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Hope sparked in her chest, replacing the gloom that had reigned heavy over her heart in the last week. Mr. MP was at the back of her mind, but he was gone and she had things to look forward to. Ariadne turned off her lamp, careful to lock the studio, and then she made her way home.
When she came in, Leda looked up at her and immediately noticed the small smile on her face. “Someone looks to be in a good mood today.”
“Can you get me a pencil and some paper?” she asked as she strode right to the basin and washed the filth off her hands, neck, and face. Emma wouldn’t like it if she went around smudging grease all over the house.
When she came back to the kitchen table, Leda had already got her things ready. “Will you tell me what’s going on, Ariadne?” her sister asked, her brows furrowed.
“I did it, Leda. I fixed the lamp,” she said almost out of breath.
“Really!” her sister exclaimed.
Ariadne nodded with a giddy smile. Oh, she could just twirl around the room in happiness even though she wasn’t much of a dancer. “I tested it for around half an hour before I ran out of oil. But it works, Leda.”
“What about the complexity?” Leda asked. Even though she didn’t know much about science, she was a curious girl.
“Ah yes, I put the lamp inside an insulated box and tested it under similar conditions as I did without the oxygen. Once that parameter was removed, the lamp turned itself off automatically.”
“By magic?” Leda asked in awe.
Ariadne rolled her eyes, smiling at her sister. “There’s no such thing as magic. Only science. The wick needs oxygen to burn the fuel but when I restrict the passage it slowly cuts itself off. But when I took it out of the box again, it starts to burn again. Do you understand?” The mechanism wasn’t too complex and ultimately it was to help wayward miners who had found themselves in the wrong part of the mines.
“I understand maybe a little of what you said,” Leda said sheepishly. “But I’m happy your hard work is finally paying off. I know the last week had been difficult for you.”
Ariadne blinked. She thought she had been inconspicuous about it.
“Don’t try and deny it. You have been in a sullen mood since Edward left,” Leda said, folding her arms in front of her chest.
Mr. MP, that’s what Ariadne had started referring him to when she thought about him. “It’s not about him. It’s about the fact that he lied to us.”
“Is that all there is to it?” Leda asked. “I’ve never actually seen you so troubled or vexed over such petty matters.”
“Truth matters to me,” Ariadne insisted.
“Maybe but it was a white lie. Besides, he’s gone now, so what does it matter?” Leda asked with a perfect arch of her brows. Her sister was right. She couldn’t mull him over forever. He had probably forgotten all about them anyway.
Leda stepped into the other room and then came back a few minutes later with a letter in her hand. Ariadne glanced at it while she wrote her statement. She knew she would need to have appropriate papers if she wanted to approach the committee for a patent. “What is that?”
Leda was frowning down at it. “I don’t know. There is no name addressed on it. I was walking to my room when I found it slipped under the main door.”
“Open it. We may be able to find out more about it once we’re aware of its contents,” Ariadne asked. The strange letter had her interest now. Leda nodded and tore open the unmarked white envelope. Inside it was a single piece of paper. “What does it say?”
Leda’s eyes widened as she read through it. By the time she finished and handed it to Ariadne, she was shaking. Frowning, Ariadne took the letter from her sister. There were only a few lines written on it in handwriting that seemed to have been inked in a hurry.
The moth flies too close to the flame and burns. Be very careful because I’m watching you. One wrong move and you and your family will face my wrath.
