A MAZE OF GREED

Ruth's request caught Florence with surprise. She cocked her brow and asked, "You want to do something for me?"

Ruth nodded her head with determination. Taking favours was not something that Ruth had lived upon.

"Hmm..." Florence placed her finger on her chin as she thought about what Ruth could do for her in return for the money that Florence gave to Ruth's landlord.

"What are you good at?" Florence asked straight away as she couldn't think of anything.

"I... I don't have any special talent if that is what you are asking me. I have learned only one thing in my life, and that is sewing. And I am quite good at it as everyone from the western part admires my work with threads and needles." Ruth told excitedly.

"Ok, then. I have this piece of garment with me. It is a gift from my... friend. I was thinking about making a dress out of it but couldn't get time to go to the tailor shop. If you want, you can make a dress for me from that." Florence suggested.

Florence recalled one of her admirer gifting her this garment of greenish-blue colour. It was an expensive gift as for making that shade of blue colour they used a special dye called Indigo dye.

Indigo dye was obtained from the tropical plant that grew in the Eastern colonies of the British Empire, like India. Hence, the clothes that dyed with this dye were too expensive and could be afforded by the higher-income class of the society.

Ruth's face lit up after hearing this. "Of course, I will do it for you. But it won't make up for the amount of money." She expressed her concern.

Florence smiled at Ruth's honesty. "No problem. I need many dresses as sometimes I need to go to places. You can make more dresses for me until it settles down the total amount of money. You can start with this dress."

Ruth stood from her chair and kneeled before Florence. She took her hand in hers and said genuinely. "I can't thank you enough for your generosity, Florence. And thank you for understanding my concern and letting me make a dress for you. I am not used to taking favours from others. That is why I asked to do something for you. I promise I will make a beautiful dress for you that you will definitely like."

Florence mirrored Ruth smiling face. Her touch warmed Florence's heart as it had been ages since anyone had touched her without a feeling of lust.

"I am sure you will! Now I would like to take your leave. It's already late, and I have work to do." Florence said while standing up from the bed.

"Oh, yes. Sure! When can I come to get the garment?" Ruth asked as Florence walked towards the closed door of the room.

She opened it and stepped outside. She craned her neck to give a last look to Ruth. "You are welcome at my place anytime!"

Florence didn't wait more and hopped down the stairs in a hurry while picking her dress in both her hands so that she would not miss a step and fall.

Ruth watched the retreating figure of Florence with a sense of gratitude for her in mind. The narrow corridor had no spectators now. Ruth sighed and closed the door of her room again.

She felt feeble because of all the events. Her throat hurt due to crying. Her creamy coloured skin looked light pink as all her blood rushed up towards the surface. She again drank another glass of water then sat down on the bed with a sigh.

She thought that she had to leave her room. The torturous possibilities played in her mind when she kneeled in front of the landlord to beg him to not throw her out of her room. Florence came as a knight in shining armour to save the day.

Ruth had heard only negative things about Florence, but this one incident changed her perspective about her saviour. Ruth was not a judgemental person and believed in her rationale. But whatever she had heard and witnessed had not made her Florence's fan. Ruth couldn't approve of her occupation.

But who was she to decide that for her? She thought that if that was what Florence wanted to do then it was her choice and no one had any right to told her to do otherwise. But, Florence's today's actions certainly took Ruth by surprise. She didn't expect her to have a big heart.

Ruth was also relieved that Florence agreed to let her make a dress for her. Ruth decided to always keep Florence's help in mind and do whatever she needed her to do.

Though her problem was temporarily solved, now she had another question in front of her. How do manage the money for next month's rent?

After thinking for some minutes when her brain couldn't come up with any idea, Ruth decided to let that topic slid for a time being. She decided to think about it tomorrow when her mind was not tired.

Her eyes caught the sight of the mess in her room that remained half done because of the landlord's visit. Corners of her lips dipped down as she stood up and started gathering everything again.

Ruth was almost done with the cleaning when her hands found her brown coloured dress. It was the same dress that she wore on the night of the celebration in 'the great manor' of the O'Dell family. She ran her fingers on the torn part of her dress, and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

She recalled that night and everything that happened then. She and her friend, Thea sneaked into the manor through a gap in the wall of the property to see the celebrations. Ruth was scared but excited to see how the rich class enjoyed their time. But little she did know that that very night was going to change her life forever.

She and Thea got a chance to see the heir of the O'Dell family, aka young master, Edwin O'Dell. It took them by surprise that he was with a maid in an intimate situation away from everyone's eyes when more than a hundred people gathered in his house.

The women followed him to the hall where the night was in its glory with everyone having a good time. Ruth cringed as she recalled how Edwin got to know about their presence. What happened after that was more than a scary adventure for Ruth. When she and Thea ran to the escape, Edwin and one guard chased them.

Thea managed to escape first, but Ruth, Edwin had his hand on her, when she was near the wall through which the ladies sneaked into the manor. At that time, Edwin's hand grabbed Ruth's dress, and before they both understand anything, a chunk of the cloth was already in his hand.

Ruth shuddered at the memory. Because of that night, she couldn't get a peaceful sleep for days. She shook her head to break her train of thoughts. She folded the torn dress and kept it inside her trunk at the bottom of the pile of things to never look at it again.

She didn't want any reminder of that dreadful night. But that made her realise that she had not met Thea for a couple of days. Thea apologised for that night many times, but then they both got busied with work.

Ruth decided to meet Thea in the evening at Mr Cooper's tailoring shop where she worked. Ruth also thought of asking Mr Cooper for some extra work to get the money for the next month's rent.

She wished that she would not let Florence down!