Seven: HONOUR AMONG MEN

#Hazel

Two days.

Two days and one afternoon.

Two days, one afternoon and two hours.

That was how long since Donoghue had led me out of his room, shaking his head when I offered to clean up my mess. He had been avoiding me like the plague since then, no matter what I attempted. I could never quite get him to stay in one place to listen to me, nor could I get him to talk to me. The man was difficult and stubborn and-, being mad at him was exhausting! I sighed again, this time daydreaming of his angry but beautiful face. Could men be called beautiful, I wondered.

"Stop sighing, you look pathetic," Henry said, putting in more food for the chickens.

I swear these birds grew every night! And they were glaring at me for not giving them food. I let out a tired breath and continued removing the soiled wood shavings from the floor. We had pushed all the chickens behind one section fence as I cleaned it, and my brother was feeding them in another. I racked in a huge pile of manure and proceeded to shovel it into the open sack in the wheelbarrow. I spent most of my days here, if not taking care of the chickens then I was feeding the pigs or delivering milk cartons. I think Matthias gave me the less strenuous tasks because I was still recovering, or perhaps he just thought I was weaker than the other boys, which was true. But I was a hard worker and I would prove to him that I could do almost anything.

"Hazel?" My brother said, making me turn to face him.

"Yes?"

"It will be alright." He said softly, speaking of Donoghue obviously.

I rolled my eyes," He loathes me!"

"Well, he has not chased us away, which is something."

"I suppose, but the silent torture is killing me!"

"You deserve it!" My brother pointed it out, making me gasp. He ignored my reaction, "How long until you do something again? I do not want to leave, Hazel, so please do not provoke the man!"

"I know, Henry, I am sorry. But it was not my fault, either of the times!"

At first, I had simply been surprised. The second time, Donoghue's sister had basically molested me! Who would defend me? We finished the rest of our work in silence as I pondered on how to get Donoghue alone and force him to listen. I groaned when I stepped out and met his sibling instead.

She was in a sky blue dress today, and a matching hat. With her hair in two, curly ponytails on either shoulder. She looked innocent and pretty enough, but I knew she was insane. Literally. After kissing me, she had gone on to sob and make it appear as if I had kissed her against her will! Which was why I needed to speak with her brother, for some reason it felt odd not talking to him. I wanted to be close to him, even if he never uttered a word. I could not bear the thought of appearing quite the rogue in his eyes!

"Hector," she started.

"Miss. Donoghue." I responded, making my voice as curt as possible.

She grimaced at that, "Please, call me Michelle."

"We are not friends," I glared at her clean form in contrast with my own filthiness. We had nothing in common, and I had no desire to befriend her. She had everything and took advantage of that, all I had was my brother. She could afford to start trouble for me, but if ever I crossed Donoghue again, I doubted he would come after me a second time.

"I apologize for what happened," she mumbled, biting her lip.

"I do not forgive you! Your brother looks at me like I am some kind of lunatic with no self-control, it is a wonder my brother and I are still here! What is wrong with you?"

"Will you not just give me another chance?"

"Another chance to what?"

"I was mad at you, alright?" She pouted.

"That I did not pay you any attention?" I asked, puzzled.

Her silence gave it away and I sighed.

"Look, I like my job here, alright? So please, do not cause trouble for me, I have Henry to take care of. Just keep away from me and I will do the same for you."

"Do you already fancy one of the girls here? Emily, perhaps? She is real pretty."

I groaned and rubbed my temples, then grimaced when I realized I was still wearing gloves.

"Miss. Donoghue, not that it is any of your business, but I am not looking to court anyone right now. I just want to make a living. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to get this manure to the garden."

She pouted," I am not going to give up just yet."

I sighed and shook my head as she stomped away, if only she knew how foolish she was being! She would definitely send me to the gallows if she knew I was not a boy. Ha! Or chop my head off herself. I took up the wheelbarrow and started pushing it toward the garden. I laughed to myself at the ridiculousness of our situation, there was definitely no way I was admitting to being a girl now!

Donoghue was nowhere in sight, which was very disappointing because I desperately needed to talk to him. I had been expecting him to be in the garden, like he usually was this time of day. He and I were nowhere near friends, but I hoped for at least an amicable relationship, not this tension between us. Jacob, one of the workers, smiled up at me when he saw me.

"With the chickens again, Hector?" He chuckled.

"I have no green thumb, Jacob. I am better off with the animals." I smiled.

"You fit in here quite well, I was a bit skeptic at first!" He laughed.

I frowned," Why would you be, I am not a lazy worker."

"I know that now, but you do not look like much of a worker. Let alone the hard work on a farm."

I shrugged, that was true. I was small, and most of the men here were twice my size. And why was I even comparing anyway, of course they were twice my size! I was a darn girl! I almost laughed at that, now I was just going crazy.

"Well, I am full of surprises."

"That you are," Jacob shook his head, smiling.

"So where do you want this?"

"Just put the sack by the compost there, I will spread out the manure over the smaller vegetables later."

I nodded and did as I was told, before pushing my wheelbarrow back to the tool shed. I cleaned it up before storing it, then went to the washroom to wash my gloves and hands. The laundry room door was, for some reason, locked, making me growl in frustration. What was I to do now? I looked at the opposite door, hesitating before opening it.

Emily looked up at me in surprise, Michelle had been right, she was a pretty girl.

"Hector, I could have been naked!" She shrieked.

I felt heat in my face," I apologize Emily, the laundry room door is locked and I need a wash desperately."

She frowned," The men's washroom is not locked, and you can go ask Matthias to open up the laundry room for you."

I scratched my head, "But the men's washroom is always so filthy."

Emily laughed and shook her head," Oh Hector, you are too adorable. You are just like my younger brother! But you cannot be in here, seriously, anyone could just come in here and Matthias would have my head if he knew!"

I nodded, "I understand, Emily. Sorry again for startling you."

She nodded and gave me a small smile," It is alright."

I sighed as she closed the door behind her, this was getting ridiculous. I walked to the men's washroom and opened the door slightly to peer in, just to make sure there was no one inside. When I did not see anyone and heard silence all around, I walked in and locked the door behind me. I started undoing my overalls, which desperately needed a wash, mental note to myself. I was going to bathe, then go looking for Donoghue. My mind was made up, regardless of his cold attitude toward me.

"Hey there, lad."

I screamed as I looked up at Matthias, who stood in a bathing robe, grinning at me.

"You really need to keep ya wits with you, one could mistake you for a lass!" He laughed heartily, making me wince.

Thank heavens he was not naked! Oh the horror, I would not have been able to survive that! But I had not heard him in the shower stalls, how could he manage to be so silent?!

"Relax, lad. You look like you seen a spook! I am sorry I startled you."

Could manly bits be considered spooky, I would have to get back to him on that!

"It is alright," I said, clutching the unbuttoned sides of my overalls together. "I just did not hear you, is all."

He chuckled," You one of the shy ones, aren't you!"

I felt my face heat up at that but remained silent. Matthias just shook his head, laughing at me.

"I will leave you to it, then."

I nodded as he walked away but he turned to face me again.

"Did the others tell you we will hit go to the nearby town tonight?"

I shook my head no and he smiled.

"They must have forgotten. But we go there every month, when our pockets are still full, eh." He winked at me. "So after supper, you and the boy get ready."

I nodded and gave him a small smile, he genuinely was a kind old man.

I locked the door behind him and checked all the stalls this time around. The question on my mind now was, what did boys wear to impress girls when they were out on celebrations? Or in my case, impress a certain surly man? I groaned at my insanity and idiocy, I was a boy, why would Donoghue be impressed by me again? And so, I would just wear some clean trousers and shirt, then put on my favorite coat, Wren Donoghue's coat.

#Wren

Two days.

Two days and one evening.

Two days, one evening and counting.

That is how long I had been avoiding him. And yes, I knew he wanted to speak with me. I could feel it at the base of my neck every time his unique eyes landed on me. And when I looked at him, no matter how brief, he would give me this wounded look, making me almost feel bad for being who I was. Hector. That boy was trouble, or at least would become trouble.

My sister had taken quite a fancy to him, just as I had expected. And she was not going to be deterred by anything! It was by no fault of his, but Hector had already started brewing trouble. And I was beginning to seriously doubt his wit could protect him from Michelle, when she was determined, she was determined. I looked up at her as she chatted away with our mother, seemingly innocent. But I knew better, she was no victim. Michelle was good at manipulating people, it was literally an extension of who she was. I never believed she was actually aware of it, she just naturally exuded it. When she wanted something, she would do whatever to acquire it. And now, she wanted Hector.

"Wren?" My mother said, making me look her way.

She smiled," Do you want some more potatoes, darling?"

I shook my head no and went back to eating my mashed potatoes.

"Some more vegetables, perhaps?" She carried on.

I groaned, this is why I never ate with my family. My mother would fuss and fawn over me like I was a child, as if when I wanted more food I could not get it myself!

"Leave him be, mother," my sister said, bless her conniving soul.

"I just-"

"The carrot soup tastes amazing," Michelle cut her mid-sentence.

My mother beamed, she loved when her cooking was appreciated. It probably stemmed from the fact that she had nothing to do anymore, besides cook and clean. When my father had died, she had taken up cooking as her escape, firing the cook so she could do the work herself. I had always thought she should have remarried, she had been only two and thirty then. Even now, she was still beautiful, or perhaps I was just biased because she was my mother? Who knew! My father had passed on when I had been three and ten, Michelle just barely out of infancy. It had been a difficult time for us, my mother had withdrawn into herself and had spoiled Michelle as she grew up. Perhaps to make up for the fact that she had no father, although that had hardly turned out alright. I kept to myself, spending most of my time trying to salvage what had been left of our land.

"Oh yes, it came out fantastic didn't it? Henry brought fresh carrots in for me this afternoon, you should take some to them, Michelle. He and his brother are such lovely boys!" my mother replied, drawing me out of my thoughts.

Mother had been fawning over Henry for a few days now. Henry is so polite. The boy is so well-behaved. Oh Henry is just the most excellent of boys... The list of excruciating praises went on and on. I watched as she stood to put away the dirty dishes, and to put some stew and soup in a bowl with a transparent lid.

I stood up just as my sister did and they both looked at me in confusion when I extended my hand.

"Wren?" My mother asked and I pointed to the bowl.

"You will take the soup to the boys?"

I nodded as my sister scowled," I will do it, I do not mind.'

But I did, I thought. The less I encouraged the possibility of Michelle and Hector, the better for everyone. I ignored my sister's pout as I took the bowl and left, putting on my coat and scarf before I went outside. Of course, I had no intention of actually taking the soup to the brothers. That was just to appease my mother and prevent my sister from spending any more time with Hector. And so I went to the stables to check on the horses and I left the bowl there. The intention was to empty it tomorrow then take it back to my mother. I could just imagine the look on her face when she asked Henry if he had enjoyed the soup, and the confused look on the young boy's face when he said what soup? Pugh, I did not care!

I did not want to face Hector, nor did I want to speak with him. And not because I thought the boy was guilty or had taken advantage of my sister. I knew he probably thought I was mad at him, and thought him some kind of rogue. Which was untrue, of course. I knew he was no kind of rogue, if my stained carpet was any indication. Or the repulsed look and absolute shock on his face. My sister was as obvious as she was a terrible actress. Even a fool would have been able to read that situation! So no, I was not mad at Hector. I considered myself a fair man, and I would never punish him for my sister's faults.

"Contemplating revenge on me?"

I looked up at the familiar voice and stopped kicking the stones in my path. He was in close-fitting hunting trousers and my coat. My old coat dwarfed him, of course, but he seemed very content in it. I raised my brow in question and he smirked, looking down at himself.

"It suits me quite perfectly, does it not?"

I groaned, how did he even know I was here anyway?

"I was watching you when you came out of the house, and I followed you here," he said, as if he had some secret knowledge of my thoughts. "I wanted to apologize for before, I swear I did not-"

"I know," I sighed, making him frown.

"But you have been avoiding me and giving me the death look," he proceeded to attempt to imitate my supposed death look and I could not help it, I burst into laughter.

He looked genuinely surprised at that and I hurried to gain my composure, pretending it had never happened. "Stay away fr-fro-m Michelle," I swallowed nervously.

Hector winced and held up his hands, "Believe me when I say this, I have no intention what so ever to be near that gi- , ermm, your sister. She frightens me!"

I tried to hide my smile at that as he extended his hand, "do we shake on it now, or what?"

"Sh-shake?"

"Yes, you know, mutual understanding between men, and all that?"

I laughed again at him and I could swear he pouted worse than a woman! "Y-you are hardly a man!"

"I am too, just ask your sister!" He smirked at me and I glared at him for a few seconds before laughing again. It really felt good to, and I could tell Hector felt good at seeing me so unguarded.

"Are you going to the town?" he asked.

I never went for those celebrations; that was just for the workers. And no one had ever invited me before, not that I would have agreed anyway. But now, looking into those beautifully odd eyes, how could I say no?