„Who called friendship unconditional love has been for sure someone’s lover”
The carriage that was taken Eva away from Image suddenly vanished at the horizon and no matter how hard didn’t Beth try to see at least the carriage’s ghost, that winding forest road quickly hid it behind the trees, and the sky became even more purple than before and Beth understood that it was everything lost and maybe it was the last day when she saw Eva.
Then, bitter tears flowed on her cheek, and Beth finally stopped her weird limp which she called, just to deceive herself, a real running. And not only did her soul hurt her at the moment she had been abandoned by her friend, but also her leg, which continued to bleed, making the open wound badly prickle.
That’s why Beth sat finally down, on that muddy road: to look at the hurt leg that hurt her like hell. And… that wound looked very bad. But even so, it couldn't be compared with the cruel wound of her heart that was also badly bleeding.
And her heart was bleeding because Eva abandoned her: her, Elisabeth Alby, the one who dedicated her entire life to the care of Miss Stonebridge. And because Eva has gone without saying at least goodbye was a huge betrayal for Beth, who couldn’t understand at all why did Eva act like that, why didn’t she stop when she saw her running behind the carriage, for Beth was sure that she saw her also falling and hurting her leg. That’s why Beth regretted it so much and what she also knew so well was that she’ll miss Eva’s fragile body hugging her each time she felt sad.
Suddenly Beth winced, realizing that she didn’t even know where did Eva go after leaving Image. Also, she didn’t know if they meet each other in that life or why did this happen namely that day that started like any other normal day and nothing announced the sadness coming. Yet, even if that day seemed extremely normal, it had also something distinct, which Beth considered a lucky sign - they met Brian at the lake, but it turned out to be the beginning of a period extremely painful for them both.
That’s why she decided, so suddenly, that she’ll hate Brian since that day. And, if Beth decided to hate someone, that person simply stopped to exist for her. Even he could become an enemy from an ideal and, even if she didn’t know the real reason why Brian came to Stonebridge, Beth could deduce that it had something to do with what happen because, you see, before his coming neither Eva said something about leaving nor the „master” ever talked about Eva’s departure. But now, after Beneath had come by, Eva vanished so suddenly, abandoning those fairy-like places, as Image was, and Beth remained alone. Actually, she had been abandoned and she has also lost her ideal man, for Brian had been one for her. But even so, it didn’t mean that Beth will forget everything only because she liked him. No, no. She’ll look for the truth till the end of her life and she’ll find out it eventually.
Making up her mind and considering it her new aim in life, finding out the truth, Beth wiped her tears, mechanically. Then she bandaged her leg with a piece of cloth broken from her skirt and, laming, she turned back to Image. Behind her, the forest remained to shake its leaves, to murmur in silence about what it saw with the cold wind’s whispered voice, a wind that suddenly started to blow and which, through its harsh kisses, made the sky cry and cold tears, rifted tears started to fall from the sky, soaking so much to poor earth.
She got to Image when was dusk already and on to the streets almost nobody was seen: only a few passers-by that were trying to run away from the rain and who the night caught up in the streets, hurrying them to get home. And… even if Beth wished to be asked at least by someone why was she hurt, what happened to her, or how does she feel, nobody cared about this… everybody seemed to immerse in his own problems than care about others’problems. So, laming and gnashing because of the pain that was felt even harsher than before, only not to allow herself to cry there, in front of everybody, Beth continued walking toward home, accompanied only by that killing pain felt in her soul.
Suddenly a slight shake shivered her body, a shiver that deeply entered her bones as if she had been stabbed by a knife. And… even if she had felt something similar before, it seemed yet weird to her to feel it, especially in the middle of the street. Yet, she stopped and touched her forehead with the back of her palm: she had a fever and she felt her face burning as if being flames into a stove full of embers. Beth instead was out of the tune for feeling mercy for herself and neither did she have time to stay and wonder where could she have gotten a cold. So, she simply squeezed her skirts with her fingers and crawled her legs toward home as if being a deer hurt by a bullet.
But even if Beth wended her way home, not the same happened to her thoughts that started to wander through her brain trying to split into small pieces the conspiracy theory: „why so? Why did she leave? Why did she let me behind? Won’t she miss me? Won’t she regret ever that she left me behind?” But those wandering thoughts didn’t cool her soul. Per contra: made her feel angrier than ever because, do you see, her Miss Stonebridge went somewhere and part of Beth’s soul stopped existing.
She turned back to Stonebridge’s house about 8 p.m. and, heading toward her room, laming, she saw Alfred smocking his usual cigar on the terrace.
„As he always does,” Beth snarled inside, staring with hatred at her „master.” „He could at least pretend that he cared about this situation. But… acting like this, he only proves once again that he has a huge stone instead of a heart in his chest. His daughter went, God knows where, but her father just stays and calmly smokes… and breathes… as if nothing happened.”
Entering her room, Beth slammed the door. And she slammed it so well to be heard throughout the house. Then, she entered the bed just as she came home: soaked to the skin and with stains of mud on her arms. She only pulled the blanket up to the neck and closed her eyes.
„I could have bandaged my wound with a clean bandage though,” she thought. „Or at last to wash my face and hands,” but she hadn’t neither the power nor the desire for none of these things. And not even the thought that that wound could bloat and that could hurt later like hell didn’t force her to get out of the bed, for… it was too much bother to stand up, boil water, look for the medicine, which she didn’t even remember where did she hide. It was too much, too tiring, too useless at that moment. She only preferred to sleep.
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„Tomorrow will be another day,” she said. „I’ll do it tomorrow! And also tomorrow I’ll think about what to do,” and she really had what to think about, but she didn’t know either wherefrom to start or where to finish.
The second day when Alfred summoned her and asked her to bring him the coffee, he has been so amazed to see Beth prepared for a trip, carrying a small bag with her, inside of which she probably had all that she had gathered in her short life.
Then, after she looked at him with her glance similar to a good dog, but which his master managed to piss off, Beth said in a half a voice: „I’m leaving, mister Stonebridge! I leave this house immediately! And if you need a coffee, then you should prepare it for yourself.” Then, without waiting for Alfred’s answer, who was staring with wide-open eyes at her, hearing her talking to him this way, Beth turned her back on him and left the house, slamming the front door behind her.
And she really left, even if she thought, before leaving her room, that Alfred will try to stop her at least. But he said no word about this, and it was something that was telling her how selfish could he be. Leaving that house, Beth left behind her an empty home, which could be found in a village full of her beautiful memories, but which seemed so grey and insignificant at that moment, so unwelcome and so lifeless. And… yes, she was leaving, but she didn’t know where to go. But she knew something for sure: that she must go, wherever her eyes will lead her footsteps, but only to find her Miss Stonebridge, at any cost, for she swore to be faithful to her for her entire life and the poor girl had to keep her promise.
And many would have named her decision, of going out into the world without even having the slightest idea where to go, the recklessness of a servant, for… leaving your hometown and heading into an unfriendly world only to look for your friend that abandoned you was something incomprehensible. Beth instead didn’t think about this. For her, it was more important the feelings, the gratitude for Eva, who was both her friend and mentor at the same time and it has been so for so many years, and that feeling of gratitude filled Beth’s chest and made her so happy that she couldn’t explain it, but it was something that filled her with joy each time they were together. Also, that feeling often left her speechless, without mad thoughts about life as she used to let her mind free to wander through her head as a wild bird, and Eva was the only one who had the power to keep her grounded, explaining her things known from books, things Beth could learn only from Eva. Thus, the two orphans got to complement each other in their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about everything that surrounded them.
Suddenly Beth awoke from her daydream, a dream born from memories when she saw Brian’s carriage approaching her from the opposite direction. And namely, the fact that Beth knew that carriage so well, for she saw it in town so many times when she spied on Brian, made her stop and wait for it to approach. But Beth also wondered at that moment what actually made her so many times sneak out of the house and go to the small town next to their village just to see that beautiful man that has been for her the first one for who she felt something. And she had beautiful feelings for Brian, for he has been her idol, one that finally fell off his platform and became, so suddenly and unfair, a simple man in that young lady’s innocent eyes.
„Good morning, Miss Beth. Where are you going so early in the morning?” Brian asked her in his usual comic way of asking a girl about how things are going in her life.
Beth instead, even if she was staying in place, thought to ignore him, and she wanted so much to pass by that carriage, without at least glancing at it and thus hurt him with her indifference, but she couldn’t do that. And she couldn’t because if she had done this if she had told him what she was feeling at that moment, she would have regretted it for her entire life. That’s why she stopped after she had taken a few steps away, then she turned to her previous place, staring at Brian, who was charmingly smiling at her, still in his carriage.
Something in Beth’s glacial glance made Brian attentive and wonder if something happened in Stonebridge’s house and he had decided, in a second only, to find out this. So, he told his teamster: „stop the carriage, Bardain. I have a word with this young lady.”
Bardain listened to him right away and pulled the reins, and Raven and Black Sunshine, feeling that it was time for rest, happily puffed through their nostrils and right away stopped. Even so, they kept showing their gratitude for that moment of rest by slowly kicking the ground with their front hoof. Thus, they showed others that they were also intelligent and that they could appreciate what others gave them.
Only when the horses calmed a little bit, did Beth take a few steps toward the carriage, staring at Brian and her glance let the man understand that if she could, she had killed him right there. The question was still: why? What did Brian wrong that a such nice girl like Beth, who always smiled seeing him and whose cheeks blossomed always like two poppies when he talked to her, got to look with hatred at him?! Especially Brian couldn’t understand how the innocence of the age of 15 could so quickly turn into hatred, something that hurt him, even if he tried not to show this.
Suddenly he winced, hearing Beth’s question: „did you know that she left the village?” and her severe voice made her vocal chords resound so powerfully.
„Who exactly?” Brian simply asked and he looked somehow confused, for those words spoken to him, which seemed as if Beth was trying to pump out from him about someone who left the village and if he knew that, awoke strange feelings in his soul.
„Miss Stonebridge. You met her yesterday afternoon at the lake and also yesterday she abandoned me. Because of you. It happened only because you visited mister Stonebridge and also because of this I won’t ever forgive you, Mister Beneath. I hope to never see you again.”
And Beth simply turned her back on Brian and left, and her coldness made Brian feel guilty, feeling as if his first love said goodbye to him and, at its departure, it not only hurt him but also left him the inquietude as a companion.
An inquietude that made him actually nervously move on the chair while gnashing an „Alfred Stonebridge is such a jerk.” Yet, he kept silent, hearing Bardain’s question about what should they do. Then, seconds later, he told his teamster to keep their course, for they were heading toward Edward Anderson Bell’s house, the Prime Minister of England, with who he had something urgent to discuss.
Then while the carriage was rushing on the dusty streets of Image, his thoughts took again over him: „It means that he’s afraid. If he sent his daughter from here, he’s afraid. But… where did he send her? Yorkshire? Ashburton? Or maybe… London? No matter where he sent her, I must find her.”
But… why exactly had he to find her and immediately… Brian wasn’t that sure anymore. However, something deep inside him started to stab him as if it was a thorn of one of the roses received as a gift from an enemy and not a friend. And the weirdest was the fact that Brian started to think that his desire to find Eva Stonebridge had actually nothing to do with his revenge.