Chapter 4
***
🥀 "It's okay, just lie down some more."
Barbara soothed Aubrey and walked over to the man.
"Honey, it was Diane's daughter, just in case, but look ….doesn't she look just like Diane?"
"How do you know that?"
There was joy and excitement in Barbara's voice, but the man's voice ruthlessly cracked it. Disappointment flashed in Barbara's gentle eyes.
"How can I be sure? She called me mother as soon as she saw me, and you know Diane and I look like twins, and besides, look at that face, don't you see?"
But the man didn't answer, just stared at Aubrey coldly. More accurately, he looked displeased.
"I don't know."
"Honey!"
The man ignored her urgent call and went back the way he came. Barbara clutched the hem of her dress as if to follow, then sighed.
Aubrey stared at her wordlessly, and Barbara, feeling the stare, quickly smiled benevolently.
"Your uncle is just a little flustered, don't worry about it."
With that, Barbara pulled up a small chair and sat down, facing Aubrey.
"Now, can you tell me what you've been up to?"
"...."
"And…. where is Diane?"
****
Aubrey explained what happened in Pinswade. She lived there with her mother, and one day her mother caught the town's plague and died after a few days.
Of course, Aubrey didn't say how she lived after that, just that she became one of those parentless kids running errands for the adults and getting paid for it.
She couldn't bring herself to tell her aunt that she'd been raised as a slave in Crysis, because she felt like the moment she did, the warmth in her eyes would instantly change. The gentle gesture would probably turn cold.
Even if all she had seen and learned was labor, she knew that no one would welcome slaves with open arms. She could never speak of her past.
"I was separated from the children and got lost, and then I got lost in the mountains..."
Her mind was a mess, the hastily concocted lies floating around in fragments in her head.
Barbara was speechless for a long time. Aubrey's insides burned. The guilt of lying and the fear that Barbara would see through it burned her throat.
"I can't believe it ..... I've been looking for you."
A single tear fell from Barbara's eyes as she lowered her head.
"How could this happen............. they told me you were going to live well."
Barbara looked away quickly and cleared her throat, as if trying to control her overwhelming emotions. She seemed devastated by Diane's death.
She didn't know how the two of them had broken up, or why they had moved on with their life, but she did know one thing. Barbara had been looking for Diane for a long time.
Aubrey waited wordlessly for Barbara to get over her grief. Soon enough, she looked at Aubrey with damp eyes.
"How lucky I am to have found you, at least."
Then she hugged Aubrey again. Her neatly coiffed hair tickled Aubrey's cheek.
"You don't have to worry now. Don't worry about anything, sweetheart."
Muttering to herself, Barbara picked up the small bell on her nightstand and rang it, and as if waiting for it, the door opened.
"Henna, show the child to her room."
"Yes, madam."
The well-built woman bowed politely.
"Let's get cleaned up and get some rest in your room. Perhaps we can talk about what we didn't get to in the evening?"
“My room?"
Aubrey asked, startled by the sudden offer of a room.
"Of course. You’ll need your room if you’re going to stay here, won't you, Aubrey?"
Barbara smiled warmly and turned to face Aubrey. She was such a beautiful, kind woman. If there were angels, she wondered if they looked like this.
"I, I'm staying here, here?"
Aubrey couldn't believe her ears. She had never dreamed of a mansion this big in her life, but here she was.
"Aubrey, you need someone to protect you."
"..."
"Don't worry, just get some rest tonight and I'll take care of the rest."
Barbara seemed like such a trustworthy adult, and Aubrey felt a glow from her, and when she left Barbara's hand and stood up, she found Henna waiting for her.
"This way, please."
Henna’s face stiffened as she stepped out into the hall. She walked ahead, then glanced back coldly when Aubrey fell behind.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Aubrey, trailing behind, suddenly looked at her feet. Feet that were covered in blood and dirt, not to mention twisted from running this way and that.
Feet that looked like they shouldn't have dared to enter this mansion.
***
Aubrey's jaw dropped as they emerged from the long hallway into the mansion's lobby hall. The vast hall, with its strange carvings on the floor, immediately captivated her, and the huge chandelier hanging from the high ceiling looked like it would rain down crystals at any moment.
"Follow me so you don't fall behind. The mansion is large, and it's easy to get lost."
At Henna's words, Aubrey snapped her open mouth shut and paced.
They crossed the great hall and climbed the stairs. Then down another long hallway. Aubrey couldn't believe the path they were taking, the sunlight streaming in through the large windows and spilling over the hallway like shards of glass.
Aubrey stopped in her tracks and banged her forehead against Henna’s back as she was in a dazed white walking.
"Oh, I'm sorry......."
"Who’s that?"
One glance and it was a very cute girl.
Henna bowed politely to the girl and moved a foot to the side. As if to give the girl a wider field of vision. Aubrey squeezed her eyes in embarrassment as she found herself face to face with the girl.
"Who is it?”
The girl, who looked quite young, asked without taking her eyes off Aubrey.
Dazzling blonde hair spilled down her chest. Pearl earrings. Bright blue eyes that looked exactly like Barbara's husband were looking at Aubrey disapprovingly.
"The stable hand found her early in the morning while out for a walk. Madam said she must be her long-lost niece................."
"A niece?"
The girl interrupted Henna. The girl's eyes swept Aubrey blatantly. Her gaze lingered on every inch of her. The twisted hands, the dirty bare feet.
"That's what my mother told you?"
"Yes, Miss Emily."
"That can't be right."
The girl smiled, as if she were thrilled.
Emily. The girl was Barbara's daughter, and if you looked closely enough, she looked a little like her.
"Ah."
"What?"
"What did you see?"
Emily said. For a moment, Aubrey involuntarily averted her gaze.
"What the hell is that smell?"
Emily flicked her pale, tiny hands and passed them.
Aubrey glanced at Emily, who just rolled her eyes and walked away, her pink dress with a little plunge in the back fluttering.
The blond hair that flowed down her back was so flattering on her, the way she stretched her back and craned her neck so high, so graceful, so unlike the aristocrats who sometimes visited the island.
"Stop staring and come. It’s rude."
Aubrey took a hurried step at Henna's scolding.
***
When she reached the bathroom, the maid who had come earlier was standing there with towels and clothes.
Henna opened the door to the bathroom, revealing a huge room that could hardly be called a bathroom.
It was painted blue and reminded Aubrey of the ocean. A huge mirror sat in front of her, and golden ornaments bloomed around it, reaching all the way to the ceiling.
As if on cue, a chandelier hung from the ceiling, smaller than the one in the concourse, but with clear crystal strands.
Aubrey's head swiveled around, taking in the opulence of the bathroom.
"Take it off."
Henna said in a nonchalant tone as she closed the door.
"What?"
"You have to take off your clothes to wash."
She grabbed the hem of Aubrey's tattered dress. At that moment, a picture of Henna being shocked at the sight of the stigma on her shoulder appeared in her mind.
"That, that!"
Aubrey exclamation startled Henna.
"I-I can wash up, I'll wash up by myself."
Henna looked skeptical that she could wash herself.
"Oh, I'll wash every inch of it, because I can, by myself............."
"..."
"I'm a little embarrassed"
Henna nodded.
"Oh, can I get some clothes?"
Henna raised an eyebrow as she backed away.
"I'd like to get dressed before coming out.”
After staring at Aubrey for a few seconds, Henna picked up the towel and clothes the maid was holding and handed them to her. Her actions were quite polite, but her expression and tone were not.
"Then wash up and come out."
"Yes."
Aubrey unconsciously clasped her hands together in a polite bow. Henna clicked her tongue at the sight.
Soon she was out of the bathroom, and Aubrey could only breathe a sigh of relief once she was completely alone.
Finally, she seemed to be coming to her senses. Aubrey looked around the bathroom once more. She still couldn't believe she had a separate room for bathing. She felt like she was in another world. She couldn't believe what she was seeing was real.
Aubrey's eyes darted around, and she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
Her red hair was wet and tangled and puffy, her face and exposed limbs were covered in grime and scars, and a musty odor invaded the fragrant bathroom.
It was an ugly sight. Aubrey shuffled out of her clothes.
But she didn't know what to do with herself. The bathroom smelled unmistakably fragrant, and there were neatly arranged items for washing, but she couldn't touch any of them.
In the end, Aubrey settled for a cold shower, but it was better than her bath in Crysis. There, she'd been able to bathe once a month in much colder water, and even then, she'd been lucky.
Wondering if she'd still be dirty after this, Aubrey scrubbed every inch of her body with the cold water. . Even though she was shaking, she held her forearm to her nose and sniffed to see if there was any smell
When the water finally stopped, there was a knock on the door as if they had been waiting outside.
"Miss, are you all washed up, I'll help you get dressed."
The voice was not Henna’s, but a much younger one, and Aubrey hurriedly grabbed the doorknob.
"Oh, no. I'll put it on, I can do that."
Fearing that Henna would open the door, Aubrey shoved her limbs into the clothes she had received earlier with her still damp body.
When she finally got dressed and opened the door, the waiting maid's eyes widened. She must be the one who had spoken.
"Ah, my lady. Your body................"
Wondering what was wrong, Aubrey quickly looked down at her body.
"Why is your body so red? Are you sick, do you have a fever?"
The maid, unlike Henna earlier, was actually quite friendly and put her hand to Aubrey's forehead to see if she had a fever.
"My God, it's ice cold!"
"Oh, it's only cold water................"
"Cold water?"
The maid, peeking into the bathroom, sighed.
"I suggest you go back to your room and warm yourself up, and change your clothes again."
"Why change the clothes?"
The maid whispered, looking around.
"You're dressed backwards, my lady."
Aubrey's face flushed hot.
Everything was a mess.
***
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