Wyn had planned to leave the mansion at the stroke of midnight. The ferry was due to leave at 1 in the morning, so that would leave him with about an hour to make his way to Springton Harbour and board the RMS Indestructible, the ship bound for The Promised Land.
Wyn was eager to leave, and would do so immediately if not for the other servants in the manor. He had to wait until everyone was asleep before sneaking out of the place unknowingly.
He laid wide awake in his bed in the drab servant quarters of Ainsley Manor, overcome with anticipation and hope for his future.
He waited for a very long time, and it felt like years had passed before the clock in the servant quarters stroked midnight. With great zeal, Wyn obtained an old and dirty brown suitcase—it belonged to Alphonse, who had instructed Wyn to throw it away, but instead of dumping it, Wyn had kept it, believing he would need it someday—from underneath his thin and creaky bed and filled it with his personal belongings rapidly.
He left the servant quarters stealthily and made his way through the empty and ill-lit manor towards the back door. As he passed by the grand staircase in the sitting room, Wyn noticed Alphonse and Grace engaged in a sweet embrace at the top of the stairs. He behind a pillar quickly, and with a beating heart, he stretched his neck outwards and watched with a furtive gaze as the two lovers spoke to each other.
"This is it, Grace," Alphonse held his lover close to his arms. "You, me, and The Promised Land. Like it should be."
Grace pulled her arms away from Alphonse and stared into his eyes with a look of fear and hesitation.
"Are you sure about this?" She asked softly. "If we do this, you're walking away from your life. From everything."
Alphonse placed a hand on Grace's cheek and caressed it lovingly. "You're everything, Grace. I don't need anything else."
Tears of affection and joy brimmed in Grace's eyes. Wracked with guilt, Declan looked away from their moment and made his way towards the back door silently.
As he picked open the lock to the back door with the tools—several paperclips and pieces of metal wires—he had acquired in the servant quarters—tools he had imagined he would need to make his escape—his ambivalence about leaving worried him. Once again, the two voices in his head quarrelled, but it was too late.
The back door creaked open slightly. He kept the tools he used and stepped out of the door, shutting it firmly. As he did so, he reckoned that the next morning, the other servants would discover he was missing and the back door ajar and conclude that Wyn had escaped. He supposed Alanis would phone the police and demanded Wyn to be found, but it would not make a difference, for Wyn would be long and far gone.
Wyn whipped his body around and stared at the city lights in the faraway distance. Ainsley Manor was located quite a while away from the city, at the edge of town near the opening of the forest, so the walk towards town and the harbour would be a long one. He glanced over his shoulder at the back door to the manor.
He exhaled sharply, and with a heavy breath, he began to run towards the city, away from the place that had trapped him for years.
He did not look back.