The stone walls of Thornecliff manor were vast and cold. Despite the desolate appearance of the manor, little Eve moved through the house like a wandering ghost with no destination. She spent her mornings tucked behind the velvet curtains of the drawing room, watching her mother, lady Sophia embroider silk roses. Eve would clutch a scrap of discarded thread and try to mimic her mother 's hand movements hoping she would look up, see her and invite her to seat upon the settee. But the look never came.
Whenever Sophia 's eyes strayed toward the curtains, they held a sharp flick of resentment.
Afterwards, she'd spent her time reading or being tutored until late afternoon
"Father, father, look!" little Eve bounced down the stairs toward the pallor to her father.
'I hope this will make father like me' she thought to herself.
"Father, look" she urged, offering a piece of paper crumpled at the corner.
"Miss Mary said I did better work than moat of my peers" the six-year-old buzzed.
"Hmmm" he hummed without even a little glance at the paper his daughter was holding
Seeing this, she hesitated to follow him, but did so anyway. When she was about to step into his chambers, the heavy oak door was slammed on her face.
Eve stood frozen, her small hand still outstretched, clutching the crumpled paper from her tutor. The thunderous crack echoed in her chest, vibrating through her ribs until it settled as a cold hollow ache. Tears brimmed in er eyes, but she did her best to not let them fall, no one would care anyway. 'He always does this' she thought. 'But I will keep on trying, for now, I need some sweets.
She was determined to win their love no matter what.
Little Eve made her way to the kitchen and was about to make her presence known when through the slightly closed door, she heard the whispers.
"It cannot be more obvious; do you see the way he always treats her?" she heard
"So, it is true then, well I for one never doubted it for one moment. I mean, look at her hair, no one in the whole family has hair like that"
"Everything about her is strange. If someone declared her a witch, I would not be surprised" one of the voices exclaimed
"Shhhh, not so loud"
"It is true that she does not look like any of the family members, but the Lady Sophia would never betray her husband"
"Hmmm, at the end of the day the truth remains, she is illegitimate, I bet you there's not one drop of the Thorncliffe heritage in her blood."
Little Eve could hear all this from behind the door, her little mind did not understand what 'illegitimate' meant, but she knew it had to do with the way her father looked through her as if she were a window and winced whenever he caught her vivid, firelike hair. Despite all this, she did not know how to harbor bitterness. Her heart was a stubborn fire hearth and every day she would gather offerings to gift her family, a smooth garden pebble for her father 's desk and a wilted daisy for her mother 's drawing room. She believed with the unshakable logic of a child that if she were simply better, kinder, beautiful or quieter, the spell of their indifference would break.
She slowly opened the door to announce her presence, and the moment those inside saw who was behind the door, they gasped.
They could only hope she heard nothing or she would go and tell her brother everything. Children were always unpredictable.
"Good afternoon cook" she whispered tightly gripping the door, half of her body leaning inside the kitchen, unsure of how to behave with all the eyes staring in her direction.
"May I have some sweets?" she continued
They all cleared their throats going back to their duties, but the whispers continued nonetheless.
"I made strawberry muffins; will these do young miss?" the cook asked her
"Yes please" Eve beamed forgetting the words she had heard at the sight of the sweets.
"Can I have some for Eddie too?"
"Alright young miss, I'll pack them up for you" he offered
"Thank you" she beamed at him
After collecting the sweets, she went to wait for her brother at the stones near the entrance of their estate just like every other day. She only had to wait for a couple of minutes, before she could hear horse hooves at a distance. She quickly got down to stand directly at the entrance waiting for the only person she knew who openly showed his love for her, and she, in turn loved him more than anything.
Eddie had had a long day at the Ashwood estate. He had visited his good friend Lucian about the new crop variant he wanted to try out come spring, and also for the flowers that were only found at their estate for his little sister. No one else knew of his friendship with Lucian because of the societal class difference. They both knew if the news got out, it would cause a scandal, and that scandal would only touch his family. At only thirteen years old, he was already showing great promise as the heir to the Thorncliffe enterprise.
"Eddie!" as soon as the carriage stopped, Eve jumped into her brother 's arms who immediately twirled her.
"Look what I got you" he breathed carefully placing her on the ground reaching back into the carriage
"Flowers?" she asked
"flowers" he replied
"Thank you, Eddie," she gushed "look what I got you" she continued collecting and handing him the basket with cupcakes
"Mmm, yum, thank you Eve" he grinned and hand in hand they went back into the mansion.
Evening soon came and the Thorncliffe family were all seated down for dinner. Sir Clement Thorncliffe sat at the head of the table looking down at his family. Silence reigned in the room and only the sound of the cutlery against the plates could be heard. His son Eddie was seated to his right with his wife on his left, as for Eve, she sat beside her mother, her chair slightly low for her chin to comfortably clear the edge, but she was already used to this so she did not complain.
"Edward," Sir Thorncliffe began, his voice slightly softening for his only son. "I received a letter from your tutor today; he says your grip on the French concepts is becoming quite formidable. I've already instructed the Hatchards to acquire all the books you might need so I will have to send someone to fetch them tomorrow."
"Truly, father? I've been meaning to discuss this with you, thank you."
"hmmm" Clement hummed. "Nothing is too much for the future of my son"
"You need not worry father, I will go and collect the books straight from his bookshop"
"Can I accompany him father?" Eve chimed in
Both parents ignored her and only Eddie smiled at her and answered "of course, but you will have to listen to everything I tell you.
"I will wear my yellow dress" she chatted
"Eat your food Eve" her mother admonished her
As the dessert, a chocolate cake was bought in, the conversation turned back to Edward. They discussed his future prospects, the horse his father was planning to buy for him and many other things concerning his comfort.
Eve watched them. She had learnt early that this was what it would always be like in this household. She understood that her parents, though they did not give her the attention she wanted, loved her in their own way.
"You are the light of my life Eddie" Sophia sighed, her voice thick with suffocating love.
"And you are my only pride" Clement added
Eve reached for a slice of cake, her movements ghostly. How she longed to hear those exact words from her parents. Only the maids could attest to what went on behind the closed doors of this mansion. From their corner, they watched as the little girl finished her meal in total silence. A tiny forgotten island in a sea of golden light. When the meal was over, a maid came to collect Eve and they made their way to her chambers with only a goodnight from her brother.