Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
‘I’m starting to understand that,’ I replied, darkly. ‘Lord Albert. William’s father. William’s brother, Charles. And then there’s the Favishams. They married into the Trevarron family with what seems like disastrous results.’
‘Indeed, maid.’ Aunt Bill pursed her lips disapprovingly. ‘But there ain’t much we can do about it now.’
I noticed that we were walking on a slight incline, and that the air had got a little better.
‘Nearly there,’ Aunt Bill called out to Violet and Hermione. I looked back at them; they were holding hands, and Hermione walked determinedly, with her head down. I was proud of her. ‘Should be some steps comin’ up,’ Aunt Bill said to me, and as we turned a corner, there they were ahead of us.
‘Thank goodness.’ I sighed in relief.
There was the sound of footsteps from further back in the tunnel. I had the sudden terrible thought that Harold and the footmen had found us, but I raised the lantern and saw William approaching. Violet and Hermione let him past; he nodded politely to them.
I was relieved to see him. This whole journey had been desperately perilous and having William by my side quieted my nerves. He took my hand in his and kissed it.
‘See, there was no need to worry, my sweet one,’ he murmured.
I wanted to embrace him, to nestle into his strong, safe arms, but there was no time.
We had to get to Nancy as soon as possible, and get Violet and Hermione off in their carriage as quickly as we could.
Then, we could think about what to do next.
We trudged up the stone steps leading to a wooden door. Aunt Bill knocked on it, and Nancy opened it. A weight of relief fell from my shoulders, seeing her face.
‘Come on up.’ Nancy beckoned to us. ‘Quickly, now.’
One by one, we followed Aunt Bill up the steps. William insisted on making sure that he was last, after Violet and Hermione. He pulled the door closed after him.
‘The carriage’s outside.’ Nancy led us to the front door.
‘I’m sorry that I can’t offer you any time to relax or eat, milady.
But I ’ope you’ll take this basket of provisions at least.’ She pressed an old-fashioned shopping basket with a rounded handle into Lady Hermione’s hands.
Hermione took it, looking shell-shocked.
‘Thank you, Miss…?’ she said, reflexively.
As a Victorian lady, Hermione had been raised to be polite at all times, even when life was throwing her a curveball of extreme stress.
I imagined the layers of propriety and etiquette that covered her soul like coats of varnish on a door.
It was a barrier, a protection, a way to keep her embalmed, like a corpse.
‘My name is Nancy Willcock, milady. I am the pellar in St Nantes.’ Nancy nodded, briskly.
‘Thank you, Miss Willcock. You are most kind,’ Hermione said, faintly.
‘Mother, I need the bathroom,’ Violet said in a small voice.
‘Oh, Violet. Can’t it wait?’ Hermione asked with a sigh. Violet’s face fell.
‘No, Mother. I really have to,’ she said, looking like she wished the ground would swallow her up.
‘Fine. May we use your bathroom, Miss Willcock?’ Hermione asked Nancy, who nodded.
‘I’ll show you,’ she said, leading them outside. Yew Tree Cottage still had an outside privy, down the garden.
Aunt Bill looked around her in wonderment after they’d left.
‘Well, this is a turn up for the books,’ she said, taking it all in. ‘I do wish I ’ad a camera. I could’ve built up quite the collection of pictures of my own front room in different centuries.’ She blew out her cheeks. ‘You must feel odd, bein’ ’ere, my love?’ she asked me.
‘Definitely. It’s been so strange staying here, knowing this is your cottage, but you weren’t here,’ I said. ‘But now you are, and that feels stranger still.’
‘I know. ’Tis a very singular experience, to be sure.’ Aunt Bill sat down heavily on one of Nancy’s chairs. ‘I wish my sofas were ’ere.’
William opened the front door of the cottage and looked cautiously outside.
‘The carriage is there,’ he said. ‘Lady Trevarron and her daughter should hurry.’ He walked outside, up the garden path to the carriage. I went to stand in the doorway, watching him exchange words with the driver, a young man in a cloth cap.
Nancy reappeared around the side of the house leading Hermione and Violet. With William, they helped them into the carriage. I waved at Violet’s pale, drawn face which looked out at me from inside the carriage window.
‘Let’s ’ope that’s them safe, maid.’ Aunt Bill let out a long indrawn breath of relief. ‘The further they are away from that monster, the better.’
William led the carriage to the end of the lane, helping the driver turn around in the narrow space.
I thought of the gamekeeper’s cottage we’d found, walking from the end of the lane there and out into the fields.
The peace that we had enjoyed there, just for a short time.
Maybe we would be able to find that peace again, soon.
The carriage had turned around. We watched it pass the garden gate.
And then, the noise that I had dreaded.
Horses, and the heavy tread of carriage wheels on the dirt road.