too far down. If she was careful enough, she could make a safe landing.
"Yes," she replied. To Tewksbury, she said, "Catch me if I fall, will you?"
He nodded warily, but shifted so that he was closer to where he estimated Daisy would land. She swung her other leg over the ledge so that she was now sitting on it, her feet dangling in mid-air. Her heart rate sped up a little once she realised it might not be as safe as she thought it would, and with the addition of her fear of heights, maybe it wasn't such a wise decision to jump down.
She weighed her options. Risk bumping into her father after the heavy beating she got the previous night, or risk breaking a limb from escaping through her bedroom window?
She chose the latter.
With a wave goodbye at her brother, Daisy shut her eyes tight and pushed herself off the ledge. She felt the cool air fanning against her cheek as she plummeted to the ground, causing stray strands of hair to fly around her face. She didn't open her eyes once.
Not until she felt someone's arms wrap around her body, cushioning her from hitting dirt. It didn't last very long, though, for a split second after she had landed her saviour's stability faltered, and before the two teenagers could even comprehend what was happening, they both fell to the ground with a thud.
"Are you two alright?" she heard her brother call out from above. Next to her, Tewksbury was already scrambling to stand up and he hovered over her, concern written all over his face.
"Daisy, I'm so sorry! Are you—are you alright? Are you hurt?" he asked frantically, unsure of what to do. When she failed to answer him, he crouched down and shook her shoulders gently. "Daisy? Did I hurt you?"
At first, she couldn't say anything. Her body still ached from yesterday's events and the extra impact of her shoulder hitting the ground didn't do her much justice.
But then, she let out a giggle. One which turned into many giggles, which became louder and louder until she was full on laughing uncontrollably. Daisy clutched her stomach, allowing the unexpected laughter to take over her entire being. Tears brimmed her waterline. She couldn't suppress it. She couldn't stop.
This left the young Marquess even more puzzled than before.
"You are a terrible catcher," Daisy jested when she finally gained control of herself. A happy sigh escaped her lips as she stared up at the boy, who was speechless after witnessing the confusing ordeal before him. Then his mouth curved up into a smile.
"You are unbelievably weird, Daisy Winters," he said. He stuck his hand out for her to take and when she did, he pulled her to her feet. Daisy brushed the dirt off her skirt and glanced back up at the window, where Grant still stood.
"I'm okay!" she announced, to which Grant just shook his head.
"Don't be out too late. And be careful! No more jumping out of windows!"
Daisy gave him a thumbs up, then turned to Tewksbury again. "Let's go."
The pair began to leave, Tewksbury leading the way since Daisy still had no clue what he had planned for the day. As they reached the rusty front gate, Tewksbury stopped.
"Wait, I forgot something." He hurriedly ran to the backyard and returned just as quick, but this time, he was carrying a basket with him.
"What is that for?" Daisy wanted to know, pushing the gate open and letting him through. Tewksbury shrugged in response.
"It's a surprise," he simply said. "You'll have to wait and see."
***
"Are you planning on telling me where we are going, or do I have to keep trusting that we are not actually lost?" Daisy asked, pulling her pocket watch out of her bag to check the time. They had been walking for almost a half hour, and she still didn't have the slightest idea as to where Tewksbury was taking her.
"We aren't lost," he assured her. "We're almost there. I promise you."
Daisy huffed in exhaustion, kicking dried leaves out of her path as they made their way further into the woods. The morning air was crisp and felt cool against her skin. The atmosphere was peaceful, calmness hanging over them as they trekked through the dense trees.
After what felt like an eternity, they came to a halt. Daisy had been so focused on watching her steps, she hadn't even realised they had reached the edge of the tree line and were now stood in front of a pair of double wooden gates. Beyond them, Daisy spotted numerous rows of leaves with the occasional break in greenery by the dark brown soil and terracotta flower pots housing the vegetation.
Deep in admiration at the sight before her, she snapped back to attention when the gates opened. Tewksbury gingerly took her hand into his own, causing her stomach to do multiple somersaults and her heart to flutter. She ignored them, keeping her expressions neutral and following him into the fenced compound.
"Welcome!" someone greeted as they entered. A middle-aged woman with ginger hair appeared in front of the two teenagers, the corners of her eyes crinkling from the broad smile she had plastered on her lips. "I was wondering when you two would show up. I have everything ready and set for you right here."
"You were expecting us?" Daisy questioned as the woman handed them a small basket each along with their own pair scissors. Daisy accepted them albeit being confused.
"I came here before the sun rose to request for a time slot for us. Madam Abbott told me we could have the place to ourselves until noon. She closed it up for us," Tewksbury explained.
"Before the sun rose?" Daisy furrowed her eyebrows. "Wouldn't it have taken you a long time to get here?"
"No," he replied. "Don't murder me, but there is actually a direct pathway which leads here."
Daisy raised an eyebrow. "And you decided that walking through and endless number of trees was the best way to get here?"
Tewksbury shrugged. "No. It was impractical. But it meant that we would have more time together, so I went with it." To the woman—Madam Abbott—he handed her the larger basket he had brought along with him. "Would you mind looking after this for me until we are finished?"
"Not at all!" she said as she took it from him. "You kids came at the right time. There are an abundance of strawberries for you to pick!" Then she scurried away, leaving them alone again.
"Strawberries?" Daisy repeated, her heart lifting at the mention of it. She turned to the boy. "Are we—"
"Picking strawberries?" he finished, grinning proudly. "You bet."
Daisy could feel excitement seep into her body. When she was younger, she used to sneak into nearby orchards to watch the farmers harvest ripened fruit. She thought it was a fun job, to which her brother had told her it wasn't as easy as it seemed, but she still liked it. She had always wanted to participate in collecting fruit, at least once in her life.
Now, she finally could.
"How did you get Madam Abbott to let us have the entire place?" Daisy inquired.
"Madam Abbott has been a family friend for years. All I had to do was ask, and she allowed it," Tewksbury told her. "Hey, you know what would make strawberry picking even better?"
"What?" she stared at him.
"A competition," he said. "The person who picks the most strawberries win. Deal?"
Daisy smirked at him. "You are so on!" They counted to three and both teenagers sped off into their separate ways, both eager to emerge as the champion of their friendly competition.
The second Daisy entered the strawberry farm, tiny gasp escaped her lips. She gaped in awe at the copious dots of red berries hanging from their stems, each of them looking bigger than the last. She wasted no time in approaching them and began to quickly snip off their stems. The sound of the berries hitting the bottom of her basket provided her with such satisfaction, and soon enough it was filled with a mound of the red fruit.
As Daisy continued on gathering more strawberries, one seemed to catch her eye more than the rest. It was the perfect strawberry—the right shape, the right shade of red, simply perfect. She skipped over to it, joyous at her newfound possession and ready to detached it from its plant when suddenly, another pair of scissors snipped at its stem and it fell into someone else's basket.
Daisy turned to the boy next to her, his lips forming into a devious grin.
"Hey! That was mine!" she said.
"Finders keepers," Tewksbury winked.
"I found it first," Daisy protested.
"You did, but you were also too slow," he countered, dangling the berry in front of her face in victory and sticking his tongue out at her. "Losers weepers."
"You are a literal child," Daisy rolled her eyes, but she couldn't fight back her own smile.
Tewksbury dropped the fruit back into his basket. "Hmm, at least you had that peach this morning. That should cover for your loss."
She squinted her eyes at him. "How do you know I ate a peach this morning?"
Tewksbury bit his lip as he began to walk back to the front of the farm. "So here's the thing. I might have set that up."
"Set what up?" Daisy trailed behind him.
"The peaches that Grant brought home for you," Tewksbury started. "The seller who provided them to him, Mrs Clarke, supplies my family with fruits all year round. She told me she had peaches being imported, so I requested for her to give them to you. All costs paid by my family."
Daisy paused, realisation hitting her. "Wait, so that's why Grant didn't have to spend a single penny!" She gaped at the boy. "How did you know I liked peaches? And how did you time it so well that Grant would stumble upon the seller's path?"
"I asked your brother what you liked so that I could include it in our plans today. He said peaches, which I thought was odd because you don't strike me as a peach lover," Tewksbury elaborated, which earned him a punch in the shoulder for that last sentence.
"He also mentioned the night before that he was going to visit your mother's grave in the morning. Since Mrs Clarke usually sets up her stall there, I described him to her and requested for her to give them to him when he arrived," he finished.
Daisy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was shocked, but in a good way. Mostly, she was touched by his gesture.
"You did that for me?" she asked, her chest blooming with warmth. Tewksbury nodded in response. "So am I forgiven for taking your strawberry?" he said teasingly.
Daisy sighed, chewing the inside of her cheeks to hide another smile. "You really are something else, you know that?"
"So I've been told," the boy answered. He nudged his head towards the entrance. "Come on. The day isn't over yet. Picking strawberries is only your second surprise."
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author's note: hello guysss!! i know i have been missing for weeks and i'm so sorry! but i am finally done with my first year of college so yay!! here is a longer chapter to make up for the lack of updates. thank you for 27k reads! ❤️