Isabella and Oscar blinked, not understanding what Bertha meant. They stared at her dumbfoundedly before their eyes shifted to Gerald, his gaze locked with Bertha.
Their eyes spoke an unknown language, breaking the barriers of the human tongue. The silent conversation between them felt private, intimate that Oscar uncomfortably shifted as if he was illegally intruding on it.
Isabella was the first one to break that awkward silence.
"Erm... what do you mean, Bertha? I don't follow."
Bertha blinked, broken out of her trance. She met Isabella's questioning gaze.
"I mean... my aunt... she wants to visit her relatives. They live on the mainland. You know how she doesn't have anyone to look after her, but me. I went to inquire about the ships that travel daily to the mainland.
But then..." She paused, using that moment to see if Isabella and Oscar were buying her lie. But when she noticed that they didn't, she made it sound more realistic.
