Her Dark Artifice [t.r]

Chapter 17: The Secret Riddle

Evadne didn't think much of it besides connecting the stones on Tom's windowsill to one of these seasides in the pictures. Whilst Wool's was indubitably a dingy, miserable place, it seemed that before the Second World War, the matrons made the best of a macabre situation by taking the children on cheap trips to the seaside during the summertime.

Unable to be inside that small, broomcloset of a bedroom for much longer, Evadne took her coat out of Tom's narrow wardrobe and then clandestinely snuck out of the orphanage down the main stairs in lieu of the awkward, narrow maidservants corridor that Tom had initially taken them through.

She sat on a bench outside whilst children ran around on the dead grass a stone's throw away. They stole curious looks at Evadne, a dichotomy to their environment – she was very elegant-looking and of course, she looked different to everyone else, so it was customary for Evadne to garner a lot of attention and dubious looks from muggles in the city. After all, it was the forties, a conservative time rife with war and skepticism; a time when most citizens were white, and Evadne was not. She'd stand out anywhere in England.

She spotted a boy and a girl no older then sixteen conversing alone together. Curiously, Evadne wondered why they were not playing with the other children. As if sharing Evadne's curiosity, the boy and the girl – both pale and jaded-looking with lank, dirty-blond hair — glanced over at her, frowning identically. They both wore winter coats, scarves, and mittens.

They whispered something in each other's ears. Her hands deep in her pockets, Evadne readjusted her position on the bench awkwardly. They stood up from the lank grass riddled with snowdrops, and as they walked over to Evadne, their faces became a lot more distinct. The girl had dark-brown eyes whereas the boy had bright-blue eyes and a long, straight nose.

"I saw you earlier," the girl said, her voice dreamy and far-off. "You came here with Tom. I saw you from my window. You're very pretty."

Evadne smiled gingerly. "Thank you. And yes - yes, I'm here with Tom."

"Are you staying?" the boy pressed on at the girl's side, his tone a lot less airy and more demanding – authoritative and serious, but with an uncanny undercurrent of fear, Evadne noticed.

Evadne shook her head. "No. We'll be gone soon."

"May I ask why you're here?" the girl asked, sitting down next to Evadne.

Evadne's mind quickly conjured a believable enough lie. "Tom needs to speak to your matron Mrs Cole about his living situation next year. He decided now is the best time to do it, whilst we are on Christmas break and don't need to return to boarding school for another week."

"Right," the boy remarked bitterly. "Tom's finally leaving - and we still have another two sordid years left in this shithole." He and the girl exchanged sour looks.

Evadne didn't know what to say. Their energy was incredibly hostile. It felt as if they didn't like Tom, and just by Evadne being there with him, she was just as guilty by association.

"Amybeth Benson," the girl said, smiling, but the wry smile did not meet her small, dark eyes. "But you can just call me Amy."

The boy clenched his jaw, as if reluctant to say his name to a stranger.

"Dennis," he muttered, his hands in his pockets. "Dennis Bishop."