Thanks for reading, here's the next chapter!
The next day, Arthur awoke to his empty home as he did every morning. The sun was hung low in the sky; it had already cleared the foggy horizon. He pushed back the warm covers, releasing the heat that had been trapped underneath them. The cold hit him with a potency that left him shivering in his thin underclothes. Quickly, he shuffled to the bathroom ad drew a hot bath.
While the water was running, he went to the front room and started a fire, so by the time he was finished with his bath, the place would be relatively warmer than it was at the moment.
Arthur put one foot over the edge into the bath and slowly submerged the rest of his body with a long sigh of relief from the icy drafts. After he finished scrubbing dirt from his hands and under his nails and the water was slightly murky, he drained the tub and wrapped as much of himself as he could in a towel.
Still sleepy, he moved back to his bedroom and dressed in his usual attire, which was of course paid for with the "manufactured" money.
The heat from the fireplace had finally managed to settle and warm the small rooms only slightly. Arthur walked out the door and down the stairs to the lobby on the first floor. "Good morning, Mrs. Abney," he said with a slight smile to the landlady as he checked for any mail in his box.
There were a few bills for some clothes and furniture he had yet to pay off, a rather thick envelope, and a small letter. He looked at the address from which it was received, the letter was sent by one Miss Aurelia Havisham at Satis House.
Arthur looked at the name for a long moment, his blood slowly being brought to a boil. A rough voice from behind finally brought Arthur to move.
"Must be from someone important, then?" Mrs. Abney inquired. Arthur looked back
to her and then at the letter once more.
Once he returned entirely back from reality, he stated uninterested "No. Not really. Just a small note from someone I used to know." Mrs. Abney looked at him for a while, and then returned to her work behind the counter. Arthur moved swiftly to the stairs and bounded up to his room, quickly closing the door as he dropped all the mail on the table.
He threw the bills aside and decided to open the large, stuffed envelope first. He already knew it was his pay from Compeyson, but the amount was underwhelming for the size of the mail and considerably less than he usually garnered. The measly amount he got for working with Compeyson was better than a standard waged job at any rate, so he was thankful for whatever he earned. He put the money in its designated parcel he kept on top of the bookshelf.
The letter was sitting on the table, solitary. He picked it up slowly, surprised that it actually felt somewhat heavier than before. 'Miss Aurelia Havisham'. He read the name again and again before actually unfolding the paper.
Aurelia was his half-sister, born into a lifestyle of wealth and love. They shared a father, but only as a result of an affair he had with the cook. That, along with the fact that her mother died when she was little, was the reason Aurelia was always favored and spoiled over Arthur. She remained at Satis House when he moved out on account of the partisanship between the two of them. She got everything she could have ever wanted and he was left in the dust on birthdays, holidays, and any day really.
She was also very beautiful and charming. She had smooth, ivory skin with plenty of silk, lace, and satin dresses to match. Her hair was always perfectly coiffed, almost effortlessly. Her voice was that of a sweet song dancing through the air, teasing one's senses, her laugh the same. She was always inordinately polite and pleasant to be around, no one could ever bore when talking to her; she was very good with people. This was another reason Arthur couldn't stand her. There was literally nothing to dislike about Aurelia, some would say she was perfect.
Because of her status and poise, everyone called her Miss Havisham, even when she was a young girl. The only people that ever called her by her first name were her family and friends. Arthur's jealousy and resentment toward his half-sister caused him to become the most rebellious and ungrateful young boy one could imagine, and he had obviously never grown out of it.
Remembering he had yet to read the letter, he looked down and scanned the silky round cursive writing that was unmistakably his sister's. Even her penmanship was flawless; the message she was passing on to him was regrettably not as appealing as his sister's handwriting. Apparently their father had fallen ill and the family wanted him to come to Satis House to see him, "just in case". God forbid something happened and I wasn't there, Arthur thought to himself. It's not like he would notice if I was there anyway.
Regardless of his dislike for his family, Arthur decided to make the visit to see his father. He could at least try to get him to will a decent amount of money to his only son; even a fraction of his fortune would be more than enough for Arthur to live on for the rest of his life. So it was settled, he would go out to Satis House tomorrow morning.
I'm glad people are enjoying it, reviews are appreciated as always.
