by Alexia Praks
“So, Mary, where’s Peter?” Hayden asked.
Mary put down her cup of tea and turned to look at her cousin. They were almost a mirror image of one another, with brown hair and cobalt-blue eyes. Except their facial features were different. While Hayden was very handsome with a tall, straight nose, deep-set eyes, firm lips, and high bone structure, Mary’s face was rather soft and round. One could say Mary was pretty, but not at all memorable, even with the blue eyes and dark hair.
“Coming on Friday,” she said. “With Richard.”
“Richard?” Tristan asked. “Haven’t seen that old flirt for ages.”
“He’s not a flirt.” Mary defended her older brother.
Tristan chuckled. “Come to think of it, you’re right. He’s not. He’s so lousy at flirting that it’s not flirting. Has he got a girl yet?”
“Ask him yourself when he’s here,” Mary said.
“Will do,” Tristan replied, smiling.
“Mom, Dad, and Peter’s parents will be here next Wednesday,” Mary said. “Hope the weather is going to be nice on my wedding day.”
Logan waved her worry aside with a flick of his hand. “It’ll be fine. By the way, why spring? Why here on St. Joseph Island?”
“What do you mean?” Mary raised her brows.
“What he means is,” Darcy said from where he stood near the window, his eyes fixed on the countless cherry trees outside, “why get married here in spring?”
“Yeah, why here and why spring?” Hayden asked, curious. “Don’t all you girls want to get married in summer when the weather is perfect?”
Mary chuckled. “I asked myself those questions many times, too. Why here on St. Joseph Island. Why in spring?” She turned to look at her cousins who were waiting for her answers. “I suppose I have to blame it on my dear friend. She’s the one who started it off when we were in high school. Always going on about how beautiful it is here in spring. Then when I saw it a couple of years ago, I knew I just had to get married here in spring.”
“I see what you mean,” Darcy said. Because at that moment he had his back to everyone, they didn’t see his face soften with understanding, nor did they see the slight smile on his lips and the peaceful look in his eyes as he gazed at the clouds of cherry trees outside. Yes, he loved them, for they brought forward a sense of joy that he desperately needed. The beautiful sight and exotic scent reminded him of something lovely, wonderful, and warm. Yet there was pain as well. For the life of him, however, he couldn’t think of why.
“Mom?” Conrad suddenly called to his mother. “Do you know who lives in that cottage down the road?”
The moment he said that, his brothers turned their undivided attention to their mother.
Brenda cocked her head to one side at the sudden interest from her sons. “Down the road? You mean the cottage?”
“Hmm.” Conrad nodded.
“Ned Faber,” James said.
“You mean Beth’s younger brother?” Sebastian asked after taking a sip of his bland coffee.
“Yes,” Brenda said. “He lives there. Why do you want to know?”
Conrad laughed uneasily. “No reason.” He returned to his coffee. So did his brothers when they realized their parents were looking at them oddly.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 6
Hide & Seek
Sakura decided it was the brothers’ fault she had to take the long way home. Tired, thirsty, and her body aching, she still had to walk through this tiny, treacherous pathway that wasn’t really a pathway via the woods to get to Princeton Estate. Normally she didn’t mind, but this time she really did mind. After all, she’d been hit by a car. And yes, that was entirely their fault too.
She grumbled to herself and cursed them again. Oh yes, she was sure they’d be very comfortable indeed right now, sitting in the lounge and drinking that horrible coffee Beth would have prepared for them. Not to mention her very own mini-sandwiches, scones, muffins, and slices she had made this morning. She groaned depressingly. She couldn’t believe they’d be eating the food she prepared.
Once she reached Princeton Mansion some half an hour later, she was sweating like a pig, her face was covered with dirt, and her hair was a mess. She sneaked into the kitchen—hoping like hell she wouldn’t bump into any of the brothers—when she was greeted with a, “Where have you been? Mr. Princeton was looking all over for you.”
Sakura jumped, her heart nearly dropping to her shoes. “Beth! Why do you have to shout?”
The housekeeper cocked her head to one side. “Oh! I wasn’t aware I was shouting,” the woman said, giving her a smile. Then she went on with her mumbling, “Those two maids became useless the moment the brothers arrived.”
Sakura knew very well what Beth meant. Any female, aside from her, would become useless the moment she set her eyes on the brothers.
“I was out for a bit, taking photos. I thought I told everyone,” she said, giving the housekeeper a sunny smile. Toby rushed past her feet and raced to his water bowl on the other side of the kitchen. He thirstily licked the water to his heart’s content.
Sakura, too, was deadly thirsty. She opened the fridge door and poured herself a good cup of apple juice. Once she’d finished, she sighed and said, “Ah… that was good.”
On the other side of the kitchen, Beth opened the oven door and pulled out the tray of chocolate biscuits that had just been baked. Sakura couldn’t helped herself. He rushed over and snaffled one. She popped the hot piece into her mouth and sighed with pleasure. “You’re the best. I’m starved.”
“Who told you to go out for so long? You didn’t have lunch either,” Beth grumbled. “Go and eat properly in the drawing room like everyone else. Jesus! No wonder you’re so thin.”
Sakura chuckled. “That’s okay. I’ll eat here.”
“Sakura, do go and eat with your brothers,” Beth said with a no-nonsense tone.
Brothers, eh? Sakura’s heart skipped a beat at the mentioning of the seven Princeton siblings. The images of the men back on the road flashed before her eyes.
“Come along now,” Beth said, grabbing for another tray of sandwiches. “Mr. Princeton wants you to meet them. Not that you haven’t met them before. But you haven’t seen them for a while now, haven’t you. To be frank, I haven’t either. But oh, you should see them now. Handsome men they are.”
Sakura thought sourly she could do without seeing them for another five to ten years. In fact, she’d preferred if it was for the rest of her life. Wouldn’t that be great?
To the housekeeper, she smiled sweetly and said, “I’ll come right along in a wee bit, Beth. I just need to clean up. After all, I can hardly present myself in this state.” She purposely took a step forward for Beth to see her in her full glory of sweat, dirt, and mess. After all, she had been passing through the woods on her way back, and it couldn’t be helped that she now looked like a female Tarzan who had been surviving in the woods for years on end.
Beth shook her head. “You’re still as wild as ever. What will they say when they see you in such a state? All right then, but don’t be too long,” the housekeeper said, walking out the door with a tray in her hand. “Oh, by the way, we’ll be serving seven more now.”
Sakura sighed. Of course.
Once the housekeeper was gone, she made quick work of her escape. She took out the extra pounds of pork, marinated it with her special marinade and then scribbled on a piece of yellow Post-it note the cooking instructions for Beth. Then she grabbed a large tray and tossed on some chocolate biscuits, mini-sandwiches, muffins, and an apple and a bunch of red grapes. After that, she grabbed a bottle of apple juice and a glass and then rushed off to the back stairs where she was sure no one would see her. Toby, the loyal little pup that he was, followed closely behind quietly.
She hid in her room that night, working on her photos and putting them up for sale on her website. Now and again, she munched up her snacks to her heart’s content, tossing a wee bit for Toby to enjoy. It was ju
st a little after six o’clock when she heard them all raiding up the stairs onto the second floor.
Holy smokes! She’d just remembered that all the brothers’ bedrooms were on the same floor as hers. Her hands froze before the keyboard as her heart continued to pound outrageously fast. She turned to stare at the door, hoping they wouldn’t open hers by accident. Surely, dear God, they remembered their own bedrooms and wouldn’t randomly walk into hers, which of course was at the very far end of the house.
“That was the best afternoon tea I’ve had in a long time,” she heard Logan say.
“You have afternoon tea?” Sebastian asked.
“Can’t wait for dinner,” Conrad said. “I heard there’s roast pork.”
“Need a shower,” Darcy stated.
Sakura sensed they were getting closer to her room now and that something wasn’t right. Her body tensed up. She glanced at Toby, who was looking at her in confusion, wondering what was wrong with her.
Woof!
She wanted to die.
“What was that?” Nicolas uttered.
“What?” Tristan asked.
“I thought I heard something,” Nicolas replied.
“You’re going senile, old man,” Tristan said. “Hearing things.”
Sakura put a finger to her lips, telling Toby to be quiet. Toby cocked his head to one side, still confused.
Suddenly, Sakura heard footsteps coming toward her door. Before all hell broke loose, she raced to the door and quickly locked it. An instant later, the doorknob wriggled as if someone were trying to open it.
“It’s locked,” Sebastian muttered.
“Of course it’s locked,” Nicolas said. “No one stays there.”
“You got the wrong room, handsome boy,” Tristan shouted. “Your room is next door.”
A few moments later, the hallway was quiet again, and Sakura sighed with relief.
“Oh God,” she muttered under her breath. “Way too many surprises in one day.”
About half an hour later, she heard them leaving their rooms one by one to go down for dinner, and it was only then she was able to fully relax. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Brenda knocked on her door sometime after that.
“Sakura, sweetheart, you’re not coming down for dinner?” Brenda queried from the other side.
Sakura rushed to open the door and said, “Hi, Mom. Sorry, I have a really bad headache. Mind if I stay in bed?” she asked, feigning sickness.
“Then take some aspirin and rest. I’ll tell Beth to bring something up for you. You know you should look after yourself more. You should just relax. You’re on holiday, after all.”
“I know,” Sakura said. But then again, she needed to make as much money as soon as possible if she wanted to travel to Japan and find her biological mother. After all, she had no idea when her travelling would end or how much it would cost.
“I know how independent you are about money, and I know how much you want to go to Japan, but you still have to look after yourself,” Brenda said as if she were reading her mind.
“Yes, I know,” Sakura said.
“All right. Your brothers are here, by the way.”
Sakura bit her lip. I know. I’ve met them.
“You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to greet them,” Brenda commented. “And Dale and Molly were hoping to see you tonight.”
“I can come down and see them in town tomorrow,” Sakura suggested happily.
“Yes, they’d love that. You get better,” Brenda said and then gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Okay,” Sakura murmured. Once Brenda left, she closed the door and went to take a long, hot bath. Some ten minutes later, lying in the big tub with warm water and bubbles up to her neck, Sakura stared up at the ceiling, thinking.
“They’re eating my roast pork,” she murmured to herself. Then she glanced at Toby, who obediently sat there waiting for her to finish. She sat up and reached out to pat him on the head. “I hope they choke.”
* * * * *
CHAPTER 7
Princeton Brothers & the Wood Nymph
The brothers loved it. They absolutely loved the roast pork—and of course none of them choked. Tristan, Logan, and Hayden couldn’t help chomping down the delicious, soft morsel and then grabbed for more.
“There’s still dessert,” Mary said from across the table, smiling.
“You’ll have to visit home more often to get a proper feed, boys,” Molly, their grandmother, said.
Hayden nodded his head, his mouth full.
“Or we could just take Beth with us.” Darcy suggested.
James and Brenda glanced at each other, and Dale, the brothers’ grandfather, laughed.
Beth cleared her throat and said, “Unfortunately, Master Darcy, I still wouldn’t be able to cook you such nice roast because I wasn’t the one who prepared that roast. Although, I sort of did, since the person responsible happened to be sick all of a sudden. But that was only via specific instructions.”
“New chef, then?” Conrad put in. “Finally, we have decent food to eat. Not that yours isn’t that good, Beth. Your baking is the best in the world. I especially love your chocolate brownies.”
“Understandable, Master Conrad,” Beth replied, hiding a smile.
“That roast pork was meant for Dale and Molly,” Brenda said.
“Prepared by one of my favorite girls,” Molly added.
“Who unfortunately couldn’t join us,” James muttered, frowning.
“Is she unwell?” Dale asked.
“Headache,” Brenda said. “She’ll be fine.”
James’s frown darkened. “Standard coffee again, I suppose, Beth?” he asked the housekeeper.
“I’m afraid so, Mr. Princeton,” Beth replied.
James sighed in resignation at the answer. Sebastian and Nicolas glanced at each other, wondering who this new chef was and why their father was so against standard coffee.
James, on the other hand, blamed his seven sons for showing up three days early. If it weren’t for them, he would be having his delicious coffee after dinner. He knew exactly why his adopted daughter Sakura refused to come down. It was because of his sons. He knew she’d never felt comfortable around them, and the brothers had never really acknowledged her as their sister as they had with Alaina and Tara. At first, he was afraid his judgment had been wrong, that he’d adopted a criminal into his house. But after months of trying with his gentle words and kind smile, little Sakura had come out of her shell one rainy night after she’d screamed in her sleep. Sebastian had alerted him, and he rushed to her bedroom to find her whimpering in the corner of the closet. It still broke his heart even now to think about that night.
“Do you really love me?” she had asked him, tears in her eyes.
Gently, he had drawn her into his arms and hugged her tight. “Of course I do,” he said. “With all my heart.”
She had looked up at him, her small lips quivering. As if he’d said the golden word itself, she’d tightened her small arms around him and cried her wee heart out. “Then you must only love me in secret,” she said. “Please love them more. My new brothers and sisters, I mean. I do not want to see them get hurt because of me. I love you. You won’t kick me out, will you? Please, I didn’t burn the orphanage down. I really didn’t. I didn’t kill Mrs. Byrd. I really didn’t.”
“I know. I know,” he’d said, rocking her in his arms. “I won’t let you go. You’re my daughter now.”
“Thank you,” she sobbed.
It had been much later when he found out the meaning of Sakura’s words. His own children, Tara included, had been treating Sakura unfairly. The little girl believed that if he and Brenda didn’t show any sign of love toward her, then her new brothers and sisters wouldn’t hurt her. Of course, James would never tolerate such malicious behavior from his children and had taken the bull by the horns by setting them straight and telling them he wouldn’t take such nonsense from them and was indeed very disappointed. They were the
Princetons, after all, and should set good examples to the public.
James had known his sons were smart, and true to his thinking, by the end of the month, he’d decided the lesson was very effective indeed. Perhaps it had been too effective because the boys began to ignore Sakura completely, to the point that she no longer existed in their lives.
James put down his knife and fork, knowing very well he’d have to talk with Sakura later tonight. After all, she couldn’t very well hide away in her room for the next few weeks when everyone was here preparing for Mary’s wedding.
He turned his attention to his sons, eyeing them from one to another. They were all enjoying their meal to the max, and of course, he wasn’t at all surprised they didn’t pay any attention as to who had been responsible for preparing their meal.
After the dinner, they retired to the drawing room where Beth served them standard coffee and tea. James looked as though he was about to balk as Beth gave him a cup, and the brothers wanted to laugh.
“It’s not half-bad,” Hayden said, taking a sip.
“I too was looking forward to the coffee,” Dale commented, and Molly shook her head.
It was a bit later that the brothers decided they needed a walk to work off their big meal and headed out to the pond to the north of the house near the woods. It was amazingly beautiful as the brothers took in the scenery. The pond was surrounded by cherry, magnolia, and other trees native to the island. The moon was high above on the horizon, reflecting on the glassy water. The air was warm and breezy, and now and again, native life stirred in the distance.
“I forgot how quiet and peaceful it is here,” Darcy said softly, gazing up at the moon. He realized then that this was the place he wanted to be, the place he belonged. Yes, he needed peace and quiet. He needed solitude.
Nicolas remarked. “Beautiful scenery. I can’t believe it’s in our backyard.”
“Dad must have hired a new gardener,” Logan said. “As well as a new chef.”