A MAZE OF GREED

Mrs Payne was concerned for Ruth. She did not want her to fall prey to Theodora's another treacherous scheme. Mrs Payne would not have left Ruth alone in the clutches of that vile woman if her sudden trip was not that important.

Even though Ruth had a fair idea about her powers, and she had by now practised them well, her kindness stood in between her and the use of her powers.

Ruth was still hesitant about using them at her will.

But then again... Mrs Payne could not blame her. It was all because of Bertha. That woman made sure that the little girl would transform into a kind and morally strong woman.

Mrs Payne had hired the coachman to take her to the nearby village, which was a few miles away from Vincardine. The journey was about six hours long. They had left Vincardine far behind by the time the Sun indicated the afternoon.

Mrs Payne tried sleeping instead of sitting idly, but the sleep was nowhere to come to her. Sighing, she straightened up instead. Her gaze fell on the bag that was placed beside her. She opened it and inserted her hands in its depth.

She glanced at the coachman to see he was focused on the road ahead. She carefully pulled out the jar from her bag. She stared at the contents in it, but soon her vision turned misty due to unshed tears.

She held that jar close to her chest and closed her eyes. A lone drop travelled down her face only to disappear later.

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~"My Lord, she has asked for a carriage. She has recieved a letter from one of her relatives and she is planning to visit them."~

Lester received that message early in the morning from the men he had appointed to keep an eye on Mrs Payne. He was digging in her past life, her background and every bit of information about her and her husband that would give him the reflection of her true self.

But he did not find a piece of single suspicious news about her. It was like she had a very ordinary life, but Lester could not digest that fact. He believed that there was more to her than what she showed the world. And he was adamant about finding that.

Perhaps he would also get a reason during his search for why the Moon Goddess chose a human Luna for Edwin. And why Ruth?!

Even after a week's efforts when he did not find anything against her, Edwin advised him to stop and let the time be the enlightening force.

However, Lester was not ready for that. He was curious, impatient.

And as if fate had smiled at him, he had got a golden opportunity.

~"Follow her but be careful. She knows about us. Do not get too close or she will recognise you easily. She is not the usual target. Be careful!"~

Lester warned his men.

He could not afford to underestimate the woman who had cast her spell on the werewolf leader. Edwin again tried to talk out of this, but Lester was adamant about exposing her true self.

He was not sure if she was harmless... yet. And to know that he needed to do this.

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Ruth was too shocked by Edwin's behaviour. She had never seen that side of him. Although his actions seemed offending and disrespectful, she was wise enough to read his eyes and not his actions.

For her, his Cerulean blue eyes were the window to his heart. They had never lied to her, and she could swear on any holy thing that they would never lie to her in her lifetime.

She again saw his darkened eyes. And that only fuelled her questionnaire. The mixture of emotions she saw in his eyes lurched her heart painfully.

His eyes held anger, sadness, lust, need, and... guilt.

Ruth understood the reasons for some of those emotions, but some were beyond her intelligence. She wished she also had the power of reading people's minds. Then she might have understood what havoc ran in his head all the time.

Ruth sighed as her headache intensified the more she pondered over it.

Elsie gave her some of her old dresses to donate to the local orphanage. Ruth packed all those dresses in a bundle. She took them to Henry who was feeding his horse.

Ruth wrapped up their conversation after giving him the bundle of Elsie's dresses. She was returning to Elsie's chamber when she heard someone clapping.

Ruth turned her head in the direction of the sound to see two women sitting in the chair elegantly. Ruth visibly tensed, seeing them together.

What the hell she was doing here? She wondered.

"Don't you understand the meaning of my call?" Theodora's stern voice made Ruth walk near them.

Theodora expected an apology from Ruth, but that did not come.

"Lady Theodora, your maid seems to be very indisciplined." The other lady commented.

Her eyes held the recognition in them along with the anger from the past.

Ruth still stood calmly... at least from outside, she pretended.

"May I help you with anything?" Ruth asked dryly.

"Yes. Get my dear friend tea and some snacks." Theodora ordered.

Ruth wanted to ask where was Fannie. As Theodora's head maid, she was responsible to serve them. It was not Ruth's duty.

"Are you deaf or dumb to understand the simple words?" Theodora's voice raised considerably.

"I cannot believe such an arroagant woman is serving in 'the great manor' Lady Theodora." The other woman gasped overdramatically.

Theodora clenched her jaw in irritation. "What can I say, Mrs Linlithgow?!! She is Elsie's head maid. You know how naive my daughter is. She pities the poor, but she does not understand the reality of the world.

People have different teeth for eating and different for display. She sees good in everyone, but some people take disadvantage of her kindness."

Ruth pursed her lips and stomped out of there. She knew that this was going to be a hard day when she saw Theodora and Mrs Linlithgow together.

She was not particularly angry at Mrs Linlithgow as she thought that the woman must be still mad at her for ruining her golden dress months back.

Ruth still had not understood how that dress got ruined. She sighed as she entered the kitchen. She found Thea there instructing a cook about Edwin's lunch.

"Here comes my favourite woman!" Thea smiled as soon as she saw Ruth entering the kitchen.

She noticed her dull face. "But why is she in a bitter mood?"

Ruth sighed. "Mrs Linlithgow is here."

"Who?" Thea took a minute before that name rang a bell in her head. "WHAT?"

Ruth nodded before telling the cook to prepare two cups of tea and some snacks for the ladies.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Thea asked with a deep frown on her face.

"Apparently, the two Ladies are friends with each other," Ruth answered, aware of the other people in the kitchen.

"Why you are here?" Thea then asked.

"This time Lady Theodora decided to order me instead of her headmaid. And can you guess the reason?" She whispered, thinking the people around could not hear her.

But Thea knew better than that. She wanted to curse loudly but held her tongue back.

"Do you need any support?" Thea asked with a hard face.

It sometimes amazed Ruth how her friend was ever ready to back her irrespective of the situation. She was indeed very lucky to have Thea in her life.

Ruth smiled, shaking her head. "Thank you for your loyalty soldier! But I will handle it." she winked at her.

Thea did not get a good feeling about the situation, especially with Mrs Linlithgow's presence. But she could not do much at that time. So she only nodded with a smile.

"I am sure you will! Just do not forget to call me if you need any help." She again reminded.

Their conversation ended after the cook put the prepared tray in front of Ruth.

Thea watched Ruth going out of the kitchen with the tray. She hoped nothing would go wrong. Nonetheless, she had a doubt and to clear it, she knew where she had to go.

Ruth returned with Theodora's order. She carefully put the tray on the table and began preparing the tea.

"Sugar?" she asked.

"One tablespoon for both," Theodora told while Mrs Linlithgow flaunted her dress and the matching handbag her husband had bought for her at the price that would make a common man pass out in shock.

Ruth put one tablespoon of sugar in each cup before stirring it carefully. She handed Theodora her cup and then took the other for Mrs Linlithgow.

She outstretched her hand to give her the cup when Theodora purposefully pushed the table in between with her leg as subtly as she could. The edge of the table hit Ruth's knee, and she hunched down at the impact.

But that made the cup in her hand unsteady and the hot tea spilt on Mrs Linlithgow's expensive dress and handbag.

Ruth did not get a chance to realise what exactly happened before she knew that the shit had hit the roof.