Thomas and Finch continued to sat and talked under the tree for the next few hours. The rain had stopped yet the grey clouds lingered. It was getting dark when Thomas realised that he had been staying in the forest longer than usual. He peered up to the sky, wondering if the rain would come back any time sooner. He then got up and raise both hands to the side of his hood, pushing it back until it fell on his back, revealing his black short hair that looked messy.
"I must leave before it rains again." He announced.
"Okay. Will you come back tomorrow?" Finch sighed. She hoped he would. As if she could not hold her tongue anymore, she asked him the question that she had been wanting to ask. "Do you know where Edmond live?"
"Who?!" He exclaimed. It was not that he did not hear who Finch talked about. He heard her clearly. Too clear that he disliked Edmond some more.
"Edmond. Do you know where he live?" She repeated for him.
"You never asked me where I live." He grumbled. His voice was taut with anger.
Finch frowned at him, confused with the change of the atmosphere between them. "Why are you angry?"
"I'm not." He denied. "Why do you want to know about him? I'm not telling you until you tell me."
"I like him." She declared innocently.
If Thomas only disliked the boy before, he now abhorred him.
"I don't know where he lives." He lied. "He's from another village which is far away."
Somewhere deep in her mind, she knew he was lying. She wanted to argue with him and demand him to tell her the truth. Finch knew from the start that neither Thomas or William liked Edmond and she did not like it. What was wrong with Edmond? She thought.
Before Finch probed him any other thing about Edmond, Thomas quickly said goodbye to her and promised her he would come back tomorrow with William.
He turned on his heel and walked away from her, hoping to find the right direction towards the stream. He would love to have Finch lead him to his destination. But he could not bear listening to her interest in Edmond. How could she said she liked him when she only see him once? She must be joking. She was younger than Thomas. She did not know what she was doing, he figured internally.
The forest was so dark as the trees blocked all the remaining lights from the sky. Even so Thomas' mind was fully occupied with his annoyance towards Edmond, ignoring the darkness around him. He did not pay attention to the direction that he took. He failed to notice that the trees ahead of him was moving from one side to another side, spreading a footpath in between the tress that led him out of the forest, down to the stream not far from the village where he lived. Soon, he stepped into a brighter space, which got Thomas astounded.
He stopped his feet from stepping further as he beheld the view in front of him, his dark eyes were bewildered. He could see the clear water flowed in the stream, skirting along the northern slopes of the hills where the houses at village were sited. His head turned around to gaze at the forest he just came out from, amazed that he could get out. It was not everyday he could walk out of the forest easily, not when he was only by himself.
Considering it as his good luck, he shrugged and carried on with his journey to home. He increased his pace for he started to feel cold and could not wait to get warm next to the fire place at his home.
Meanwhile, a family of tree sat together at the square dining table in their spacious house. They were enjoying their supper with the warmth radiated from the fire that was lit in the fire place not far from where they sat. A maid who was a middle aged woman, served the meal to each member of the family. She put a smile on her face as she ensured that everyone had enough meal on their plate, before she took a sit with them, eating the same meal on the same table. She did not work for a rich family but a middle class one. So she become the only one who managed everything at the house. It was uncommon for middle class family to have more than one servant at the house. But, one of the the good things about working with this family was they treated her no less than a family member.
"The stew tastes delicious, Ms. Jill?" The head of the house praised the maid.
Jill smiled at him, happy that he liked the stew she cooked. "I'm glad you like it, Sir Angus. But I won't be convinced until your boys tell me what they think about the stew." Her hazel eyes glanced at the boys who sat across from one another.
"I'm sure Neil and Edmond love it like I do." Angus assured her. To confirm his statement, he asked his sons. "Isn't that right, boys?"
"Yes, papa!" The boys answered at the same time.
Edmond turned his gaze at Jill who was now beaming with happiness. "I always love your food, Jill."
"It's Ms. Jill to you, Edmond." Corrected Angus. Even though Jill was only a maid at his house after his wife deceased, Angus respected her as a person who was no below him but at the same level as him. He wanted his sons to treat everyone with respect regardless of their status.
"Sorry, Ms. Jill." Edmond pouted. He lowered his head and continued eating his meal.
"That's okay, Edmond. I'm not mad if you call me by my name." She soothed him. Seeing Angus was about to protest, she said, "I don't mind him calling me Jill, Sir."
"I don't want them to get used to it, Ms. Jill. I want them to learn proper manner while they were young like this. I heard the Mayor just hired a governess from the next village to teach his son. It would be good if I could hire one too for my boys. Hmm… maybe in a few months."
"William got governess?" Neil was surprised with what his father just said. Even though William was the son the Mayor, he was not really into studying. He hated it and Neil knew it very well.
Angus nodded. "His father even asked me today if you would like to join him. He said your presence might help Will to be comfortable with the governess. You are his best friend, after all."
"Will he and Thomas play again with us in the forest?" Inquired Edmond to Neil in a calm tone of voice, as if going to the forest was a common journey.
Neil glared at him.
His question got Angus stop eating immediately. He frowned at his young son who looked at him innocently with his round eyes. He looked back at him attentively.
"When did you go to the forest?" Angus's voice was calm without any indication that he was going to be angry.
"Last week, Papa. I followed them into the forest and we play hide and seek. Finch said Thomas and Will visited her everyday in the forest. She is my new friend, Papa. I wanna see her again."
There it goes, the little lion just spilled the bins. Said Jill in her own mind. She gazed at the older son of Angus who shot his brother a glare. For sure he was involved too. Then her eyes moved to Angus who was now furious. It was such a rare sight. Angus was never angry with his children. She stirred in her chair uncomfortably.
"Who is this Finch? And why do you, children, go to the forest?!" He fumed, causing Edmond to spill the stew onto his pants as he was about to spoon it into his mouth. Angus' eyes now were on Neil who still glared at Edmond, making it obvious that he went to the forest as well. "You went there as well, didn't you, Neil?"
Neil who could not stop glaring at his brother and was ready to hit him with anything within his reach, turned to his angry father. As soon as their eyes met, Neil lowered his head and looked down at his bowl. He was too scared to make eye contact with his father.
"Yes, Papa. But Thomas and William know the forest very well." He explained, trying to reason with him.
"Unbelievable!" Angus shook his head in frustration. He had been believing that Neil was only playing with his friends in the field before the valley. "I shall tell the Mayor about this so he can build the fence to not let the children wander to the forest. This is not good!"
"But Finch is there, Papa." Worried Edmond, only to receive another glare from both Neil and Angus.
"Who is Finch? I know no Finch in this village. And it's a girl, you said? There's no Finch in this village." Angus finished his line with small bang on the table. He did not mean to hit the table to scared his son but he could not help it. He was so furious finding out that they had gone to the forest. Out of the place they could go around in Easton, they had to go to the most dangerous place on the land.
"She lives in the fo-,"
"Hush now! I do not want to hear anything about the forest anymore!" He waved his hand in the air as he ranted. "From now on you both are to stay at home and only go outside the house with either me or Jill accompanying you. Understood?!"
Neil fisted his hands under the table, mentally cursing his young brother for the punishment that his father given to them. Edmond just took his freedom away.