The Ruby in the Storm

Chapter 43: Arise Like Fire

"Oh, thank god, Coral." Lydia said, feigning a fainting spell. "I almost collapsed, whoever tied this dress did it far too tight and I fear I have not been able to breathe since breakfast."

"Would you like me to loosen the strings, my lady?"

"Oh, no!" Lydia forced out a dazzling smile. "I am much better now that I am not locked in that room." She frowned. "Is my uncle in his study, by any chance?"

Coral shook her head, clearly confused and likely under the assumption that Lydia had lost her mind. Still, she painted on a face of compliance and shook her head. "No, miss, he and his guests have taken a walk around the grounds."

Of course he had. That would make it more difficult for her to catch their conversation. Still, she had enough information in her arsenal to get to Lucy, enough to hopefully put an end to her uncle's wild charade and hopefully ruin him.

"Tell my uncle that I am taking a walk myself," Lydia finally said. "He will likely terminate your employment when you do, but do not fear, there is a family in Derbyshire that goes by the name Doyle, and they are likely in search of a new maid. Go there and say that Lydia Quincy sent you. I will write you a reference."

Coral looked at Lydia like she had just grown a second head. Her eyes were wide with fear, likely with the idea of an impending termination, but some hope sparkled in them, and Lydia hoped that the girl trusted her enough to take her advice.

"M-my aunt lives in Derbyshire." She whispered.

"Even better," Lydia placed an assuring hand on her shoulder. "You will be alright, we Quincy's take care of our own, even if one of them is the devil incarnate."

Coral winced but smiled at her. "Thank you, miss."

Finally out of the confines of her room, Lydia made for the main stairs, keeping an eye out for her uncle or any of the men that had paid him a visit. She really wished she could find a way to spy on their conversation, but she had to get to Lucy and soon. Enough time had been wasted.

Lydia wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and braced herself as the footman opened the front doors for her. She gave him a quick thanks and, once she was outside, she made for the path to the market, a place she knew her uncle would never go.

If she had it her way, the only place where her uncle would go after all of this was over was far, far away from her and her sister.

XXX

Dawn-Bridge had not changed. Malia knew that if she had been blind folded she could still find her way around. From the windows she used to dust, to the bedrooms she had turned over night after night, to the servants quarters she used to dine in with her friends, Jane and Brandon, every inch of this estate held memories that even after all these years, she had retained.

She thought she'd be moved to tears, but knowing the truth of the night she had left, the blood that been on her hands, the swift escape she had made into the darkness, Malia found it difficult to be moved. She had done all those things for her son, but it still created an unremovable stain on her memory.

"Are you alright, mother?" John asked, clearly seeing her turbulent emotions all over her face.

Malia forced out a smile and turned to her son with a nod. "Of course. It's just.. a lot to take in all at once."

"Do you need more time? Should we leave?"

She shook her head. "There will never be enough time."

To be honest, if none of this had happened, Malia was sure she would have never set foot in Lanfore again. Her heart hurt, knowing the life, the love, and the trauma she had felt every moment in this town. She had wanted to run, especially after she had lost John. She thought being with her son in a land far away would heal her wounds and as long as she never returned to the source of the harm, they would never hurt her again.