Very Truly Yours, Simone

17. the river incident

Stars blanketed the night sky, the moon boasting with light. Simone, Lydia, and Emmeline lay on their backs, gazing at the wonder.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Simone asked between Lydia and Emmeline.

They rolled their heads to look at her. "What is?" her cousin asked.

"The stars. Here we are, seeing them all spread out in our sky, thinking they're beautiful. But in truth, they are so far apart. The others are out of reach." She sighed. "They glow alone."

Emmeline turned her face skyward. "Oh, Simone, I may never see them the same way again. That's just so sad."

Lydia laughed. "Pay her no mind, Emmeline. She gets weird thoughts now and then." She pointed with one finger. "Who says they don't see each other? Maybe for them, we are the pitiful ones."

"How so?"

Lydia shrugged. "We don't glow as bright?"

They chuckled, and it naturally died. "I dream of being a farmer."

Simone and Lydia rolled their heads toward Emmeline in surprise. "A farmer?"

"Yes. I want to grow things. Maybe in a place like Abberton, or somewhere at the foot of a mountain."

Simone smiled. "You can most definitely do that."

Emmeline met her gaze. "Of course, you would say so. You are already living it. You have been living an exciting life." She held Simone's hand. "And I do not mean it in a bad way. I truly am envious. I've heard so many stories about your family. Well, maybe except this deck."

"You have?" Lydia asked.

The young woman nodded. "Daniel told me about the Stratfords. Whenever he would come home from Butler, he would share things Webster told him. And even after that, when he was on tour as an actor, he would still share things with us in his letters. And we have always been curious." She chuckled. "I think he was deliberately enticing us. After all, he wants me to marry your cousin. Perhaps that's why he wants me to be a part of your family. We do not have one like yours."

"Tell us," Simone said. "What was it like? Your family?"

"Oh, Mama and Papa were wonderful. They accepted us for what we are. All of us." A bitter smile touched Emmeline's lips. "I wish they are still with us."

"Then why would you wish to have a family like ours? You had wonderful parents and clearly, you care for each other," Lydia wondered.

"We do not have a big family. Well, we do, but we are not as close to our cousins as you are to each other." Emmeline sighed. "Family drama—is that what they would call it?"

"Oh," Simone and Lydia said, chuckling. "The Poppets suffer the same sometimes."

A quiet fell between them, the crickets taking over.

"What happened to Mr. Peck?" Emmeline asked without warning.

Simone frowned. "Mr. Peck?"

"The robin. You have one with that name, don't you?"

"Y-Yes. Who told you about Mr. Peck?"

"Daniel, of course." Emmeline sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs. Staring down at the two Stratford women, she laughed. "And now I just remembered the story about Webster catching the two of you and Gale trespassing in one of his plays."

Lydia laughed at the memory and proceeded to tell the entire story to Emmeline, starting with the series of bribery that started it all. All the while, Simone was lost in her own thoughts.