And then Brigit flirtatiously asked, "And where'd yer chamber be Vincent?"
To which he informatively answered, "Just around the corner, so if you need anything, I will be near by."
Smiling coyly at him, she then nodded, and thought to herself, hmmm, that sounds just about perfect.
And so as Brigit made herself at home, she removed her coat, and because of the casualness she owned, Vincent felt a bit uncomfortable, as she next unzipped and slipped off her boots as well.
With a dramatic flare, Brigit began to rub her toes, as she then said, "The snowy walk through yer famous Central Park, numbed me toes! I know Winter has not officially even arrived as yet, but Spring cannot come soon enoof fer me!"
To which Vincent dreamily replied, "I love the Winter season, and the snow it brings...I always have, even as a child."
In reply, Brigit teasingly said, "Then Vincent...ye can have me portion as well! I've no use for it!"
Brigit then patted the bed, as she kindly said, "Sit next to me, and tell me all 'bout Catherine. Seems ye're avoidin' me question. Is she still yer ladylove or is she not?"
Thoughtfully, Vincent walked over to the bed, and as he sat down next to her, a moment or two passed as he gathered his thoughts.
And though he still hadn't spoken, Brigit thought she needed to spur him on a bit, and so she said, "Vincent...tell me..."
So as Vincent looked downward, he shared, "Yes, Catherine still owns my heart..."
Curiously, Brigit probed deeper as she nudged him and said, "She still owns yer heart...aye, but...I sense there is somethin' wrong."
And as she put her arm through his, Brigit added, "Ye know, it looks like ye need a friend to talk to...and I feel we are very good friends...so please confide in me Vincent..."
And because Vincent did think of Brigit as a friend, he thought he would confide in her. And so he sorrowfully shared, "You see Brigit, Catherine...is seeing another."
Well, this news raised Brigit's hopes, and so she privately thought, "Ahh, so with Catherine oot of the picture...Vincent could be jist 'bout ripe for the pickin' then!"
And though Brigit was hopeful about her chances, still though, she saw Vincent looked saddened about this turn of events, and so she feigned a concerned tone, as she sympathized, "Perhaps things were not meant to be. I've learned to accept heartbreak as merely a part of life. As things very rarely go the way we hope. Ye know I understand what it feels like losin' the one ye love..."
Realizing no one would, or could understand better than Brigit. So Vincent with a nod, attempted to hide his anguish, but it was of no avail, as his broken heart was on display.
So, as Brigit was about to go in with a comforting embrace...Jacob entered the chamber!
To which Brigit thought to herself, "Ah, what timin'! Wonder who this notable timeworn gent might be!"
So upon realizing he was interrupting a moment of sorts, Jacob hobbled in, and cleared his throat before he curtly asked, "Do you plan to keep Brigit all to yourself Vincent?"
As Vincent quickly stood up, he embarrassingly answered, "No of course not Father. If you will permit me, Brigit O'Donnell this is my Father, Jacob Wells, and Father this is Brigit O'Donnell."
With an outstretched hand, Jacob approached, and said, "Welcome Brigit. And please call me Father."
As Brigit now realized how notable this man was, that he was THE Father of the community and of Vincent, she in a flirtatious reply, winked as she insisted, "Well if ye won't be mindin', I'd rather call ye Jacob. Such a strong virile name it is! It is a derivative of James. Hmmm, I'll be keepin' my eye out to see if yer name suits ye!"
Brigit's comment caused Jacob to blush a bit, as he submissively said, "Very well then Brigit, Jacob it is."
In an attempt to regroup, Jacob adjusted his stance, and then solemnly said, "Do except my condolences on the passing of your Father."
Lowering her eyes, Brigit sincerely said, "Jacob thank ye very much. And aye'...it has been a rough time. However, bein' here will help, keepin' me out of the public eye until the notoriety dies down."
Nodding, Jacob then surmised, " Yes I can imagine fame makes a personal crisis all the more painful to endure..."
Jacob then dreamily thought back to his trial, and how the prying and unrelenting press had been, even back in the '50's. And so as Jacob snapped out of his dark memories of a painful time, he then graciously added, "...and we are honored to have you here with us."
Brigit then gratefully said, "It is I who is honored. Ye have trusted me with the secret of yer world."
Brigit then smiled, and marveled, "And Jacob, the world ye have created here is fascinatin'. I'm totally amazed at the inner workins' and the structure, by which it all pulls together!"
Feeling flattered by Brigit's kind words, Jacob blushed a bit as he proudly said, "Yes, it was a dream turned into a reality for me..."
Brigit admiringly noted, "And a Single Father no less. May I commend ye on raisin' such a wonderful man? I have learned much from the letters I receive from Vincent. Aye, His insight to life has been so enlightenin' for me."
Well, Jacob's ego was bolstered once again by this new enchanting woman in this world of theirs, and he found he was very much enjoying the compliment concerning his parenting skills.
Humbly, Jacob then said, "Well I dare say, I had some help raising Vincent, and my other son Devin, though not a whole lot of help...now mind you, I've come to learn parenting is a lot of work! However...I enjoyed every moment of it, WELL I should say, most every moment, Devin was a bit more challenging, however, Vincent was an amazing receptive child, and I can assure you that...no parent had ever learned more from their own child than I!"
With a bit of a haughty demeanor, Jacob, continued on, as he added, "No, no...it wasn't always easy juggling the parenting of two boys, and developing our community, but we managed, didn't we Vincent, yes, I suppose we, Vincent and I that is, are closer than most Father and son's, because of it! However, I dare say, I DO credit much of what I have accomplished here, to my OWN schooling, and my OWN upbringing, as I have always believed one must be open to the..."
Upon hearing his Father go on and on, Vincent then cleared his throat, in an effort to thwart his braggadocios Father from any more boasting!
As Jacob, heard Vincent, he shot him a look, and DID actually get the hint! And so he finished up by saying "Ah yes, it has been a journey, uh Vincent."
In agreement, Vincent said, "Yes Father, at times an arduous one at that!"
Upon hearing the dinner announcement, Jacob put out his arm, and suavely asked, "Brigit, may I escort you to the Dining Hall?"
With a smile, Brigit answered, "Aye Jacob, I would be honored! Let me slip some other foot-ware on."
As she reached into her bag for a dry pair of shoes, Brigit then saw the brown paper wrapped gift for Vincent she needed to pass on to Jacob.
And so Brigit tried to think of an excuse to see Jacob alone, so she asked, "Jacob, do we have a moment to tour your Chamber before dinner?"
And so because Jacob was feeling very enamored with Brigit, he matter-of-factly said, "I don't see why not!"
To which Vincent gently corrected Jacob as he reminded him, "Father you know how it upsets William, if we are late, and William has planned something special for Brigit's first meal here."
Upon hearing Vincent's warning, Brigit hated to inconvenience anyone, but knew she needed only a moment alone with Jacob to pass on the book! And so she sweetly suggested, "Can you go on ahead to run a buffer fer us Vincent? I promise not to keep Jacob long."
With a questioning look toward Jacob, Vincent waited to see what his father was going to say! And Vincent was surprised, yet not so surprised when Jacob instructed, "Well you heard our guest Vincent! Buffer away!"
And so with a gallant nod, Vincent conceded, and said, "Very well Father."
So it was upon Vincent's departure, that Brigit excitedly said, “Oh Jacob, I only needed an excuse to pass this onto you from Lin...I understand it to be a surprise gift fer Vincent."
So Brigit retrieved the book from her purse, and then eagerly presented it to Jacob. And the moment he saw the brown wrapping, he knew what it was! And so he happily said, "Ahh the Shakespeare book I ordered! Thank you Brigit, and oh dear, I must remember to thank Lin as well! You know this book will be quite a surprise for Vincent. Hmmm, perhaps I will present it to him at Dinner."
And then disappointedly, Jacob mentioned, "So I suppose the tour of my chamber was only a rouse?"
With a pouted out lip, Brigit confessed, "It was..."
But then Brigit asked, "Can I've a raincheck?"
With a gallant smile, Jacob replied, "Of course, later on then...Vincent is correct in saying William is quite particular about serving on time!"
To which Brigit replied, "We better hurry then! I dinny want to give William a bad impression right away..."
And then she jokingly added, "I've got plenty of time to do that!"
With a haughty chuckle, Jacob put out his arm once more, and asked "Shall we my Dear?"
To which Brigit giddily said, "Aye Jacob, we shall!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, despite the heart wrenching news, concerning Brigit visiting Vincent, Catherine actually did manage to get some work done.
She cleared her desk with a swift efficiency, and Catherine found it was actually good for her to keep her mind off of anything concerning Vincent...especially the letter she now wished she had never asked Mr. Smythe to put in Vincent's book for her.
But as this reoccurring thought, of her now regretful plan, crept back to take over her thoughts, it brought with it, a feeling of impending misfortune...
What will he think of her when he reads her heart-felt words? Catherine felt so wounded and desperately foolish, that she would crawl into a hole right now, if...that were an option.
As Catherine got ready to leave for the day, her Dad knocked on her door once more, and worriedly asked, "You have had quite a day...how are you doing?"
Looking up from behind her clean desk, she gave her Dad a gift of a smile, and answered, "Actually Dad, I am functioning, I suppose I feel numb. But the way I have been feeling lately, numb is not so bad."
With an understanding nod, hesitantly, Charles stepped forward, and slowly he pulled over a chair to sit by his daughter, and prepared himself to give Catherine some more bad news.
So...reluctantly, Charles began, "I just heard from Peter, and well kiddo, there is no easy way to say this...Peter told me Mother Alcott died today."
Tragically, Catherine looked back at her Dad, and with tears in her eyes, she sadly said, "Awe Dad..."
And then with concern, Catherine asked, "How is Peter?"
To which Charles solemnly described Peter, as he said, "Tired, sad, devastated. Peter said his only solace is that his Mother's suffering is over, and she is finally at peace."
As Catherine's first wave of tears came, Charles reached over to embrace his daughter, and relayed, "I told Peter we would be there as soon as we could. How soon do you think you can get ready?"
As Catherine dabbed her tears away, she whispered, "As soon as you need me to be..."
To which Charles solemnly replied, "I'll check into flights...Oh and..."
Charles then handed Catherine a sealed envelope containing a telegram Peter had sent, and continued, "...Peter asked for you to pass this on to a Mr. Wells. He said you know him, and you would know how to reach him."
To which Catherine shockingly responded, "Mr. Wells? I do know him but unsure of where..."
Without noticing or hearing his daughter's reaction, Charles then efficiently said, "Well good, while you deliver the telegram, I'll be on the phone and make the flight arrangements."
As he now became aware of Catherine's stunned demeanor, Charles noted, "I know it is a lot to ask on top of getting ready to travel and everything..."
To which Catherine knew she had to rise to this occasion under the tragic circumstances, and confidently said, "Oh no Dad, it's all right, I can do this for Peter."
Since Charles never knew Vincent's last name, he did not realize the levity of this task! And so turning to leave Charles then said, "I'll call you at home with the flight information then. Talk to you later on sweetie."
As she gave her Dad an embrace of support, Catherine sat for a moment after he left, feeling dazed with this new challenge which now laid before her. She really had no choice; she had to go to Vincent.
This was perhaps, one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. Catherine had to find a way to hold it together long enough to get word to Peter's friends for him.
After all, Peter did not know things had fallen apart for her and Vincent. And maybe...deep inside a part of Catherine was thankful for this task, as a chance to seek out Vincent for a reason other than for her own private motive, which would be to see him one last time.
Catherine's only hope was to arrive before Vincent had a chance to read the note she asked Mr. Smythe to tuck inside of Shakespeare!
As Catherine entered her private restroom to freshen up, she thought luckily, she had some make-up with her to do a quick "Bondo Job", in an effort to conceal her tired sadness. A little blush, a dab of under-eye cream, and a brush to her hair, seemed to do the trick!
While Catherine looked at herself in the full-length mirror she scrutinized her figure, and fully realized how her weight loss has left her lacking any roundness she once had, round womanly curves as Brigit has!
As Catherine snapped her self out of this vein chain of thought, of worrying about her looks, she then made her self-ready mentally; as she knew there was a distinct probability, Brigit would be there with Vincent, and if she was, Catherine would endure it...somehow she would...and do so, for Peter!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, below in the tunnels, everyone enjoyed the new-comber around the dinner table. Everyone, except for Mary, Rebecca, and a few of the other women that is!
Yes the women all thought Brigit was a bit too flirtatious toward all the men of the community for their liking!
And, they thought Brigit was being so obvious! Yes her compliments were aplenty, especially toward William! And the women could tell he was enjoying every moment of the attention she was giving him.
And so as the ladies continued their surveillance from afar, they witnessed as Brigit coyly smiled, as William gave her unsolicited seconds, and said, "Oh my, that's enoof! I am full already!"
To which William worriedly asked, "Is it not seasoned to your liking Brigit?"
Upon realizing William thought she didn't like the dish, Brigit quickly assured him, "Seasoned to perfection! Oh William I must tell ye, I have never had such a treat in my life! The way ye mixed the veggies along with the rice was truly delicious, and a finer roasted chicken couldn't be found, I am sure of that! I do hope ye will share yer roastin' method, spices n such."
As William beamed at the compliment, he refilled Brigit's tea, as he replied, he would be glad to pass his recipe on!
Well upon hearing William's engaging manner, the other women rolled their eyes at one another, with Mary spearheading the movement by saying, "I think by the time Brigit leaves, William will be in need of a larger hat!"
Well, maybe the women were a bit jealous, after all Brigit did have all the men's attention!
Yes it was true, the men were acting differently tonight in Brigit's presence! And none of the ladies could ever recall seeing Jacob acting so boyish, Winslow this pleasant, William so gracious, or Pascal so witty!
However...the one man's attention Brigit was really vying for, was Vincent's...which in this department, she was failing miserably.
Though Vincent was cordial, and listened to Brigit's tales, his preoccupation with Catherine was clearly, upper most on his mind.