An Innocent Affair

VI

"We break ourselves only to fit better into the wrong hearts." Laura Chouette, Profound Reverie

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VI.

Jem felt such a deep sense of pride as he watched the tears fall from Cressie's expressive brown eyes. Ordinarily he would have thought it a great sin to make a lady cry, but he could see from the look on her face that what he had done had meant a great deal to her.

Cressie was seated not two feet from him, the conch shell still pressed against her ear as she listened to the sea for the first time. She smiled as she cried, with the dimples underneath her eyes forming utterly endearing craters.

Her reaction to his gift tugged at Jem's heart a great deal. He already cared for Cressie. He had done from afar ever since he had laid eyes upon her. But he hadn't known her, not really. There was still much of Cressie Martin that remained a mystery to him. But with each meeting, she showed Jem the type of person that she was.

Cressie was a beautiful soul who wore her heart on her sleeve. She was tender yet spirited, and in that moment, she was someone who believed in the magic of seashells. Jem found it truly difficult not to adore her immediately.

"I cannot believe this," whispered Cressie, her voice filled with wonder as she kept the shell to her ear. "It's the sea. It really is the sea. It is exactly how I imagined it, and nothing like it as well. You gave me the sea, Mr Jem."

Jem wanted to tell her to call him by his name, just as he wanted to ask if he could call her by her Christian name, but he knew not to push his luck with Cressie's mother sitting nearby, listening to every word they spoke.

Jem had visions of really giving Cressie the sea. He, himself, had never been either, and he could see the scene clearly in his mind of the two of them running into the blue ocean waves, laughing uncontrollably.

"I am glad you like it, Miss Martin," Jem murmured sincerely.

"I love it," Cressie said earnestly.

"It is a very kind gift, indeed, Mr Denham," called Mrs Martin. "I am certain Cressie will find a place to keep it where it shan't be broken."

Cressie seemed to ignore her mother's comment, and Jem offered her a quick nod in acknowledgement before turning his attention back to Cressie. She lowered the shell and held it in her lap.

"You have a big family, I think," Cressie stated. "What must it be like to have extended members from all over."

"I do," Jem confirmed, nodding. "I am the youngest of five children." He hated that his voice sounded as though he were admitting a vice rather than a fact. He knew that he did not look any older than his eighteen years. He did not want Cressie to see him as the baby his siblings did.

"Five," breathed Cressie, marvelled. "My, how lucky you are. I do not have any siblings ... well, I suppose I do, but –"

"Cressida!" silenced Mrs Martin firmly, and Cressie stiffened at her mother's sudden harsh tone.

Jem's brows furrowed as he sensed a rather sensitive subject within the Martin household.

"Sorry, Mama," Cressie said sheepishly. She took a breath before her brown eyes returned to Jem's. "I have grown up an only child. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have so many siblings."

Jem chuckled. "I think my instinct would be to offer you the one who is vexing me the most, but I do joke. I know I am very fortunate." Extraordinarily so. Jem would never forsake his sisters or brother, for he knew it was his elder siblings and their sacrifices that made his childhood as carefree as it was.