First at Last (Updated Version)

Chapter Nineteen

The next day, I sat before at the table by the window, drinking my tea and staring out at the gardens. It was a nice day, but I did not really feel like going out.

There was a soft knocking on my bedroom door and my first thought, foolishly, was of William and the way he would knock on my balcony door. Of course, I knew it wasn't William, and the thought left me even more miserable. I did not get up to go answer it. If it was Mother, she would barge in anyway, and everyone else could just leave me alone.

After a moment, the knock sounded again, a little louder this time. "Erika? Can I come in?" To my surprise, the voice was Alice's. She was the last person I would have expected to visit. And the last person I wanted to talk to right now.

"Go away, Alice," I said. "I am not in the mood."

There was a long enough pause that I thought she might have left. Though, I could not be so lucky.

"Please, Erika," she said, "I need to tell you something."

With a sigh, I relented. I walked over to the door and pulled it open. Alice stood on the other side, though she looked different than usual. Her eyes were rimmed red, her face blotchy, and I wondered if she'd been crying.

"Alice," I said slowly. "Have you been crying?"

Almost unconsciously, she ran her hand under her eyes. Though, she did not acknowledge my question. "I have something for you. Follow me." She turned and strode back out of my room and down the hall.

I hurried after her as she led us around the corner, down another corridor to her own bedroom. Alice's room had always reminded me something of a doll house, with its soft pink walls, lace curtains, and white-painted furniture. As a child, Alice had loved her dolls and had begged Mother and Father to decorate her room like one. She had gotten her wish.

I had been jealous of it when we were younger. My room never looked as lovely as hers. But now, the idea of living in a room that looked so like a doll's made me feel claustrophobic.

I stopped uncertainly at the threshold. "Er . . . may I come in?"

She cast me an impatient glance. "Do you think I would have had you follow me all the way down here just have you stand outside of my room. Of course not, Erika. So come in and shut the door. Mother cannot know you've been here."

I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. Her room even smelled nice. Like roses.

Alice turned her back on me again and marched over to her dresser, which was covered in soft pink doilies and jewelry boxes. She knelt down, pulled open the bottom drawer, and began rifling through.

"Are you looking for something?" I asked curiously as I watched her.

She ignored my question. With a soft, "Aha!" she pulled out a small wooden board from the bottom drawer and set it aside.

A false bottom? I thought, surprised. What would Alice have to hide? It felt almost exciting. Like something I would read about in a book. From beneath it, she pulled out a rather sizable bag and replaced the panel

She stood and turned to me, clutching the bag tightly to her. The bag clinked as she moved and it sounded as though it were full of coins. Though, I couldn't imagine where Alice could have gotten her hands on so much money.

She confirmed my unasked questions a moment later when she held out the bag to me. "Take this. It's money. A lot of money. I do not know how much exactly, but enough, I think. Run away with William. Go live your wonderful life together, in love. This might not last forever, but it should be enough to help you start a new life."