Page 8 of Rise of the Gods: Vardor’s Destiny (Time for Monsters)

" O h that's dreadful," Abigail St. Clair, my best friend, declared when I finished telling her about my last two nights.

It was Sunday afternoon, right after mass, and like every other Sunday since we were children, we were spending the rest of the day together. Even her wedding hadn’t changed this. I didn't know what Callum thought about it, but since he spent his Sunday afternoons in a tavern with his friends, I didn't think he minded all too much.

Abbie hugged me tightly, and it felt so good. She and Helen were the only ones who had ever embraced me or thrown any kind of love at me.

"Don't worry. We'll make a plan," she promised.

The warmth of the kitchen wrapped around us, the air rich with the scent of steeping tea and the lingering sweetness of cake. A pot simmered on the old stove, its gentle bubbling the only sound between us for a moment. Candlelight flickered against the walls, casting soft shadows, a quiet contrast to the world outside. The shutters remained drawn, shutting out the city beyond. I wish it would have been that easy to shut my life out.

Neither Abbie nor Callum came from wealth, but Callum’s success as a solicitor now ensured they lived comfortably. Still, there was nothing extravagant about this place, nothing that felt untouchable or distant. It was lived in, warm—a home.

Her cook and maid had Sundays off, leaving us to our own little tradition.

"What plan?" I snorted derisively. "There is no plan that will work, Abbie, my life is over."

"Oh, quit being such a drama queen, Ro, that's not gonna help," she scolded, making me laugh.

"Alright."

"Alright," she grinned, digging her fork into the lemon cake.

Neither one of us bothered with plates. We just dug, completely unladylike, into the entire cake. Our once a week treat. A week ago, our biggest worry was how we would stay friends after I became a countess, and I’d promised her that she would always be welcome at my palace . We had giggled and laughed about it, like when we were children. We had even included Callum into our dreams. We’d decided that Thomas would hire him and get all his aristocratic friends to do the same, and he would become filthy rich.

What a difference seven days can make.

I stared gloomily into the fire in the stove. No gas in Abbie's household.

"You have jewelry, right? Plenty?" Abbie asked.

I shrugged, "Yes, but so what? It's not like I can just run away."

"Why not?" Abbie wanted to know.

I waved my hands, "Where would I go?"

Abbie's voice was almost hushed, "America."

I placed my hand on top of hers. "Oh, Abbie."

America was her dream. Had been since she was a little kid. I thought for sure that one day she would off and leave for the other continent. But then she met Callum and fell madly in love with him. Callum was a pragmatic man, very much unlike her, who thrived on dreams. Moving from London was the furthest thing on his mind, especially not to another continent.

"Women do it all the time," Abbie insisted.

I shook my head, "Widows, missionaries, or governesses perhaps, but not single women like me."

"Alright, hear me out. You wouldn't be a single woman; just wait until after you're married. It's not like Thomas can have you arrested for running to America."

My fork dug into the cake and leveled a piece like a kid playing in sand. "The scandal," I lowered my eyes.

"So what?" Abbie raised her hands in exasperation. "Ro, please, listen to me. Most likely, Thomas will wait a few months before he has you locked up. In that time, you buy as much jewelry as you can. Anything that can be turned into money, understand?"

Abbie's eyes were on fire now as I stared at her. "I will keep your jewelry safe for you here. Nobody will suspect. And then once you have enough, you just leave," her hands opened to the kitchen as if she was setting a bird free.

"Just like that?" I asked in utter disbelief.

"Just like that," she nodded.

"It will be scandal," I objected.

"So what?" Abbie shrugged. "What do you care? You'll be gone and free. You'll be free, Ro. It's not like Thomas is going to send someone after you to kidnap you and bring you back. Now that would be a scandal."

Her words rang inside my head. Could it really be that easy?

I had dreamed about seeing the world forever. I would still be a countess. Abbie was right; there was nothing Thomas would be able to do about it—not without an even bigger scandal. I would lose my reputation, but wasn't that a small price to pay for my freedom?

"Make sure he buys you a lot of pretty jewelry," Abbie winked. "Oh Ro, it will be such an adventure. Just make sure to write."

My hand shook when I took a bite of the cake and brought it to my mouth to give me time to consider Abbie's outlandish plan. There would be no going back from it. Just like there would be no going back from St. George's Fields. I would much rather live a new life somewhere else than be locked up in a mental institution.

"But what if I'm too late? What if he locks me up right away?"

"Then we'll get you out," my friend simply said.

"How?"

"The guards are easy to bribe. We have to do it all the time if we want to see Adam or bring him something."

Adam was her brother, who'd lost his mind.

"Oh, Abbie."

She blinked back a tear. "It's alright. I've come to terms with having lost my brother a long time ago. As far as I'm concerned, he died at Waterloo. But I still need to go see his body, make sure he gets nourishment, you know. Sometimes I can hug him... and that makes it all worthwhile."

I couldn't even imagine what that was like, but I nodded. Abbie was the bravest woman I knew. She wouldn't hesitate for one second to do what she was suggesting I should.

"Money is the most important part of this plan," she took my hands in hers. Her eyes beseeched me, "You understand this, right?"

I did. Whatever jewelry I could put away would have to last me for the rest of my life. Neither my father nor Thomas would send a penny to me.

"I do. Thank you, Abbie. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Just think of me when you have the adventures of your life in America," she waved her hand as if what she was doing for me was nothing. And to her, it was. I loved her like a sister, and not once did the thought cross my mind that she might betray my trust.