Sweet Surrender

~Leaving~

The months following his father and his brothers death a lot had changed. He was to take over his fathers estates, attend to the families shipping business and settle any debt his father and brother left behind. Now that he had taken over those responsibilities sadly he would be away from Fairhaven for quite sometime.
The decision weighed on his heart, it was a difficult one that he made but it needed to be done at this precise moment.

He searched for her and found her in the garden sitting on a stone seat lost in her thoughts.

He slowly approached and joined her. He straddled the seat to face her. He playfully tugged a shiny brown curl and watched her snap to attention at his presence.

He marveled at the beautiful girl before him as she turned to face him with a radiant smile.

"The flowers are in bloom, Adrian look," she pointed to a patch of beautiful flowers near a tree.

Inwardly he chuckled and nodded looking at the patch of flowers, then suddenly the smile was replaced with a serious stare.

He turned to look at her and sighed. He was silent for a while, he held her hands and clasped them tightly in his, then he lifted his eyes to look at her.

"Evangeline, I must tell you something," he told her.

Her eyes grew concerned as she impatiently waited for him to continue.

"I must leave Fairhaven for a while," he said..

She gasped.

"But why must you leave?" She asked softly.

His heart swelled at the sight of her saddened gaze.
He gently raised his hand to caress her cheek and sooth her now panicked response.

"I must leave little one to attend to all of my father's affairs," he whispered.

Her eyes, tumultuous as the sea, looked down trying effortlessly to hide the look of sadness and fear in them.

"When will you return?" she looked up into his eyes trying to hold back the burning tears.

He searched for the words to explain to her.

"I......," his mouth froze with his words. He swallowed hard at the lump forming in his throat.
"I don't know, weeks.....mayhap...months," he whispered.

The eerie silence that followed worried him.

"Take me with you," she pleaded, her voice barely audible.

His fingers gently tilted her chin up and their eyes met.
Her tears fell free down her cheek onto his finger. He wanted nothing more than just that. He felt uneasy leaving her for so long. But, he had to. Besides, he trusted that Rosie , Madam Phelps and Penniford will take good care of her. They always did.

He took in her pleading stare and his heart sank.

"Please...," she wept closing her eyes tightly.

"There is nothing I want more..Evangeline, you know that. But, You can not come with me peach," he frowned shaking his head.

She tried to keep her emotions in check but failed miserably. She sat before him distraught and at lost for words. The dull ache in her heart made her pale a bit. She did not want him to go. He would leave and she would not see him for months maybe within a year. The horror of that thought settled over her and she shivered.

She felt his finger reach up to hold her chin.
"Eva look at me," he begged.

Her heart fluttered at his way of shortening her name as an endearment.