Babysitter’s Club Noelle Read online

The little cottage that had housed the caretaker and his family since the plantation had been built. The one whose ruins were still there to this day.

  I’d heard tinkling laughter coming from the brush beyond the huge magnolia tree. The sound was so free, so lacking of any worry or care. Like the laughter of a small child who had yet to taste of the bitterness of life.

  Something in her cheerful laughter had touched something inside me that bright summer day and I’d whipped around in the saddle looking for the source.

  It wasn’t long before her bright head broke through the brush, captivating me. I’d never seen hair that red before. Like a fine claret touched by candlelight

  She’d been chasing a puppy. Her fire red hair wild down her back, the dress she wore a patchwork of hand me downs. But even that couldn’t distract from her natural beauty.

  My body had reacted strongly, even before I saw her face or much of her form beneath the loose fitting garment.

  Instead I’d been struck by the beauty of the sunlight dancing off her fat curls that were held back with a faded blue ribbon.

  But it’s when she noticed my presence and stopped, looking up at me, that my world turned upside down. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

  Her eyes were a clear sparkling blue, like rare precious gems. Her lips were well shaped, like a bow, and the softest of pinks.

  And her skin, in the oppressive summer heat, had been tinged to a honey gold. It only made the brightness of her eyes stand out more and showed off greatly, her Catalan heritage

  In all my travels I’d not seen anyone as astoundingly beautiful and never have since. Her shyness only intrigued me more as she tried to hide from my stare.

  “Who are you sir?” She looked down at the ground with her hands clasped as the pup frolicked at her feet playfully. Her voice sent shivers down my spine.

  So refined for one of her standing. But more than that, there was a singsong aspect added to the local accent that made one think of exotic things.

  “I should be the one asking that question seeing as this is my land.” Her head came up then and she looked at me before looking quickly away again. “I’m Noelle, you must be Master Callan come back from Europe.”

  I dismounted and grabbed the reins as I walked towards her. Now she watched me like I was an enigma and I could well imagine the thoughts in her head.

  As the daughter of a less than prosperous family, tales of my travels must be fascinating. I knew I was right when even her natural shyness couldn’t hold back the questions.

  She’d questioned while I looked my fill. There wasn’t a blemish anywhere on the young girl that I could see, and even her manner was pleasant.

  There was none of the artifice so easily found in the young women of my station. No one had trained her to be a coquette in order to catch the eye of a man, or more to the point, a rich husband.

  So she was freer than most, more relaxed and open. And I was all the more intrigued. Some of the lingering sadness I’d been carrying after my father’s passing had lifted in her presence there beneath that tree.

  I’d found it hard to leave her that first day after satisfying her curiosity. And by the time I left, I’d made myself a promise to one day make it possible for the young girl to see some of the places I’d visited in my travels.

  It wasn’t an easy promise to make, and not something I would’ve done had it been anyone else. But I liked the way her eyes lit up with pleasure at my stories. The questions she asked showed that there was genuine interest there.

  There was already talk of my younger sister travelling later in the year, and my thinking was that this Noelle would make a perfect companion.

  She was bright and lively and though she came from a lower class family, she wasn’t too low born to be a companion to the little miss. And even if she was, as the head of the family if I say it’s okay no one would dare gainsay me.

  That had been my first thought, but it wasn’t long, after days spent searching her out for one of our long talks that I started imagining being the one by her side on those trips.

  It was weeks later that I noticed her interest. The way her sun kissed skin would blush whenever I found her. The way she always seemed to be waiting for me under the shade of the magnolia tree whenever I happened by.

  Her questions had grown less and less as the days went by and it became more like a courtship between a man and his woman before long.

  I never went to her without some small token in hand, but she liked most of all, the large blooms from our favorite tree, tied with a ribbon that matched the color of her eyes.

  No jewel could ever make her eyes light up the same and her joy in such simplicity only endeared her to me more. It wasn’t long before she was mounted up in front of me on my steed as I made my rounds.

  I was always careful not to make a spectacle of her, though no one would’ve bat a lash at my interest in her because of our stations in life.

  Still, I didn’t want wagging tongues to even form her name. We spent days together. Long warm days down by the water that ran behind my home. That was her other favorite place.

  Sometimes on a lazy Saturday afternoon I’d take her out on the little rowboat to our little private inlet away from prying eyes. It was there I first kissed her.

  After weeks in her presence I couldn’t restrain myself any longer. My heart melted when she returned my embrace and after that day, not one went by that I didn’t taste from her lips.

  We were like two carefree spirits flitting around from place to place, lost in each other. We carved our names in the old tree by her house. A sort of christening since we’d shared our first kiss in her other favorite place.

  It was there under that tree, under cover of night, that I first took her. I’d spent that Sunday with family and friends, missing her every minute because she wasn’t allowed to be there.

  After our guests had left I’d saddled up my horse and made my way to the old cottage, and using our private call, the call of the mockingbird, had drawn her out of her home.

  My need that night had been too strong to resist and our usual passionate kisses had led to me taking her down to the blanket I’d spread there while I waited for her.

  My intentions had been pure. We’d spent many hours there together after all, without sharing anything more than a few kisses.

  But that night, maybe because I’d missed her all afternoon, maybe because it was time. The rain had started and I drew her close for warmth.

  The feel of her soft breasts pressed into me as I held her in my arms, our lips locked together, had been enough to have me turning her to her back and giving my hand free rein beneath the skirt of her old dress.

  She didn’t stop me, though it was obvious she was afraid. “I won’t hurt you. It’s the most natural act between a man and woman, there’s nothing to fear.”

  Even though her hands clutched at me, I knew that my words hadn’t quite quelled her fear. And my own fear was that I would indeed hurt her with my need.

  I’d fought my natural instinct to take and take and instead had used my mouth and fingers to bring her to life. The softness of her flesh, the sweet scent between her thighs, it was all too much.

  And when I slipped into her, going as slow as her virgin body required, I’d covered her lips with mine to hide her screams of pain.

  “It’s okay now, you’re fine.” I brushed the hair back from her face and placed gentle kisses along her cheeks until she settled beneath me.

  She’d scored my back with her nails as her pleasure awakened for the first time as I whispered words of praise and admiration in her ear.

  I’d given her my seed that first night and all the times after without a thought. After that night we spent part of each day together, and always we ended up locked together.

  We spent hours down by the water in our little cove, loving away the warm summer days until it was time to take her home. We became inseparable. So it was no surprise when she ripened with child.


  Callan

  It was no secret to those closest to me that our relationship had changed, even though no one else was any the wiser. The old house slave who’d raised me at her breasts was the most watchful of all.

  It was she who told me of my father’s plans for my marriage, something no one else had bothered to share with me. Not even my mother who knew but had not approved of the match.

  I’d been sitting in the kitchen when my world was once again rocked on its axis. Ella had always been my confidante, the one person I could turn to with my troubles.

  I’d told her about Noelle’s pregnancy and my plans to marry her. I knew it would cause a stir and had been seeking advice. It was then she told me of my father’s plans.

  He’d gone into partnership with an old friend, and to solidify their business dealings, they’d betrothed their son and daughter to each other. I guess my father had been waiting to share the news on my return.

  When I searched out my mother in anger to ask why she never told me this, she informed me that she was against the match and had been trying to think of ways to break it. As a woman that wasn’t easy to do.

  I’d told her in my rage about Noelle and the child she was carrying. I too sought ways of breaking the engagement, but in the end, there was no hope for it. In order to preserve my father’s good name, I had to go through with the marriage.

  I was devastated, and so was little Noelle who was afraid unto death. A young unmarried woman would face more than ridicule in these parts.

  She’d cried enough to break my heart, which only made me hate my as yet unseen bride to be even more. That didn’t change when I met Judy in the flesh.

  She was an abrasive spoilt bitch who made my skin crawl. Unlike my love, she was vain and cared only for the finer things that money could buy.

  No matter how I felt though, the marriage went on as planned, only a few short months after I first took Noelle. My hate was such I had to be forced to bed her.

  And it was only Ella’s machinations that made that possible, when she fed me the aphrodisiac in my wine on my wedding night.

  I’d forbidden her to ever do such a thing again and it was the only time I ever shared a bed with my ‘wife’. Thankfully the lady of the house had her own rooms and I didn’t have to suffer her presence.

  She didn’t seem to mind my inattentions either, she was more interested in the wealth attached to my name, more so than the man.

  It pained me to do so, but I could treat my Noelle as little more than my mistress. Because of her small stature, her pregnancy didn’t show for quite some time.

  And to make matters worse, Judy came up pregnant from our one night together. As much as I resented her I couldn’t hate my own child, so I showed her every courtesy during her confinement.

  The women were only two months apart in their pregnancies and I knew that Noelle was going to start showing before long.

  To protect her I moved her into my home. I never did give an explanation, but everyone just automatically thought she was there for Judy.

  It was my sister Priscilla who suspected the truth and put everyone’s minds at ease by claiming Noelle as her companion.

  We had to think fast before her pregnancy became obvious and it was agreed that she would go away for a while only to return with a story of marriage and widowhood.

  It was the hardest few months of my life, being away from her. But no one seemed to suspect, least of all Judy who was only too happy to see the young beauty disappear.

  My mother, my sister, and Ella were the only ones who knew the truth, not even her own parents knew. They accepted that my mother had found a good match for their daughter who wouldn’t have done better on her own. And by the time she was back by my side there was no longer any fear of being found out.

  With the story of her widowhood widespread and accepted by all, we relaxed and went back to the way things were.

  Her room, which was separated from mine only by the nursery is where I spent my nights. Long nights spent playing with her growing stomach as the child rolled and played around in there.

  Hot nights spent buried deep inside her while the house around us slept. I did everything in my power to make up for what I’d done to her. For the fact that she could never walk openly by my side as mine.

  She never complained, never blamed me. And somehow that made it worst. So while she carried my child I spoiled her as much as I could.

  Judy had made our affair very easy. She’d stayed confined to her rooms throughout her pregnancy and I was only taxed with seeing her in the mornings and once again at night before she turned in, both for brief moments at a time.

  Our conversations were always centered around the child, since by then it was obvious I had no love for her.

  She did ask a lot about Noelle’s presence and had even made a few disparaging remarks which I rebuffed instantly.

  I knew her anger stemmed from the fact that Noelle’s beauty was remarked upon by everyone who came to the house. It’s a wonder she hadn’t wanted to get rid of my own sister who herself was also a beauty.

  There was even a time or two when she tried mistreating Noelle by having her do demeaning tasks, but Priscilla had told her in no uncertain terms once it came to light that her companion was off limits to her.

  She’d not been too pleased, believing that as my wife, the lady of the house her words should be obeyed by all. I’d soon disavowed her of that notion.

  Things calmed down for a while as the two women grew more cumbersome. The servants had tended to Judy while Ella, myself, mom and Priscilla had done everything to make Noelle’s confinement bearable.

  And then the time for the birthing came. Noelle had a hard time and I thought for sure that night that I would lose her. But my strong brave girl had pulled through and in the end had given me two healthy sons.

  And that’s where the trouble began. It didn’t take long for the whispers to start. The identical boys looked exactly like their father.

  I knew it wouldn’t be long before word reached Judy, but shut away as she was, I was able to keep her in the dark.

  Until she went into labor a month and a half later and my daughter was born. Once she was able to move around below stairs it wasn’t hard for her to hear the whispers.

  It all came to a head one night when she got her first look at the twins. It was obvious to all that they were mine, and all within hearing heard the argument that ensued.

  She wanted Noelle out of the house, and this is where I blame myself for everything that came after. My own guilt over the way things had turned out, the way I’d had to treat my one true love, led me to lash out.

  Whatever my feelings for Judy, I shouldn’t have said the things I had that night. In my anger I let slip that Noelle was the only woman I loved and ever will.

  I refused to cast her and my children out of my home and went so far as to say that now the truth was known I would no longer keep her a secret.

  I spewed my resentment against the forced marriage all over her with no care for what the harsh words might unleash.

  It was wrong, I know that now. But the damage had already been done. In her anger and hate Judy concocted a scheme that would set us on a collision course with destiny.

  It was a few weeks later when Noelle’s mother fell ill of some unknown illness and she went to look after her mother, leaving my sons here to be looked after by the servants.

  In the weeks after the argument, the house was like an enemy camp and I’d spent most of my time protecting Noelle from Judy’s wrath.

  I didn’t worry about my sons since Ella and mom were their guardians, never letting anyone but the most trusted servants near them.

  But Noelle was like a sitting duck for Judy whose anger only seemed to grow worse each day. I promised to protect her always, but that night I was no match for the evil that unfolded.

  While we slept, someone set fire to the nursery, and while all were engrossed with putting out the fire here, a fire h
ad broken out at the caretaker’s cottage.

  In the end little Isabelle had perished while her brothers, who had been taken by Ella to her quarters that night because they refused to stop crying for their mother, were safe.

  Noelle and her family hadn’t been that lucky. It was found that the doors had been barred shut before the blaze started. It was no mystery who had been the one behind it.

  Judy in the grip of her madness after learning that it was her own child that had perished, had cursed all involved. And that is how it came to be, that every generation from then to now, we return to relive the same sad fate.

  Back then I’d locked her away in a room with only one maid to serve her and never saw her face again. She’d died a year later from consumption, or so the story goes.

  I’d gone on to raise my sons into fine men, but my heart had never lived again. I’d spent every day missing my lover, reliving our moments spent together.

  From our first reincarnation, things had always gone pretty much the same. Some way or another Judy has always murdered Noelle and Isabelle and though I knew what was to come, I was never able to prevent it from happening. Until now!

  Callan

  “You said you tempted fate this time, what did you mean?” I gazed up at the ceiling as I got my thoughts together.

  This was as much for me as it was her. I didn’t want to endure another lifetime without her growing old by my side.

  “You know in the past we always found each other first. More to the point, I always sought you out first. Those first few times it was hell not to once I awakened and realized who I was and why I was here.”

  “And as you know, we always share the same fate time and again. It used to be that we were thankful for the time spent together and we even got to the point where we would make the most of it, knowing what was to come.”

  “This time though, I decided to seek her out first. She fought it like hell but since she didn’t know where you were and couldn’t drag you in, she had no choice but to go along with the course I’d set.”