That woman, Jordan, she didn’t know how she affected me. She was beautiful, with a heart-shaped face and eyes that seemed to burn with an inner flame. Her taunts added to the already tremendous pressure on my mind until I either lost my temper or walked away. I'm a sucker for intelligence, even more than appearance, and a sense of humor and the willingness to retort sarcastically is a quick way I've been able to measure intelligence in people, even if she did make me want to lose my temper. As losing my temper would show my weakness in front of Francois, I chose instead to leave, making the excuse that I had to wash the dishes. I could hear them talking as I washed, the pump was right next to the house and the windows weren’t that thick. At first I was angry when Francois told Jordan my name, but I soon settled down again. My brother had always pushed the boundaries of what I’d allow, especially if he thought he could get away with it. It had been the case when our father was alive, and continued as we became adults.
