The House of Beardsley

Chapter Thirty

Once we were all finished with our shopping and in the carriage once more, the sky had grown dark. Beth was humming Christmas carols happily.

"Like always, you've brought the most," Clo said, looking at the paper bags and boxes she carried. I was surprised because Beth had more than three bags, so she probably brought items for herself too.

"Yes, I couldn't help it," Beth said in a sing-song voice, "a department store is my favorite place ever! And today is the best day ever!" She latched on to hug my arm.

I chuckled. "Be careful of the bags on your lap!"

"Yessir!"

"Even Shuyan seems happier," Clo said, smiling a bit. "I'm glad."

"You act like a mum," Rhiannon whispered. Clo rolled her eyes.

"Fine by me. Surprisingly today I didn't get too much stares. How about you, Shuyan?"

"Huh?" I thought about it. Today, maybe because of Tobias, I wasn't really jeered at. But I couldn't possibly tell them that. "It was fine for me, too."

"I saw Augustin and Valentin everywhere," Beth said, "so we shopped together in the end. You wouldn't believe it, the twins are like opposites. Every gift they chose out for their brothers they had the exact opposite taste. Like for this cigarette case for Silas, Augustin liked a plain silver one while Valentin liked a black ornamental one."

"Hmm," Rhiannon remarked, looking uninterested.

"Did anything catch your eye for next year?" I asked Rhiannon.

"You're thinking way ahead of time. We might not even be here next year," she said, always the cynic.

"Don't say such sad things," I said. Beth and Clo nodded.

"I'm so happy right now," Beth said softly, relaxing in her seat. "I've never been this happy in my whole life. I wish we can stay like this forever."

"You're being dramatic," Clo laughed. There was silence in the carriage, and then she laughed nervously. "Um, Beth?"

Beth was sobbing.

"Beth?" I turned towards her. "What's wrong?"

She only shook her head meekly. "No, no, it's nothing. I just—for a moment I was just overwhelmed."

"I'm happy too." Rhiannon was smiling. With the street lamps outside the carriage lighting her face, she looked saintly and magical, like a fairy-queen. Her hair even looked silver. 

"Aren't we all the same?" she continued. "We've all been alone, or lonely—but now we have each other."

We rode in the carriage thinking about what she said.

That was true: why did I ever think I was alone?

Eugene and I might not ever be anything more than master and servant, but I will always have my friends. Wasn't that enough?

I smiled, and hugged Beth tightly.

***

Around another week had passed, and our front hall was decorated and looking festive when one night, after dinner, Matheus came to join Rudy and I.

"Oh, Matthew," Rudy said. "Want a cookie?"

"No thanks," Matheus said. "I'm here to talk about Master Eugene."

"Master Eugene?" we both shouted, then lowered our voice. Thankfully no one was around the dinning table, as the card playing bunch moved and had gotten themselves a small table in a different room.