Chapter 23
“It’s festival day!” Etta squealed, pushing open the door to Cressida’s room with a wide grin. “And you’ve been feeling fine for the last two days, which means you’re going to be coming to the festival with me Tobin and me, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
Cressida groaned and sat up in bed, looking outside. “The sun isn’t even up yet, so why are we?”
“Because I need you to help me get ready, and we both need to have baths. Tobin was going to come by and take care of all the animals this morning so we could take our time getting ready.” Etta sat on the edge of Cressida’s bed, tugging at the blankets.
Gripping the blankets tighter, Cressida groaned, trying to pull them up over her head. “It’s so early. The fest doesn’t even start until noon, which gives us plenty of time to get ready. I think you should go back to bed. Rest.”
“This is the most fun we’ve had in a long time, and I’m not going to let you spoil it simply because you’re sulky that you haven’t seen Ronan in a few days.” Etta stood, grabbing the blankets tighter and hauling them off Cressida, tossing them to the side.
“I’m not sulking because I haven’t seen him. I know where he lives. I could go and see him at any point.”
From beside her, Diver groaned and rolled over, his belly in the air, his soft snores getting a bit louder.
Etta laughed and shook her head.
“You and that dog of yours are exactly the same. Neither of you wants to get up before the sun, even when we have exciting things to do. So, either you’re going to keep sulking because you went to see him and Tobin told you Ronan was too busy to speak, or you’re getting out of bed and getting ready for the festival so you can make that man gape at how beautiful you are. ”
“He has work to do, which means there are going to be times he can’t talk,” Cressida said, rolling on her back and staring up at the ceiling, reaching over to pet Diver. “I’m fine with that.”
“Okay, so it’s not Ronan that’s bothering you. Which means that there’s something else going on.”
Cressida groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could go back to sleep and pretend this conversation wasn’t happening. Not seeing Ronan didn’t sit well with her, but she wasn’t upset about it. She understood that there was work he had to do and that it had to come first.
What bothered her was the letter sitting in her top drawer that had arrived yesterday while Etta was out.
“Light a candle,” Cressida said, throwing an arm over her eyes before sighing. “There’s something you need to see.”
There was a whispering of footsteps and the sound of a match striking a box before Cressida pulled her arm off her eyes and rolled over. She opened the drawer of the bedside table, pulling out the letter and handing it over.
“What’s this?” Etta asked, sitting back on the bed as Cressida sat up against the headboard. She made enough room for Etta to curl in beside her, and for a moment, it felt like it did when they were younger.
They used to spend time curled up in Cressida’s bed, reading and talking together. They would spend the nights whispering in the dark, and in the mornings, they would wake up beside each other, giggling and rushing down the hallway to have breakfast with their parents.
Cressida missed those days.
Etta read through the letter, looking over at her. “This has to be some sort of joke. Why does Conrad seem to think that you’re going to spend the entire festival on his arm? He didn’t even ask to go with you, and yet here he is sending you a letter of all his expectations?”
Scoffing, Cressida took the letter back and stuffed it into the envelope, tossing it back into the bedside table.
“I don’t know that I want to go. Conrad is going to be there, and though I’ve done nothing to make him think that I’m interested in him, he seems to have this thought in his head that I am or that I will be. ”
“I could tell him off for you.” Etta smirked, leaning over and putting her head on Cressida’s shoulder.
“I’d be more than happy to tell him that you’re too good for him and that he needs to move on with his life.
Or I could teach him a helpful lesson in what it looks like when a woman wants to be with him. ”
Laughing, Cressida shook her head. “No, we’re not going to embarrass him. Conrad is a nice man, but I think he’s lonely, and that’s why he keeps pushing. It’s only going to be a matter of time until he finds the right woman for him.”
“You’re nicer than I’d be.” Etta sighed and got out of bed. “But come on, you have to come with us. Tobin is going to be getting the buggy ready so we can get there just before it starts, which means we only have a few hours to get ready.”
Sighing, Cressida nodded, patting Etta’s hip. “Fine, get out and let me get up, and I’ll get the bath ready.”
Etta clapped her hands together and got up, stumbling slightly and wincing before glancing at Cressida.
“Don’t you dare give me that look. I’m fine.
It was a little stumble and nothing more, and if we’re being honest, I feel better than I have in a long time.
It finally feels like life is starting to look up for me, and I’m not going to be beholden to this injury forever. ”
Cressida’s heart ached as she pulled Etta into a hug. “I’m always going to worry about you, whether you have an injury or not.”
“It’s worse with it.” Etta leaned into her. “I miss when things weren’t so complicated between us.”
“But just think of how boring our lives would be if they weren’t,” Cressida said, her tone teasing. “It’s so much more fun when we bicker every now and then and worry about each other, and both of us don’t know how to let go of the other enough to live our own lives.”
Etta scoffed playfully, rolling her eyes. “Speak for yourself. I’m going to an event with a lovely man. You’re the sad sister tagging along in the buggy.”
Cressida gasped, a hand flying to her chest before she burst out laughing. “I’m not sad.”
“No, you’re not anymore. Not since Ronan showed up, but before that, I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had seen you happy.”
Cressida led the way out of the bedroom, lighting candles and lamps on the way. Based on the time on the clock, it would be another hour before the sun started coming up, and she wasn’t going to be stomping around in the darkness until then.
“It’s good to see you happy,” Etta said, spinning slightly, nearly stumbling over her own feet again before wincing and rubbing her hip.
“You go make something to eat while I get the tub ready,” Cressida said, wanting to give her something to do that would keep her out of trouble, but not wanting to push her too hard.
She was sure that Etta was going to be on her feet nearly the entire time at the festival, and though she had been using her crutches less and less as her leg grew stronger, a day of dancing and walking around town was sure to have her aching again.
Cressida sighed and fixed the braid hanging over her shoulder before going to drag the metal tub from the storage room into the sitting room, nudging the table out of the way as she did so. She put the tub by the fireplace, lighting the fire to help keep the room warm.
It took a little while to get water warmed and the tub filled, but by the time breakfast had been eaten and coffees were drank, the tub was filled, steam rising from the top in curling ribbons.
“You go first,” Etta said, motioning to the tub. “I’ll help with your hair.”
“I’m not the one getting dressed up to spend some time with a man,” Cressida said, taking a step back, though she didn’t get far.
Etta’s hand landed in the middle of her back and pushed her forward. “Don’t keep arguing with me. Just get in the bath, and we’ll get you cleaned up, and then we’ll get me cleaned up.”
“Is there any point in trying to argue with you?” Cressida asked, already reaching for the strings of her nightdress.
“If you even try to argue with me again, I’m going to push you into the tub, and then there’s going to be no way to keep arguing since you’re already going to be in there.” Etta gave her the sweetest smile imaginable.
Cressida got washed first, scrubbing with the lemon-scented soap, Etta helping with her hair.
Once Cressida was cleaned up, she put on her dressing robe and helped Etta get cleaned and dressed. As soon as Etta was dressed, Cressida sat her down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table.
Etta hummed as Cressida started working on her hair, forming intricate braids and twists, pinning them all together until most of her hair was pinned back, but there were a few strands that framed her face.
“You look beautiful,” Cressida said, grabbing the little handheld mirror in front of Etta. “Tobin isn’t going to believe his eyes when he sees you.”
Etta swallowed hard, turning her head this way and that, looking at the hairstyle. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” Cressida said, hugging her shoulders and kissing her cheek. “And Tobin knows that, but he likes you for everything else you are, too, and it’s important to remember that.”
“What if I’m not enough for him?” Etta bit her bottom lip and turned to look at Cressida.
“He’s been married before. I know that there’s a part of him that still loves his wife and that part’s never going to go away, and I’m more than happy to make room for her in our lives if we do court and get married, but what if I’m not enough for him, regardless of what we like about each other? ”
Cressida sat in the chair beside Etta, facing her.
“Listen to me, he’s the one who knows his heart the best, and if he believes he can move on, then that’s his business.
And he might be wrong about that, but he seems like a sensible man.
I don’t think he would even give you the idea of his interest in you if he believed there was so much as a possibility that it could be changed. ”
Etta let out a wavering breath and turned to face Cressida, looking down at her hands. “How did you know that you were ready to consider falling in love again?”