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Chapter 20
Calamity
Approximately fifteen minutes later and in her own bedroom, Sakura found herself being inspected by Beth’s critical eyes. Mary and Katherine, on the other hand, left once again after informing her they had to help Brenda prepare dinner since Sakura had stolen Beth away from the kitchen. Sakura chuckled and said loudly before they closed the door, “Not my fault. Yours, Mary, yours!”
“Stop talking, missy,” Beth muttered under her breath. “And stay still.”
Sakura hid a smile as Beth pinched the silk material out from the side of her waist.
“What did I tell you?” She went on. “You never eat right. What with you missing lunch here and there. Now you’ve lost weight and who’s to blame but yourself?”
“I didn’t think I’d missed that many lunches,” Sakura murmured.
Beth stood straight, her plump face sour. “It’s all that Ned’s fault. If he hadn’t taught you how to draw and paint, then you wouldn’t have become so obsessed and spent hours on them.”
“I like my paintings, Beth,” Sakura said. “And you do, too.”
Beth scoffed. “Me? Don’t you dare contradict me, missy. Now, my dear girl, you’ve got to fatten up. Otherwise, what man’s going to ask you to marry him?”
Uh-ho! Here we go again.
“Mark is a good man,” she continued. “He doesn’t mind that you’re a bit on the thin side. He hasn’t proposed yet, has he?”
Sakura cocked her head to one side. “What makes you think he’d propose?”
Beth looked up to her. “You two are dating, aren’t you?”
Sakura chuckled. “No, of course not.”
She frowned. “I thought so.”
Sakura blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
Beth cocked her head to one side. “You don’t actually like Mark like that, do you?”
“Beth, you’re the first person who’s said that.”
“Ah, I see. So it’s the brothers, then?”
“Huh?” Sakura blinked, wondering where Beth was going now.
“Which one is it?” Beth teased. “They’re all mighty handsome and still single. God bless them. Now then, tell me your pick.”
Sakura laughed. “Beth, I think you’re actually going senile.”
Beth was offended. “I may be old, but I’m not senile, my girl. Conrad seems to be taking a liking to you, but then again, he’s too young. Now Sebastian, that man is to die for. If you have your eyes on him, better make it quick before he’s snaffled away. Yes, he’ll make you an excellent husband. A perfect husband, no doubt, who would love you and cherish you until the day you’re gone from this earth.”
Sakura laughed. “Really?”
“Stop contradicting me, my girl. Now Darcy, there’s my man. Dark and mysteriously handsome. He doesn’t show much emotion, but we know he’s very sensitive and sincere. Once he loves you, my girl, he’d never let you go nor will he ever lay his eyes on another woman. Now that’s what I like about a man. And yes, he will love you and cherish you to bits.”
Sakura shook her head. She wanted to tell Beth there was no way she was going to fall in love with any of the brothers. First off, they were supposed to be siblings, albeit not blood related. Secondly, she knew they didn’t like her, let alone love her.
Deep down inside, however, she was beginning to have doubts. Why had they been so nice to her since their return? She was sure if they had to endure one another’s presence, then a word here and there would suffice. Then there was also the fact that her emotions were beginning to play havoc with her lately. She’d been feeling very restless since the day they arrived, and her mind kept wandering off thinking about them. Not to mention she kept seeing their faces in her mind’s eye—especially Sebastian and Darcy. Was it because seeing them again brought back so many unpleasant memories? Or was it something else?
“Nicolas, now there’s a good man for you. He’d look after you well if he’s your husband. He’d love you to bits, very much like James. He’d protect you and your children. You’d never have to worry about a thing.”
“Have you finished your lecturing yet, Beth?” Sakura teased.
Beth frowned at her and pulled the material a bit too tightly to show Sakura that she wasn’t pleased. “Listen to your elders, my girl. I’m only telling you what’s good for you.”
Sakura laughed.
“Now, Tristan is a bit of a flirt, but he’ll settle down when he finds the one. And Logan, he’s just like Tristan. Hayden, on the other hand, we know he’s a bit wild. He’ll settle down when he finds his girl.”
Sakura cocked her head to one side. “So at the moment, none of them have found their so-called girls yet?”
Beth thought about that for a moment. Then she stood up and harrumphed loudly. “They seemed to be settling down. They seemed to have changed. Maybe they have.” She looked at Sakura closely. She wondered if the girl the brothers had all fallen for was in fact their adopted sister.
“Are we done?” Sakura asked, wondering why Beth was looking at her so weirdly.
“Yes, just about,” the housekeeper replied, pulling the material of the dress this way and that again and Sakura along with it. A few moments later, she said, “Now you wait a minute while I go and get my sewing basket.”
Sakura nodded, and the woman left. Alone, she sat down on her bed and sighed with relief. She hoped when Beth returned she wasn’t going to continue with her lecture.
Out of the blue, her mind—of its own accord—started wandering off to la-la land again. It was Sebastian who came to her thoughts first.
Why was he being so overprotective of her all of a sudden? And he did say neither he nor his brothers were stupid. Had they known all along that it had never been her who had been telling on them when they were children?
She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice the door open. When she heard it closing again, she expected Beth to return and hastily got up, readying herself for the woman to do her magic. But it wasn’t Beth who came in the door. It was Alaina and Tara.
“Good Lord!” Tara said. “Is that the dress you’re wearing for the wedding?”
Alaina chuckled. “Well, ugly dress for an ugly girl.”
Sakura knew the moment they stepped into her room that they were there to hurt her. She braced herself for the oncoming bullying and said, “Who told you to come into my room?”
Alaina cocked her head to one side. “No one, bitch. But this is my house, so I go into any room I want. You don’t belong here. You know that.”
Sakura decided she’d cock her head to one side to show them she was no longer afraid of them. And to that she added a smile as well, for good measure. “I believe I belong here, Alaina. After all, I have been living here for the past few years, and you haven’t.”
