The young woman sat in her chair as properly as she had ever been taught – back straight, shoulders pushed back and her napkin placed daintily across her silk-clad lap.
Though, of course, having a knife hidden underneath her napkin wasn't something she had been taught, either.
Carefully, the attractive brunette slipped a grape into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Her new husband was yet to return from the urgent duty that had called him away from his marital bed last night – which was not something his new wife begrudged him. In fact, a part of her sat there praying, hoping he would never return.
Of course, it was at that moment that the grand doors of the dining room burst open, showing her husband alive and well, in his uniform. What a pity.
"Aurora, I see you have gotten your fair share of sleep, something I promise we will... Rectify, this evening." Commodore Grey promised, squeezing Aurora's shoulder as he passed her on his way to the other side of the table. "It was all very important business on behalf of the realm, of course, nothing else would come secondary to important matters such as producing a son..."
It hit Aurora, in that moment, what dire circumstances she was in. By no means was Commodore Grey old – there was only a few years' worth of distance between them, which meant that she had a long married life ahead of her. She had escaped him last night out of pure luck – how could she evade him tonight?
Aurora blocked Commodore Grey's voice out of her mind, her grip tightening on the small fish knife underneath her napkin. This was the last opportunity she had.
Aurora eyed the two guardsmen by the nearest door, the one that led into the open streets of London and the nearby docks running along the Thames. It was foggy and overcast outside – there had been a chill when the Commodore had entered.
Could she really do this? Did she dare?
Suddenly, interrupting the Commodore's detailed description of what he thought of local tavern exploits, Aurora let out a small, breathless gasp.
Irritated at the interruption, the Commodore frowned at her.
"Yes, Aurora?"
"I... I think I heard something upstairs." Aurora whispered, her throat already hoarse at her lies. "The maids told me they heard something last night, as well, Commodore... I was so concerned with awaiting your arrival, that I dismissed the noise outside our room as-"
Just as Aurora had hoped, she needn't say much more. At the mere thought alone of somebody stealing the Commodore's prize – Aurora Odilia, the daughter of one the King's most loyal and rich servants, the Lord Marcus Odilia -, he stood, already striding to the door.
"Stay here, madam." He told Aurora pompously, glancing at the guardsmen over his shoulder. "Gentlemen, protect the woman at all costs!"
Anger her as it did, to be simply referred to as "woman" and not his wife, Aurora shot the Commodore a grateful smile, dismayed that she would not be left alone.
Waiting until the sound of the Commodore's footsteps were only a distant echo above her head, Aurora surveyed the guards, balling her fists in determination. She had one chance at this. She'd planned this. There was nothing left to do, other than to do it.
"I must check on the Commodore, sitting here so helplessly is unsettling me." Aurora murmured, trying to sound like a concerned wife, as she rose from her chair, concealing the knife behind her back. The guardsmen instantly glanced towards one another, clearly not thinking it suitable for somebody as feeble as woman to dare to check on her husband in such grave circumstances. Ha. If there were really a thief in her supposed new home, Aurora would have been the first to lock the doors and wait until the Commodore's blood was splattered all over the walls.
"Miss-"
Her heart pounding in her chest, Aurora ran towards to the double doors.
Effortlessly, despite her fury at being so cruelly manhandled, the guardsmen caught her by underneath the arms, almost dragging her back to her seat – and in that moment, Aurora's shoulders slumped in defeat. This was it. There was no escape. She was destined to remain with this horrible man – this horrible, cold, cruel man who had married her for her money and status, who planned on raping her and lessening her to no more than a common whore, a murderer and thief who claimed it all in the King's name... Including the murderer of her mother – or, at least the man responsible for Lady Odelia's cruel demise, as well as the man who had deceived her father into thinking Aurora was going to be safe.
But then Aurora saw it – the small gap between the doors, she gap she had just been able to create.
And then, with a strength within her that she hadn't known she possessed, Aurora let out a loud scream and stuck the knife into the underside of her closest guard, pushing away the other as he yanked the pins from her hair in a bid to hold her, and running as fast as she could into the grey, misty streets of London, her skirts trailing behind her and her dark hair flying in the wind.