Page 6 of Only in Moonlight
She clutched it to her chest, looking outraged.
Chuckling, I led her to a soft patch of grass on the side of the road. A stream gurgled somewhere ahead of us, and the trees rustled in a light breeze. My mother slowly ate the tart, savoring each bite and closing her eyes as she chewed.
“How is it?” I asked.
“Incredible. God and Goddess, part of me hoped it would taste terrible so that baker would go out of business.”
“I guess basic human decency isn’t part of the recipe.”
She smiled, and we enjoyed the afternoon in silence for a while.
“Emmeline…” she said seriously. “We’re supposed to be making a fresh start here. With honest work.”
“If you want a true fresh start, let me go to the viscount’s manor house. I’ll steal his fortune, and we can move south.” I scooted closer to her across the grass and took her hands inmine. “I’ll buy you a cottage. One with vineyards. We’ll hire other people to do the work, and you can rest for once in your life.”
She pulled her hands away. “It’s too dangerous, my darling. What if something goes wrong?”
“I’ll plan it out so nothing can go wrong. If I can steal from the Moonlit Court, I can steal from some crusty old viscount. We barely have enough to eat, Maman.”
She smiled sadly. “I’d rather eat bugs and weeds for the rest of my life than lose you.”
I opened my mouth but found myself too choked up to speak.
My mother sighed. “If we’re still struggling in another month, I’ll find another brothel—”
“No.” I regained my voice. “We agreed you wouldn’t do that anymore.”
“We agreed you wouldn’t steal anymore either.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Because I can make us rich! You can barely make us anything. They’ll only pay a few coins for you.”
She winced, and my hand clamped over my mouth, but it was too late.
“Shit, I— I’m sorry, Maman. That came out wrong. I didn’t mean—”
“It’s all right,” she said wearily.
I hadn’t meant it like that. Those pigs at the brothel didn’t know her worth, butIdid. I’d just wanted to convince her that my way was better.
We sat there, my utter assholery weighing on the silence until I couldn’t bear the shame any longer.
“I’m going to catch a fish.” I shot to my feet, seizing the net I’d stolen. “We need meat, right? I’ll be right back. You… just rest here.”
And I ran off like a coward.
My feet barely touched the moss-covered ground as I fled, sunlight filtering through the canopy overhead in broken shafts that dappled the forest floor. My heart thudded as if I’d run a mile, and my face felt feverishly hot.
“You dung-brained ninnyhammer,” I muttered to myself.
I’d made my mother feel worthless. She’d only gone to work at the brothel because she had a daughter to feed, and I’d thrown her sacrifice in her face like a damned ingrate.
Apologize again when you come back, I told myself.With fish. Bring her lots of fish.
I emerged from the trees, squinting in the sudden sunlight. The stream lay downhill ahead of me, cascading around rocks and fallen logs. In the distance, I heard a low rumble of a waterfall but didn’t venture off to find it. I’d gotten far enough from the road already, and getting lost would make a terrible day even worse.
