Partners In Crime

Chapter 2

𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝙻𝙾𝚂𝚂,

the atmosphere mirrored the heaviness within, as the relentless rain clashed against windows, echoing the ache of a grieving heart. The night prior, I was certain that the news circulated at lightning speed, after all, it was the messenger boy's task to notify all involved with Sir Arkin. And yet, as I roamed the halls of the institution, jovial chatter on that particular day, unveiled itself to be the singular element I was incapable of comprehending; convincing me further that the human nature was far more complex than I had originally accredited it for. 

The distance between the lecture room and the front entrance provided me with the opportunity to observe the reactions to Professor Arkin's passing, watering the pre-planted seed of revulsion growing within me toward a particular category of individuals I had the utmost displeasure of being surrounded by, since the day of my upbringing. 

Other than the heaviness in my heart suppressing the laughter coming from all sides, I felt oddly grateful that Mother Nature, too, was mourning the loss of a virtuous person. On that day, she wore a grey dress combined with strikingly bright heels, and with each heavy step she took — the sky would flash with luminance before fading back to a depressing state. She walked through all of Great Britain, shedding tears until puddles turned into flooding. 

A sympathetic lady. 

As I approached the door of the lecture room, a familiar voice called out my name. I turned my head to greet a dear friend of mine, Elisabeth Buckley, the daughter of Earl and Countess Buckley. A rejected family among the rest of the nobility within the area of our residence. Lady Elisabeth was intended to marry a handful of times but the engagements were called off coincidentally, or not, after only two weeks by the grooms' families, dismissing their future daughter-in-law as "an undignified woman, not fit to rule over [their] land". Due to such, the Buckleys have lost a substantial amount of power despite ranking fairly high on the precedence for titles of nobility.

"Good Afternoon Elisabeth, whatever causes you to call out my name so loudly in these halls?" I greeted her.

Her smile rapidly faded as her arms crossed, "I believe we had previously spoken about this."

I stared at her pouty expression, blinking before modifying my greeting to fit her request, "Good Afternoon Ellie, whatever causes you to call out my name so loudly in these halls?"

Her lips curved into a wide grin, nearly covering the bottom half of her face, and her arms dropped, "Much better Lady L/N!" She exclaimed although her excitement had always dazed me. Despite asking me to drop the formalities, she hadn't once done so herself. "I suppose you have heard of the news."

Her presumably rhetorical question straightened out my doubt concerning the unawareness of others, once and for all disintegrating any last hope I had left to be proven wrong when it touched the subject of my distaste for nobles. Sir Arkin who played a significant part in their well-being and academic success was no longer present, and they found no room in their cold, egocentric hearts to care. 

"Yes, I have." I shortly replied.

"How unbelievably heartbreaking."

"Yes, it is."

Elisabeth's eyes dropped to the floor, visibly holding in her tears from escaping. The Buckley family may have been the so-called "ignoble nobles" but there was an undying reason why I had chosen to form a fellowship with Ellie. If ignoble meant that they possessed human decency, then let them be so. 

"My sisters and I will be visiting Professor Arkin's family later this evening. I believe they will be ever so grateful if you do the same." I notified her, hoping to raise her mood for Elisabeth was the kind to never let anything or anyone dim the sparkle in her eyes, and I felt the need to uphold that attribute of hers.