Two weeks later, a man arrived at the entrance of the manor. He was weathered, with hands calloused by more than shovels, and eyes that miss nothing. He introduced himself to the steward as Thomas, seeking work in the neglected briars. Clement, distracted by ledgers and his own simmering resentment, barely looked up from his study when the hire was mentioned. "If he can keep the thorns from the path for a shilling a week, let him stay" he muttered.
Sophia was even less interested. To her, the servants were merely furniture that moved. High above, from the narrow window of the nursery, Eve watched the man in the garden. She saw him look up, catch her eye for a fleeting second, and offer a sharp, singular nod.
The lessons began in the grey light of dawn, beneath the weeping willow where the grass was thick and the view from the house was obscured. While the rest of the manor slept in velvet-shrouded beds, a little girl began to learn the art of the blade and the leverage of the weak against the strong.
Eddie, watching from his balcony with a heavy clock wrapped around his thin frame, finally felt a flicker of hope. 'Eve would not be a victim. She will know how to fight for herself'.
The trainings continued as well as her visits to Edward in secret. They discussed a great deal, and Eve was just glad to have her brother with her even if he was sick.
A week later, Eddie died in his sleep.
The morning of the funeral was draped in a suffocating grey fog. Eve stood at the window of her chambers; her small forehead pressed against the cold glass. Below, the black carriages lined the gravel drive like beetles.
Eddie was gone
Eddie who used to lift her onto his shoulders so she could pick up apples from the trees. Eddie, who was the only person in the entire world who looked at Eve with eyes briming with love. Now, he was a quiet shape under a white sheet.
"Please, Martha," Eve whispered, turning to the maid who was fussing with a pile of linens. "May I wear my black ribbon? I want to say goodbye to Eddie."
Martha didn't look up. Her face was tight with a mixture of pity and fear. "Your mother was very clear, miss Eve. You are to stay in your room until the carriages return. You're not to be seen. She says…she says your presence would only cause her more 'unnecessary agitation.'" It was a polite way of saying what Eve already knew, her parents loathed her. Eddie had been their golden heir. A bridge to a somehow better life for Eve in the manor. Without him, Eve was left on a lonely island of their full resentment.
She continued to watch from the window as her father, tall and rigid as a frozen oak, handed her mother into the lead carriage. As the wheels began to crunch over the gravel, Eve felt a sob tear through her chest, not a loud one for she had learnt that noise brought punishment, but a silent shaking tremor that made her knees give out.
"he'll be lonely," she whimpered into the rug. "He does not like the dark. I should be there to hold his hand"
By dusk, the manor was silent again. The mourners had dispersed to their estates, leaving behind a lingering scent of damp wool and lilies. Martha had finally fallen asleep in the only chair in the room, her chin on her chest. Seizing the moment, Eve crept out of the nursery. Her bare feet made no sound on the wood as she walked down the stairs. She just wanted to find something of his, a marble, a sketch, anything that still held the warmth of Eddie 's hands.
As she passed her father 's study, the heavy oak door was ajar. A sliver of amber light spilled into the hallway, accompanied by the low, rhythmic clink of a crystal decanter against a glass. "It is settled then, "her mother 's voice rang out. It was horse, from all the crying she had done at the graveside. "I cannot continue looking at her, Clement. Every time she enters a room, I am reminded that the wrong child survived. It is an insult to his memory"
Eve froze, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"The arrangements can be made quietly," her father replied, his voice a low rumble. "There is a foundation in the North, St Mary's. it's a respectable enough orphanage for the children of 'unfortunate' circumstances. We shall tell everyone she has been sent to a relative in the highlands for her health.
"The sooner the better," her mother sighed. "By Monday. I want her room cleared. I want the house purged of…everything."
Eve leaned her head against the cold wallpaper. She was six but she understood 'orphanage'. The silence that followed was the loudest sound Eve had ever heard.
Eve did not cry. She climbed back up the stairs, each step feeling like a mile. She entered her room and sat at the edge of her bed. Across the bed, the doll Eddie had gifted her lay abandoned, just like its owner.
For years, Eve had performed a silent, desperate dance for their affection. She had learnt her French verbs until her heart ached, she had tried to seat perfectly still through the dinners even though she was almost completely ignored if not for Eddie. She had tried to be a shadow so she wouldn't annoy them, yet a light so they might love her. She realized now that she had been trying to light a fire with wet wood. She could only stare at the blank wall with tears flowing down her cheeks and whisper, "I miss you, Eddie"
The next morning after her fight practice, she dressed herself in the sturdiest wool dress and her heaviest clock. She took her doll and half a loaf of bread. She had decided to spend some time at Eddie 's grave before she was sent away in two days' time. Stepping outside, she encountered Jack who rushed to prepare the carriage for her.
"You need not worry Jack; I can walk it isn't far"
"Sir Eddie instructed me to guard you when he is not around, I intent to continue following his orders even when he is no longer around."
"alright" Eve sniffed back her tears. It seemed Eddie still cared about her even in his grave.
The earth over Eddie 's grave was still dark and mounded. Eve sat down beside the headstone, which was yet to be engraved. She leaned her head against the damp soil.
"I'm here, Eddie. I'm finally here to see you" she felt a strange, cold peace. The heartbreak was still there, a jagged, gaping wound where her brother used to be. but the heavy, suffocating weight of trying had lifted. She no longer had to carry the burden of her parent's disappointment. She stayed the rest of her morning with her brother. By the time they left the graveyard, it was a little after lunch time.
On reaching the manor, her carriage passed by another carriage, she didn't think much about it until she entered the hallway and saw her mother in a rage and her father quietly seated, brewing over his thoughts.
"it's her fault, she corrupted our son," she screeched the moment she saw Eve "now all our plans are ruined, you must be happy" she sneered, pointing her finger at her.
Eve could only look at them in confusion
"I'll have to write back to St Mary's to cancel the agreement," Her father mumbled whilst gripping what looked like a letter in his hand
'Does that mean she was no longer leaving the manor and Eddie?' she wondered
"Continue on your way and stay out of our site" her father continued, this time directed at her.
Eve did not wait to be told twice; she was grateful to whomever was responsible for her their change of mind since it seemed to be what kept her from being kicked out.