I Remember Nothing, But I Have Four Husbands

As the sun rose, the yard around the house got warmer and more comfortable, making embroidering even more pleasant since the task required for the person to remain focused for as long as the person could. That meant that if it was too hot or too cold, Isabelle would have to stop often enough, hindering her work, because she minded the weather too much.

The only moment she took to rest was in the in-between finishing one handkerchief and starting the other as she had to pick other materials; another piece of cloth and another thread.

While she worked, busy footsteps sounded around; those from Joseph who was in the process of planting the herbs. At some point, Isabelle heard the sound of wood being chopped nearby, but she still kept embroidering. Never once stopping her hand.

She finally took a small break once she embroidered three handkerchiefs in one go, and looked around the place. Mrs. Rabbit was chewing on her food and had a bowl of fresh water, too. Joseph and Felix were returning from outside, carrying, or more like dragging, the trunk of a big tree.

Isabelle was curious about the big trunk, but knowing she was pressed of time, she resumed her work. Her stitches were once again accompanied by the sound of chopping, and the morning passed like that; one woman artfully embroidering under the eaves of the house and two men doing physical work in the courtyard.

By the time she embroidered five more handkerchiefs, noon had arrived. So, she was told to take a lunch break by Joseph. "Time to eat. Put yer things aside."

"But I still need to…" Isabelle started protesting, only to be cut off by his sharp gaze.

"Working's important, but you can't stop eatin' because of it. Yer still healin', too, so you need to eat well; or as well as possible." Properly chastised, she started putting her tools aside. "And, who was the one that said we've to eat three meals no matter how small?" He teased, trying to dispel the serious atmosphere that had formed.

Isabelle smiled, accepting his olive branch. Joseph truly did not look the type to go around scolding others despite his looks… well, except for Felix. 

And talking about the teen… "Where is Felix?" She asked as Joseph put the heated 'croquettes' before her. It was the only food available, anyways.

"He helped me with somethin' for the herbs, so he's a bit behind waterin' the patch. He took his lunch with 'im, so he'll come later ta take a nap." He replied, biting onto his food with relish and efficiency.

"Are you done with the planting?" Isabelle curiously inquired as she also did a quick job with her food since she needed to take advantage of the sunlight. She stopped chewing, realizing she was having a conversation while eating. She could also do it!

"Not yet." He said as he bit into his last croquette and gulped down a bowl of water. "I'm preparin' somethin' different for the herbs 'cause they need special care. The plan had been to plant 'em in the flower bed, but I thought it'd be a waste. The flower bed's my gift to ya. Consider it a wedding gift." He handsomely winked at her.

His words were too sudden, rendering Isabelle unable to react for a moment. But then she widely smiled, showing how happy his words made her.

"Then, I should prepare a gift, too. One for each of you." She said, still relishing in the fact that she could finally eat and talk at the same time. It had taken some time and observing skills on how to do it by watching the brothers. So, she went from remaining completely silent at meals, to leaving her food aside to speak and finally to be able to hold a conversation while eating. Though, of course, she swallowed before opening her mouth to speak.

Anyway, the idea of buying things for them also made her giddy, and she even started thinking of asking Jean what she should get for her Husbands.

Calling them Husbands so soon makes my heart beat really fast!

Either that, or it was her reaction to Joseph gently grabbing her chin and looking at her with a scorching gaze.

"No need. You're our gift."

My, the hooligan can also say something so romantic!

To top the moment off, he captured her lips as if sealing a deal. The day before, he mentioned Isabelle had to look for him if she wanted a kiss that would leave her drooling. At night, she had had a small taste of what he meant, but it was at that moment that she understood the scope of his abilities with his mouth.

Although Lucas was rapidly learning from her, he was still inexperienced as he never had any encounter with a woman before. Ethan was a good kisser, willing to create a pace or follow hers; he was very flexible in that aspect. There was nothing to say about Felix. Isabelle even thought he had not interacted with any women romantically or sexually before her.

For that matter, Isabelle was the very first woman he had showed interest in.

But Joseph… Isabelle refused to ponder why he was so good with his mouth. She was just happy knowing that she could reap the results of everything he had gone through. The shape of his lips was neither full nor thin, it was rather normal, but boy he could use that mouth very well!

He started with small inviting pecks, as if teasing and luring her to him. Once Isabelle was baited and put more pressure into the kiss, he followed with a sensual massage of their lips while his hands cupped her face and his fingertips gently rubbed the scalp from the back of her head. It was the same massage that tore a moan from her before, and it was no different this time.

He gave her a moment to breath since the kiss extended for a while before he continued expertly pressing his lips with hers, this time with more vigour; even beginning to tease with his tongue.

Opening her mouth to allow his tongue in, Isabelle noticed he was the type of kisser that could make her think she had the control when it was actually him coaxing her to his whims. He was not overbearing with his tongue, slithering it in and out, but it was enough to make hers follow it only for him to capture her tongue with his lips and suck it.

At that point, one of his hands had positioned itself on the back of her neck, and the other slowly but surely directed her towards his lap.

A second after Isabelle got comfortable on his lap, his mouth surged like a hungry beast. He rubbed and licked and sucked not giving her the chance to react, though he still gave her intermittent respites so she could properly breathe. Though, she was more like a gaping fish out of the water in those moments.

Everything he did before in a gentle and unhurried way, became a faster and stronger maelstrom of sensations she was quickly losing herself in. Isabelle did one last attempt to try to follow him, but that just made him put even more effort into the kiss.

Her body had already melted between his mouth and his touch, leaving her to helplessly cling onto him as her mouth let out amorous sounds. And just when Isabelle thought the kiss would escalate to the next step, he slowed down his pace until he was pecking the corner of her mouth, her cheeks and even her neck.

His fluttering kisses returned some lucidity to Isabelle, but she still felt reluctant to part from the sensations. Her dithering mind finally focused on him when his fingers combed the locks of hair that had strayed from her braid, to then brush the corner of her lips as if cleaning something.

It took her a few seconds to realize what he was cleaning and she deeply blushed.

"Now I can happily go back to work." Joseph huskily said as he easily lifted her and put her down on the stool. Seeing his back as he walked away, Isabelle could not help but agree with him; she also felt a bit more energized and motivated after that kiss.

When she finished her third handkerchief after lunch, Felix finally returned. He had a few words with Joseph and then walked into the house to have that much needed nap. He looked a bit haggard from the beating sun and the constant strength he had exerted to carry bucket after bucket of water for hours. With how weak his constitution was, it was a miracle he had not fainted.

Joseph did feel a bit bad to leave such a strenuous work to his younger brother, yet it was either that or chop and carve a big trunk. Even the teen admitted that he did not have the strength necessary to chop a trunk, so he chose to water the patch. He knew it would take him a while, yet he had no idea it would take that long.

Their patch of land was small compared to what other villagers had, but to Felix, it was the same as if he had watered acres upon acres of land. His whole body felt like melted butter and he all but threw himself onto the bed.

A strong breeze swayed the trees. Joseph looked up at the mountains and hoped there were no Spring showers up there. Lucas could take care of himself, yet mountains sometimes became treacherous during and after raining.

Luckily, the afternoon passed with no signs of water.

By the time Ethan came back from work, Isabelle had embroidered four more handkerchiefs. By then, the light of the afternoon was getting dimmer and dimmer before giving way to sunset. Her eyes were already tired as she basically spent the whole day focusing on the stitches. Finishing the handkerchief she was working on, a hand gently landed on her shoulder.

Her shoulders that started aching after loosening them and changing positions from her hunched one to a straighter one. Well, her whole body ached.

"Take a rest. Dinner'll be ready soon, it's better if you eat." Ethan said as he smiled.

This time, Isabelle did not protest as the one protesting against her was her rumbling stomach. Although embroidering did not look like a heavy task, it mentally tired a person who remained focused and kept the same position for a long time. The physical and mental strain was felt when one took a rest or stopped doing the action.

For dinner, they had fish soup again. Felix very sensibly caught a few fish after his nap, seeing there were not many ingredients left to eat. And considering the soup would not fill them up, he also made something with the meat. Learning a bit from what Isabelle cooked on breakfast, he shredded the fish meat and sautéed it with cabbage and herbs.

The lack of vegetables sent the brothers into a gloomy mood that Isabelle did not notice - with how tired she was - until she was done eating. "It was not that bad." She consoled Felix, thinking he was downtrodden because it did not taste good. "It could have been worse; like, just eating cabbage soup." She joked.

"We've had that before." Ethan breezily commented.

Isabelle paused and then widened her eyes in surprise and guilt. She did not mean to say that cabbage soup was bad food, it was food after all. But, considering the brothers' previous conditions, perhaps she said something taboo for them and reminded the four of a dark past they did not want to remember.

"Just jokin'. We did have that before, but 'twas ok. We used ta skip meals very often, so this dinner's very luxurious for us. With you here, we're changing. Come on, let's prepare your bath; it'll relax you from your day of hard work." Ethan chuckled, dispelling the awkward mood that she had one-sidedly created.