The vision came to an end when I heard my little brother's voice pleading...

"Please doctor do everything you can for her, she must live, we can send her anywhere if need be."

"All has been done, and now that her fever broke all we can do is..."

"Master look she is moving!" Edna shouted and soon Daniel was touching my hand though I could not see much my ears worked well.

"Alice! It's me Daniel, I am here with you, please get better, wish it, have faith and get better, for me please" he kissed my forehead and I managed a nod.

"Yeh," I said and the doctor came to take another look at me.

It would not be until the next two days that I could sit up to sip soup, the small cut above my forehead was healing though my body had huge purple spots from where it had bumped along the stairs and where Lydia had kicked me yet.

"It is a miracle Lady Alice you should have had a broken rib from this many kicks, maybe an arm and a leg as well," the doctor examined me as I was getting better.

"Good, it is good to know miracles still happen," I said to the doctor.

"Yes it is always good to know even for us who cannot fix all that ails the body."

"Thank you doctor," I said and he got up.

"Yes I will back to check on you in a week just to be sure but you have made it through the worst of it, you will no longer need me around."

"Then we shall need an excuse to discuss books and have tea other than my injuries."

"Yes we shall," the doctor finally left and once Edna saw him out she came back with what I had asked of her.

"Milady I have written the letter as you requested," Edna came back in to my chambers with my letter, or a rewritten one, this letter had to make it to Mr. Howard whether Cynthia wanted it to or not, this was my first priority, it was the same as before not one word had changed though so much had happened.

"Thank you Edna now we have to find the opportunity for you to deliver it into his hands."

"I heard he is in London for Miss Lydia's sentencing."

"Yes they have asked me to testify against her."

"They have?"

"Yes I shall have to give a full account of the details of how I made it out, thankfully whoever saved me was testimony enough to land Miss Lydia in the justice of men."

"And you don't remember who it was?"

"No, I wish I could yet no one has turned up so that I may say thank you to them."

"It would be nice to know but the witnesses shall remain in secret, all we know is that there are eight witnesses who can link the stories together which point to Lydia as the killer."

"And Mr. Howard is probably one of them," I spoke out loud, "at least now he shall know what has taken place around him all these years. I cannot begin to imagine all the families she tore apart, how many women she took from this world right under everyone's nose in Stanley Hall."

"And you could have been one of them."

"Yes I very well could have had my grandfather's fortune not taken me out of there but still to think that Mary, Mrs. Hall or Gertie could have been injured."

"Yes that is horrendous; I wonder what is her reasoning for not harming them."

"Well Gertie and Mrs. Hall seemed to know there was something strange when I worked there."

"Do you think they will get called up too?"

"Maybe, who knows? Do the newspapers say anything else? What will Lydia's fate be?"

"Hanging for sure, she has been dubbed by every newspaper in London and outside of London as the Cupid Killer..."

"Yes, it suits her all too well."

"There is something else I must tell you."

"Go on."

"I finally discovered why Mrs. Trudor said Lady Walker is back to finish the job."

"How?"

"I had to talk very ill of Lady Walker to Mrs. Trudor until it came out milady."

"Do not look at me like I should chastise you for it," Edna smiled relieved that I would not take Lady Walker's side. "So what did Mrs. Trudor reveal?"

"Mrs. Trudor said that once upon a time, very long ago before Lady Walker was Lady Walker she was your father's fiancée..."

"My father's what?"

"They were once engaged."

"No, to her? My father? No."

"Well it was an engagement made the old way by your grandfather and Lady Walker's father, mainly done for business when your grandfather's fortune began to decrease but your father refused to be married off for money."

"Yes that sounds like the man I knew."

"So he broke off their engagement when he met your mother leaving Lady Walker furious to be jilted."

"Of course, he was in love with my mother."

"Lady Walker tried to keep him from it, giving him time but once he decided there was no one who could talk him out of it."

"Yes," I wiped a tear.

The story made so much sense, my father had braved out against all that was familiar for the impossible and when the consequences fell he did not run, he stayed and he fought till the end.

"Then Lady Walker's family took it upon themselves to disgrace your father's name in society, they tried to do it to the Stewart name but because they were new in society they didn't get too far with it. And once the news spread that the young Stewart heir had forsaken the engagement and the family fortune for a maid in the slums of London your grandparents had no way of saving him, the damage was done."

"No wonder why she knew our country house like the back of her hand," I sat up on my bed dizzy with the amount of revelations I had to handle by myself and to think how many people had played me like a blind fool.

"And that is how the Stewarts and Walkers have been enemies since then, which means the story Mr. Henry told you about your grandfather asking him to be your husband..."

"Cannot possibly be true," I was even more disappointed to know the drawing was probably something he made up to mess with my emotions into believing the sad little tale he told me.

"I am truly sorry Lady Alice," Edna held my hand.

"Thank you for uncovering this, you will never know how grateful I am to have you Edna, you are the sister I wished for," I hugged my maid who had turned into my close family.

"Oh, thank you, thank you," Edna repeated as I would not let go of her.

"No I am the thankful one Edna, and from now on I know what I must do."

"What will you do?"

"You will not only be my lady's maid, we shall dress you up to be my companion."

"What?"

"As you know Lady Walker has been trying to get me to accept Brielle as my companion."

"Yes."

"And Martha has not turned up with anyone I trust."

"Yes."

"And I do not feel safe to roam around alone anymore when I do not have to because you are like family to me."

"Milady thank you but..."

"We will start with you writing a letter to Adelia, tell her we will need a new lady's maid to take your place."

"Milady you are still recovering, maybe you should think it through."

"I have, this time in bed has given me ample time to think about it and I shall never part with you if I do not have to so please say yes if not for you then for me, please."

"Lady Alice," Edna looked at me cornered by my petition, "oh but I am not a lady."

"Yes you are, you write, you know English and French, you play the piano better than me, you are self-controlled, my mother trusts you, you have been here from the start and you are the greatest friend to me which is really the only requirement to this."

"Well..."

"Go into my wardrobe and take four old dresses of mine and make them your own for now."

"What? I would not dream of taking your dresses."

"I know but you shall do it, because for such a position you will need finer dresses and I think mine will do until we get a seamstress here to get you brand new clothes. Also pick two pair of my shoes, a coat, gloves to wear while we wait for your new wardrobe to be set and make sure to call the seamstress for tomorrow, we shall fit you for your new position as soon as possible."

"Milady how about I write the letter, I do not take anything from your wardrobe and we call the seamstress once I have received back a letter from Adelia confirming that she has someone to be your lady's maid as to not rile up the staff with my new position?"

"Do as you think is best."

"Alright then but you do understand Lady Walker will not like this," she warned me.

"I know but we must take our triumphs where we can," then we both laughed at the thought of infuriating her.

It wasn't long until Adelia responded saying she had two candidates for the position for which Edna would make the choice between who would be my next lady's maid. When the matter was settled the seamstress was asked to come in and I called Mrs. Trudor to let her know of the changes to the household to which she did not debate only out of respect after the attack I had been through. Edna moved in to the bedchamber next to my own room, and began to ready herself as a good companion by practicing the piano, brushing up on current events and learning to walk with her new clothes. Mrs. Trudor herself took it upon herself to teach Edna what she had picked up from Mrs. Miller until Edna was blending in seamlessly as my new companion and although to other's eyes she was becoming a new woman to me it was as if we were peeling back her costume, for her respectability, manners and temperament were still intact, she was still Edna while being a truer version of herself.

The new lady's maid walked in since the door was opened as Edna and I had come back from giving my testimony to aid in Miss Lydia's conviction.

"I am sorry milady but there is a gentleman downstairs to see you..."

"Oh uh please tell him it will be impossible at the present moment..." I said since I was tired from talking about my attack and needed a good cup of tea to relax so Sir Holloway would just have to wait another day.

"Yes milady I will tell the Earl of Bridgeston to come another day then," the maid revealed the last person I thought would come to see me.

"Wait, I shall see the Earl in the drawing room please," I said with my heart leaping out of my throat looking at Edna.

"As you wish milady," the new lady's maid left us and I began to fix my hair.

"Oh God, he is here, he has come to see me Edna," I smiled.

"Yes he is, this is the perfect opportunity, I will go get the letter."

"Yes please do, I shall wait for you to help me down," I said looking down, it still hurt me to move, my body was still recuperating but even with the pain I could not wait to see Mr. Howard, he had sent flowers like the rest with wishes of health for me but nothing more for he had no received the letter yet but today that would change.

"Alright I have it here," Edna said helping me down and soon we were getting closer to the drawing room when I met his eyes waiting for me to arrive through the door and the pain in my body faded upon looking at Mr. Howard and he stood up slowly.

"Mr. Howard," I acknowledged with a smile.

"Lady Alice," he said and then Cynthia appeared into view as I went inside the room where she overlooked the street and I fell back into the day of my attack, the memory of me begging her to let go of my throat, her satisfaction of getting me out of her way and here she stood inside my house like she was a perfectly well-tempered lady.

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No part, character, names, plot, setting, conflict or resolution, point of view, theme or symbolism of this story may be replicated.

Copyright: All Rights Reserved to A. Sena Gomes.