Butterflies and Hurricanes

I had no interest in the morning paper and the crossword had already been attempted by the person with the lovely slanted curly cursive; what had I expected of her handwriting, though? That it be nothing but an illegible scrawl?

For God's sake she was an educated woman, and she worked, for a time, in a school helping to educate others. She should have been so much more with all her knowledge but I suppose when stuck in the slums one can't do much else.

I looked over her answers, chuckling to myself seeing that every single one was correct. Then I closed the paper with the usual battle I had against such large sheets of paper, folded them in half and placed them neatly upon the table for someone else.

Now what should I do?

Ergh, they were planning the wedding today. ‘They’ being my wonderful fiancée, my eccentric mother and my soon to be bright and outspoken...best-friend-in-law. Whatever, the point is mother had them in the drawing room planning.

What could I plan other than the honeymoon, who my best man would be, my suit and my speech? A man can hardly prepare for his wedding night, now, can he? Besides, that was between Kirsty and I, not anybody else and it would stay that way.

I came to the conclusion I should be allowed to help with all aspects but the dress and so defiantly climbed to my feet, checking my pocket watch for the time before strolling on out of the room and heading down to the drawing room.

"I don't care what any of you say," I announced, pushing open the door and walking straight in hearing all of them gasp but I think that was mostly because I had made them all jump, "this is my wedding too and I wish to help you plan it."

Mom was the first to her feet. "But there must be something far more interesting you wish to do, Brian," she insisted, trying to urge me towards the door.

I looked down at her, taking her hands in mine and removing them from where they had been planted upon my chest, chuckling as I took them away. "There is nothing. The crossword," I glanced up at Kirsty who blushed, "has already been done and I wish not to entertain my friends until I have spent some time with my bride."

"And if what if we were currently discussing the wedding dress?" Kirsty asked with a sly grin where she remained seated by Sarah, watching me through her eyelashes.

"Well, Princess, you would just have to stop discussing the dress," I smiled, seating myself beside her. "Because I wish to be with you now. Plan something else, I don't know, flowers? Flowers! Let's talk about the flowers!"

"Lilies," Kirsty answered, keeping her blue eyes locked on mine.

"I thought you liked roses?" I frowned.

"Roses are beautiful," she agreed. "But lilies smell beautiful too."

"What if I wanted Roses?" I asked, taking her hand gently into mine.

"You don't carry flowers!" She laughed out.

"Buttonholes?" I pointed out.

"Well then we shall have roses too," she smiled, before looking back to my mother. "Lilies and Roses it is then, Suzanne."

My mother chuckled, standing on her feet and bustling over to me before grabbing me by the ear - which hurt - pulling me up from my seat - which hurt even more - and frogmarched me from the room, shutting the door behind me.

I turned and scowled at the door.

"I shall wait out here then, mother!" I called through the door, before leaning my back up the wall with my arms folded across my chest. I huffed, that I had been kicked out so mercilessly by my mother when I was quite happily joining in.

I think roses and lilies would look good for a wedding. Even though they would be overshadowed by the bride herself but that is beside the point.

Getting bored of merely leaning against the wall, I began to pace up and down. Oh Lord, this is what men do when they are waiting for their wives to give birth to their children, not when they are waiting for their fiancée to finish wedding planning.

How could we even plan a wedding without a set date?

I marched back up to the door, pushing it open and held up a finger indignantly to show I had a point to make. My mother rolled her eyes at me and made a 'what now?' face at me.

"How can you plan a wedding, exactly, when my bride and I have yet to even set a date?" I pointed out.

"We're not just planning the wedding," Mom informed me as she stood, and ushered me back into the hall. "It is also the engagement party. You can discuss the day at another time, but for now you should be patient."

And the door closed once more.

Pfft, patience would be a fine thing if I was able to find it. I was extremely impatient; I didn't like having to wait for things. I didn't like it that we had to wait for the opportune moment just to kill the Ripper back in London.

Surely that would have been before he killed all those women?

But then I suppose it all comes back down to would I have met Kirsty if that happened? No I wouldn't and then I would not have fallen in love, convinced her father for her hand, and now be stood out here impatiently waiting.

And another thing! Surely Sarah would have been the first to her feet and sent me stumbling out of the door with a wide mouthed grin to show her complete innocence in the act rather than my mother guiding me through it gently as if she feared she would hurt her child!

That wasn't like Sarah at all. In fact, I don't think she even knew I had entered the room, she had not spoken once nor looked at me to acknowledge I was there. If I was any other man - such as my father-in-law - I would have found this very rude, but I'm not any other gentleman and I was merely overcome with a flush of worry.

This time I knocked on the door, waiting for an answer.

"Come in," my mother’s voice sighed and I opened the door marginally, hovering in the gap and looking at the two women looking at me. As expected, Sarah was staring off with a solemn expression.

"May I have two minutes alone, with Miss de Farrars?" I asked, biting my lip when I was done fearing I would have to grab her and run if I was to get a chance however small.

Mother sighed, removing her spectacles before nodding and climbing to her feet. It took a few moments to get Sarah's attention but when mom had it, she told her to follow her out of the room. When the door was closed I looked back round to see Kirsty coming to her feet.

"What is the matter?" She asked, moving over and surveying me with her eyes. She could tell there was something up.

"Is Sarah okay?" I asked, with a slight frown. "That is to say, have you noticed anything strange about her?"

Kirsty considered me for a moment, "Why?" She asked slowly, cautiously.

"She just...surely she should have been the first on her feet the first time I came in the room? She would have thrown me out and grinned about the entire affair but instead she's just...I don't even think that's Sarah something's taken over her body!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kirsty frowned.

"Okay, not that dramatic but Sarah isn't there it's just..." I tried to form it in my mind, "a Sarah not our Sarah."

Kirsty looked down, towards the window then back up at me. She too looked solemn now and she heaved a heavy sigh. "Zack thinks someone has broken her spirit," she told me quietly. Well would explain why Zack had been so upset this last week.

"Does it really take a genius to figure out the someone?" I replied, pushing a curl back behind Kirsty's ear and sighing.

She shook her head, "But how would we tell Zack that?" Then she hesitated, thinking more sentences. "By the way Zachary, and though Sarah has not specifically told anybody this, we suspect your evil mother. Is she Satan in disguise?"

I snorted a laugh. I didn't want to, but it just sounded so funny to begin with. Kirsty frowned and hit my arm.

"Okay, I'm sorry," I apologised. "What do you think we should do?"

"I think Zack should get Sarah a ring, that's what," Kirsty nodded defiantly, her eyes widening with the thought. "I mean, would show that mother of his Sarah is there to stay, wouldn't it?"

I nodded, before sighing. "I'll go talk to him," I informed her before kissing her cheek softly. "Let you women get on with your business."

She smiled at me and as I made to open the drawing room door, I blew her one last kiss before making my way to go find my jacket.