Indigo Excerpt: Esther Meets Jesse
The next day I was eating breakfast when a tall, rather
disheveled dark-haired man barged into the dining room, just like that. There
was something in his eyes that looked desperate and dangerous and made me nervous.
If Daniel hadn’t been there I think I might have run, especially since as soon
as the newcomer caught sight of me he stared in the most peculiar way. But then
Daniel got up and embraced him, and I knew that somehow it must be all right. I
still felt nervous though because as he held Daniel the visitor was still
looking at me over his shoulder.
“Jesse!” Daniel said as he clapped the big man on the
back.
“Daniel!” the man returned with a hug and a smile. They
were obviously keen to see each other.
Surely this wasn’t one of my fiancé’s lovers. He was
handsome enough, that was for sure, but I knew that Daniel was trying to hide
his proclivities, and this was hardly the way to go about that.
“Esther, my betrothed,” Daniel beamed. “Meet my brother,
Dr. Jesse Peacock, fresh from England.” He sniffed and made a face. “Perhaps
not so fresh after all.”
That explained that. Of course. Now I could see the
resemblance, and I could also see that Jesse was extraordinarily good looking,
much more so than Daniel. Both brothers had beautifully sculpted jaws, Roman
noses, and thick, flowing eyebrows, but where Daniel was all gold and light,
Jesse was dark and mysterious, with light olive skin that gave him a distinctly
Spanish appearance. His eyes were as black as Pixy’s skin, while Daniel’s were
a light shade of brown that was more like tortoise shell. Jesse was taller
too—maybe six three or four to Daniel’s six foot one or two. I knew from what
Daniel had told me that Jesse was the youngest of the four Peacock siblings and
was about my age, twenty-seven. That he had made it all the way from England
exactly in time for our wedding was nothing less than astonishing. Obviously he
had left before Daniel and I had even met. Other than that I knew absolutely
nothing about him. For all I knew he was as uncouth as Daniel.
Jesse took my hand and kissed it, but I could see the
surprise in his eyes. “My brother has good taste,” he said diplomatically. He
was still staring at me though, and I was beginning to feel nervous.
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