A few of you may have noticed a few changes on my blog. There have indeed been a few nips and tucks to make the page more technologically up to date. On the left, you may now instantly share the awesome and incredible stories and anecdotes that I write with your social media.
Hopefully you will enjoy and make use of these fun new buttons on the blog! Go ahead, click on them and see what magic they do!
I've also recently been added to Goodreads. Whether you have an account or not, check out the latest review on my published work, Feasts and Follies of the Animal Court
Feasts and Follies of the Animal Court by S. FaxonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
An engaging story that will keep you guessing until the end. The mysteries that fill the castle by the sea will stun and thrill you. Riding through the adventure with the main heroine, Gertrude, will leave you wanting for more long after the story ends.
View all my reviews
And now that I'm exhausted technologically, on to Providence! Last week, Ms. Grace was having an unusual procedure done to her in hopes that it would help her scars to heal.
Chapter 17 (Continued)
The amount of time that
passed between when Ms. Grace fell victim to sleep until the when she woke
spanned the breadth of nearly two hours. However, for once in her life the
subject of time was not promptly brought to forethought. Something far greater
stole Ms. Grace’s attention.
Though only two torches on
the far side of the pentagon room were lit, Ms. Grace was practically blinded
from the brightness. As she struggled to blink herself out from her
disorientation, she could hear the reverend’s voice softly calling her name.
“Ms. Grace? Are you
alright?” the man’s sweet voice sounded. He remained by her side throughout the
span of her unconsciousness.
Only for a moment more did she
have to endure a world full of blurred images.
Her eyes cleared.
Ms. Grace gasped. She could
not believe it, but everything was in focus. For the first time in her adult life
she sharply saw the welcoming glow from the reverend’s handsomely aged face. She
saw every crooked tooth in his charming smile. She saw every one of the lines
beside his almond shaped eyes and the dashing faded scar on his chin. He was
beautiful. Simply beautiful.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Tamrin,” she
softly assured, cupping his face in her hands. “I see you. I can really see
you.” She felt inspired from this spectacular side effect. To see him at last felt
like waking from the most wonderful dream. “And you look marvelous, sir, just marvelous.”
The reverend had never been
aware to Ms. Grace’s sight being at all impaired, but he did not waste a
second’s thought. He sweetly stroked her cheek and even his touch to her skin
was greater than it ever had been. The blood put within her enhanced every one
of her senses, even that of being touched.
“Can you sit up alright?”
Mr. Tamrin asked, hoping that her back was healed. “Do you feel alright?”
Without a second wasted,
Ms. Grace threw herself up from the bed. She stood beside the mattress with her
arms stretched out like wings. She felt lighter and more agile than she had in
years. “Oh, yes, Mr. Tamrin,” she assured once more.
And indeed she looked
brilliant. Under the care of the beekeeper all her scars were gone.
Chapter
18 – His Last Chance
“I can’t thank you enough,”
Ms. Grace doted as she and the reverend prepared to leave. It was already late
in the world of light. The sun would soon be setting. The reverend wanted to
make it home before dark.
“Think nothing of it, Ms.
Grace,” Lin said with a wave of her hand. The matron was only too happy that
she could be of help. It was more than evident that Ms. Grace was without a single
complaint, but Lin could not understand why the pair was not now overjoyed with
glee. Surely the news Howard had given Thane would be a seed for pure euphoria,
but neither Ms. Grace nor Thane were acting as though they had lost their heavy
chains. However, Lin then realized why the two were not acting as she had
assumed – she should never have left a duty like this to a man. “Howard,” Lin
sharply directed the patron’s attention to her side. “Did you have a talk with
Thane?” she asked in the language of the vampires. The reverend understood the
tongue of course, but he was lost as to what was being referenced. (Ms. Grace
was too high with her splendor of sight to even notice that Lin was speaking in
a different language. She was busy admiring the details of the dark-laden world
around her, details that she could discern excellently.)
Howard dramatically pursed
his lips as he tried to imagine what on earth Lin was talking about. He
shrugged then answered in the ancient language, “Of course I talked to him.
What sort of host and friend would I be if I did not?”
Lin buried her face in her
hands from her frustrations. “What I meant,”
she growled, but she quickly regained her composure to finish her sentence more
delicately, “Did you talk to him about what happened here last night?”
The words sparked a
revelation within Howard’s thoughts, but none would ever have been able to
guess from the indifferent expression on his unusually tanned face. Without a
word of acknowledgement or an apology to Lin for his forgetfulness, Howard put
a hand on Thane’s shoulder. He gently pushed the man away from the women. “Do
you mind if we talk a minute, Thane?” Howard asked in common tongue as though
the thought of this chat had been purely of his own.
Lin threw her hands up in
the air from her annoyance at men, but then she turned to Ms. Grace with a
charming and a welcoming smile. “Come on, Ms. Grace,” she said invitingly,
“Let’s head up while the boys have their little chat.”
Ms. Grace was only too
happy to reenter the world of light. Even with the light drizzle that had begun
to leak from the heavens, the particulars of the forests simply called to her. Lin
watched the girl like a mother watches her young child discovering the touch of
grass to their feet for the first time. And indeed, Ms. Grace was looking at
the world in a similar manner. She looked at the fluted barks of the trees and
at the details of embroidery on the reverend’s saddle blanket, anything and
everything as though for the first time.
The woman exhaled as if a
life’s burden had been relieved from her shoulders. The world was clear at
last.
The reverend emerged from
the nether world. He gave Lin a curt nod of acknowledgment, but he too lost was
in a state of wonder to do much else. Lin smiled from the delight of the secret
she knew the patron shared. For now, it seemed, the part of the Cärabadés had
managed to redeem another little part of their shadowy reputations. Two good
deeds surely erased one bad. However, there was no time to gloat, for the
mortals would soon find themselves in need of privacy. With one last look at
the darling pair, the matron quietly retreated to her underworld castle.
The door between the trees
fizzled away once more and this spot in the forest was returned its silence and
solitude.
Ms. Grace stood beside the
reverend’s horse with supreme gratitude and sheer bliss stricken across her
composure. One look at her brought a grin to the reverend’s face like that
which Ms. Grace had never before seen. She was not then aware that the reverend
had made that expression of attraction and delight towards her before – her vision
had never allowed her to see the tempting seductiveness about his charm. Today,
things had changed.
“Why do you look at me so?”
she asked bashfully. She attempted to repress her own giddy smile, but she
could not.
The clouds moved slowly
above and as the pair stood before the trees, droplets from the heavens slowly
began to fall one by one upon the remnants of snow.
Like an adolescent, the
reverend simply shrugged. He wanted one more moment to pass before he fully
accepted what he learned to be true. With a sigh and a smile like none other,
the beekeeper decided that this was the absolute best opportunity for him. “Ms.
Grace,” he softly started, he no longer looked like the old peaceful reverend
of Providence. The pride and the confidence beaming from Mr. Tamrin made him
look like a gallant knight. “Do you want to know why I was the first to reach
your side before everyone else yesterday?” he strode forward so that he was
standing directly in front of her. “I went to your house yesterday so that I
could give you something similar to the pocket watch that you gave to me, but
thanks to everything that happened I didn’t get the chance.
“But here we are now, Ms.
Grace; it’s a new day. A brilliant
new day,” Mr. Tamrin reiterated, looking to the heavens, which seemed to be
saving the force of the storm until after he finished speaking. The reverend
returned his eyes to Ms. Grace. She was admiring the way the droplets of the
water clung to his face. She felt jealous of the drops which held so intimate a
touch with his skin.
He softly took her hands in
his. Ignoring the start of the rain, Mr. Tamrin continued resolutely, “I will not sit by and let you marry Mr.
Higley.”
He spoke with such
conviction, but Ms. Grace could not help to feel as though the moment was
ruined. She did not think it fair that he would bring that man up at this
moment. “Mr. Tamrin, please! Please,
can’t we just enjoy these hours we have together without bringing that up that
affair? We’ve already discussed this – I have
to marry him.”
“No, no you do not, Ms.
Grace,” Mr. Tamrin firmly argued. He put himself only inches apart from her,
cradling his hands around her face. She thought the touch cruel and wonderful
all at once. It was clear that his excitement was overflowing. Ms. Grace for a
moment thought the man to be mildly mad, but his emotions were so genuine. He truly
believed in what he was saying. “I was foolish to never turn to the Cärabadés
for help, but they have heard our cries in the night, Ms. Grace. They know, I don’t
know how, but they knew of the financial blackmail the Higleys were putting you
through.” (Neither Lin or Ms. Grace ever shared with Mr. Tamrin the
conversation they had by the brook weeks ago.) The reverend chuckled. He could
not believe how thick he had been to forget the wealth of kindness the vampires
possessed. “My friends, the vampires, they are an odd lot; the way in which
they come to any understanding or to any decision is through a series of
debates and voting and a whole lot of that mess, and it usually takes ages, but
somehow Ms. Grace, they came to a decision for you.” Mr. Tamrin paused to wipe
the pestering rain from his companion’s cheeks. “The vampires have wealth
beyond anything that either of us could ever imagine and it has nothing to do
with their immortality or the wings which give them flight.
“Ms. Grace, last night, the
Cärabadés assembled and they came to a decision that affects you and the whole
of Providence: Howard just told me that the family has sworn to provide every
fund necessary to not only reinstate your school, Ms. Grace, but to keep it
running from now until the end of time.”
The news came so quickly
that Ms. Grace could not believe such a thing. She gaffed incredulously.
“C’mon, Mr. Tamrin,” she meekly protested, turning her eyes away from his face.
“You mustn’t tease me like this.”
The reverend ardently shook
his head and denied the claims. “Ms. Grace, on my honor, my church, and
everything that I hold dear I swear to you that a vampire never turns back on
his word and that as of this morning their intent to fund your school has been
written into their codas. You are free
of your contract with Brian Higley, Ms. Grace!”
It was as though the words
were not even processing thoroughly with Ms. Grace. It seemed too good to be
true. “What? I, wha-, how? Mr. Tamrin. If, if…” she stuttered almost
uncontrollably as she tried to wrap her head around the generous gift and to
purge her mind of all the dread. Her eyes popped back to Mr. Tamrin’s as
excitement began to fill her body and soul. “If what you say is true, do they really mean that they
will pay for everything? A new roof and all?”
The reverend could not help
but to laugh. He nodded, “Everything,” he guaranteed with an unfaltering smile.
“Roof and all. All they ask in return
is that you come ‘round here every once and a while to read them a story or two.”
The weight of it all
exploded from Ms. Grace. She shouted in her exuberant delight and she threw her
arms around her reverend to hold him tight. “Do they really mean that?” she
asked, holding her breath.
“Their word holds stronger
than any of mans,” the reverend assured.
Ms. Grace’s entire face was
hardly large enough to contain her smile. “Oh, thank you, God!” Ms. Grace grasped
her reverend even more closely.
He held her so tightly. He
never wanted to let go.
However, Ms. Grace’s
rationality struck in again. The woman slowly slid herself out from the intimacy
of the embrace. Her expression changed to one of uncertainty as she quietly
asked, “Does, does this mean that I no longer have to marry Mr. Higley?”
The reverend laughed again.
He hardly expected that to be what was worrying his lady. “Ms. Grace, yes, yes, my dear lady. Nothing compels you
to marry him now, unless of course…you want
to marry him.”
Ms. Grace scoffed and
scowled.
In the breath following
that instant, Mr. Tamrin was enveloped with an inexplicable amount of calm. The
reverend took a step back from Ms. Grace so that he could reach into his
pocket. “In that case,” he said softly. Licking his lips, the cold mist and the
occasional large drops were growing heavier by the second. The cool air nearly
numbed his fingers to the touch of the band now scooped in his hand. His steady
fingers held out the ring to Ms. Grace. “Third time’s a charm,” he said without
any explanation or elaboration.
The trinket glistened from
the touch of the moist air and it seemed to beckon to Ms. Grace. She took a great
step closer to the reverend. And as he slipped the band onto her finger, stepping
up on her tiptoes, Ms. Grace pulled the reverend’s face to hers.
Their kiss was the most
powerful and meaningful act that either soul had ever before experienced.
Indeed, they were destined to be.
Their age difference had
never once cut across Ms. Grace’s conscious. Her love for him knew no
boundaries or such folly. This revelation imbedded itself deep within the
reverend’s thoughts. His worries about time and the grey in his black hair against
the vibrancy of her young dark features slipped away with this one kiss.
Galvanized from this
relief, the reverend’s lips trailed to Ms. Grace’s ear and for the first time
he whispered the word that he would
repeat more than a thousand times in the remainder of his life; her name. “My
love, Laudine, will you be mine?”
Ms. Grace nearly melted to
the ground from hearing her reverend say her name. She chuckled then pressed
her face deeply against his. She softly said, “I always have been, Thane.” (He
trembled from hearing his name slip from her lips again.) She kissed his neck
then added, “And I always will be.”
Thane’s face had never worn
a brighter expression of utter happiness. He had grabbed his chance at last.
“Could you do it?” Ms.
Grace asked suddenly with a laugh. “Could you be the one to marry us?”
The reverend had never
stopped to ponder this. “I sort of doubt it, but…” He paused to look to the
trees and to listen for a moment. He knew that Lin and Howard were watching
through their secret door, so it was not as though they did not have witnesses.
He returned his almond shaped eyes to Ms. Grace and he proudly said, “I also
don’t see why not.” He and Ms. Grace chuckled as he took her hands in his. They
both knew that their mock ceremony would hold no weight yet, but they could
hardly wait. “My dear, sweet Laudine Grace of Providence, with the trees and my
horse as our witness and by the power vested in me by God, I do most happily
pronounce us husband and wife.”
Regardless of the lovely
brief ceremony, the heavens could hold back no longer. The rain came tumbling down.
The pair did not think the
act cruel. They were hardly interrupted by the rain. For a moment longer they
continued to kiss and hold each other tenderly, but the unhappy grunts from the
horse stimulated them into sense. Standing in a silver winter’s rain would
hardly end with anything good.
~*~*~
Only one way to find out what will happen next week to Thane and Laudine...
See you next week and expect great things to follow the upcoming conclusion of Providence!
Your humble author,
S. Faxon
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