The Spells of Paradise

Chapter 17: The Brand of Honor

Chapter 17: The Brand of Honor

Roseway Cove was an ideal house for anyone who had money and wanted to tactfully show it without seeming overwhelming. About half the size of Dawn-Bridge, like Magistrate Donaldson's house, Roseway Cove was nestled farther away from the main thoroughfare of the port town, shielded by a frame of trees. The house sat high on one of the rolling hills, so beyond the framing of trees it overlooked the port city and the ocean beyond it. Lucy noticed that the moment she stepped out of the carriage, and she found herself getting lost in the view. Minus the small movements of the bustling people below, it was the perfect, framed painting.

"I hope it's to your liking," Eliza said, moving to stand next to Lucy. "We're well off, by all means, but we aren't the sort to dabble into opulent homes. Father was against it, and Sam has the same sort of mind."

"Your home is lovely," Lucy assured her. "And the view is spectacular."

"My great-grandfather chose this spot because of it," Eliza smiled. "I've been told he had an eye for such things. Our father always used to say that location is everything."

"Is your father still alive?" Lucy asked.

The girl shook her head. "No, it's just myself and Sam. He would like a house full of people, though. We both would. It gets incredibly lonely here with just the two of us. That was why he was so glad that Ross asked if you could come stay here."

"Not because it would make your home the center of gossip?" Lucy grinned.

Eliza laughed. "Oh trust me, that is most of the reason."

She led Lucy up the path towards the house, following Samuel and the servants carrying the bags and trunks. Lucy observed the canopy above them, with the vines of the trees and bushes growing around it. Autumn leaves were falling down around them and, when they arrived to the front doors and Lucy looked back down the path they had just come from, it looked like something out of a dream.

Maybe running away wasn't so bad after all.

The doors to the house were opened and Eliza led Lucy in. As they shut behind them, Lucy turned once more just in time to see them close, the sound echoing around the foyer that she now stood in with the strangers. Then, more than before, Lucy finally realized what she had done. She had left home, everything she had known and everything that was familiar to her, for this strange place. It was clear now that here, in this house and on this island, nothing was familiar to her. Perhaps the house looked the same as the other houses Lucy had seen in her time, but it was not a house she herself knew. These people, though the same, were all strangers.

"Lucy?" Eliza placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is everything alright?"

Lucy didn't turn. She didn't say anything. She stood there, trembling. She wasn't sad, no, she was happy. But she was also scared that being happy was wrong. Who felt such an unperturbed sense of glee at the thought of leaving everything behind? At the thought of leaving all their loved ones in so much pain?

But she had no loved ones left, did she? Lydia was moving forward with her life, her father was dead, her mother was a lying whore, James hated her, Beatrice hated her... Either everyone had failed her or she had failed them. Whichever way it was, no one was left to be hurt anymore, because she wasn't going to be around to hurt them.

I will not be hurt by anyone ever again. And I if I can help it, I will not hurt anyone ever again. For if another is to strike me down, I will not have the strength to get back up. Nor should I strike anyone down, I will not have the strength to see them fall.