At Night, Hartwell Estate
The Hartwell estate garden was almost on the verge of looking magical in the blanket of night sky.
Lanterns on carefully placed posts cast flickering pools of golden light down stone pathways.
Beyond the darkness was a shadow where the well-cared-for plants whispered secrets to the evening breeze.
The night was lovely, and Miss Evelyn walked with Alex down one of the winding garden pathways.
Soft lantern light outlined her gentle silhouette, highlighting delicate embroidery on her dress and outlining tiny sheens in carefully placed hair.
Alex, however, had absolutely no opportunity to appreciate any of that beauty.
Why?
The reason was quite simple: two pairs of eyes were boring holes into the back of his head with such intensity that if stares could kill, he would have been dead ten tis over by now.
Miss Evelyn’s maids are following at what should have been a respectful distance, but their faces held anything but respect toward him during the entire walk.
Their faces showed clear disapproval of the situation.
Their various actions were full of antagonism against this unmarried man who was walking with their unmarried mistress alone in a garden at night.
A situation that violated every standard of proper behavior that they had been raised to uphold from birth.
The fact that Miss Evelyn had specifically ordered them to keep their distance and not to interrupt only made them more vigilant, watchful, ready than ever before to intervene at the first sign of any improper actions from the man.
He could almost feel the weight of their stares against his back.
He walked carefully, keeping absolutely proper distance from Miss Evelyn, his hands clasped behind his back to show he had no intention of such inappropriate contact.
Yet sohow, that only seed to make the maids stare harder, as if waiting for him to make a single wrong move.
Miss Evelyn walked in silence next to him, her quick eyes noticing how he stiffened his posture and tightened his shoulders.
She glanced back at her maids, taking in their fierce protective expressions, and suppressed a small smile.
She knew they ant well after all they had served her family for years and were simply concerned for her reputation and safety.
They did not know Alex the way she did, did not understand that he was soone worthy of trust rather than suspicion.
With her head leaning back in an attempt to distract the uneasy tension that had fallen between them like a shroud on their walk, the glance of Miss Evelyn was lifted to the millions of stars scattered across the dark canvas of the night sky.
"Brother Alex," she said softly, breaking the heavy silence.
"Have you ever looked up into the stars and wondered what they really are?
Alex looked at her now, grateful for any distraction from the searing stares behind him.
"What is it to be wondered about?
He then suddenly corrected himself, realizing how he was in an ancient world and for a person not to show curiosity about it would be really strange.
"Why do you ask, Miss Evelyn?"
Miss Evelyn stopped, looking upward, her face serious in the dim lantern light.
"Most people believe the stars are but lights placed in the heavens by the gods, unchanging and eternal, created only for guiding travelers and marking the passage of seasons."
"But do you think that is all that they are?
"Oh..What have you noticed?" Alex asked, genuinely intrigued now.
Miss Evelyn showed her pause, as if weighing whether to voice thoughts dismissed so many tis in the past.
After having thought about it for a mont, she finally said, "I have noticed that the stars appear to be in motion.
"I have seen throughout these years how the sky has changed with ti.
"Brother Alex, you know what I have observed? The stars I see in sumr are not the sa ones visible in winter."
Also they do not just appear and vanish, as they seem to follow a life cycle, coming back once the whole year is accomplished.
"You’re right," Alex said, his tone neutral despite being impressed by her observant stare.
Miss Evelyn’s pulse raced.
He agreed? He didn’t think she was crazy in imagining these things?
"But there’s more to it," she added, speaking with a sudden boldness.
"Most stars maintain their positions relative to each other."
"The patterns the Hunter, the Great Bear, the Scorpion, have you seen how these shapes remain constant throughout?"
"But certain bright stars wander across the sky."
"They move through the fixed patterns over weeks and months, following paths of their own."
A flicker of surprise crossed Alex’s face.
She had independently discovered planetary motion, but without any basis on which to understand it.
"Those stars move in strange ways because they are entirely different from the rest," he said, carefully asuring his words.
"They are closer. And they travel along their own paths."
"Closer?" Miss Evelyn turned more fully toward him, peering up into his face within the lantern glow.
"So, you also believe that they are not fixed to the celestial sphere like the others?"
"There is no celestial sphere at all," said Alex with quiet calm.
In an instant, her face beca intent.
"No sphere," she repeated, her voice slow, as if testing the concept.
"What then supports the stars? What are they?
Alex contemplated.
How much could he safely share without revealing knowledge that should not exist in this world for centuries to co?
"They are like our sun," he said finally.
"Each one a fire blazing at unimaginable distances."
Miss Evelyn’s breath caught audibly.
Her conjectures were coming true.
"Like the sun?" she whispered.
"But the sun is so bright, so it must be closer than them, right?."
"And If the stars are the sa, then they must be—"
She trailed off, her mind racing through the implications.
"—Very far away," Alex affird. "So far that their light appears as re pinpricks despite their true size."
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