Beastly Desires

Chapter Nine

Colette applied the final touch of paint onto the linen canvas. A beautiful, shallow spring of water glistened under a bright, pale blue sky. Clusters of peonies and daises littered the grass around it and lily pads floated on its still surface. A small field mice was tucked behind a thatch of grass near the waters edge. It grasped a small berry in its tiny paws. There was a clever shimmer of light in its deep brown eyes. A noble Lord, west of their town had it commissioned for his young daughter, who loved playing in the ponds in their gardens. Colette knew in her heart that the little girl would treasure the painting all her life. She signed her insignia and set down the paint brush.

Her father should have reached Beaumont by now. It was strange not hearing him at work at their table early in the morning. Colette had become so use to the tapping and fiddling of his tinkering it became a constant song in the background of her life. Now she heard nothing but the shifting of dirt and pebbles beneath her slippers.

She hadn't thought much of what was exchanged between her and Gregorie the day before. His honesty jarred her. He had been pining after her since she was fitted for her first stay. His hair had been shorter then, barely brushing across his shoulders and she remembered vividly how wild and untamed it looked. Like he wore a crown of fire around his head. He was abnormally tall for his age and a little on the gaunt side.

Colette's father visited their estate often, working on odd jobs. Colette had traveled with him, usually finding herself in the company of Gregorie and his numerous siblings. The Dubois came from a long line of nobility which precariously extended so far when it came to illegitimate claims about his father. Their family owned a large portion of land and a decent sized estate that bordered their small town. Gregorie didn't seem interested in titles though and worked as a charpentier. He was never in fine clothes and normally opted for a pair of breeches and a simple wool vest.

The first time he had proposed to her was a little over two years ago. The week her mother had passed. She had been six and tens years old and he was nine and ten years old.

They walked side by side in the garden of Gregories family estate. It was a large garden with tall manicured hedges surrounding it. Rectangular stone garden beds encased the outer ring and small square ones in the inner ring. At the center of the garden was a fountain and on either side of it a set of matching benches. Between the benches were small stone columns with the Dubois insignia carved into their flat tops.

"I'm sorry about your mother."

Gregorie gently bumped Colette's shoulder with his arm.

Colette hardly noticed the gesture as she stared ahead, deep in thought. Her mother passing was the hardest thing she had ever endured. She kept picturing her kneeling beside her sick mother in bed, grasping her cold, thin fingers in her own, silently sobbing.

She offered him a faint smile. She had come here without her father for the first time. Home felt like a deep hole without her mother there. She didn't want to be alone in that tiny cottage while her father was called away for a job that afternoon. She hadn't really any friends or companions to turn to so she found herself walking the long trek to the Dubois estate.

She didn't consider Gregorie a friend, not even an acquaintance. He was just one of the Dubouis sons who seemed to follow her around every time she visited with her father. They would exchange small talk but most of the time she busied herself with the little ones, playing hide and seek with Edwin and Rose, Gregories younger  brother and sister. They were three and five years, but she didn't mind the age gap. Perhaps that was why she found herself fleeing from Gregories presence. There ages were close enough that adult conversations where impossible to avoid and Colette yearned never to grow up. Now though... with her mother gone and her father struggling physically and emotionally, it was probably time to do just that. Grow up. Take on responsibilities. Help her father with his work, maybe even pursue her own growing interest in painting.