The next day, I stood in the kitchen and watched a remarkable sight. Alice wheedled, which should have been an entirely unattractive state for a woman. Except with her large eyes with their unusual amber ring and the soft ruffling of chocolate curls around her face, she came across as adorable. An adorable wheedler?that should be an oxymoron. She could probably stop vermin in their tracks with that look, and I briefly wondered about testing the theory out. Being staked out on the fence line would serve her right for wheedling."Please." Another bat of the eyes lashes. Well played, Alice. "It's my day off, and it should darn well be yours too. I'll not leave you to mope around the house for them to prey upon."It would be nice to escape for a few hours, to forget about the daily worries even if it were to play third wheel to Alice's plans. She saw me wavering."You simply have to come as chaperone, or I cannot meet Frank."That drew a laugh. "It's 1919. Some women now have the vote and
Serenity House"More dispatches, your grace," Frank Mercer said from behind. He had crept up unheard as only he could do. His stealth made him a brilliant advance scout and excellent at practical jokes. I just wished the dispatches were a joke.Your grace. I still expected it to refer to father. Someone greying and with years of experience to tackle all that the role demanded. "On the desk, please."My gaze stayed on the view across the front lawn. Or what used to be the front lawn, and now looked more like the plains of Africa. "You could graze sheep out there.""We are. You just can't see them." Humour laced his words.Another task to add to the never-ending list. As a boy, I remembered lawns so short and lush I once thought they were another type of expensive carpet. Now the grass grew rough and long. The turf created a potential battle ground; standing hay could hide the enemy creeping up on your position. Or the turned, sneaking up on the house. We were so exposed, and I had
The shrill cry of the telephone made me jump. It pierced the silence like an ice pick through the skull. I waited, listening for Stewart's feet as he answered the contraption. The message would then be relayed to Lady Elizabeth. While the device allowed us to communicate more easily over distances, a call so rarely brought kind words. The high-pitched bell was more often the warning alarm of incoming bad news.I picked two more potatoes from the bucket and handed one to Alice. Might as well carry on working while we all waited to hear who called. The kitchen door pushed open, and I looked up from the task in my hands.Stewart pulled a spotted handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead. His tired gaze fixed on me. "Reverend Mason needs you. She? he jerked his thumb upward, at the ceiling, "has given her permission for you to go.""Right." I set the half peeled potato and little knife down on the table. The small blade would be useless for the task ahead. I grabbed a handful of
The mail slot rattled, and the dull thud announced the post hitting the floor."I'll get it!" I yelled from the front parlour, where I was straightening everything before she descended, giving all the surfaces a final flick over with the feather duster. I plumped up a cushion and glared at a pink chintz pillow, daring it to list to one side. With the morning sun flooding the room it really was a lovely place to sit, except for all the staring, judgemental eyes of the ornamental cats. I hid one mean looking Siamese behind a large vase and stepped out to the hall.I scooped up the mail and flicked through the letters, bills mostly by the looks, and a letter for Charlotte from Hubert. He seemed to correspond with her on a regular basis, and I wondered how she managed to meet a man when she rarely left the house. Then I came across the heavy card addressed to Lady Elizabeth Jeffrey in a bold hand. The back bore the ducal seal of the Duke of Leithfield."Oh, crumbs," I whispered, and hur
I often wondered if in the absence of Louise and Elizabeth, whether Charlotte and I might have become friends. The last time I was punished, I thought I saw sadness in her eyes, whereas the other two laughed as the switch fell. When we were alone she treated me as an equal, but her persona changed around her mother and sister. Only when the beating was over and they had left the room, would she offer to paint my back red with Mercurochrome and help the shirt over my shoulders before she ran off to find Alice.A sigh escaped my chest. She will always be influenced by her mother, just as I am. Like marionettes, we are meant to dance to different tunes."What are you sighing about over there?" Alice asked from across the table. Or it looked more like a shimmering ocean, as the delicate fabric we stitched spilled over the distance between us.I shook my head, scattering thoughts of what could have been. "Nothing." Well, slightly more than nothing. There was the little fact that today wa
Stewart drove the motorcar along the graceful sweep of the driveway. Tonight was a private affair; there was only a small number of people expected, and our motor sat alone at the front portico."Do keep out of the way, Eleanor," Elizabeth said under her breath as the butler opened the side door and offered his hand. Louise pushed Charlotte out of the way to go next.As they disappeared up the wide steps, I saluted. "Yes, ma'am." I waved my hand into the dark. "Around the back my good man, before any respectable person claps eyes on me."Stewart chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."In the rear yard of the sprawling Serenity House, nine other motors were all lined up. Chauffeurs gathered in the dim light of the stables and smoked cigarettes, rolled dice, and chatted.I slung the shotgun over my back and joined the edges of the group. I didn't want to dampen the men's conversation, and I still longed for time to myself. Frank broke away from the game and walked toward me. He wore an uneven smi
I sat in the darkened maze for several minutes and wrapped the night around me. I wanted to inscribe every second of what had just happened into my memory. The way his hand inched up my back and traced over each vertebra and sent a shiver racing over my limbs. The heady scent of the jasmine as lassitude seeped through my body. The taste of his lips and tongue as he urged me to play a new game. Every teeny tiny detail had to be etched into recollection before I could rise from the seat, so that I might carry it with me always.Besides, I needed time for my bones to knit back together and support my weight.By the time I returned to the car, Stewart was looking for me."We've been summoned," he said and we walked back to our gleaming motorcar.Frank waved us off, and I swear he knew something had happened with the way he winked conspiratorially at me.The excited chatter on the way home hurt my ears. I tried to block them out, letting my gaze drift over the passing countryside. Than
Somehow, Alice had managed to cajole me into a skirt. Again. However, I did put up only token resistance, and if I admitted it deep down, I didn't really mind.Seth had said he would look for me. I desperately wanted to see him, if I could do so without triggering Louise's predatory suspicions. The notion of it was like a mission behind enemy lines, with a high probability of being executed if captured. Well, Seth wouldn't execute me, but he could hold me prisoner.Alice punched my shoulder. "Stop daydreaming, you great lump of pudding, and let's go."We headed down the stairs. The katana lay across my back, and I found its weight a comfort. I imagined it like father's hand, guiding me.Louise spied us as we passed the parlour door. She reclined on the chaise, a magazine open in her lap. "What great event are you two abandoning us for? Tea at Buckingham Palace, or lunch with the Tsar?"Charlotte giggled, then cast her gaze downward at the letter she was writing. It was a beautiful