Chapter 3.3

It all started with a young woman called Milly Ekore. She was a hardworking girl from the same village. The only daughter in the Ekore family. Dotted by the mother and brothers who had wanted for the wisp of a girl to marry into a good family. Contrary to Mr. Ekore who only wanted her to marry a good and hardworking man, but he had no say in that house ruled by Mrs. Ekore.

At that time, Joseph had stopped getting involved with married women and was in a relationship with a girl from a different village. That relationship did not end up well because the girl was apparently also seeing another guy who knocked her up. So, Joseph could only say goodbye to that relationship.

Milly had been looking for a man who was not afraid of hardships and was good-looking to boot. A difficult task in a village. Only the shunned Edris brothers filled the requirements, having a rugged charm that interested many women. Milly scrutinized the four brothers, finding them to her liking, and formed some opinions on them.

Ethan was too zealous; his vast experience somehow made her feel like a child. So, he was the first to be written off as a husband candidate. Lucas was too silent, taciturn and somewhat scary with his big frame and thick beard; he was the second to go. She did not pay much attention to Felix, despite his good looks, as he was too young for her taste – though he was only two years younger than her. That left her with Joseph; the famous village hooligan.

She had hesitated at first, not wanting to approach him as the rumors about him were not that flattering. Yet, as she kept looking at him from afar, she realized he was not as bad as the rumors painted him. So, she decided to approach him. Their conversations were stilted at first, with him being his amorous and candid self, and often left her as a stuttering and flustered mess.

She persevered despite his salacious comments; discovering his attentive yet awkward way to express his feelings once his erotic side was tamed.

With time, they started a relationship.

It was, then, that their roles reversed.

Milly became an eager flirt who constantly asked to marry and do 'things'. Joseph, in exchange, asked her to wait as he desired to give her a modicum of dignity in their married life; a house, land, and a way to live. For that reason, the brothers joined efforts to save money to buy a small plot of land, build a house and let the two live there. They even skipped meals, losing weight, to achieve their goal. To them, it was worth the sacrifice.

Their third brother was getting married!

Finally good news for the family!

With enough money in hand, Joseph enthusiastically went to her house to ask for her hand in marriage. He was received by the cold face of Mrs. Ekore who told him Milly had married a successful man who had a business in the neighboring village and to not look for her anymore. Inside the house, Mr. Ekore grumpily harrumphed and threw a withering glare at the woman, who wilted a bit but stood her ground.

Joseph ignored the whole exchange, too focused on the fact that the joyous occasion his family was eagerly waiting for vanished just like that.

It all happened last year, in the first half. So, when Joseph was rejected, he spent the rest of the year in a downcast mood that he eventually overcame by the beginning of Spring. He had liked Milly. Perhaps he had not fallen in love with her or had loved her, but he had liked her enough to mourn the what-ifs for a long time.

He had liked her enough that he had not touched her in a sexual way throughout their courting! That was how serious he was with her.

"We were too happy to see one o' us married that we didn't notice their serious relationship wasn't so open and that she was pushin' the matter too much." Ethan mused out loud.

Isabelle frowned. "How so?"

"No one in her family knew about their relationship until a few days before Joseph asked for her hand. That's what Mr. Ekore told us when he came to apologize for his wife's actions. He didn't go into details but we could guess what happened." Ethan sighed. "They talked about marrying, havin' kids… She didn't mind his conditions, and even claimed she could start all over with him in another village."

"She wanted to run away…?" Isabelle was not sure if she had to feel sad for Joseph, or relieved.

"Maybe." He shrugged. No one was sure why Milly wanted to marry so badly with Joseph. "Her mother told Joseph she'd been playin' with him and that she already had an engagement. I ain't sure if Joseph believed the woman because he left it like that. He didn't look for answers or the truth."

It really was a complicated situation. Despite being married, the woman still looked for Joseph; showing that she still had some sort of attachment to him. The most pressing, though, was to know what Joseph thought of her past flame.

"Thank you. I believe I know what to do now." She smiled at Ethan.

"Come, it's getting chilly. You better get to bed." He stood up to arrange things in the kitchen while waving her away.

"Are you not coming?" She asked confused while she changed to her sleeping garments.

He grabbed her face and stamped a kiss on her lips, then another, and another and another until he was satisfied. "You only asked me to accompany you in the bath, not in the bed." He mischievously winked at her.

This cunning fox!

But he was right. She stole one last kiss from him and headed to the house. The other three had just arrived from the river and were getting ready to get into bed.

"So soon?" Joseph asked confused.

"I only wanted to talk to him while bathing, nothing else. It is still your day." Isabelle returned Ethan's words to Joseph as she headed to the bed. It perfectly silenced Joseph. "So? Are you not coming to sleep with me?" She looked over her shoulder at his frozen figure. He reacted and eagerly pulled her towards the bed.

Isabelle helplessly smiled. She was still conflicted towards him, but she could not deny her feelings for him. She was ready to fight for their relationship and see it culminate in marriage! After she blew some kisses to Lucas and Felix, as Joseph did not let her give them a proper good night kiss, he coiled his arms around her.

"Sleep well." Isabelle whispered at him.

"Sure, I will." He cheekily replied.

Next day, they all woke up early. And, for the first time since Isabelle arrived at the house, Ethan ate breakfast together with them. Usually, breakfast was eaten at different times, depending on what each needed to do during the day. To have all five at the table was a first, which made her very happy.

"What ye doing with all the fabric ye bought?" Ethan asked after they were done eating. Lucas had gone to town to give Monthe what he had hunted, and Joseph and Felix were at the patch. At the house, Isabelle and Ethan were getting ready to have a short lesson on writing.

"I will sew some clothes for Felix and Lucas, and for me, too." Isabelle replied.

"The fabric's not enough for Joseph and I?" Ethan curiously asked.

"It might be enough. But you are giving me troubles with your past paramours - lovers. Until you behave, I will not sew anything for you." Isabelle sniffed and turned her back on him in mock anger.

Next thing she knew, she was being embraced from behind. "I think there's a way I can make ye happy again." He slyly said, his hands sliding down her sides. One even started rubbing her thigh, his fingers brushing very close to her private area.

Although she was very interested in that implied method, there were more important things to do. Isabelle stopped his naughty hands and turned to face him. "Someone might see. Besides, you need to practice."

"We can do it inside..." His breath ghosted over her ear.

She sighed as his lips kissed her neck, nibbling on it as his hands went up her hips until they rested right under her breasts. His thumbs started a searching quest until they found her nipples and lightly brushed against them over the fabric of her top. In no time, they were hard.

Heat pooled between her thighs. For a moment, she thought it was not a bad idea to start the day with a very nice snogging and perhaps some…

No, no, no! Do not fall in the trap! Money! Think of the money we need!

"Another time, Ethan. Really. Right now, I need you to learn how to write and count." Isabelle breathlessly said, holding his wrists, that were on their way to open her top. Thankfully, he also understood the situation and stopped his actions after one last kiss on her neck and mouth.

"Let's start, then." He rasped, then both put themselves to work.

The lesson was more about teaching him new words, how to form sentences, and reviewing what he had already been taught. Isabelle made him repeat words after words and sentences after sentences, letting him memorize how they were written until the morning was over, and Joseph and Felix had already returned to cook lunch.

Only then they took a break.

Wanting to try cooking once again after not trying in a while, Isabelle followed Felix and Joseph to the kitchen. The small vats in the kitchen were already housing a good number of potatoes, carrots, beets and parsnips. They were also adding lemons to the list of ingredients they could use to cook.

She checked what they had for meat and found some fish. Her mind suddenly flashed with the image of a dish she once tried. Sadly, she could not remember the process of how to make it. If she even knew it. So, she could only try cooking it based on the presentation of the dish and the flavors that assaulted her mouth from the memory.

She told Felix to peel some potatoes, carrots and parsnips and cut them in long pieces. It was a shame they had no tomatoes to add to the dish, but there was nothing they could do. Meanwhile, she prepared the fish… well, she asked Joseph to help her slice the fish after she failed on her first try and almost cut off a finger. She did fill them with some herbs like mint and cilantro, and some chopped onion. The outside of the fish was also sprinkled with dry herbs.

Like that, the fish was taken to fry with a bit of oil.

Lard was good for stews and any other dishes, but she was told oil was better for frying. She only cared of the fact that they could finally fry food!

The vegetables were put to steam with a bit of water and a few fresh rosemary leaves. First, they put the potatoes as those needed to be very soft. The carrots and the parsnips were put later to leave them crispy. When they were ready, Felix poured the content on the pan where Isabelle fried the fish and let it simmer for a few seconds.

As the water from the vegetables mixed with the remaining fish fat it made some sort of fish sauce. It did not look nor smelled bad, so the three were very satisfied with the result. By the time they were done cooking, Lucas had already returned from town and was ravenously waiting with Ethan for the food as they were constantly assaulted by the smells.

Needless to say, there were no leftovers from lunch.

Satiated, Felix was the first to fall for a nap. Isabelle would have also loved to rest as she also felt a bit lethargic, but she had to start sewing the pillow cases to sell on the shop. She was given twenty of them and did not want to have them for so long. It was lost money the longer she had them in the house. While she embroidered, she also supervised Ethan's writing.

"So, when are we gettin' married?" Joseph suddenly spoke up as he took a seat after doing the dishes together with Lucas.

Ethan stopped writing on the board. Isabelle's ears perked up at the topic, though she did not stop moving her hands. "We'll need to go to the Civil Affairs Office in town for that." Ethan's words made sense. Telling the Chief was just a formality, the real deal was to sign the papers at the Office.

"How much?" Lucas interjected.

"I've no idea how much the process costs. We'd need to ask." Ethan replied. His writing slowly resumed. She glanced at his words and nodded inwardly. He was getting better.

"Try writing Civil Affairs Office." Isabelle told Ethan. The beauty of learning how to write was getting the satisfaction of tackling new words without a mistake. Which was not the case for Ethan, yet he was getting less mistakes the more he practiced. "Double F in Affairs and Office." She corrected him. He added it and, without being told, repeated the words a few more times.

"You sure there'll be no problem with the five marrying?" Joseph asked. Isabelle pursed her lips. The conversation was nice and all, but there was a crucial point that they were missing completely.

"Yeah..." Ethan distractedly replied.

Right, they would never get it. It was best to be forthright with them.

"Either way, it will not happen so soon." She interjected. She glanced at them before going back to picking another thread color. "We have to make sure we have enough money to pay the process. Also, I would love to make new clothes for you all for the ceremony. Fabric is rather expensive, so we also need money to buy it…. What?" She asked perplexed, noticing their expressions after another glance.

"… no, it's just..." Ethan tried to speak, but seemed to have trouble expressing his thoughts.

"We've no one to invite to no ceremony. We don't have parents. You probably have, but it's not as if ye remember 'em. The villagers ignore us at best. Is a ceremony so necessary?" Joseph had no qualms to say what was in his mind.

Isabelle looked at the three brothers, at their lost expressions. It made sense. Why make such a fuss when no one would see them getting married, when no one would congratulate them, much less give them gifts as it was usually done at all weddings? Why try so hard for people who would not attend? It was a bit of sad, however…

"I want to do it for us. I want us to have a beautiful memory of that day. As someone who has no memory of my past, I do not want for my present and future to be full of boring and common memories. If you do not want to do it for others, at least do it for me." Isabelle grinned at them.

"Anything for you, Isabelle." Ethan immediately promised.

"For you, then." Lucas nodded.

"Guess you're right. Our marriage, our problem." Joseph smirked.

"That is right. Then, we need to talk about another important part of the marriage process," she paused as she picked yet another thread and peeked at them to make sure she still got their attention. She did. "I remember accepting marrying you; even if I said it directly or not. But I still want a formal proposal. I could do it instead, yes, though I am sure you would love to have the honor and delight to finally hear a 'Yes'. Right?" She smirked at their flabbergasted expressions.

Maybe she was being too meddlesome, too cheeky, or too pushy. She could not claim to know everything about them, yet to get the confirmation, to finally hear the 'Yes' to the million coins question must have been like a dream to them. A dream come true. She was not going to take that away from them.

"Think about it. I can wait." She soothed. "Now, you all start practicing your arithmetic. Felix can already do multiplications and you cannot even subtract." The three finally reacted to her admonishing words and impishly smiled at her. 

Half the afternoon was spent with the brothers loudly arguing over the process of 452-176-84-20, yet lowly whispering about what to do for the proposal. Felix woke up from his nap to the noise and came out to see what the ruckus was about. He quickly noticed the big subtraction and quickly solved, thinking his brothers needed help.

It was really funny seeing the three older brothers succumb to Felix's genius. Their defeated expressions made Isabelle smile past through dinner, during that day's proper lesson, and until bath time. Only then, she was reminded of her little problem with Joseph. Even she was surprised at how long it had taken her to solve the matter.

She was holed like a mouse, like a coward, in the house while listening to Joseph preparing the bath in the kitchen; pouring the water into the tub. 

Maybe she just did not want to hear bad news coming from his mouth, that he might leave her for another woman. If that was the case, then she had to mentally prepare herself for the blow. Or maybe, it was some misplaced pride that did not allow her to grovel for explanations. 

But she needed an explanation!

She refused to hear unnecessary details about a past failed relationship. Still, she needed to hear the reason why he left with another woman while accompanying her. Something like: 'this woman wants this' or 'I helped her carry some groceries'. At that point, Isabelle could swallow any excuse!

However, he was all hush-hush about it! So, of course, there was no way she would be happy with the situation.

As her mind whirled with thoughts, she inevitably laid down on the bed. Soon, her weary body begged for rest, and she succumbed to its needs. Far away, she heard Joseph calling her name.