11:34 AM, November 19, 1797:
Morven opened his office door. As he stepped inside, he closed it behind him without looking back and said,
"Okay… now tell me, what's going on!?"
A girl stammered nervously,
"I… I just came… I mean, I came to… to tell you what I remember!"
Morven turned slowly and glanced at the corner of the room.
"Oh, wait… now that I think about it… aren't you Elizabeth!?"
The girl (Elizabeth) froze but answered carefully, stumbling over her words,
"Y… yes, it's me."
Morven smirked and said,
"Oh… so I just let one of the murder suspects into my house!"
Elizabeth's eyes widened, and she shouted,
"I didn't kill him!"
Morven turned away from looking at her, walked to his desk, then turned back and stared at Elizabeth. He leaned against the desk, gave a strange, meaningless smile, closed his eyes, and said,
"Someone who gets this upset over a comment with no basis… that's really odd!"
Elizabeth gripped her dress tighter, and a few tears started falling as she said,
"Sir, he beats me every day because he thinks I'm the killer… do you understand what it's like to be whipped every day!?"
Morven opened his eyes slowly but kept his smile.
"No, I don't understand, and I don't need to. Other people's pain is their own—I shouldn't feel sorry for their lives!"
Elizabeth felt hopeless but then remembered something.
"When I went into the room, I found a black ring… I don't know what it is, but… it seemed interesting, so I took it!"
Morven's smile faded after hearing about the black ring. He stayed silent for a few seconds, then said,
"Do you have it with you now!?"
Elizabeth, startled by Morven's sudden change, stammered,
"Y… y… yes! I brought it with me!"
She carefully handed the black ring to Morven.
Morven took the black ring from Elizabeth and looked at it closely. Finally, he said,
"A deal… fair and square!"
Elizabeth was confused and asked,
"W… what do you mean!?"
Morven smirked softly, stepped away from the desk, and said,
"What do you want in exchange for this ring!?"
Hope sparked in Elizabeth's heart, and she said excitedly,
"Escape! I want to get away from the minister's family… leave, just leave! I don't want to stay there!"
Morven turned, placed the ring on the desk, then faced Elizabeth again. He walked slowly toward the door. When he reached it, he said,
"Fine, I'll get you out of Britain… you must never come back to this country, and in return, this black ring stays with me!"
Elizabeth was surprised, tilted her head slightly, and asked,
"What's that ring that it's so important!?"
Morven opened the door and said,
"Don't ask extra questions before I change my mind—get out… now!"
Desperate to escape the minister's family, Elizabeth rushed out of Morven's room and stopped in the hallway. Morven stepped forward and stood in the doorway, saying,
"Be at the harbor tonight when the sixth bell rings… now go!"
Tears of joy filled Elizabeth's eyes as she started running toward the stairs and hurried down. Morven closed the door behind him, slipped the ring onto the index finger of his left hand, and walked toward the stairs behind her—but slowly, step by step.
11:57 AM:
Marcus was right outside the house, about to knock, when the door suddenly opened. A girl froze in the doorway. Both Marcus and the girl were shocked. The girl bumped into Marcus's right side to get past him. Marcus quickly tried to grab her, but Morven's voice stopped him.
"Let her go… let her leave. She won't be seen again after tonight!"
Marcus didn't move but stared at Morven, who stood at the top of the stairs, confused.
"What do you mean!?"
Morven smiled, twisted the ring on the index finger of his left hand a little, and said,
"We've got time until tonight… but few words. For now, go get some food—we'll talk about the rest later!"
Marcus, noticing the black ring, was startled but smiled and said,
"Okay… then I'll set the table too!"
Morven smiled and turned, starting to climb the stairs again.
12:01 PM, November 19:
Morven re-entered his office but left the door open. He placed the black ring on the desk and mumbled quietly,
"This… is going to be interesting!"
He turned, left the office, closed the door, and began walking slowly and steadily toward the stairs and the floor below.