Free Valley Of Glamorgan by Julie Eads

about to tell me; it didn’t seem as if it
would be good news. Nodding for him to go on, I was afraid that if
I said a word he would change his mind, and not tell me whatever it
was. By the look on his face I could tell he was debating with
himself as to whether it was a good idea or not. Finally standing
up he looked me directly in the eyes, “Mina, I have not been
completely honest; I have lied to you,” he said simply.
    I was stunned by the ease of the words he
had just spoken. All I could manage to utter was, “But, you
promised that you would never lie to me!” There was more hurt
within those words than one could possibly grasp; I had trusted
him.
    Shaking his head he had a look of pure
defeat, before continuing, “I know and I am sorry. It’s just that I
didn’t want you to change your mind about coming with me.” I
swallowed hard; I didn’t like where this was going but I pushed the
worry down the best I could as I waited for him to continue.
    “Do you remember when I spoke of Maggie?” he
asked me. As if I could have forgotten him telling me I had a
sister so I simply nodded my head yes, as I didn’t at the moment
feel like I owed a liar more of a response. He waited a second and
then went on to tell me, “I told you that she has to marry a
guardian; I just didn’t tell you that the guardian she is marrying
is me.” He stood tall and rigid, patiently waiting for my
response.
    With relief I chuckled and was just about to
double over, when I asked, “Is that it?”
    He looked confused, so I went on to explain
my reaction. “Why would it be any of my business whom you
marry?”
    His cheeks turned red as he began trying to
explain that he had thought I had accumulated some feelings for
him. He had even thought that if I knew about the marriage I would
have been hurt and would not have agreed to go with him. Having
denied his accusations, I found myself stopping a strange feeling
of pain in my heart.
    ‘Oh crap,’ I thought, to myself. Was it
true? Had I been falling for him? Then I thought back to the moment
in the van when I had first realized his beauty, and how he had
made me feel as if butterflies had filled my stomach. The way I
felt, when he told me that I was the most beautiful singer he had
ever heard. Reluctantly I knew that what he thought had some truth
in it. I was falling for him, and the pain was overbearing.
Managing to put a fake smile on I turned to face him. He had been
standing silently with a look of concern on his face.
    “I am fine,” I announced clearly but I
wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince more; him or myself.
    “I’m sorry I must have been mistaken then?”
Knoll responded; more as a question than a statement.
    “Yes. You must have been,” I replied with
more conviction than I intended. “Let’s just go,” I announced.
Following which, Knoll turned and began to lead the way in silence;
not once looking back.
    I felt like an idiot, and kept mentally
chastising myself for being so stupid to think that a man like
Knoll could possibly fall for a girl like me. Suddenly I had become
a heart-broken teenage girl, one who desperately needed a mother or
friend to confide in. The lack of which made it much more obvious
and painful to me.
    We walked on and on, endlessly. I felt as if
the anger inside me could carry me to the end of the world and
back. Knoll called out several times for me to slow down and I
tried to keep most of my smart comments to myself, but despite that
one did manage to slip out and I snarled at him, “We have to hurry
and get you to your bride, guardian. Did you chose to marry her or
was the choice made for you, just like all the rest?” I had spit
the words out as if they were laced with venom and pain; not caring
how much they hurt him.
    Suddenly Knoll grabbed my arm, “Mina that is
enough!” he growled between gritted teeth. “I am a grown man, and
will not be judged by a confused child! I chose Maggie as my bride
because she completes me.