Alec tried to pretend like everything was fine.

He encouraged me with the riding, directed me when Juliet became a little prickly and even tried to be optimistic about when I could take Juliet on a real trail. Alec had no idea that I had overheard the conversation and he didn't say anything about it or even mention the telegram. If he was waiting for me to bring it up, he would be waiting a long time. I wasn't going to fall for his trap and I certainly wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of thinking that his plan would work.

I led Juliet around the paddock, ignoring Alec who stood against the fence and watched me. Every now and then he would offer a word of advice that I didn't really hear and instead I just focused on what I was doing. It wasn't my first time on a horse and everyone needed to stop treating it as such, especially Alec and Jonathan who were determined to keep me off the trails with Juliet. If they wanted me to trust them, they were going the wrong way about it.

"Not bad," Alec said, pushing himself off the fence, "she's really starting to listen to you now."

"This isn't my first time on a horse."

"No, but it's your first time training a horse and you're doing really well."

"Will I be able to take her on a trail this afternoon?"

Alec shrugged. "We might give it another week or so, just to make sure you and Juliet are on the same wavelength."

"Right, of course," I muttered.

I turned Juliet away from the fence and took her on another loop around the paddock. After doing nothing but loops for several weeks, I couldn't wait for the opportunity to flex my skills a little more and take her out on a trail. With Jigsaw, Jonathan hadn't allowed me to go outside the paddock until he was certain I was comfortable, but that was because I had never ridden a horse before. This was different. I had been riding horses for just under a year and I liked to think I knew what I was doing.

It was as if no one trusted me. They didn't trust me to ride Juliet outside of the paddock and they certainly didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth about how they really felt. If they did, Alec wouldn't have lied to me and he certainly wouldn't be trying to manipulate me into reacting a certain way just because none of them could accept that the telegram was a lie. None of them could see that it had all been a mistake and instead they were trying to vilify me for thinking it was. Well, I wasn't going to fall for their tricks.

The telegram in my pocket rustled as I continued to lead Juliet around the paddock. My fingers were wrapped tightly around the reins, my knuckles turning white as I tried to keep my hands from shaking. After overhearing Alec, Jonathan, and Barbara, the shaking in my hand that started that morning had only grown stronger. The shaking that morning had been caused because I stood up too quickly, but I knew this was caused by the anger welling up inside me.

I was mad at whoever sent the telegram in the first place, mad at Eva for going along with it, and mad at Alec for lying to me. He said he believed me, he said that he would convince Jonathan and Barbara that I was right, but he didn't. Instead, he believes them and what that stupid telegram said. Alec lied to me, betrayed me, and I would never forgive him for that. Never.

"Loosen to your hands, Syb. They're too tight," Alec said. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him move off from the fence and walk in a half-circle behind me.

I did as instructed and loosened my hands, switching from a trot to a canter. The wind rushed past me as Juliet and I rode around the ring, making circle after circle and sending up a bloom of sand with every step. Behind me, Alec said something, but I ignored him and focused on riding in circles around the paddock. I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn't even notice Alec step in front of Juliet until I almost hit him.

Pulling up on the reins just in time, Juliet came to a stop. I scrambled off the saddle.

"What was that for? I could have hit you!"

"I told you to stop three times! I also told you to loosen your grip on the reins, but you didn't. You could have hurt Juliet if you hadn't stopped."

"I loosened my grip."

"No, you didn't. You were pulling on her mouth and didn't notice." Alec lightly stroked Juliet's nose and checked her mouth for any damage. "It doesn't look like you hurt her, but I think that's enough for today."

"We've only just started!"

"And you almost hurt Juliet. We're done because the last thing you want to do is hurt her and have to rebuild the trust you've spent the past few weeks building up. Trust me, we're done." Alec took hold of Juliet's reins and led her towards the fence without so much as another glance in my direction. I followed him out of the gate and back up towards the stable where the other horses were waiting.

Even if I had pulled too tightly on the reins, it didn't justifyAlec stopping the session altogether, especially if Juliet and I were finally starting to make some decent progress. It felt like he was trying to do everything just to spite me and I resented him for it. Not only had he lied to me, but he seemed intent on trying to stop me from doing the one thing I wanted to do. Juliet gave me an escape from that telegram and everything that came with it, but Alec wouldn't let me have that, either.

The telegram in my pocket felt as though it was weighing me down despite only being made of paper and having little to no weight to it. All of this started because of that telegram, that stupid piece of paper, because someone made a mistake in an office somewhere. If that telegram had never been sent, if someone hadn't become confused, none of this would be happening.

I watched Alec untack Juliet from her saddle and brush her down, running his hands over her nose and mouth just to make sure I didn't do any damage to her. How I could have injured Juliet was a mystery, especially since I couldn't have pulled on the reins that hard; I would have noticed otherwise. Perhaps I had been a little heavy-handed with the reins, but not enough to cause injury. I would never do that.

"This isn't fair," I muttered.

"No, it's not, but neither is potentially harming your horse." Alec opened Juliet's door and led her into the stable where she immediately tucked into the hay.

"I didn't hurt her!"

"No, but you could have and I don't know what's worse Syb; you not seeing that you could have caused Juliet an injury, or not understanding how serious your actions were. This isn't like you, Syb, you were devastated when you thought you hurt Jigsaw and this time you could have caused harm and you don't seem to care."

I scoffed. "You don't know me! If you did, you wouldn't have lied to me."

"Lied to you? When did I lie to you?"

"Yesterday! You said you believed me about Mum and that you were going to talk to Jonathan and Barbara about it, you didn't! Instead, you're going along with them!"

Alec sighed and walked a little way away from the stables, taking a seat on the same patch of grass we had sat on only a few weeks before. It was strange how much had changed in such a short space of time. All those weeks ago, I had been happy. Dad had finally written, Alec and I were on the cusp of figuring things out between us and in just a few weeks it had all come crumbling down around me. That brief moment of happiness was gone.

I stepped towards him but didn't sit down, and he made no indication that I should. From his pocket, Alec produced an envelope and turned it over in his hands. I tapped the pocket of my slacks to make sure the telegram was still there, and I heard it rustle. That envelope could have contained anything, but I knew it wasn't another telegram since it wasn't yellow. It was a letter.

After a few seconds, I shuffled towards Alec and took a seat on the grass, more out of curiosity than anything else; I wanted to know what was in that letter. I reached into my pocket and produced the telegram which had become crinkled from the riding. Alec didn't say anything, but I could see the confusion on his face about why I had the telegram. He furrowed his eyebrows a little before glancing back to the letter in his hand.

"I saw Eva this morning," he said. "Dad sent me on an errand to the village after I'd handled the chickens. She was on her way here when I bumped into her. Eva wanted to show you a letter she got from her mum this morning because she thought it might help you to come to terms with what happened. I said I'd show you the letter."

"But you haven't. You haven't even mentioned yesterday to me. No one has."

"Because I thought you needed to come to terms with what happened yourself and not have everyone force you into believing it. I lied because I thought it would be the best thing for you, but perhaps I misjudged it."

I stared down at the telegram in my hands, rustling the paper but not opening. "What does the letter say?"

"Do you really want to know?"

I nodded. "I might as well."

Alec opened the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper. I could see Mrs Smith's handwriting staring back at me, but with so many loops and convoluted swirls, I could barely read a word of it. My reading might have been coming along a little, but I still struggled and I knew I wouldn't be able to read the letter no matter how hard I tried. I scrunched the telegram up in my hands, looking at the slight shake in my fingertips that Alec pretended not to notice.

"What does it say?"

He took a breath and then started to read.

"Dearest Eva,

I shall have to keep this brief as there is so much that needs doing. First, I want you to know that your father and I are well and unharmed; we were not in the house when the bomb hit. The house is a little worse for wear, but we shall repair once things have settled. For now, your father and I will be staying with your aunt Heather so please address all your letters there.

Please pass on our deepest condolences to Sybil, we cannot imagine how difficult this must be for her, especially with her father away. This is bound to be a difficult time for her so pass on our love and support. I know you'll be there to support her as well. We shall try to salvage anything we can from the rubble and send it if Sybil wishes to have anything.

Write soon.

All my love,

Mum xx"

With each line that Alec read, his finger traced the swirls and scrawls upon the page so I could follow along. It was something Jonathan had done with me in the past and made it a lot easier for me to follow the words written. I might not have been able to read all of them, but there were some words I recognised and some I wished I didn't.

"Can you read this one to me? Barbara and Eva just told me what it said." I handed him the telegram.

"Is that why you took it?"

"I wanted to read it myself, to know for certain. I tried to read it when I first arrived, but the words moved too much and I was scared of what it would say about Dad.

"You never thought it would be about your mum?"

"Why would I? The Great War never crossed the Channel, I didn't think this one would either."

"Are you sure you want me to read it?"

"Yes."

Alec unfolded the telegram and smoothed it out.

"Dear Miss Vaughn,

We are sorry to inform you that on the evening of September 14th, 1940 your mother, Mrs Elizabeth Vaugh, was killed in a bombing raid on the city of London.

Yours,

The Red Cross."

"That's it?" I asked.

He nodded. "That's all it says."

I stared at the sheet of paper, my eyes raking over the words to see if I could find an error, a flaw in the words, but they were too precise to be wrong. They had a date and Mum's name. I squeezed my eyes shut, the dots finally falling into place between the telegram and Mrs Steven's letter. All of it became real.

Mum was gone and she wasn't coming back.

~~~

A/N - Sorry this is a day later than usual, I forgot what the days of the week were xD Anyway, we are back and there are 2 chapters left before the end! I am thirteen chapters deep into the sequel!

Questions! Was Alec right to lie? Are you glad Sybil is coming to terms with what happened?

Comment below!

First Published - March 31st, 2022