《sewing flowers | tewkesbury ✔︎》chapter 8 - escaping once more
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We entered Enola's lodgings, and I scuttled away frantically when I saw a stray mouse run across my feet.
"Is this how your living?" Tewkesbury inquired, his eyes falling on the old walls.
"You could've accepted my offer, you know." I patted her shoulder. "My apartment still has space, even with Tewkesbury in the picture."
"You're living together? Tewkesbury and Octavia? Together?" She raised her eyebrows, sending a furtive smirk in my way.
"That's not the point." I hastily said, doing my best to not look at Tewkesbury, who suddenly looked very interested in his shoes.
"Well," Enola began, "The woman I boarded off assured me this was a fine room."
"The woman you boarded off lied." Tewkesbury replied, before his gaze fell onto a rack of Enola's underclothes.
Enola hastened to cover it up, while I whacked the back of Tewkesbury's head.
"It is *thwack* of utmost offence *thwack* to look at a lady's underclothes *thwack*." I berated him jokingly, while he attempted to defend himself, half embarrassed, half amused. Enola laughed seeing this, chuckling light-heartedly.
"You keep old newspapers?" Tewkesbury asked, after glancing at the papers spread on Enola's bed.
"Be careful with that," Enola furrowed her brows, attempting the newspaper out of his hands futilely, "I haven't finished reading it yet."
Tewkesbury opened the newspaper, and his eyes immediately went to a wanted poster with his face on it.
"I'm in this one!" He said, eyes glancing at it in amazement. I rolled my eyes, but smiled.
"Why do you keep all these old newspapers, Enola?" I asked, my eyes glancing over the open newspapers lying on her bed.
"My mother." She said after some hesitation. "I'm waiting for her to give me a message in these newspapers. She hasn't yet."
"Message..?" Tewkesbury asked, trailing off.
"She liked ciphers." Enola explained. "Coded messages that need to be deciphered."
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"And why would she send you a message?" I chirped, reading over the newspapers.
Enola's eyes left mine, her face crestfallen as she struggled to find the words she needed. When she spoke, her voice was filled with longing and sadness.
"Because she left me." She began, and now spoke with more confidence. "And I thought she meant me to find her, but now i'm not so sure. So I left her a message, and i'm hopeful for a reply."
A silence so awkward and lengthy filled the space between the three of us. There were unsaid words hanging in the air, full of emotion and longing.
"I'll make us some tea." Enola's voice pierced the quiet. She packed up her newspapers, dusted her dress, and proceeded to go forth to the kitchenette.
"So you truly believe my life is in danger?" Tewkesbury said, following her briskly. "From whom?"
"Your past and your future." Enola cryptically muttered, grabbing three mugs from a cupboard.
"Whatever does that mean?" I asked, picking up my skirts and pondering.
"Your family, Tewkesbury." Enola elaborated, her hands busy preparing tea. "They didn't send a detective to find you. They could have. But instead, they sent a murderer."
"The man in the bowler hat from the train." I whispered, my face pale as a sheet.
"Exactly, Octavia." Enola replied.
"Why would anyone want me dead?" Tewkesbury pressed.
"Oh, countless reasons." Enola sarcastically shot back a reply.
"Maybe your personality? Your ridiculous hair? Your silly smile?" I ticked off possible reasons on my fingers.
"Or possibly your land, your estate, your title, or your seat." Enola finished. "The same reason they wanted your father dead. Greed does funny things to people, Tewkesbury."
"So now your saying they killed my father?" Tewkesbury uttered after some time, his brows furrowed.
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"I don't think." She said, exasperated, setting a cup of tea down. "I know."
"No...no...none of this makes sense. My father's death was caused by a botched burglary." Tewkesbury said, his face disbelieving. "And it...it would of been easier to kill me before I ran away."
"I entirely agree." Enola cut him off. "I think they tried to. I found the branch that almost killed you. It was cut."
They kept conversing, while I stared around the apartment, lost in thought. I heard a high, creaky sound. The kettle, maybe? It was boiling on the stove, but kettles made whistling sounds, not creaky ones...
Enola and Tewkebury were still talking, their words getting heated with ever reply. I snapped to attention when I saw a figure moving in the corner of my eye. The sound was more then a kettle.
It was a man.
I cut in between Enola and Tewkesbury, grabbed the kettle on the stove, and threw it with all my might at the man in the corner.
"Run!" I shouted, shoving the two in front of me and out the door. For good measure, I slammed the figure into the wall, and rushed to follow.
"Oh damn, you three!" The man shouted, on the ground in pain. I desperately ran out of the room, following Enola and Tewkesbury out of sight.
"Who's he?!" Tewkesbury frantically yelled, almost tripping over himself while trying to escape.
I heard more voices back at Enola's room, an elderly lady's and the man's. I rushed to follow Enola and Tewkesbury into another room.
"Octavia, Tewkesbury, move the chest into the front of the door!" Enola gestured, slamming the door shut. We pushed the chest with all our might, panting as it made a barrier between us and the door.
I heard gruff, angry voices from the other side of the door, getting closer with every second, until the door crashed against the chest. The man was attempting to open it from the other side.
"Open up Miss Posy!" A gruff voice shouted, kicking the door with increasing force. "Or should I say, Miss Holmes!"
"Inspector Lestrade!" Enola shouted back, panting as she tried to keep the door closed. "I need to report an attempted murder! Your supposed to be on our side!"
"We need to escape." I gruffly gasped, my hands calloused and bruised from keeping the door shut. "We can't keep this door closed forever."
"You need to escape." Enola snapped, nodding at Tewkesbury and I. "You injured an inspector with a boiling kettle and you have a bounty for your head."
"We're not leaving you-" Tewkesbury firmly said before getting cut off by Enola.
"Nonsense. See that window over there? It leads to the roof. I need both of you to climb out and escape." She frantically uttered, struggling to keep the door shut as it was pounded by the man on the other side.
"And leave you?" I asked, pushing to keep the door closed.
"I have to hold this door!" She roared. "And you have to take care of Tewkesbury, he won't make it alone and you know London better then me!"
"Enola!" I tried to speak, but words seemed to fail me. Tewkesbury got the message and tugged me along to the window, preparing to escape.
He dropped down, a few tears in his eyes. I carried my skirt and prepared to escape.
"We'll find you!" I shouted, my voice cracking as my emotions took hold of me. Enola smiled slightly, straining to push against the man's forceful kicks.
Casting one last glance at Enola, I leapt through the window, and into Tewkesbury's waiting arms.
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