The next morning, I knew I had to start gaining more of Rebecca's trust, except I still had no idea how I would do that. I hoped that our conversation the day before was a sign that things were changing. That, however, was not guaranteed. My previous conversations with her had been enough to show me how easy it would be to say the wrong thing. With such a small time frame to work with, I had to move with tact and speed. Two attributes Alice told me I did not possess.

After breakfast, I gathered a collection of books from my bedroom. Some were fiction with Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Mary Shelley amongst them, whilst some were law books Father had given me. He had been right about me needing time to study and I knew that my time with Rebecca would make it even harder to do so. I had decided that Rebecca and I needed to be comfortable with one another in silence before we could start having deeper conversations. I always found that reading created the most comfortable silences.

With the books tucked under one arm and Rebecca's locket hidden at the back of my sock drawer, I left my bedroom and hurried down the hallway to where Rebecca was staying. Alice would be spending the morning in her etiquette lessons, which gave Rebecca and me plenty of time to grow comfortable in silence. I readjusted my grip on the books and knocked lightly, hoping that Rebecca was already awake.

"Come in," a small voice said from inside. It did not sound like Rebecca, but I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Good morning, Lucy, Miss Edwards."

"Good morning, sir." Lucy offered me her usual curtsy, her eyes downcast.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I can come back if you're busy."

"Not at all, Sir. I was just collecting Miss Edwards' breakfast tray and applying the salve from Doctor Merrick." Lucy gestured to the tray on the edge of Rebecca's bed, which had an empty plate, glass, and a small glass jar with a pale paste substance inside. "I should get on with the rest of my chores."

"Of course. Don't let me stop you."

I stepped to the side to allow Lucy access to the door which I had been blocking since I entered the room. She gathered up the tray and quickly left, not even offering me a second glance. Although I had tried my hardest to be friendly with the staff, many of them were still wary of my behaviour. Father made sure they all knew their place, and I could never undo that.

Once Lucy had left, I allowed the door to remain partially open. I did not want anyone to judge the situation incorrectly, and I also didn't want Rebecca to feel as though she were trapped with me.

Rebecca sat upright against her pillows. The salve covered the bruises on her face and neck, but they weren't as prominent as they had been upon her arrival. I watched her knot her fingers into the frayed edge of her blanket, something she did frequently. There were still dark circles under her eyes, but I had the feeling that her lack of sleep would continue for months, if not years, to come.

I readjusted the books under my arms, the weight of them growing heavier with each passing second. My grip on one book faulted for only a second. All the books tumbled from my arms, hitting the ground with a series of dull thumps that probably startled whoever happened to be in the room below.

"Ah," I said, staring at the books on the ground. "That was not part of my plan."

Rebecca smiled a little. "It was funny, though."

"I thought we might spend today reading. I have some fiction books that you might enjoy and I really need to continue my studying. It shall be far more enjoyable if we do it together, or at least I hope it will."

"What books do you have?"

"All sorts." I crouched down and gathered up the books, sweeping them under my arms and carrying them over to the bed for Rebecca to get a closer look at. "I have multiple Jane Austen novels, Frankenstein, and Charles Dickens. There are plenty more in my room if these are not to your liking."

"These are fine, thank you."

"They are some of my favourites. Unfortunately, I am stuck with the law books for the next few years. A downside to my ambition."

Rebecca reached over and grabbed one of the books, running her fingers over the writing on the cover and spine. I did not probe into which book she grabbed. Instead, I took a seat on the wooden chair beside her bed and thumbed through one of the many law books. Given the opportunity, I would have grabbed one of the other books.

Neither of us spoke as we looked through our chosen books. Rebecca turned the pages slowly, her eyes darting back and forth over the words on the page. I turned the pages of my book without really reading them. The words all blurred into one and I started to see double the longer I stared at the pages. Just looking at them gave me a headache, and it didn't take me too long to close the book and call it a day.

I had been ambitious in my plans to venture into law because I did not want to just follow in Father's footsteps. He wanted me to do everything he did, to take over the ownership of the village and be responsible for removing people from their homes if they could not pay, but that wasn't me. It wasn't in my nature to tear people down. Alice had all but confirmed that I would like the cynicism needed to do such a thing. I wanted to help people, and the law could help me with that.

Placing the book on my lap, I watched Rebecca. She seemed far more relaxed with the book than I had seen her at any point during her stay with us. There was a slight smile dancing on her lips, a look of wonder in her eyes, and a calm aura surrounding her. All of her attention had been directed at the words on the page as if the rest of the world no longer mattered. For the first time, she looked to be at peace with herself.

She looked up at me, smiling a little. I offered a small smile in return, feeling a little as though I had been caught out.

"I'm sorry. It had not been my intention to stare at you," I said. Heat rose in my cheek as the embarrassment crept in. "Law books do not hold my attention nearly as much as Dickens."

"Do you like to read?"

"Other than annoying Alice, it is my favourite pastime. Of course, Father wishes I read something a little more stimulating than the works of Austen, but I am of the belief that he was not born with an imagination."

Rebecca laughed. It was small, almost unnoticeable, but it was there. "I think everyone is born with an imagination. Some are just more powerful than others."

"Perhaps so. Father must have buried his rather deeply a long time ago. Maybe he will allow it to break through the surface one of these days, but I have the sneaking suspicion it is long gone."

"My father liked to read."

She ran her hands down the length of the page; the smile dropping from her face and her eyebrows furrowing together as though she were in deep thought. I stared at her. Rebecca had never mentioned her family before. She had never shown any inclination of wanting to discuss her life before. Had she intended to mention him, or had it been an accident?

I did not want to push too far out of fear of scaring her off. If she had just started to open up, the last thing I wanted to do was close her doors once again.

"What did he like to read?" I thought it to be a safe question, a way to get her to talk more about her past by discussing the good in it.

"Anything. His favourite book was Alice in Wonderland."

"A classic. I think I have a copy of it somewhere. You can borrow it if you want to. Despite being named for the main character, Alice has no real draw to the story and it has been sitting on my shelf with little use for a while now."

"I'd like that."

"Forgive me for asking, and feel free to refuse to answer, but what happened to him? You speak of him in the past tense. Why?"

Rebecca closed the book and dropped her eyes to the blanket covering her legs. I knew almost immediately that I had said the wrong thing, but I could not take it back. If I had gained any of her trust, the likelihood was that I had lost it all with just one question, one stupid question I should never have let slip. Alice had been right in that tact had never been my strong suit.

I thought I had well and truly put my foot in it. My fingers shook as I gripped the edge of my book, squeezing around it to try to distract myself from the mess that I had no doubt fallen into. Father's deadline made the situation far more stressful than perhaps it needed to be, and two weeks certainly did not feel like enough time to find out the information I needed. My heart rate steadily increased as I waited for Rebecca to speak, but it did not look as though she was going to.

The edge of the book dug into the palm of my hand, the pain stopping my mind from spiralling too far out of control. It became a grounding point in my life. The pain took me back to the room, back to the situation I found myself in as I waited for Rebecca to speak, or even move. Each second ticked by at an agonising pace.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked something so personal," I said, breaking the silence myself.

"No, it's... it's fine." She paused. "My father died. Several years ago now."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"He became ill rather suddenly and died just a few weeks later. There was nothing anyone could have done." Her voice shook as she spoke, but there was something more lurking in the words, a sense of disbelief. She spoke the words, but I did now know if she believed them herself.

"You must miss him."

She nodded. "Every day."

Rebecca dropped the book onto her lap. Tears silently ran down her cheeks and she squeezed her eyes shut, allowing them to fall. It was a personal cry, a moment that could not be shared with anyone else. I could do nothing to make it any easier for her, nothing to help take away the emotional pain that she no doubt felt over her father's death. Grief, more often than not, was a solitary emotion.

I released the edge of my book, flexing my fingers along the cover and swallowing to hide my emotion. Whatever might have happened to her for her to end up in the woods near our house, I knew with certainty that it did not involve her father. She did not speak of him with fear, but with grief and hurt over his loss. He was someone she cared about and who no doubt cared about her in return. Perhaps it was his loss that set off the chain of events that led to her being in our care.

With Rebecca having already divulged some personal information, I decided it would be for the best to call it a day. I did not want to push her too far or get her to talk about something when she was not ready to do so. She had already provided me with information that I knew would be helpful and it would be information that I could pass to George to help him with his investigation into who she was.

"You can keep that if you want to," I said, gesturing to the book.

Rebecca sniffed, wiping the back of her hand across her face. "Are you sure?"

"More than sure. It won't get too much use in my room and it will give you something to pass the time rather than staring at the walls. I cannot imagine that they are the most interesting walls to look at me."

"If you are certain."

"I shall try to find Alice in Wonderland for you as well. Although I'm not sure where I put it. I have far too many books and not enough space for them."

She smiled. "I would like that."

"Good."

I looked at Rebecca and offered her the warmest smile I could offer, hoping to ease her mind about talking to me and being in my company. Even though she hadn't revealed too much information, it had been enough. If I could get her to talk about her father, I had to hope that it would not be long before she began to trust me with the information we so desperately needed.

Despite Father disliking my fondness for fiction, he had been wrong in thinking that books weren't helpful. They were more helpful than he would ever know.

~~~

A/N - We are back with Chapter Fifteen! Things are starting to shift in their relationship now, but will Nate uncover the truth in time?

Questions!

Do you think Rebecca will open up more? Are you surprised that she told Nate about her Father? Will he find out the truth?

Comment below!

First Published - January 17th, 2023