Chapter 73

Ruby

I’m just waking up on Saturday morning and have just gotten out of the shower when there’s a knock at my door.

“Just a minute!” I call out. I know it’s Atwood because I can smell his scent through the door, and frantically put on my robe before answering.

He looks me up and down. I’m almost positive that I can see a bit of an erection form in his pants when he looks at me, but I pretend that I don’t see it.

“Get dressed,” he says, holding out a box with a ribbon. “I’m taking you out.”

I take the box from him and take the lid off to reveal a beautiful red dress.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“Shopping,” he says. “Just you and me.”

Before I can say anything else, Atwood turns on his heel and walks off -- likely to hide his erection, which makes me giggle a bit. I head back into my room and pull the dress out of the box.

It’s a short dress with long sleeves and a black collar. When I put it on, the skirt swishes beautifully and it matches my hair well. I put it on with black tights and black boots, then style my hair into two braids and put on a matching beret and scarf. My heart beats with excitement at the thought of going on a date with Atwood; after our dinner date before my birthday, I can only imagine that this date will be even better now that we’ve marked each other.

I put on some makeup, then leave my room and head down the stairs. Atwood is already waiting for me with my coat. He eyes me romantically as I descend the stairs and gestures with his finger for me to spin around. I do just that, to show him how the skirt flows so beautifully.

“I had it specially made,” he says. “Using the measurements from your birthday gown that got ruined. I know it can’t replace the gown, but-”

“I love it,” I say, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. He smiles and helps me put my coat on, then leads me out to the car.

There’s no need for us to wear disguises now that people know we’re mates, which is a good feeling. I’ll admit that I do surprisingly enjoy walking around Greenwood with my arm in his with people looking at us.

First, Atwood takes me back to the same cafe that he took me to the last time we came here to have coffee and breakfast.

“I hope that Alice isn’t starving you anymore,” he says as we eat. “I had a talk with her about it.”

I can’t help but smile a bit. “I’m just happy to be putting on a little weight,” I say quietly. Atwood reaches out to squeeze my hand.

“You look beautiful at any size,” he says, “but you look best when you’re healthy, just like you were when I met you.”

I look down at my lap. My thighs have filled out a bit more over the past couple of weeks since my etiquette lessons have stopped, which makes me happy. I always liked my body just the way it was, and I’m glad that Alice won’t get her way with at least one thing.

After breakfast, we walk around to several shops. Atwood tells me to buy whatever I want in each shop, but I still feel uncomfortable asking for things. I don’t want to be like Edith that day that they went to Greenwood without me. The very thought of seeing them getting out of the car with shopping bags still hurts a bit, but I know now that Atwood was forced into it.

Eventually, Atwood tells me that he would like to split up for a bit so he can do some Christmas shopping. He gives me one of his credit cards to spend on whatever I want and we part ways for the time being.

I stop at a little stand and buy a hot chocolate, sipping it as I walk around and look in the shop windows. I decide to return to that strange woman’s shop from before and see if I can buy my mother’s brooch back, but when I get there, it’s empty. I guess she closed her shop down. It’s a bit disappointing, but I choose not to let it ruin my day.

There’s one shop that catches my eye, though; I’ve never noticed it before since it’s tucked in between two other, larger shops. The sign reads “Allan’s Auction House”. The window display is full of all sorts of interesting things, so I decide to enter and look around.

The shop is much like the strange old woman’s shop, but much cleaner and well-kept. Other customers mill about, looking at fine jewelry and artifacts in cases.

“Hello, Miss,” an old man says. He taps his cane on the floor as he walks up to me, and wears a tweed suit with a brown bowtie. “Looking for anything in particular?”

“Oh, not really, thanks,” I say. The old man smiles and hobbles off.

As I walk around, something catches my attention. There are several other people crowded around a display, whispering about a brooch.

No, it can’t be, I think to myself as I walk up to the group. I stand on my tiptoes to look over someone’s shoulder.

But it is. It’s my brooch.

It sits on a tufted pillow inside a glass case. It even looks like it’s been cleaned and restored, and now shines brilliantly under the light.

Maybe I do have a chance of getting it back! I immediately run over to the old man, who is in the middle of cleaning a ring with a pair of magnifying glasses on. “Excuse me, sir?” I ask.

The old man looks up at me through the magnifying glasses, which make his eyes look tiny. He must see the surprised expression on his face, because he chuckles. “Oh, these silly things,” he says. He slowly takes his glasses off, his hands shaking with old age. “What can I do for you, Miss?”

“I was just wondering, how much is that brooch over there?”

The old man chuckles again. “You haven’t been here before, have you, young lady?”

I shake my head.

“This is an auction house,” the old man says. “You can’t buy anything except for during the auction. Everything is only displayed now so that customers can get an idea of what will be auctioned off.”

“Oh,” I say, suddenly feeling very disappointed again.

The old man mumbles to himself and pulls a card out of a drawer. He hands it to me. It has a date and a time written on it.

“The next auction will be on Christmas eve,” he says with a smile. “Come in and try your hand at it! It’s quite a lot of fun.”

I pocket the card and smile at the old man. “Thank you, Mister,” I say.

“Oh, call me Al,” he says with a wink, then returns to his ring cleaning.

When I turn to exit, I catch a glimpse of someone through the window who I’m almost positive is Edith before she runs off. I run out of the store to catch her, but when I step out into the cold, she’s already gone.

“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice says from behind me. I turn around to see none other than Beck. Earl is with her, but simply gives me a dirty look before going into the auction house.

“Just doing some holiday shopping,” I say. “It’s good to see you, Beck.”

She rolls her one good eye. “I feel like I just can’t get away from you,” she growls, then turns to head into the store.

“Beck! Wait!” I say, reaching out and grabbing her coat sleeve. She slowly turns toward me with an angry expression on her face.

I have to tell her about my vision. If she’s been hanging out with Earl, then… He could do to her what I saw in my vision at any point.

“You have to be careful of Earl,” I say. “He’s no good. He wants to hurt you.”

Beck yanks her arm away and scoffs. “You don’t know the first thing about Earl,” she says. “And don’t touch me again, or I’ll call the cops. See if Lycan Atwood wants to marry a criminal.”

At that, she storms into the store.

With a sigh, I turn and head to the spot where Atwood and I promised to meet. The whole way there, so many things are on my mind. Was that Edith stalking me? Will Earl hurt Beck? Most of all, will I get my mother’s brooch back?