Clandestine: A Story of Three Sisters

Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen- Rage

The next day, Jed snuck into the basement before Charlotte woke up. He wanted to stay as far away from any awkward conversation as possible. He closed the trap door and sat at his desk to work on his father's papers. But his mind kept reverting back to his kiss with Charlotte. He'd never regretted something more. In Charlotte, he'd found a true friend; they laughed together, argued with each other, and time spent together went by so quickly. Jed had never had a best friend, and he felt that Charlotte had been becoming his first. But by kissing her, he just knew he'd ruined everything. Of course, he didn't regret it because it was a bad kiss. In fact, it had been quite nice. A little sweet, a little sizzling...

Jed shook himself out of his thoughts and sighed. He wasn't going to be able to do any work. He decided to clear a spot on the desk, lay his head down wrapped in his arms, and fall into a fitful sleep.

***

Charlotte stretched, the heavy rains outside waking her. The storm was predicted to finish by the end of the week, but the way it was raining, Charlotte doubted it. The raindrops were fast and heavy, pounding against the cottage loudly. There was thunder and some lightning as well, adding to the roaring outside.

Charlotte sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning. Jed was not in the room, as she'd expected. Charlotte sighed and tried not to think about the kiss. It was horrible to think about.

Horrible, because she'd enjoyed it. She was guilty, because she felt as if she were cheating on William. She knew that wasn't possible, but that was how she thought of it. But it was as if her mind was warring with itself. One side told her she was a cheat, and the other told her it was alright. She was only human after all, she couldn't help her feelings.

As she continued stretching out in bed, a soft knock sounded at the bedroom door. Madison entered the room, wrapped in her shawl and seeming nervous.

"I thought I heard Jed go into his study," Madison told Charlotte. "So I decided to see if you needed any help?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you," Charlotte smiled at her sister. She had been worried about the way Madison had been acting lately, but she hadn't gotten around to talking to her.

"Are you sure there is nothing I could do? Why don't I draw your morning bath?" Madison asked, closing the door behind her.

"Sure," Charlotte said, reaching her hand out so Madison would come to her. Madison slowly approached, taking Charlotte's outstretched hand and looking her in the eyes. "And then maybe we'll have tea and chat?"

"That'll be nice," Madison replied, giving a weak smile. She let go of Charlotte's hand and unwrapped herself out of her shawl. She threw the shawl onto the end of the bed and went into the adjoining bathroom to draw Charlotte's bath.

When Madison had thrown her shawl onto the bed, Charlotte noticed a little black notebook under some of the folds. She slowly pulled it out, not recognizing it. She looked up to make sure Madison was still busy in the bathroom, and then opened the notebook. Maybe Madison wrote her thoughts into it, and Charlotte could figure out how to help her.

Madison had wrote her thoughts into the notebook, but none of it was about her feelings. Each page was messily scrawled across with notes about Abby and her death. Every detail and fact that had been shared with the family.

And then, the last few pages were filled with things about Charlotte. Her daily routine, her every word she'd spoken to Madison since she'd gotten there.

"Oh," Madison gasped, opening the door and finding Charlotte staring into the notebook. She looked at Charlotte with an expression of complete fright.