Chapter Twenty-Six #2
“Sam,” she called out, “have you seen Dr. Dalton—I mean, Dr. Scott?” She flushed at her blunder. She doubted anyone else knew that the doctor was using an alias. If the footman really was Sam, and not Joe Webster, he must have thought she was truly terrible with names.
Sam hesitated, his eyes narrowing. “I saw him head upstairs a little while ago.”
“Thank you.” As Selena rushed up the main staircase, her head began to thud again. She was about to knock on the doctor’s chamber door when it opened and Beryl stepped out, carrying an armful of used linens.
“I beg your pardon, miss.” Beryl halted in her tracks.
“No, forgive me. I’m in your way.” Selena stood aside, allowing the maid to join her in the corridor. “Is Dr. Scott within?”
“No, miss. When I came in to make up his room, he was packing up his things. In a big hurry he was, and he left without a word.”
Oh, no. A heavy feeling descended in the pit of Selena’s stomach. He packed and left. No doubt, he had gone to the village to catch the first train out. She didn’t blame him. She’d made it clear that she was going to turn him into the constable at the earliest opportunity.
Selena thanked the maid, who walked off.
As Selena headed down the corridor, her mind spun. There was only one possible course of action now. She had to go to the village, find the doctor, and beg him not to leave. Hopefully, the trains weren’t running yet, or she’d at least get there before he left.
Selena hurried to her room, where she donned a hat and gloves.
She considered asking one of the grooms to saddle up a horse, but it had been years since she’d gone riding.
In any case, she wouldn’t feel comfortable taking out one of Mrs. Hillman’s horses under current conditions.
The roads, she knew, would be mired in deep mud, which would put a great deal of strain on the animal.
No, she would walk. Billy had done it. So could she.
A few minutes later, after grabbing her coat in the cloak room and changing into her oldest pair of boots, she was out the front door, struggling to ignore the pain that pulsed in her temple. When she came to the end of the gravel drive, Selena ground to a halt as she took in the scene before her.
The unpaved lane leading from the estate to the main road was a long stretch of filthy slush and mud imbued with scattered drifts of snow and pockets of filthy water.
Selena’s heart sank. How on Earth had Billy made it to the village this morning?
How had the doctor made his escape? The drive was so enmired, it would have been impassable by foot or carriage.
And the road beyond would be just as bad—or worse.
She saw no footprints in the mud. They couldn’t have gone this way, Selena realized.
They must have found another route. The front lawns, she noticed, were partially covered by snowdrifts and a veil of wet snow, but pockets of grass and mud showed through.
Perhaps they had gone that way and then had found a shortcut through the woods, sticking to the still-frozen spots.
Yes, that was it. She would look for footsteps and follow them.
Selena struck out with this in mind, picking her way across the lawn.
But her boots instantly sank into the water-logged grass and became immersed.
The freezing dampness soaked through her shoes and stockings, and in minutes, her feet were chilled to the bone.
She pressed on, her shoes squishing and splashing with every step.
Before long, her feet felt so cold and heavy, it became a struggle to lift them.
From a distance, she heard voices. “Miss Taylor!” “Stop!” She glanced back towards the house, wondering what the commotion was.
People were gathering on the front drive.
Miss Thompson and Miss Goodwin were staring at her.
The colonel and Mr. Davis were waving their arms. Mrs. Hillman had a hand to her mouth.
Selena trekked on. But now, her head and body began to feel strangely light.
It was as if she were floating and unconnected to the ground.
All at once, to her dismay, the ground literally fell out from beneath her feet.
With a cry, she pitched forward, landing face-first in the cold, deep mud.
She lay there for a moment, stunned, trying to make sense of what had happened, and deduced that she had stepped into a hole.
With effort, she pulled herself out of the muck and sat up on the freezing, flooded ground.
Had she broken anything? She hoped not. She wiggled one foot and then the other.
They seemed to be undamaged. Her boots and stockinged shins, though, were sopping wet and caked in mud.
So were her gloves. Her coat was covered in mire, her skirts were equally as filthy, and her woolly hat lay nearby in a muddy pool. What must her face have looked like?
The voices grew louder. Mrs. Hillman was beckoning to Selena to return. Mr. Davis and Colonel Blackwood had left the safety of the gravel drive and were tramping towards her across the expanse of mucky grass.
“Come back!” cried Colonel Blackwood.
No, Selena thought. I must go on. Time was of the essence. She had to reach Dr. Dalton before it was too late. With effort, she rolled to her knees.
“Where are you going?” Mr. Davis called out as the gentlemen caught up to her.
“To the village.” Selena shakily rose to a stand. Another wave of lightheadedness took over and she began to sink down again. The men darted up and each slid an arm under Selena’s shoulders.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Colonel Blackwood commanded, “except back to the house.”
“I must get to the village,” Selena insisted. But when she took a step, her legs bowed out from under her.
“You’re clearly in no condition to walk, Miss Taylor,” the colonel pointed out kindly as he and Mr. Davis propped her up. “Come back with us now. I won’t take no for an answer.”
Tears pooled in Selena’s eyes. She felt powerless to disobey. Heaving a frustrated sigh, she allowed the men to support and guide her back to the house, where she received bewildered looks and questions from the ladies.
“What on Earth were you doing?” asked Mrs. Hillman.
“I went in search of the doctor,” Selena answered. “I thought he might have gone to the village.”
“Ah.” The older woman nodded. “Well, this is no day to be out walking.”
“We heard he’d left.” Miss Goodwin frowned. “Does anyone know why?”
“It’s strange,” Miss Thompson said softly. “He didn’t even say goodbye.”
So, Selena thought. No one else had read that article in the newspaper yet. Or if they had, they hadn’t put two and two together.
“I believe he had to get back to his medical practice,” Mrs. Hillman said smoothly. “Apparently, the trains are expected to start running again today.”
“Yes.” Selena darted her friend a look, grateful for her discretion.
A bevy of servants appeared in the foyer where Mrs. Middleton, clicking her tongue with disapproval, took over. Within minutes, Selena’s filthy shoes and coat had been removed and taken away.
“Sam! George!” the housekeeper barked. “Fetch the tin tub upstairs to Miss Taylor’s bedchamber. Gladys! Beryl! Heat water for a bath and bring it up to her.”
A rush of dread hurtled through Selena’s form. The last thing she wanted was to sit in a bathtub in her room, naked and vulnerable. Someone had tried to kill her the day before. They might walk in and try to drown her now.
“I don’t want a bath,” Selena insisted. “I’ll use the cold water in my basin to clean up.”
Mrs. Middleton frowned. “Very well.” The servants bowed or curtsied and vanished. “I’m worried about you,” the housekeeper said as she helped Selena upstairs to her room. “You’re so pale, you look like you might faint dead away at any minute.”
“I’ll be fine,” Selena lied. “I’m just tired. I want to sleep.”
“Ring if you need anything else,” Mrs. Middleton told her as she withdrew.
Selena peeled off her mud-streaked frock and stockings and sank down on her bed, devastated that her plan had failed. She had missed her one and only opportunity to talk to Dr. Dalton. He would flee and she would never see him again.
She had not only lost the man she loved, but a killer was still at large, a villain whom she believed had murdered at least twice and had attempted to murder at least three more people—her, Dr. Dalton, Colonel Blackwood, and also Billy, if only by accident, when they’d been locked in the icehouse.
The killer would no doubt make another attempt if no one stopped them.
Selena swallowed back tears. She suddenly, desperately, wished she could talk to her sisters. They had been out of touch for so long due to the bad weather interrupting the delivery of the post. Oh, how she missed them! The ache inside her was so deep, it felt like an empty chasm.
Selena’s cheeks grew hot, however, as she imagined what their reactions might be if she told them what she’d been going through.
She had always felt lesser when compared to her older sisters, but she had never felt that sting as sharply as she did right now.
Diana and Athena had both solved mysteries and uncovered secrets, and they had proven their intelligence and worth in so many other ways.
But although two mysteries had been laid at Selena’s door, she hadn’t solved either one of them.
Despite all her efforts, she hadn’t found the hidden money or identified the culprit who had murdered Mr. Clarke and Mrs. Whitlock—or even proven that they had been murdered.
Even though she knew in her bones that they had.
All she had were unproven theories and, as the doctor had so astutely pointed out, not a shred of proof to bring to the authorities.
The doctor.