Chapter 190: Never the same
Edgar did not say or do much with most of his and Ada’s time in the gardens spent watching Arabella go around, exploring the place as though it was her first time out there.
The view and scents had the merit of making her smile, but something about those beams did not sit right with Ada. At least, it seemed like it.
They were distant, earning her a hazy look. For all one knew, neither Ada nor Edgar spoke to her in those moments because they believed she wouldn’t respond as her mind was probably lost somewhere far away from them.
"They turned out splendidly," the young woman cupped a white rose between her hands, "Will you be trimming them again soon?" she then pointed at a specific flower. One that stuck its head out among the rest.
However, the further her arm extended, the more the sleeve around it retracted, exposing her flakey and dried skin from the constant bathing.
A little gasp escaped Ada while Edgar cleared his throat to answer her question, "Yes, I’ve scheduled that task for tomorrow," he let out an awkward chuckle, "I will have to do it the day after tomorrow too since they are growing at such a rapid rate,"
"Is it because it’s Ostara?" she too cleared her throat, sheepishly tugging at her sleeves in the hopes of covering the deeply shameful marks left by the otherwise pure element that was water.
Her efforts were futile, of course since both the maid and the gardener had already glimpsed them.
"Yes, most certainly, it is," the grin on Edgar did not reach his eyes. A detail Arabella noticed almost immediately.
Not that there wasn’t any warmth in it, but while the young woman failed to read Silas’ face, those two on the other hand were open books she’d read time and time again. Despite knowing them for a little less than a month, the way they smiled, their tonal shifts as well as the micro expressions on them were songs of familiar melodies.
The looks they offered right there were ones of pity and sympathy.