Everyone knew Isabelle loved children. Even Nathan, and he had only met her two days ago. He watched as Isabelle cleaned the boy’s wound and assured him as he winced in pain.

It was almost midnight, and they were standing in Mr. Harvey’s backyard, away from all the commotion inside. Moonlight streamed through the grey clouds, giving the statues in the backyard a new life. The fresh smell of the countryside hung in the atmosphere, with a lingering scent of apple pies just wafting out of the kitchen’s open window.

Nathan tucked a lock of Isabelle’s hair behind her ear as she finished bandaging the boy’s hand. His name was Hudson, and he was one of the servants of Mr. Harvey. Though why his hand had been burnt, Nathan had no clue.

Isabelle stood up, beaming. “All done! How do you feel?”

Hudson tried to wiggle his fingers, slowly grimacing. “I suppose it is better.” He stood up, startling both, and bowed deeply. “I am extremely sorry for my inconvenience. Thank you-”

“It’s all right!” Isabelle said hastily. “No need to apologize.”

“How did you burn your hand?” Nathan asked, assuming this kid being ten years old.

Hudson looked down. “I was bringing the tea and…the master didn’t like it, so he threw it at me…and I was blocking my face with my hands so…”

That explained the tea stains on his sleeves and collar. Nathan wasn’t aware of the cruelties of Mr. Harvey on his servants, so that was a surprise. Then again, his boss clearly told them not to meddle in the customer’s private life, so he wasn’t going to ask further questions.

 “This is unacceptable,” Isabelle exclaimed, enraged. “Come on, Nathan. We’re going to pulverize him.”

“We need to finish our job.”

“Okay. We’ll finish our job, get the money, and then pulverize him.”

Isabelle and Nathan worked as ghostwriters. They were from a new business, so they shared a typewriter. The reason Isabelle brought Nathan along was because it was too heavy for her to carry. “It’s good teamwork,” she had told him. “You do the lifting, and I do the writing.”

The reason they had come to Mr. Harvey’s house was because he had wanted them to write a letter to his older sister asking for more money. Sure, they could’ve done it in their offices, but Mr. Harvey’s message was unclear whether or not he wanted to see the letter by himself, so they had to come over.

When Isabelle finished typing out the letter, she handed it to him to check if there was anything he’d like to add or remove.

Mr. Harvey only takes one look before he shoves it back into Isabelle’s hand. “Whatever. Just send it to her.”

Nathan resisted the urge to show annoyance. If he hadn’t wanted to see it in the first place, surely he could’ve let them know and save the trouble of coming all the way here? “Certainly, sir.” He took the responsibility of sending the letters to the desired addresses.

Isabelle did not give him the letter. She just kept staring at Chief Harvey.

Nathan was not liking this. “Isabelle? Isa-?”

“Why did you do that to Hudson?”

Nathan sighed. This was not going to end well. All he wanted was to go home and have a nice cup of tea. “Isabelle-”

Mr. Harvey shook his head. “What is it to you, young lady? He could not do his job properly. Useless servants cannot be left unpunished.”

“He is a child! You don’t-”

“A criminal! You have no idea of the crimes he’s committed, young lady, and I do not want to cause trouble now. Please leave.”

“Isabelle.” Nathan wanted to leave as early as possible. He held her wrist. “Get your act together. This is no time-”

She yanked her wrist from his grasp, her gaze still fixated on Mr. Harvey. “Sir, that is no excuse for hurting him-”

Before Nathan could react, Mr. Harvey took hold of an ink bottle from his study and splashed it across Isabelle. Everyone in the room- including Hudson- froze, horrified as they watched the ink droplets stain her uniform and spread across chin.

Mr. Harvey leaned back on his chair, taking pride on what he’d done. “Guards! Escort this mad woman out and her companion out immediately. As for-AAAGH!”

If Nathan hadn’t witnessed Hudson pouncing on Mr. Harvey and violently beginning to stab him with a pen, he would’ve laughed because of the high-pitched scream. But this was no joke: Hudson had pounced on Mr. Harvey at the speed of light, grabbing him by the hair and piercing his neck with a pen. By the time Nathan and the guards separated them, Mr. Harvey was already on the ground, bleeding thoroughly.

***

“Isabelle!” Nathan called out to her, waving his arms so she could see. “We got a letter!”

He heard Isabelle climb downstairs from her office. “Ugh, I want a break-”

“Remember Mr. Harvey and Hudson?”

“Who?”

“Th-the kid! Whose hand got burnt, who stabbed Mr. Harvey…”

“Oh yeah! Yeah, what about them?”

“This letter’s from Mr. Harvey’s sister. She said that she apologizes for the chaos in the house and that Mr. Harvey’s currently recovering in the hospital. However…”

“However?”

“Hudson’s in a juvenile crime center. Also, when she visited her, he told her to give you a message.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. The message is: thanks.”