The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes--
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.
Both letters she'd received from her brother had been alarming but particularly the second. After reading the first letter she was naturally concerned but also had hoped that whatever had happened might result in her sister-in-law ceasing to be such, which was not to say she wished her dead exactly though the thought had admittedly crossed her mind. Indefinitely lost or absconded forever were both non-fatal options she'd felt less deplorable for wishing for. She still wasn't convinced about her brother's marriage although she'd grown a little more accepting of it since Eleanora. Unless she had a solid, tangible reason to believe her niece was better off without her mother then for her sake she would have to believe that, under the present circumstances, their union was for the best.
The second letter, however, had reignited her distrust of Melody Finch. As sheltered and naïve as Nova might've been, she wasn't unintelligent and even she had struggled not to consider the possibility that her sister-in-law had engaged in some sort infidelity. Reuben had said she'd disappeared from a party and she was now back home. There was no mention of her well-being so she had to deduce that Melody was unharmed so it was probable that she'd voluntarily left the party. Either she'd left unaccompanied with the intention of absconding or she'd left with someone. If she'd left with a female friend why had she not communicated this to Reuben? Perhaps she was merely inconsiderate or spiteful but if this was usual for her then why would he have worried? This left the option that she'd left illicitly with someone and selfishly hadn't given Reuben a second thought. This seemed the most likely option but she doubted whether her bias wasn't influencing her judgement. She wanted to believe the worst of Melody and this would vindicate her instincts about her. It was probably just poor judgement and a lack of consideration, failed communication, with a dash of unfortunate circumstance culminating in a moderately unpleasant situation that she couldn't entirely blame Melody for.
After re-reading the second letter she felt more confident that it was far less sensational than infidelity and she was only struggling to figure out what that might be because she had already jumped to the most extreme conclusion and now nothing else seemed to be proportional to how intense and serious the situation felt to her.
For her own peace of mind if nothing else, she hoped that Reuben would write back to her sooner rather than later. She was ricocheting between a novel and his letters as her focus ebbed and flowed, occasionally shooting a glance out the window any time she heard a noise that could be mistaken for an owl. To her surprise and relief, Reuben himself arrived instead. This relief was short-lived, however. A single glance at him did nothing to assuage her worry, her anxiety felt entirely appropriate.
By the time he was seated and they were alone she was convinced she should have been more worried, not less. Maybe start from the beginning..? Hopefully she sounded encouraging like she'd intended to rather than patronizing as she now felt.
Outfit | Tag: Reuben Crouch | Notes:
