The Twelve Tables Ch. 08

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The farm and meeting Papa.
12.8k words
4.79
41.8k
30

Part 8 of the 30 part series

Updated 06/07/2023
Created 01/18/2013
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xelliebabex
xelliebabex
5,506 Followers

Authors Note: Thank you to everyone left comments or sent me feedback about the resumption of the story. I appreciate it all greatly. I am incredibly grateful to my new proof reader blunajana who offered to help me and has done an amazing job. I hope you enjoy this chapter. ~ellie

*****

Charles and Josh had taken Nik home to the farm the following day. By the evening, she had become ill and it was obvious she was suffering from substance withdrawal. It had taken a further two days for her to recover enough to understand the seriousness of her situation. Her excuses initially sounded reasonable but as evidence of her misdeeds and extravagant lifestyle were uncovered by family investigations in the city; her parents no longer listened to her accusations of how she had been mistreated by her brothers, particularly Josh.

Drugs, violence and standover tactics reminiscent of all that they stood against throughout history had pushed Joseph to threaten to disown her and call the authorities. At the urgings of his wife, he had relented and arranged a place for her in a secure rehabilitation center. It would be some time before she would be welcome back into the family and he was clear about that fact as she prepared to leave the farm.

"Please Mama, don't let them do this to me, I love you so much, I'm a good girl you know I am. I just need another chance to live my life the way you wanted," she pleaded seeing her mother's tears. "I could stay here on the farm where you could look after me properly, don't let him send away like this."

"Joseph, are you sure this is necessary?" Antonia asked softly.

"She is fooling you again," he replied not having taken his eyes from his daughter who had grinned slyly as Antonia turned to her husband. "She takes all and gives nothing back not even contrition." He looked at Nik sadly, "You have shamed your family and taken no responsibility for your actions." Joseph said. "Your brother has accepted the responsibility for his actions and you would let him take responsibility for yours as well."

"I've done nothing wrong, Papa!" Nik yelled in frustration.

"That is why you must go," he said softly reaching out to touch his daughter's cheek in a rare show of affection. "You don't understand how very wrong you have been." He kissed her forehead and nodded at the men standing on either side of her. "Be well, Veronica," he whispered and watched as she was manhandled onto the light plane screaming obscenities at everyone around her. Then he took his wife's arm and led her inside their home.

"Poor Joshua, he had no idea," Antonia sobbed. "How long will he punish himself?" she wondered out loud.

Josh had been beside himself as each new revelation about Nik's life came out in the days following their arrival at the farm. He had stayed through all of it despite his father understanding that his role in Nik's demise was not intentional. Joseph had called her a master manipulator and accepted some of the blame for her current situation, as all his sons did now. It was different for Josh, though, being her twin and having what he thought was a close bond with her.

He had watched her leave from the windows at the front of the house. He couldn't bear to look her in the eyes as she was taken away. His concern now what that she would one day be allowed to return. His mind wandered back over all of the revelations that had come out since their arrival here.

The slave girl who served as Nik's housekeeper had been found beaten and miserable in a tiny room within her apartment. Grateful for her rescue she had told all of Nik's secrets and had been brought to the farm to heal and confront her Mistress. She told of lavish weekly parties that degenerated into drug and alcohol fuelled orgies. She spoke of her obsession with Josh and her rage over his new girlfriend. Mostly she recounted the incidents of Nik's violent temper when something didn't occur exactly as she had planned it. The girl had been in fear of her life in recent weeks as Nik's violent outbursts had become more frequent.

Until faced with the battered girl, Nik had maintained that she had never hurt anyone and all she had done was offer Peri and her mother some friendly advice because she didn't want to see Josh hurt. When faced with the girl and her story she had pronounced her a liar. The girl was clearly jealous of her and just trying to cause trouble within the family.

After finding the girl, Romeo and Jules had begun a deeper investigation and the evidence of her psychopathic nature mounted up. The tantrums they had experienced were nothing compared to how she reacted when people not in the family crossed her. The money she had taken from Josh was just a mere drop in the bucket compared to the debts she had amassed and it would seem that she was heavily involved in the designer drug scene, not only as a client but as a distributor too.

Nik had hidden that side of her life well, though, and with each shocking revelation, the brothers knew they should have paid closer attention to her and done something sooner. If not for her reaction to Josh's relationship with Peri they would probably all be none the wiser and Nik would have eventually died of an overdose or worse yet killed someone. As it was, they weren't certain she hadn't.

*****

Josh had been gone for almost a week, and Peri sighed and looked at her phone. They spoke to each other several times a day, and she knew he would welcome her call anytime, but at this moment she was tentative. He had told her of Nik's fate, that she would leave the farm this morning and not be there for the holidays. Her heart broke for him hearing the guilt and sadness in his voice.

She looked down at the two books sitting on her desk. Newly printed with real leather covers decorated with gold embossed titles. She smiled and ran a finger over the bigger volume of the two books she had done so far. They weren't a hundred percent complete by any means, but she was happy with what she had accomplished. She desperately wanted to call Josh but just couldn't bring herself to disturb him today until he had called her. In his absence, she decided to show Dante and Emilio. They had looked after her as if she was one of their priceless treasures in Josh's absence and she had come to think of them as her brothers as well.

Taking her phone with her just in case Josh called, she gathered the books and went to the large office the brothers shared. She tapped lightly on the door. .

"You don't have to knock, Peri, we have told you that often enough," Emilio smiled and welcomed her in.

"What have you brought us to look at this time? Another dusty old tome for our collection?" Dante chuckled knowing it was the history she had been working on but enjoying her blush when he teased her.

"Something like that," Peri giggled in return. "I need an honest opinion. I have had these made into what I hope the finished books will look like, but as much as I ran a sketchy idea past Josh for the graphics he wasn't here for the final okay, and I am a bit nervous about showing him when we see each other again."

"Well hand it over then," Dante held out his hand.

"This is the main one showing the family line back as far as I have been able to go for now," she placed the book in Dante's hands holding the second volume to her chest as they looked it over.

"This is brilliant," Emilio enthused. "Each table, who sat on it, and where it was located. The only thing I can think to add is a little bit of history of the individual people and what happened to them, as well as anything noteworthy they did aside of being our ancestors."

"I thought of that too and rather than bogging down the lineage side of things with a lot of extra text I thought maybe I could create one of these for each table," she presented the second book which detailed the original table. Taking the table from the lineage volume and creating a story of each member and his or her family. Taking the advice of Bianca and Carmen and cutting out all the cousins had made the whole process more streamlined. The man who sat at the head of the original table of Donati was an amazing man in his own right and Peri had loved researching his life and that of his children.

"So in this volume, you have just got the two diagrams of all of the twelve, the original and the current listed by the heads of the tables only," He flicked back to the front pages of the book. "Then the rest is just our table line through history to present day."

"You did all this in just a little over a month?" Dante sat back and looked at her seriously.

"Oh God it's bad isn't it," she said grabbing at the books. "I just really wanted something to show your parents what Josh and I had worked on together, and now I have gone and messed it all up because I rushed it too much."

"Did you not hear me say it was brilliant? I said it was brilliant right?" Emilio appealed to Dante.

"You might have mumbled it. It's a bad habit you have," Dante smirked. "The watermarked graphics are genius, it's simple and true and if people want more information about something they can go to the volumes for each table. I would say it's better than anything I have seen in the family histories. Though I think you will have one very large problem." He considered the gold embossed leather of the cover showing the Donati family crest as Peri looked at him with a worried expression.

"Papa will be impressed, I don't see a problem," Emilio seemed to consider where the problem lay.

"Of course, he will. He will be so impressed he will take it with him to the Sitting," Dante chuckled. "She has barely started the histories, and they will be demanding she does the same for each table."

"Just as well Josh is in publishing now, he can get her all the help she needs," Emilio chuckled. "Shit, they will probably fund the whole thing between them. I think Josh's publishing house just took off before he even gets in the door."

"Stop teasing," Peri laughed with them. "I just wanted some feedback on the look and feel of it. You don't have to take the joke that far." She had almost had a panic attack as they spoke until she realised they were teasing her.

"We're not joking. You have work for the rest of your life now, whether you believe us or not," Dante chuckled.

"Have you tried to go back further than Giambattista Donati?" Emilio asked curious as to whether she just did the tables or was constructing a full family lineage.

"I've been trying but the history is very murky because of all the punitive wars and battles with the bordering countries. I still have some pathways to follow up on but I would hate to say anything concrete without being totally sure," she explained.

"Would you mind if I took a look?" Emilio asked.

"It's all in note form I'm afraid I just sort of ran with this over the last few weeks because I wanted it done for the holidays so Josh could show his father how well he had done on it. It means a lot to him," her voice petered out as they both began to talk at once.

"You're going to let Josh take the credit for this?" They asked incredulously.

"He had done a lot of the research before he met me, I just filled in the blanks and tried to make it look pretty," she immediately defended Josh.

"We had the book, we know what state it was in before he met you," Dante chuckled, "And we know firsthand how hard you have worked on it."

"I wouldn't worry, Josh wouldn't do that," Emilio could see she was defensive. "I am betting he will be more than happy to present both the book and the girl to Papa." He winked at her.

"Oh, that reminds me, did you speak to Josh yesterday?" She asked. Josh had told her last night that he would be staying at the farm and that either Emilio or Dante would drive her to the farm when they went.

"Yeah," Dante nodded. "I'll take you to farm with me on Thursday, Lio isn't going until Friday."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Peri smiled at the thought of seeing Josh again. She had missed him terribly over the last week. "Just tell me what time and where to meet you, do you want me to come here?" She realised she had no idea where he lived.

"I'll pick you up from your house early, say six, it's a long drive and best to get on the road early and avoid the city traffic all escaping for the holidays," he said.

"Sounds good I am always an early riser, so I don't mind at all," she said stopping herself from asking exactly where the farm was. Josh had always evaded her questions about the place where his parents lived and life on the farm. All she had to go on was the general notion that it was a step back in time to a strict, more traditional way of life.

"Did you still want to see my notes on the family tree?" Peri asked gathering the two books and standing up from her chair.

"I do but it will have to wait we have a family thing going on today," Emilio said apologetically. "Maybe tomorrow before you leave for the holidays," he suggested.

"No hurry it will still be there next year," she smiled. "Thanks for looking this over for me."

"How much do you think Josh has told her?" Dante asked after watching Peri walk from the room.

"Nothing," Emilio said. "I would hazard a guess that he has prepared her in some way without actually telling her. I doubt she will be shocked. It will just be a matter of whether she loves him enough to submit to tradition."

"We all did at some point in time," Dante agreed acknowledging that it was very different for family members who spent time serving as a slave. What a girl coming into the family was asked to endure for the love of her man could be harsh depending on if he were favoured to be the next table head. Ben was the favoured one, but Emily had come from a southern table and so did had endured her trial before she arrived at the farm. So far he had been the only one dumb enough to think that love could withstand anything. He felt for Peri, but he wouldn't interfere, this was a lesson both she and Josh must learn on their own.

*****

"You were all taught to drive by the same person weren't you?" Peri asked as she and Dante had driven out of the city in the early morning light.

"No, but I did teach Josh to drive," Dante chuckled.

"That makes sense then," Peri tried to relax as the scenery raced past her window, "He doesn't seem to be aware he has a brake pedal either. Where exactly are we going?"

"To the middle of nowhere, nothing for kilometres in any direction but farmland and cane fields," Dante continued to chuckle.

"There must be a town or something close by, how else would they shop or access the council or anything. Can you, at least, tell me how long it will take to get there and a general direction?" she asked feeling frustrated by the air of secrecy around the farm.

"They have a plane, its fly in and fly out usually but with everyone is going up for the holidays, so the families with small children get to use the plane, and the rest of us drive north-west for around six hours or so to get there," Dante explained.

"Is that six hours for you or six hours for a normal person who can read the speed limits?" She grinned.

"We'll probably make it in under five maybe sooner if I push it," he grinned.

"Don't push it on my behalf. I'm quite content to get there in one piece, and Josh might be a little upset if you left pieces of me along the road to find," she grimaced.

"Don't worry so much, this car if fitted with every safety feature possible and could drive itself there," he took his hands off the wheel and rested them in his lap making her squeal in fright. "Alright, alright calm down, I'll drive but it won't be as much fun."

"I can live with less of that sort of fun, thanks," Peri shook her head.

They drove on making small talk for over two hours before Dante stopped in a small town and offered to buy her breakfast or, at least, a snack at a local café.

"Sounds great I need to stretch," she agreed easily getting out of the car.

"I haven't travelled much," Peri admitted. "This is such a pretty little town."

"Yeah, I like to stop here on the way to and from the farm. Stops me from going road crazy staring at the bitumen for so long. It's a nice friendly place, where everyone says hello and smiles," Dante agreed as he nodded to a man on the sidewalk who had tipped his hat.

"My gosh, I will never eat all this," Peri exclaimed as the waitress brought out her order. Feeling hungry, Peri had ordered eggs Benedict without realising how big a country breakfast was. "I order this in the city all the time and it's only half the size."

"Just eat what you can, no pressure. I don't want you arriving and telling Josh I made you sick on the way," Dante said easily. He was enjoying Peri's company on the drive more than he thought he would. Generally speaking, he enjoyed the solitude of the long drive. Coming from a family as large and as close as his was, time alone was a precious commodity and the drive home to the farm was one of those precious times. She was easy to talk to and could keep up her end of the conversation on just about any topic he threw at her.

After breakfast, they got back on the road and continued the journey without delay. Peri became increasingly quiet, and Dante saw that she was counting on her fingers.

"Nervous?" He asked softly.

"Terrified," she admitted. "I'm excited at the same time and also worried I will mess up the names, there are just so many of you. I feel like I should have brought presents with me, but Josh said you didn't do that at Christmas time. Still I should have brought more than I did for your parents. This big family thing is just so strange for me, it's been just mum and me for a whike now. I'm glad she is spending the holidays with Charles, though. I would hate to think of her alone for Christmas."

"You have met most of the others too. Bianca and Carmen and Emily will all be there. I'll be there if you need a hand but I imagine Josh will have that covered," he smirked.

"I can't wait to see him. It feels like forever since he had to leave," she smiled widely thinking about the man she loved.

"Looks like he feels the same way," Dante pointed at a horse rider approaching the road from the side field.

"Josh?" she asked in wonder as Dante pulled over close to where Josh had been heading. She got out of the car and ran to the fence to watch as Josh rode up looking every inch the professional cowboy.

"Yo Lil bro," Dante called out as he neared the fence. "Picked up something of yours I thought you might like back," he grinned as Josh stepped out of the saddle and strode to where Peri stood.

"Thanks, D. she's exactly what I wanted for Christmas," he kissed her awkwardly with the fence between them before lifting her over it . "I'll take her from here, see you at home."

"Yeah see you there later, much later," Dante laughed and climbed into his car gunning the engine and pulling away at speed.

"Hello you," Josh smiled and kissed her again.

"Mine," she said simply cupping his cheek with one hand when he let her up for air. "I have missed you so much."

"I have missed you more," he smiled and led her to the horse.

"Josh I've never even seen a real horse let alone ridden one," she baulked at the idea that he wanted her to get on the huge animal.

"Trust me," Josh said soothingly and took the horses reins pulling it toward them. "This is Dobby he's old and very gentle." He took Peri's hand and touched it to the horse's soft nose. The horse snorted at the new smell making Peri step back against Josh, who now stood behind her. "That just means he likes you. Not as much as I do, however, so be brave," he picked her up and helped her into the saddle before climbing behind her. He cradled her between his arms as he took the reins and spurred Dobby off into a slow walk.

xelliebabex
xelliebabex
5,506 Followers