AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“A worse infection can spread from that. On top of that look at where we are.” His face turned in disgust as he looked around the small flat. “It’s the filthiest neighborhood I’ve ever witnessed. You might catch a disease if we prolong our stay here. We must leave immediately.”
“Father,” Edward said calmly. “I got better because Ariadne and her family took care of me. We’re being unfair to them by displaying such behavior in recompense.”
The Duke shook his head. “I don’t care. I must see you out of here immediately. And that’s final.”
“I don’t understand,” Ariadne said, shaking her head. “What is going on here?”
The constable produced a walking stick and carried it to Edward. “We found this in an alley notorious for its men and taverns. Your father had already lodged a complaint and your footman recalled seeing you entering these streets. We added two and two and sent out men all over the slum. Our investigations finally brought us to this door.”
“I helped them,” Mrs. Tula spoke up. “They were asking around if someone had seen an injured man and I seemed to recall hearing a man cry out at night. When I asked her yesterday, she outright denied it but I knew she was hiding the truth.” Ariadne remembered her taking an interest in the soiled shirt beside the sink. She must have remembered it and when the police came, led them here, no doubt expecting a reward for it.
Edward grasped the walking stick, flexing his fingers as his weak arm got used to its touch.
“The streets are heavy with disease. The room is damp with a pervading cold draft,” the Duke said, “and the smell. Oh god, the terrible stench of rot and decay. How did you even manage to survive in a place like this?”
“I was shown kindness and compassion and none of the other things mattered to me,” Edward said, looking right at Ariadne. She didn’t know why he was suddenly being so generous about his thankfulness when he had done nothing but lie. Ariadne felt no gratitude at his words. Now, she just wanted him out of here.
“You must have hit your head hard in the scuffle. You’re speaking so strangely! This isn’t the Edward I know at all. What lured you here in the first place?”
“My curiosity,” he said. Ariadne couldn’t believe the nerve of him. What was he so curious about? Did he want to witness the pathetic lives they led here while he reveled in his own back in the prime and proper streets of London? They weren’t specimens for him to examine. Their pain and sadness were more than just a careless walk through the streets. And for what? It was obvious through his father’s behavior that he thought of them as something beneath him. Why would Edward think any differently? It was just a sham, all of it. She just didn’t comprehend the point of lying about it. Maybe he just wanted her to open up to him, another way of toying with her.
“I hope you’re happy with whatever you’ve accomplished here,” she said.
Edward furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about?”
The Duke ignored the two of them. “We’re leaving right now. There’s no point in conversing about it anymore.”
“Fine,” Edward said. Ariadne wasn’t even surprised by his answer. He was probably counting time to when he would be able to get out of here and back to his comfortable life. “I’ll leave with you but I have one request. They must be given some coins for everything they’ve done for me. They deserve it.”
The Duke reached into his pockets and took out a bag which he tossed toward where Leda and Emma stood. “For your services.” He turned on his heel and began to walk out of the flat.
“What about me, my Lord?” Mrs. Tula said.
“You did what any upstanding citizen of this country should do,” the constable said. “Why do you seek a reward for this?”
Mrs. Tula fell silent, the annoyance at having no coins spared for her evident on her face. Edward began to follow his father out of the door but his gait was slow. He stumbled as he approached Ariadne and instinctively she reached out to catch him. His hands grasped her wrist as he steadied himself. At his touch, the familiar jolt of electricity passed through her as she felt when he was around. Her mind hated him but her body didn’t seem to have caught on to the news.
Gray eyes met amber ones and a moment passed between them that settled at her core. But then she looked away from him, letting him go. “I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice that tickled her ears. Ariadne tried to ignore it and didn’t even glance up at him. If there was one thing she absolutely hated in this world was lies. She never spoke one herself and expected people to extend the same courtesy to her. Edward passed her, slowly walking to the door. He looked behind to wave at Leda and Emma. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” And with that, he was gone.
Something inside Ariadne fizzled out as soon as she lost sight of him. She didn’t want to be angry at him but she still clung to the feeling. All of the moments they had shared, where she had found intimacy with a person for the first time, were tainted with falsity. She didn’t want to remember any of that. The constable gave her one last stern look before he left.
Mrs. Tula. “Well, now you have enough coins to pay my rent.” She eyed the pouch that Leda held.
Ariadne wanted to throw out the pouch but she didn’t have any choice. “Leda,” she said. “Give Mrs. Tula the rent.”
“I want five more coins than the rent,” Mrs. Tula said, “for the distress caused to me.”
Leda gave her what she wanted. She looked down at the money with a satisfied look. “Be careful before lying to me again. Next time, I might not feel so generous.” She shut the door behind her as she exited their home.
Ariadne walked to the window just as a carriage pulled away from their building. Leda watched with her. “I can’t believe he turned out to be a Marquess!” Ariadne had already figured out that he was a peer by his fine clothes but then he had lied to her about his identity.
“Didn’t he tell you that he’s a merchant?” Emma asked.
Ariadne nodded. “He did and I didn’t expect otherwise.” And he had woven such tales about it too that Ariadne never even suspected him. He must have thought her so naïve.
“Maybe he thought he would put himself at risk if he revealed his true identity. We’re strangers to him after all,” Emma said.
“That’s what all of them think we are—thieves and wenches.” Ariadne shook her head to clear the image of Edward from her mind. “Have they ever considered us as actual human beings?”
Leda placed a comforting hand on her arm. “Let it go, Ariadne.” She looked down at the pouch in her hand. “This will at least pay for our expenses for the time being.”
“That was rather generous of them,” Emma said.
“I didn’t take care of him expecting something in return. Even if he was just a merchant, I didn’t expect him to pay me for tending to him.”
“I know, dear,” Emma said. “The world outside is cruel. It doesn’t deserve your kindness.”
The carriage was gone now, having disappeared down the street. He would think of these two days as nothing but bad memories and forget about it. She would never see him again. Ariadne didn’t know why the thought left her with unexpected sadness.
