Chapter 29: Brandon - A Single Step Forward...

Chapter 20 Deep Dive

Outline:

The doctor and midwife say Annie needs more of everything
Mistress Marsham says she will bring Annie home but Annie refuses
Rick, Annie, and Mistress Marsham get into a argument until Rodrick calms them
The fight starts again as they make a plan for her care
The rest are thrown out of the croft
Hart, Dec, and Pip decide to go to town
Thomas, Ed, and Brandon go to the woods to get their traps
They find 3 fat rabbits and return them to Mistress Marsham for a nice stew
Brandon sits with his brothers and looks at the woods with Thomas while Ed cuddles a lamb
Brandon says he'll go to the Kitters' when Thomas leaves
Thomas nods and Brandon tries to memorize the little details of Thomas and Ed
Thomas has the Sharrow reddish hair, the Hobson nose and grin - too much andles and wrists, and hint of a mustache
Ed has a nose like Brandon's - thick, wavy, dark hair - Hobson chin and he tilts his head when engrossed in something
Ed and Brandon's eyes meet and Brandon feels embrassaed
Brandon doesn't feel ready to say goodbye yet
Brandon packs Thomas' old clothes, boots, hoods
Brandon packs winter blankets, plus string, rope, a hunting knife, and hatchet
Brandon packs a healthy portion of dried mutton, Rick's wine skin, traps
Brandon ignores the thought that he will starve way before then
There is a get together for Thomas on the night before he leaves
Grandmother Sharrow brings food
Hobson uncles brought wine and ale
Hobson aunts made him a thick blanket
Sharrow aunts made him several tunics
Sharrow uncles gave him a handful of cirros
There was music and laughing and stories
Thomas and grandmother Hobson
Thomas and the puppet show and falling into poop
Thomas shared a pie with Ed and Brandon
Ed asks Thomas if he is scared and Thomas said no
Thomas is more sad
Thomas joins his brothers for a drink
Ed says it will be hard to say goodbye
Brandon agrees thats why he is leaving before dawn
Thomas says goodbye to Grandmother Sharrow
The goodbyes take a long time and Thomas tells them he will return soon
They leave
Thomas says goodbye to Annie and his brothers, who give him advise
Thomas is teary eyed when he says goodbye to Ed and sobbing when he says goodbye to Rodrick
Brandon, misty eyed, goes outside
Rick follows to check on him
Rick asks if hes packed for the Kitters
Brandon says yes and he's decided to not go with them to the abbey
Brandon waits outside the croft in the early morning with his Kitter pack
He shivers in the cold
He joins Rick to prepare the cart and load Thomas' things
Brandon asks whats wrong with Annie
Rick says he doesn't know but he got a job with Uncle Jack and can pay for her care
Rick says everything will be alright but Brandon doesn't believe it
Rodrick and Thomas come out of the croft
Rodrick says goodbye to Brandon, tells Thomas he's proud of him, and tells Rick to come back home soon
Rodrick goes back to the croft to care for Annie
Rick says its time to go
Brandon says he'll walk home to the Kitters
Thomas and Brandon say goobye and Rick says he'll stop by to say hi
Brandon wishes he could say goodbye to Rick
Thomas tells Brandon to keep the peace
Brandon worries they can tell how nervous he is
THey say bye and Brandon waits until he can no longer see them
He runs back up the fields to his hidden packs and goes into the woods
He finds a squirrel in the trap, packs it for for food and takes apart the trap to bring with him
He goes deeper into the woods than he has ever been