Silas Kember's Arc

Chapter 5 of 10

Three days after Garret left the bakery, Silas found him waiting by the willow tree. The branches hung low over the water. Swans drifted near the cottage across the lake. Silas had come to meet Vera there, the way they had on the night she kissed him. Instead he found the blacksmith standing where he had hoped to stand. Garret did not look at Silas. His eyes stayed on the path. Then Vera came along it, a basket of bread on her arm. She stopped when she saw the big man. The ring still hung on the chain against his chest. "Vera," Garret said. His voice was low and careful. "You remember our first night here. By this water. You said you'd never leave." He touched the chain. "I still wear it. I need you. I came back because I can't do any of it without you." Silas stepped forward. His hand went to the satchel at his hip, full of letters he had never sent. For a year he had hidden behind that paper. He opened his mouth to speak for her, the way he had at the bakery. But Vera raised her hand. "Let me," she said. Not to Garret. To Silas. Silas closed his mouth. He let his hand fall from the satchel. Vera set the basket down in the grass. She looked at Garret for a long moment. "I remember," she said. "I remember all of it. But that girl married you too young. She isn't here anymore." Garret's jaw tightened. "And him?" He nodded at Silas without turning. Vera's eyes moved to the scribe. Silas waited. His chest felt tight. He had confessed everything to her, out loud, by this same tree. He had believed she was sure. "I have feelings for him," Vera said. "That's true." Then she looked back at Garret. "But you came all this way. We had years together. I can't throw that into the lake like you'd throw the ring." She pressed her hands together. "I need time to think. Both of you. I need time." The words landed on Silas like cold water. He had spoken his heart and still she was not certain. Garret's face shifted. Something like hope crept into it. "Take your time," Garret said softly. He picked up the basket and handed it to her, gentle. "I'll be here. I'm not leaving Ivywood." He walked past Silas, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched. He said nothing. He did not need to. Vera touched Silas's sleeve. "Please," she said. "Don't be angry. I just have to be sure this time." Silas nodded. He could not find his voice. For the first time he wished the satchel at his hip were empty. His words had won her once. Now she wanted silence from him, and the one man he feared most was not leaving. He turned and walked back along the path alone.