I force myself to wait in the hall until I’m sure they all have been seated and then straighten my shoulders, clear my expression and then follow after and take my seat. My fingers tighten into fists as they discuss Eden’s day as a domestic servant and how hard everything is compared to her timeframe. They relax when I hear we will be hiring more staff to help with the upkeep and I nod in agreement when Sebastian looks my way. I may be the current Duc de Gaul but we all know it is in name only. Sebastian is and will always be our Alpha.
“Eden, please share with us what you mentioned earlier today about the blacksmith.” Bas prompts her and she laughs with a nervous look my way.
“I was just thinking, if you are all open to it, that is, that we could update a few things to give us some of the more modern conveniences that have yet to be made common in this time. I’m just not sure how to go about it.”
“Give us a few examples, lass.” Fin tells her.
She plays with her wine glass for a moment before sighing. “Well, plumbing for one thing. It’s a crazy amount of work just to haul water from the well, heat it a pot at a time, and then haul it again to where it’s wanted, bucket by bucket. So the first thing would be a way to pump the water from the well to the house. I’m pretty sure windmills have been invented already so I would start with that. If we could have some type of large tank made that can be installed inside the house that could be heated by a fire, it would give us a continuous amount of hot water. Running pipes from it to different parts of the house would again mean less hauling and also help to heat the house during the winter.”
Sebastian is nodding his head. “Yes, we used that method to move water in France for the Manor house but didn’t bother with it when we had this house built. As for the hot water, there were multiple fires in the kitchen there that always had water heating - but we also had a very large staff to manage that. I like the idea of one large tank being heated to cut down on all of that. I do not know how pipes would work, though. What would they be made of? Wood? Clay? Iron?”
The wolves jump in and debate the merits of different materials and I watch how lively her expression is as they make suggestions on her ideas. When they launch into the possible ways to remove waste from inside the house to outside I realize why she seems so happy. They are planning a future, a life with her, and I need to decide if it will include me. Even with us extending her life through our blood, we will have at best eighty years with her before she dies a natural death. I think back on the last eighty years of misery without her and ask myself if I want to put myself through that again when I don’t have to. I could have happiness again with her. I rub my forehead in frustration. It’s all the years after she dies that will be a never-ending hell that I have to consider.
“We would have to cut holes in the flooring and outer walls for such to work, lass. Not to mention, a third level to the house to put the tank of heated water above for the shower you want so desperately.” Finn tells her.
The table goes silent and all eyes turn toward me when I comment. “It would be best to construct a new home completely and have such things installed during the process.”
A trembling smile forms on Eden’s face and she bites her bottom lip before quietly asking, “Would you want that, Luca? Would you want to build a new…home…with us? With me?”
I swallow the affirmative I want to gush at her and instead shrug one shoulder and keep my expression carefully blank as I reply.
“We certainly have the funds to do so and it would be less disruptive than the mess it would make should you go ahead with your projects in this house.”
I remember her words at the lake. How she described a house there for all of us to live in and I frown. I had said yes in the moment, so shocked with disbelief that she was here but now I have no answer for her so instead I push out of my chair to my feet.
“I care not. Do as you will.” I tell her dismissively and leave her once again with a hurt, disappointed expression as I flee the room.
Eden
Iviciously yank the weed out of the ground between the squash plants growing in Flora’s kitchen garden and swipe the sweat from my forehead with a dirty hand. I’m moody and frustrated that I still haven’t been able to break through to Luca after a week of trying. Every time we’re in the same room, it’s all dark looks and snippy rudeness and I’ve had about all I’m going to take of that. Whether he wants it or not, we will be having it out pretty fucking quick and resolving this one way or another. I know how much I hurt him but I won’t be his verbal punching bag anymore.
Luca and Sebastian have been gone for the last two days on some delivery thing they’ve got going on with the local militia. I’m happy to have a bit of a break from him but what they’re doing is something that worries me, knowing the war that’s about to happen here. My men might be supernatural creatures but that doesn’t stop me from worrying about their safety.
I sigh and lean back on my heels and look to the west where Finn, Cade, and Aiden are cutting down trees to haul back to the yard to chop up for firewood. It’s astounding just how much wood we go through every day but I do like watching my wolves as they chop wood shirtless. They put those TikTok lumberjack thirst trap videos to shame even without any ink on their ripped chests. I would sit and watch them chop wood all damn day if there wasn’t so much to do around here. They’re too far into the forest for me to see them right now but maybe if I get the rest of the garden weeded to Flora’s satisfaction I can reward myself with watching them later when they get back with the felled trees. I groan as I get to my feet to move over to the next row in the garden. Pioneer life is really fucking hard. I honestly don’t mind doing the work, it’s just a lot to get used to for a girl who spent her life in a city and the work uses many muscles in a different way than training does.
I scan the row as I move along, looking for another offender to pull and smile at the memory of watching a movie with Cade and Finn last night on the tablet. I let them choose which one to watch and for some reason, they both decided Titanic would be the perfect choice. They enjoyed it right up until the end and then argued nonstop about there being enough room on the damn door and Rose must not have truly loved him to not share it with Jack so he could live. I finally had to strip naked and distract them to get them to let it go. I feel a hot throb between my legs as I remember exactly what the three of us did to create our own happy ending.
Movement from my left catches my eye and I turn, hoping it’s Bas and Luca returning. My breath sucks in when men in redcoats come from around the barn and head my way with guns pointed in my direction. I want to run for the house but I don’t know how they’ll react if I do so I stand still and wait instead. Maybe I can charm them the way I did with Captain Lancaster. The closer they get the more that idea dims. These men look rough and angry, their uniforms are dirty and bloody in places. I slowly start moving backwards as fear begins to take hold. One of the soldiers narrows his eyes at me and I swallow hard at the sheer hatred and contempt I see in them when he jabs a finger my way.
“You there! Who is the owner of this property?” He demands and I take a few more steps backward out of the garden. My mouth is dry as dust when I reply.
“The Duc de Gaul owns this property. He…he is away right now but should be back shortly.”
His lip lifts in a sneer at that and huffs, “French? Just as bad as these damn treasonous colonists! In the King’s name, we will be taking all slaves from this property to fight in his army as well as provisions for our use.”
I frown at him and shake my head. “We have no slaves here, sir.”
The soldier scoffs at that. “Do not waste your lies on me! A member of the French nobility not owning slaves? Pfft!” He looks me up and down and his eyes latch onto my tight yoga pants and then travel up to the revealing tank top I’m wearing and a gleam that scares me even more enters his eyes. “Are you his wife or his whore? Dressed as you are, I will assume the latter.” He chuckles darkly and waves his men closer.
“You four, search the outbuildings! The rest of you may take whatever relief you wish from this one while I search the house.”
My mouth drops open in shock that he just basically told his men to rape me and that’s all I need to spin away and run. His dirty fingers reach out and latch onto my wrist, squeezing it painfully enough that I know I’ll have a ring of bruises there and yanks me back around. His other hand flashes at me and connects with the side of my face, rocking my head back and blood starts to fill my mouth. His ugly laugh breaks through my stunned mind and turns my fear into rage. I whip my free arm around and slam the heel of my hand up into his nose, baring my teeth in satisfaction at the crack of a breaking bone. He drops my wrist to clutch at his face, freeing me, and then I’m in motion kicking, punching, and spinning as I fight off the other three soldiers who lunge for me. I manage to take two down when my hair is wrenched back causing me to scream in pain and then a gun cocks next to my ear causing me to freeze in place. I hear wolves howling in the distance and relief floods me that they’re on their way but I’m terrified they won’t make it back here in time.
“I do like a woman with spirit but I’m afraid I like breaking one with it even more. You colonists WILL learn your place! Consider this the King’s tax.” He snarls in my ear and pulls my head back even harder by my hair. “Strip her!” He barks out to his recovering men and angry hands reach for my top and tear it down the middle as others fumble to yank down my pants. Flashes of what they are doing to me and the gang of men that attacked me in my own time blur together. They held me like this back then and hurt me so badly with their grabbing hands and vicious hits. A raging terror takes over and I go wild with it, screaming and cursing, clawing at the arm holding me in place.
I kick out and catch one of them in the balls before their leader hits me hard in the head with his gun barrel and I feel hot blood pour down over my ear and neck even as my eyes go hazy. The soldier holds me up on my feet by my hair as I start to sag from the blow and I cry out desperately again.
“Use your knife and cut them off of her!” He growls at the man trying to get a hold of the slippery lycra of my pants. The soldier steps back with an awful grin and pulls his knife from its sheath just as a silver blur tackles him from the side and takes him to the ground with snarls and flashing teeth.
