Written in 67 minutes. The last line was giving me trouble.
Mother Mary.
…a mother can hope…
The words swirled around in her exhausted mind, leaving Elizabeth baffled. She followed the older woman out of the room, down the hall, and up a short set of stairs. She wasn’t entirely sure what she had expected when Jason spoke of Mary Mae, but she realized now she’d been expecting a woman around Jason’s age, perhaps — well, perhaps, a romantic connection.
Not the woman of advanced years with a warm smile, friendly eyes, with her slate gray hair worn in thick, tied back braids. This was his mother? But hadn’t he said his mother had died?
“I do wish he’d sent word that he was bringing company,” Mary Mae said, pushing open one of the doors in the hallway to reveal a small, but comfortable room with a fireplace, bed, set of drawers, and a wash stand. In the corner of the room, by the small window, a small square table of roughly hewn wood sat with a pair of matching chairs tucked underneath. “It’s not much, but you’ll be comfortable here.”
Elizabeth set her bag down on the table, then looked at her hostess. “I’m so sorry, I’ve forgotten my manners. Jason—Master Morgan—” she corrected hastily, averting her eyes when Mary Mae squinted at her. “He neglected to introduce us below. I’m Elizabeth Barrett of Shadwell.” She dipped slightly in a brief curtsy.
Mary Mae tipped her head. “Mary Mae Ward of Wymoor. Master Morgan, is it?”
“Yes, ma’am. He was to escort me to Port Tonderah, but—” Elizabeth closed her mouth when Jason appeared in the doorway behind them.
Mary Mae turned to him, her expression suspicious. “I thought I told you to take the blue room.”
“I knew you would take the opportunity to ask Elizabeth about our purpose here and I would rather you hear it from me.” Jason met Elizabeth’s eyes and she made a face, then looked away.
“Well, Miss Barrett was about to tell me why you’d brought her to Wymoor rather than the capital.” Mary Mae lifted her chin. “Seeing as how we are on the opposite side of the island, it’s certainly going out of your way. Does this have something to do with the errand Valentin Cassadine sent you on when last you were here?”
Jason sent Elizabeth an irritated look, and she pretended not to notice. “You know that I can’t tell you that—”
“Yes, yes, you and your secrets.” Mary Mae folded her arms, looked to Elizabeth. “He was a good boy, I promise you, but somewhere in his travels, he got mixed up with that wretched Valentin—did you learn nothing growing up here, watching him wring the last of dignity from those who worked his land?” she demanded. “Turning tenant after tenant off his land—and then his nephew died, I hear he did the same to those estates—” She scowled. “If this girl is mixed up in Cassadine business, I want to know right now. I won’t have him in my home. Bad enough I can’t turn him away in my business—”
Jason rubbed the corner of his brow. “Are we to have the same argument every time I come here?” he wanted to know. “You complain when I visit, and complain when I don’t. It does not matter why I was taking Elizabeth to the capital. What matters is why I brought her to you.”
Mary Mae closed her mouth, pressing lips together in an unhappy line. “All right then, tell me your business and I’ll decide if your lady friend can stay.”
Elizabeth flinched at the inflection in the older woman’s voice, then looked down at the floor. She had been embarrassed when Mary Mae had thought her Jason’s bride, but she’d been friendly. Now that she was suspected of a Cassadine connection, all warmth had disappeared.
Jason exhaled slowly. “You say you expect better of me, Mary Mae, and well, I expected better of you. You know nothing about Elizabeth, and if you can’t treat her with respect, I’ll find another way to get her the information she needs.”
Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Ma’am, I can assure you that I have no connection to Valentin Cassadine. None that I want anyway,” she added, and Jason sent her another sharp look. “I hesitate to tell you my story for it involves the secrets of others, but I promise you, I only want to find my family. Well, someone who might be my family,” she corrected.
Mary Mae turned to face Elizabeth fully, her back to Jason. Her expression was a bit less pinched, but the suspicion had not left her eyes. “I’m listening.”
Elizabeth licked her lips nervously. “When I was young, I believed my family had died in a fire. I was taken to live with someone else for many years, and I’ve never spoken with anyone I knew in my youth. While Master Morgan was escorting me south, he discovered that I have some belongings that he’s seen someone else with. It’s…it’s unique to my family. Only given to daughters. I can’t tell you what, ma’am. Please don’t ask me to.”
Mary Mae considered her for a long moment, then looked back to Jason. “You’ve brought her here to investigate this connection?”
“Yes. This woman came to the pub several months past to look for me. I did not take her name, but I thought it might be in your ledger. And you know nearly everyone in the region,” Jason said. “All I ask is that you look into it, and let Elizabeth stay here while I tend to a task in the capital.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest, knowing that Jason intended to fake her escape to Thakrian and hope Valentin chased after her, leaving them time to search for her sister and devise a way forward. It was logical, and yet, Elizabeth wanted nothing to do with the plan. It put too much of the risk on Jason, and none on her. It was unfair, she’d told him, but he’d refused to hear her protests. But Jason sent her a look, and she closed her mouth, saving the protest for later.
“Is what you ask me to do a danger to my pub or the children?” Mary Mae wanted to know.
Jason hesitated, then shook his head. “No. All I ask is that is that if Elizabeth leaves the premises, she wears a cloak so that she’s not easily identifiable.” He avoided Elizabeth’s eyes this time, and she bristled. Of course Mary Mae would be in danger if Valentin learned that he was helping her find her sister. But this was not her family, and she’d already said too much.
“When you return, my boy, we’ll have a long discussion,” Mary Mae told him. “Now, you’ll go downstairs, wash up, and be ready for supper.”
“I need to speak with Elizabeth—”
“Not alone, not under my roof, young man.” Mary Mae arched a brow, and he grimaced, turned and left. She looked back at Elizabeth with a long measuring gaze. “Does he speak the truth? Do you bring danger in your wake?”
“Truthfully, ma’am, I cannot say. We may have been followed, but Master Morgan seems to think we were not, and I would defer to his experience on the matter.” Elizabeth folded her arms around her middle. “I would like very much to wash up as well if that is possible.”
“Aye, I’ll send my girls up to start a fire and bring the tub and water.” Mary Mae pulled the door shut behind her, and Elizabeth finally exhaled, the tension leaving her body.
—
Jason pulled his shirt over his head, and tossed it on a nearby chair, then sat on the bed to remove his boots. The door opened behind him, and Mary Mae came in with a pitcher of hot water. She poured it into the bowl on the stand, left a hunk of a soap next to it. “I sent the tub to your lady. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“She’s not my lady,” Jason muttered, already picking up the shirt he’d dropped to the ground. He balled it up. “You could have been nicer to her—”
“And you could have been truthful with me, but I suppose we’ll both have to be disappointed.” Mary Mae lifted her brow, and he had to look away. She always saw too much. “I’m correct, am I not? You were taking her to the capital for Valentin.”
Jason said nothing. He dropped the shirt back on the floor, then went to the washstand to pick up a washcloth. He dropped it and the soap into the water. “All you have to do is say no, and I’ll find somewhere else for her to stay—”
“If you’d had somewhere else for her to go, you’d have taken her there. You’ve not come here willingly for years. I wish I knew why. Did I do something to make you feel unwelcome?” Mary Mae stepped towards him. “I know that I could not replace your mother—”
“I do not remember her,” Jason said, and that was mostly the truth. There were fragments around the edges of his memory. “What I do remember is no longer being hungry or cold, and that is because of you.”
“Then why—”
“Because I disappoint you with my choices,” Jason said, and Mary Mae sighed. “You cannot hide it. I see it now. To find someone to marry, settle down, and have a safe life. I could not do that.”
“I don’t want you to be anyone but yourself, Jason. And if I could only understand those choices — you left here without a word all those years ago, and I had nothing but letters. You won’t tell me where you were, what you did, and well, I worry.” Mary Mae stepped towards him. “You think because I went on to take in more children that you were one of many? That I would not notice your absence?”
Jason shook his head. “I cannot be who you want me to be,” he repeated. “And I cannot break with Valentin. You told me that if I worked for him, you’d not be able to respect me. I understand that. I’ve made my choices, Mary Mae. And I’ll have to live with them. But I am asking you if you will look for this woman who might be Elizabeth’s sister, and allow her to stay here. I can pay for the room—”
“You’ll do no such thing. I’ve never charged one of my children for their room, and I won’t start now.” She went to the door, but stopped when Jason called her name.
“Will you look for the woman?” he asked. “You didn’t say.”
“I’ll do what I can, Jason, thought I have to say the story you’ve given me leaves more questions than answers. Who is this girl and why are you going to so much trouble to help her?”
Jason considered not answering the question, but Mary Mae deserved more from him. She always had, so he gave her what he could. “She’s lost, just as I was once. You took me in when I had no where to go, and I’m asking you to do the same for her.”
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