Bought to be a Tutor?

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next morning Chelsea left (albeit reluctantly) and everyone quickly settled into a routine within the house.

The days progressed smoothly. Each morning Lia would have breakfast with J and then go to the gardens with Michael. They would walk around a different section and he would describe each type of plant from the common name, the scientific name, and its region of origin. She would tell him anything he didn’t know and began to teach him the herbal benefits of each one. After their morning walk, she would instruct him how to make a simple lunch and they would eat together. From there they would go to Michael’s study and work on mathematics. Starting simply Lia would help him memorize the timetable and practice some basic formulas. Then they would progress to science. They memorized every detail of the table of elements and read textbooks. After that was an hour of foreign language, currently French. During the last hour or so of the day, Michael would read a book from the library to Lia and at the end of each week, he would summarize whatever book he had read the night before and answer questions on it. 

This was Lia’s favorite part of his lessons and to be completely honest, it was more for her than it was for him. Michael got to pick his own book, but she quickly discovered that not only did the library have an extremely wide selection, but Michael’s interests were wonderfully eclectic. The practice in public speaking and the information he got from the books would truly be very valuable to Michael, but it was such bliss for Lia to be able to hear such varying books every day. Books on everything she could have ever imagined. Michael enjoyed history, romance novels, mysteries. Every once in a while he would choose to read a book that he knew the school would require him to read later on. 

Lia found the discussions they had on such books to be the most valuable, and she believed Michael did too. He was often confused about concepts or simply thought the book was stupid. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for example left Michael quite perplexed. He couldn’t understand how an entire town could act in such a way, but Lia did. She knew firsthand how nearly an entire population could turn against someone they knew and loved, much less a type of person they were predisposed to hate. She had lengthy conversations about mob mentality, fear of the unknown, fear of change, intrinsic and unconscious biases, and superiority complexes. Anytime he had a question she would carefully answer so he could understand. Sometimes they would end up in heated debates (which she always won) and had to be stopped by J when he finally came to get them for dinner. 

By the time they finished, it was unusually around 6 pm. They would have dinner with J and Michael would give him a summary of anything he learned or anything that seemed easier than the day before. Every Wednesday and Saturday Chelsea was permitted to visit for one hour after dinner and the pair would catch up on the time they were missing. They missed each other dearly and cried nearly every time they saw each other, but as time passed the tears lessened. 

Lia began to make note of several observations. Michael always seemed more animated when it was just him and Lia than he did when J was around. J was always friendly at mealtimes and in passing midday, but any time Lia encountered him in the evenings he was strangely cold. I was like a switch flipped and he was someone else entirely. Breakfast was always quiet with just the two of them, but J was always quite animated and ready to discuss Michael’s schooling at dinner. 

The manner in which these men lived never ceased to perplex Lia. They seemed so close and yet they hardly spoke to each other, The only topic they ever seemed to discuss is Michael’s schooling. Each day had Lia more and more perplexed. 

Meanwhile, each day had J more and more enthralled. He found himself less able to focus on his work and unknowingly waiting for her. He waited for the meals they shared, for when they passed him in the corridor or entry room, for when he could sneak away and watch their lessons. He loved the way she glowed when she listened to Michael read chapter after chapter about anything. It seemed to him that she couldn’t care less what the book was about so long as she could listen to him read, and yet she never missed a beat. She never failed to correct a mispronunciation or clear up a point he got confused on. 

She was just as clever when it came to his other classes, She knew every detail of chemistry and mathematics. She easily answered every question that he came up with despite the fact that she couldn’t see any of the formulas or words on the paper. 

What shocked J the most was her proficiency in French. She spoke the language fluently with near-perfect pronunciation. He could listen to her teach french all day. Rather, he could if time would allow it. He couldn’t help but wonder if Lia spoke any other languages if she had any other hidden talents, but he could never bring himself to ask about such things. 

“Just talk to her.” 

“What?” J asked, coming out of his daze. He stopped reading (really he stopped pretending to read) and closed his book on his lap. “What are you talking about Michael?”

It was a rare weekend for them. Rather than studying botany, J had instructed everyone to take the morning easy. Somehow they still ended up in the garden, but this time he had joined them with a book, and Lia and Michael were simply sitting and enjoying the gardens. 

“It’s obvious you want to get to know her. Just talk to her. Ask her something, whatever. Just stop sitting here and staring at her. I have to tell you, it’s super creepy bro.”

“I’m not staring so it can’t be creepy. Mind your own business.” J scolded… before immediately getting up and walking over to Lia. Michael shook his head a closed his eyes to listen to the birds and feel the sun on his face.

J cleared his throat. “Hello, Lia.” She stiffened. 

“What can I do for you J?”

“I - um - how are the lessons going?”  

“The lessons are going well. He is a bright boy and picks up on things rather easily. He is becoming more and more eloquent every day and rapidly learns the sciences. MAthematics does progress a bit slower but once we have fully memorized the timetable he will begin to progress rapidly.”

“Good, good.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. 

After a long pause, she decided to a question that had been haunting her since she first explored the gardens with Michael. “He said…. Michael said that you had been to the Crestia Palace. Is that true?”

He smiled fondly at the memory. “Yes. It was gorgeous. The halls seemed like they sparkled with all of the jewels laid on the walls. Everything resembled either flowers or music. You could tell that the people who designed it had a great appreciation for the arts. There was a pool of water that people could swim in and there were torches all around giving the water the most majestic glow you could ever imagine. One room even had a glass ceiling! There were seats that leaned back so that on a clear night you could see the stars. The best part by far though was the Garden! It held every flower you could ever imagine!”

“Not every flower.” She said it so quietly he could barely hear it. Her voice was so soft, almost strained. The strength and determination she usually spoke with seemed to have been long gone. “There are no forget-me-nots in that garden.” 

He saw a lone tear slip out of her eye and could not speak for the shock he felt. By the time he had managed to collect himself, the stone wall that surrounded her heart was shaken, but in place. He could not think of anything to say, so for quite some time, they simply sat, him enjoying the sunset, and her simply enjoying the soft breeze.

As it got dark, neither of them really wanted to move, but it was growing cold. “Did you ever meet anyone in the royal family?” 

Her question surprised him, but on some level, he thought it shouldn’t. “Yes, i have. In fact, when I was very little I once met the crown princess.” 

Her eyes went wide. “You can not be serious!”

He chuckled. “I’m very serious. She was so little at the time. Maybe six years old. She stood no taller than a doll and had the most majestic black hair I had ever seen. I remember she was with another child and they were both smiling brilliantly, it was clear she didn’t have a care in the world. The beauty of the entire castle seemed to dim just so she could shine brighter, especially when she smiled.” He reminisced.

She blushed at his words. They had met? Would she have remembered if she could see him? It was after Chelsea had come to her so it must have been closer to when she was seven. Would he eventually recognize her? The way he spoke about her, he sounded as if he were in awe of her. Did she really use to smile like that? She couldn’t even remember anymore.

“The way you talk about her, one might think you were in love.” She teased or at least tried to. 

He laughed heartily. “Oh, I was much too young to even think of such a thing as love. I just knew I had never seen anyone or anything as beautiful as the princess… except maybe the gardens. If I met her today though, who knows. I may fall in love with her at first sight.” He said it so easily, and yet her heart felt as though it would jump out of her chest.