Thorns And Roses

Chapter Eleven

Charles continued to eat, biting back a smirk at the effect his words had on the mood and that none of them were laughing now.

"Judge Turpin?" Arthur asked, his tone dark.

"The very same," Charles answered said smugly.

The silence in the room was bone-crushing, even ELeanore had nothing to say now. Beside her, Edith's movements were tense as she reached for her glass of wine "And when were you planning on telling us?"

"I just did," Charles said brusquely. "Quite frankly I don't know what all of you are so miserable about, his record of sentencing criminals is exemplary and he's a man doing gods work."

"Or the devils," Edith said quietly.

"Well perhaps Judge Turpin will be perfect Edith," said Amelia by her husband's side "Richard Turpin holds our family in the highest regard I'm sure he'll do what's right."

"You don't know him, Amelia." said Edith dangerously "You don't know him as father does. As I do."

"Ah yes, you know him quite well don't you Edith?" Charles came offhandedly, his tone unkind. Edith's eyes snapped in his direction as he continued "From what I heard you were very close ten years ago. Or are the rumours false?"

Another silence passed in which Eleanore was sure Edith had been struck by a bullet. Her usual strong, proud gaze was hurt and pain-filled and she lowered her eyes to her dinner plate. At the other end of the table, Mrs Sykes cleared the air by politely changing the subject and Eleanore was grateful. After a few minutes though, Edith who had remained quiet broke the silence.

"If I may be excused, I'm not feeling so well." She stood and pushed her chair in, leaving the dining room and a few faces staring after her. Eleanore's gaze was full of concern and her eyes drifted back to Charles hatefully when he flashed her a smirk.

When the conversation continued for a while, Eleanore decided she was going to try and find Edith so she asked to go to the bathroom and followed after her. Whilst trying to navigate through the many rooms, she came across one of the backrooms leading out to the garden. The door was open and stood in the doorway with a cigarette in hand was Edith, her back to Eleanore while she stared at the greying sky's outside.

Eleanore approached cautiously, unsure if Edith was the type to accept a form of emotional comfort. In an effort to avoid startling her she cleared her throat. "Edith."

She turned sharply and quickly wiped her face before composing herself to look Eleanore in the eye with her usual proud gaze. "Eleanore...I didn't hear you come in."

The baker bit her lip and moved to stand beside her "Are you alright?"

"Perfectly." She said slowly "Sometimes I feel a little ill. Nothing a cigarette won't fix."

The pair stood in silence and Eleanore couldn't help but let her eyes wander over the magnificent garden. Beside a tree on the far side was a very pretty looking swing and on the lush grass was a discarded doll that one of Amelia's daughters must have left outside.

Edith surveyed Eleanore watch her smoke and she offered the half-smoked bud between her fingers "Want a try?"

In an effort to try and impress her, Eleanore took the still-lit cigarette between her fingers and brought it to her lips. She had only breathed in a small amount when she felt like her lungs were full of soot and she began to choke.

Edith tittered with laughter beside her "Never had a cigarette before have you?"

"No." She said between coughs. "An' I'll never bloody 'ave one again ta save me life."