ELEMENTS: Acquiesce by Kathryn Andrews (snow like ashes series .TXT) 📕

“We can’t afford for you to be drinking this stuff. It’s no wonder the place is empty; it’s supposed to be everyone else drowning their sorrows in here, not us.”

“I’ve nothing better to do,” she said.

“You’ve two babes who need you,” said Breck, “you’re no good to them in this state.”

“Then they’re lucky they have you.”

“How d’you expect me to do all this on my own? Work the peat bog, run the tavern, look after these two, it’s impossible.”

“You know where the door is.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” warned Breck.

“You’d never leave.”

“Tell me about my parents,” said Breck.

Mrs Kelly dragged her eyes away from the whisky glass and studied Breck. “What’s to tell?”

“What d’you know?”

“They were good, hard working people, you know that. They loved you just the same as the others.”

“That’s an odd thing to say.”

“What is?”

“They loved me just the same as the others?”

“It’s just a figure of speech isn’t it?”

“They weren’t my real parents, were they?”

“Who’ve you been talking to?”

“You didn’t deny it.”

“I’m confused,” said Mrs Kelly. “I don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore. I’m going to lie down.”

Just like that, Breck was left on his own with the babes again. Forlorn, he displayed the closed sign in the window and locked the door.

Every day after that, Cordelia walked to the peat bog twice a day and waited by the stone wall for Breck but he did not come. Gazing upon the shimmering ocean, her heart ached with sadness and a longing that was too much to endure, but the ocean had a way of healing her soul and had it not been there, she may surely have died from a broken heart.

After a week had passed, Cordelia decided to take matters into her own hands.

“Men can be so stubborn,” said Cordelia during Sunday breakfast with Flynn. “There’s only one thing for it.”

Flynn raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“If he won’t come to the peat bog, then I shall go to him.”

“The tavern’s no place for young ladies,” said Flynn, “let me go.”

“He doesn’t know you, it’s best if I speak with him. He might listen to me.”

“Thank you, Cordelia,” said Flynn, placing his hand on hers across the table. “You’re a good girl.”

Cordelia smiled and dabbed her lips with a handkerchief. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said and pressed her hands on the table as she rose from her seat. “No time like the present.”

She took Flynn’s flat cap and one of the horses and rode into town. Although she’d pinned her hair beneath the cap in an effort to not draw attention to herself, the locals still stared at the stranger riding bareback into town on a beautiful white horse.

At the tavern, Cordelia tied the horse next to Misty and knocked the back door. There was no answer. Cordelia tried the handle but it was locked. Peering through the window she could see the kitchen was disordered. There was no sign of anyone. Cordelia walked around to the front of the tavern where the doors were also locked. She hammered on the door with her fist.

“Bit early for drinking isn’t it?” said a passerby.

“Go to church and pray for your sins,” said another.

Cordelia continued to knock the door.

“You won’t get an answer yet. They don’t open ‘til eleven.”

Cordelia instantly recognized the voice. “Jerry!” she cried. “It’s so good to see you!”

Jerry hadn’t recognized Cordelia. In his constant stupor he would have easily mistaken her for a boy. He concentrated hard as he studied her.

“It’s me, Cordelia.”

“Well I’ll be damned.”

Cordelia thought better of asking Jerry how he’d been keeping. The smell of ale, his bleary eyes and confusion told her enough.

“I’m trying to find Breck,” she said.

“Well, you’ve come to the right place, but they won’t be opening yet. That’s if they open at all.”

“What d’you mean?”

“They’ve been closed all week. Talk of the town.”

“If the tavern’s been closed, where’ve you been getting yours from?”

Jerry winked. “I have my own secret supply.” He pulled out a hip flask from his jacket and offered it to Cordelia.

Cordelia scrunched her nose. “No thank you.”

Jerry raised the flask to his lips and guzzled the ale like it was plain water. He walked on, swaying and tripping over his own feet. Cordelia hammered on the door again but still there was no answer. She moved across to the window to peer inside and that’s when she saw the eviction notice.

“Breck!” she called and hammered on the window pane. “I won’t stop until you open this door!”

A horse and cart pulled up outside, then the bolt on the door clunked and the door opened to reveal Mrs Kelly. She was thin, unkempt and her face was gaunt. She passed a single bag to the driver and he loaded it, with her babes onto the cart. Without saying a word or closing the door she left. Cordelia stepped into the tavern, the light was dim and the dust irritated her nose.

“Breck, are you here? It’s me.”

Slow, heavy footsteps trudged down the stairs and a tall figure stood in the shadows of the hallway.

“You shouldn’t be here,” said Breck.

“I needed to see you.”

“Did he send you?”

“No, I’m worried about you. Will you come out here where I can see you?”

Breck stayed in the shadows.

“I saw your aunt leaving.”

“She’s off to start a new life in America. That’s if she gets there. There’s a reason they call ‘em coffin ships.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. She knows her own mind.”

“I’m sorry for you,” said Cordelia, edging her way behind the bar towards Breck. “You don’t have to be alone.”

Breck shied away as Cordelia moved closer.

“Why won’t you look at me?” asked Cordelia. “Look at me.”

Breck slowly turned his face to the crack of light seeping through the window to reveal a multitude of hues around his eyes and cheekbones.

Cordelia gasped. “Who did this to you?”

“No one important.”

“You need to report this to the gardai,” said Cordelia.

“There’s no point. She’s gone.”

“Your aunt did this to you? What did she use, a