Isabelle was tense.
The mood between Ethan and her was tense.
People at the village had whispered and pointed at them when they passed through. However, neither him nor her paid no attention to them. Mainly because both were too busy with their own thoughts.
Ethan kept thinking about all the possible problems that might have been plaguing Isabelle, yet his mind continued coming up empty. Well, they were all troubled on how to improve their lives, but he really doubted that was the reason why she looked so nettled.
Isabelle was a bit apprehensive. It was a bit strange for Ethan to be so adamant in going to town with her. So, she knew he wanted to talk. About what? She could take a good guess. She tried to be positive; thinking that he only wanted to spend time with her as he had not been able due to his job. Yet, it did not feel like that. At all.
The toasty sun beat down over their heads as they walked to town, the scenery was very colorful as flowers were budding and blooming, birds constantly flew up in the sky, filling it with melodious sounds. And, he was as silent as a tomb. That was enough to put her on tenterhooks. All she could do was wait for him to speak.
Ethan could no longer drag the matter, or wait for her to open up. Same as him, Isabelle had her own stubbornness and pride. And fear.
"Has something happened?" He slowly inquired as the two slowly made their way to Basin Town.
With Ethan using such a proper way to ask, Isabelle realized he was being very serious. He was taking the problem seriously, and was eager to find a solution. That moved and softened her.
Meanwhile, Ethan patiently waited for her to reply. True, he thought that if the matter did not concern him, then he had no right to interfere. But, if he could help, then it was best to ask.
Isabelle mulled for a moment. She did not want to flush out the thing with Joseph, but she did want to point out some things that bothered her in general. "I have only been with you for a fortnight… two weeks, more or less." Simple words, Isabelle, simple words, she reminded herself. "I... I like you all." She quietly confessed.
She did not know what kind of expression he had on his face as she set her gaze forward, towards the greenery on the path, afraid that his expression was not the one she wanted to see. Though, she did accept his hand when it grabbed hers. His silence, willingness to hear her out, and his arm brushing against hers as they walked, allowed her to continue without stammering after her confession.
"It might seem hurried, rushed, and even pretentious to easily stay with you." He squeezed her hand. "I also thought that maybe my decision was made out of despair. I was alone. I cannot even remember who I am. And you were the only people I knew. To others, it might look as if I am exchanging sex for a roof over my head and food in my mouth."
"We don't care what others say." Ethan reassured her. Since the villagers did not care about the brothers when the latter were only poor orphan kids, then they had no right to meddle with their life choices. That was what he thought.
Isabelle was thankful for his words and squeezed his hand in return. "I know. I also do not care. It is our lives we are talking about. What others think and whisper behind our backs should not affect us." She pursed her lips, her stomach twisted in nerves, and her heart started quickly palpitating as she armed herself with the courage. "Did they tell you what happened with those women?" She quickly asked.
It was not what she wanted to ask.
But it was hard. She did not know what she expected to hear. The brothers seemed very serious and proper – as far as she knew – with their advances towards her, yet the matter with not telling the Chief about her bothered her more than it had the right to. More than she imagined.
What if they were not serious? What if they threw her aside when they fell in love with another woman? All sort of 'what-ifs' scrambled in her mind at that moment.
"Lucas did." Ethan stopped walking and pulled her hand to make her look at him in the eyes. "They told you something you didn't like?" His searching and worried eyes made her timidly smile. She shook her head.
"Only the flowers suffered." Isabelle tried to joke, but it flew over their heads. She sighed, thinking it was not the time to make jokes. But it was not easy to open up, or more like, it was becoming more difficult to open up when her expectations on the brothers continued stacking… Well, it was better to go for it and suffer the consequences later. "Are we in a serious relationship, Ethan? The type that will lead to marriage?"
His breath hitched and his heart thundered in his chest. He was surprised by his own reaction; after all, it was one thing for him or his brothers to talk about marrying Isabelle, and for her to indirectly accept the four as her lovers, but for her to so openly voice it? It made things soften inside him, for warmth to spread all over his body, and for his tongue to sit heavily in his mouth.
That was it.
The official – still unofficial as not all the brothers were present – proposal.
Birds chirped around as they had stopped by a copse of trees. He deeply inhaled and loudly exhaled.
"Maybe… maybe we haven't properly told ya that we like you, Isabelle." He blushed, his eyes trying to look away in his nervousness, yet he forced himself to keep them on her.
All his past relationships were tacitly formed. He showed interest, the woman showed interest and becoming a couple was a foregone conclusion. If either voice out their feelings, it was only while having sex. How sincere were those feelings? Only they knew. He had confessed outside sex to some women, but he said it because his partners wanted to hear it.
So, it was the first time he confessed his feelings. His true feelings.
"Short time or not, we like you in our own way." He squeezed her hand again. Oh, his palm was all sweaty. Did she mind that? He took a deep breath to calm down and look at her flushed face.
He liked her not because she represented his dream come true, of finally finding a Wife. He… liked her for who she was, for what she did for him and his brothers, because he could not picture his future with any other woman that was not Isabelle. Never before was he so sure and afraid of what he felt for a woman. For Isabelle.
With a fragile and sweet voice, he voiced out his next words. "We'd love for you to marry us. It doesn't have to be soon. It's just so you know."
Isabelle nodded, her face completely red at his heartfelt proposal. She felt it in the way he reacted, in his words and in his eyes.She was overwhelmed, happy and delighted. However, her main concern was not addressed yet, and she had to focus on it. "So, because it is not going to happen soon, the Chief does not need to know about me?" She inquired.
Ethan's sweet and warm feelings vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving him a bit cold. His eyes widened, finally realizing the problem. "I... Sorry, Isabelle. It's my fault. I hadn't time to tell him. I... really sorry. Fuck, I'm an idiot." He quickly blurted out and sighed. Isabelle stared at him; at his apologetic expression, his tense countenance, his regret.
"You do know you do not need to do everything, right?" She slowly began. He seemed puzzled at her words. "Lucas, Joseph and Felix spend more time at home, closer to the Chief. They could have gone." He frowned. "You do not have to carry with everything. Also, your brothers are not your children anymore. They also need more independence from their eldest brother." She carefully explained.
Isabelle did not pretend to know how he must have felt raising his younger brothers for so long. She could only help him with what she could, allowing him to see his faults so he could work on them.
His troubled expression turned ashamed. Ethan was aware of his problem of not letting his brothers go, yet it was hard for him to see them as anything more than his younger – young, baby – brothers. Yet they would soon share a Wife, so they would not only be brothers, they would become husbands, lovers and fathers.
It truly was time to let them go. Twice he was told that his brothers were not his children, he was not going to be told that a third time.
He pulled Isabelle to his embrace in gratitude. "Thank you. And don't worry, I'll tell the Chief on the way back." Ethan did not say it out duty, but because he was the only one who knew about the problem and the solution. And since they were out, then they could make a short visit to the old man.
Isabelle sighed and hugged him back. Step by step, she thought. Lives could not be built from one day to another. Changes needed time. As long as there was the desire and will to change, nothing was impossible.
Two rest stops and one more hour of walking later, they finally arrived at Basin Town. The sun was at its peak, making her sweat more than the walk did. It was no wonder the brothers had clear tanning cuts on their skins. They spent long hours under the sun. She wondered if she would also get them.
Mrs. Priddy happily received Isabelle when she delivered the order she assigned. "Quite early this time." And, as always, she came up with her rather inappropriate comment. Isabelle was starting to see what kind of personality the woman had, so she let it slide for the time being.
"Quite so." Isabelle said with a tight smile, waiting for her to approve her work so she could be paid. Ethan stood by the side, pretending to see the embroidered purses, but paying close attention to what was happening between the two women. Either to learn or just to make sure Isabelle was not mistreated, only he knew.
Once Mrs. Priddy nodded, approving Isabelle's craft, she went to fetch the payment.
"There are no orders for the time being." Mrs. Priddy said while giving Isabelle the 10 coins for the tassels order. "To earn your salary, you can make other embroidered crafts, like handkerchiefs, pillow cases, purses or anything you think can sell. I separate the crafts each of you make. You will be paid for what is sold." She commented.
Isabelle froze. She did not show it on her face, but she was vexed by the older woman's words. Granted, it had been her mistake for not asking how she was supposed to earn her salary; yet, Mrs. Priddy also was very vague with it and the contract only mentioned she was being paid a salary.
In short, if nothing Isabelle embroidered was sold, then she was not going to be paid!
"Sounds good." Isabelle replied with yet another tight smile. It was best to focus on more important things than her falling into a trap contract.
Looking around, Isabelle saw the different wares the store had on display.
Sincerely, she did not want to compete with the other embroiderers making handkerchiefs or pillow cases. However, she could not think of anything new she could make that would sell. "I will make pillow cases, then." Thinking about the disastrous pillow cases she had added tassels to, Isabelle had an idea on what to embroider to make them look better.
She could start with those.
If they sold or not, that was her fortune.
Mrs. Priddy provided her with blank pillow cases ready to be embroidered that would be discounted from the selling amount. Isabelle's eye twitched; yet another trap. But she could only silently accept the cases.
And to add salt to the wound, Isabelle had to spend her recently earned money on new thread colors because those were her personal tools. The middle-aged woman contentedly sold her the best-quality thread - the more expensive at that. Isabelle inwardly sighed and silently paid for the thread.
Seeing Mrs. Priddy lend her a bag for the pillow cases, Isabelle idly thought that she had to make one for herself to keep using the older woman's stuff…
That was it! Bags! She could make bags!
For that, though, Isabelle would need to see the type of fabrics sold in town. Only then, she could start considering what type of bags she could make. With a plan in mind, she quickly exited the shop and asked Ethan to take her to fabric shops.
[End of Volume 2: The nuances of making money.]