Lily of the Valley

Extract from Chapter 3

     “Sophie nodded with a subdued smile and headed indoors. As she stepped into the mansion, the grand hall greeted her with its high ceilings and rich, polished woodwork. The usually comforting, familiar surroundings now felt eery, and even more so with each echoing step on the varnished floor. Around her, everything was sparkling clean, polished to a mirror, but also completely void of life.

     The contrast of luxury and loneliness was quite daunting, and Sophie wasn’t sure what to think of it. This was not a new feeling. Sophie hated going into Primrose’s home by herself. She always felt out of place, and awkward… scared to touch anything at all.

          What if it was an heirloom or something precious?

     She came to a stop at the foot of the ornate staircase, as she rested her hand on the cool wood of the newel post, observing the sculpted nightingale decorating it; a testament to Primrose’s lineage and status. The very touch of it reminded her of the countless times she had raced up these stairs with her friend, their laughter ringing through the halls. A pang of something akin to longing, but deeper, more complex, stirred within her.

     Their differences of wealth once seemed insignificant, but now they were revealed to be the catalysts for an inevitable drift, a growing divide between them. Of course, Sophie was leaving to explore the world and continue her studies, but Primrose would be far away living on an unknown remote estate.

     Would the playful, adventurous, and mischievous woman that she knew be stilled and quieted? Would she still be Prim? Could they even remain friends after all this?”