"Now, you are all quite boring, what shall we do?" Cathryn prompted with a bitter tone.
It didn't sound to Florence at all as if she even liked Ruby one bit. Then again perhaps what she'd heard that night-
"Are you suggesting we all play a game together like les enfants?" Ruby broke in.
Children, Florence recognized. He'd said children. Cathryn eyes shot daggers at him, so vivid Florence could imagine them whirring past Ruby in a silver blur.
"Yes, that's précisément what I'm saying." She retorted.
"Oh, well shall it be hide n' seek, or hopscotch?" Ruby cocked his head in mock consideration.
The tension between these two was like a taut rubber band, one more remark and it would surely snap. A thought tugged at the back of Florence's mind, demanding her attention.
Perhaps they lied about courting?
She quickly brushed it aside, annoyed at herself for always speculating the worst.
"Hm, I say, hide n' seek?" Cathryn answered sweetly from her spot on the chaise.
"Alright then, Ruby is counting." Clair quickly announced, rising from his chair.
"Are we seriously doing this?" Florence questioned, unable to keep the childlike smile from creeping onto her face.
"Yes, now go hide, femme." Ruby answered, dropping into French once more.
"Yes, now go hide, woman."
His tone made Florence shiver, although she was completely unsure of why. Clair immediately bolted out of the library. A smile twisted across Cathryn's face as she followed after him. Leaving Florence with no choice but to follow suit, giving a soft laugh as she fled the library.
Florence knew immediately where to go, Aurora and Ruby had forced her to play with them countless times. Sometimes she'd even retreat her to read, or sulk when punished. She caught a glimpse of Cathryn's ballerina pink chiffon racing down the hall to her right. Florence could only imagine what her father would say if he discovered them all prancing about like this. She made a sharp right upon seeing the door frame to the kitchen. Praying silently to herself the Mildred wasn't here, she entered the door.
Thankfully, the room was deserted. Eyeing the bit of rope the hung from the corner of the ceiling, she dashed over to it. Florence stood on her tiptoes and yanked the rope downward. Awaiting the familiar creak of the stairs, she hoped Ruby wasn't done counting yet. She quickly hurried up the wooden old stairs. Upon reaching the top, she swiftly retracted the stairs, leaving no trace of her presence.
She smiled to herself in the darkness, knowing Ruby would never find her here. Then, Florence began fumbling around for the lamp, wishing she'd have left the hatch open for a bit of light to aid her. Running her fingers along the old wooden desk, they eventually caught on a round base. She trailed her fingers upwards and twisted the knob. The gas lamp flickered and quickly lit up the small space. Florence felt oddly comfortable up here, that is if she was able to not focus of the cobwebs.
It was quite cozy really, she'd been up here often enough that the old furniture rarely accumulated enough dust to make her sneeze. To her left lie Jacob's old school desk, a stack of papers still atop it. Directly in front of her was her grandfathers old rocking chair, beneath it an oval rag rug that Florence's mother had made. Florence crept over to the chair and sat herself down. Her eyes flitted to her stash of books in an old crate to her right. She laughed gently to herself, knowing that her real favorites were here, not in the library. Florence wondered carefully picked up the book on the very top, 'Wuthering Heights.' Florence, as always, began to read, patiently waiting for Ruby to come find her.