A New Estate - Crimson Peak

Chapter Forty Eight

I awoke hours later, sore, achy and yet lighter than I had felt in months.

There was no stress nor paranoia, just warmth and the crackling of the fire in the fireplace as I lay against Robert, China on his other side with her head resting in his lap.

The sun was shining into the room from one of the higher windows, its position in the sky not only indicating that it was sometime in the late afternoon but also made it so the light hit the glass perfectly enough to bounce bright beams directly into the faces of Ben and Alexander as they slept on the floor and yet, they did not stir.

Jonathan and Hille were using one another as a pillow as they slouched against one of the chairs, one that George happened to be snoring from.

Sitting up felt like it took all my effort, but I had managed to pivot myself enough to stretch out and pull on my muscles, the relief and discomfort hurting in a peculiarly satisfying way.

Robert still looked worryingly gaunt and pale, though the contrast of the red clay accentuated just how sickly he had started to look, all trace of his tan from working outside erased by his possession.

The darker hair also didn't help with the visage and yet it suited him, I couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for the dark to recede back to his natural colour now that Thomas was gone.

A passing thought that caused my heart to squeeze.

Pushing it away, I looked towards Robert and took in the coating of clay that would be stuck to near all of us in some capacity, though worse off for him and myself.

The arms of those who had pulled me out of the vat seemed to have been mostly cleared off, whether by them personally or through the work of their labour in fighting and burning Lucille I couldn't say with any certainty.

Parts had flaked from Robert's skin but it was still caked and knotted in his hair and in patches around his face and neck, if he didn't wake soon then I could take it upon myself to wash off what I could before taking my own bath.

Reaching down to stroke China, I wait for the tiredness to fade and for my muscles to loosen up further while listening to the soft snores and breathing of the others.

It was otherwise disconcertingly quiet now that a calm had come over the manor and I was finding it difficult to settle into the new atmosphere.

My nerves were still on edge and I was expecting kind of presence to make itself known in the worst way imaginable.

Unless proven otherwise, we were free.

No longer did we have to fear Lucille's wrath and live in paranoia of one another, we could move freely and not feel like we had to be weary of more than common accidents as opposed to attacks from something so malevolent.

Not only that, but now that they had witnessed first-hand the evidence of our protests Robert's name could finally be cleared of the wrongful accusations, no longer could he be assumed a murderer by the few who held onto that belief a mere twenty-four hours ago.

Who did and didn't still believe the notion was hard to dictate, I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that their opinions fluctuated back and forth on the regard.

Would Robert be able to put it behind them should they apologise?

I hoped so, though I would understand if he struggled with it, just as I understood why they would suspect him in the grand scheme of things.

It was a harsh reality but our reality all the same and now it had changed, taken a turn for the better, things could settle down and be more peaceful now.