19. Chapter 19 #2
Ames kept playing, though his hands faltered on the keys. The dancers didn’t seem to notice the intrusion, but Mrs. Danby and Mrs. Harrington watched with curiosity.
As Stephens spoke, Ames’s face filled with more alarm and he abruptly stopped playing.
The dancers came to a halt, and Ames rose from the piano bench as Stephens backed away.
“What is it?” Collins asked, loosening his hold on Martha. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s been a shipwreck just below the cliffs, near Ravenscar Beach,” Ames said as he moved toward the door. “A runner came to the castle asking for help finding survivors.”
A general cry of dismay arose from the group as I stood to meet Ames at the door.
“What can I do to help?” I asked him.
“Stephens and Mrs. Moore are creating space in the lower level of the castle for the injured.”
“In the old dungeon,” Everett said to Ruth and Martha.
“We haven’t used it as a dungeon for centuries,” Ames said as he passed out of the music room and into the hall, toward the staircase.
I followed.
“Mrs. Moore might need some direction,” Ames continued as we wound up the steps. “I will see what I can do at the beach.”
“Please be careful, Ames.”
He paused in the upper hall, where his ancestors’ paintings hung.
We stared at one another for a moment and then he finally said, “I will take my brothers with me and return as soon as possible. Send Brant to summon Dr. Aiken. No doubt he’ll be needed, and it will take some time to get to his home and back in this weather.”
He looked like he wanted to say more—but there was no time to waste. As he moved around me, I went down the steps and crossed the great expanse of the castle to the wing where the Welby brothers resided. I had not been in Brant’s room, but I knew which one he occupied.
Knocking, I called, “Brant! We need your help.”
I waited several moments and then knocked again. Still no answer.
Finally, I opened the door and peered into the dark room.
It was empty.
A strange, unsettled feeling flooded through me.
Had he gone to Molly?
I didn’t have much time to wonder. We needed someone to fetch Dr. Aiken, and since Ames had taken Collins, Davis, and Everett with him to the beach, that left one of the footmen.
Rushing down another flight of stairs, through a maze of hallways, and then down a second stairwell, I finally arrived at the lower level where the kitchen was located, and where the old dungeon was housed.
The space consisted of several rooms perhaps once used as cells to keep prisoners captive, but they were now empty with small windows at the top.
Though they were not ideal, they would keep shipwreck survivors warm and dry for a few days.
“I need one of the footmen to run for Dr. Aiken,” I said to Mrs. Moore as we almost collided in one of the corridors between the kitchen and dungeon. Her arms were laden with several blankets, and she had two wide-eyed maids trailing her with other supplies.
“Michael,” Mrs. Moore called to one of the footmen walking toward the kitchen. “Do you know where Dr. Aiken lives?”
He paused, his glance darting to me for an awkward moment before he said, “Aye, I do.”
“Then be quick about fetching him,” she said. “He’ll be needed here to help the survivors.”
“Aye, Mrs. Moore.” With a nod, he was gone.
“What can I do to be helpful?” I asked Mrs. Moore.
“We have everything under control down here, Your Grace.” She stood before me, shifting her cumbersome load in her arms. “Mrs. Pontipee has started a large pot of chicken soup, Stephens is directing the maids and footmen to gather any extra bedding throughout the castle, and the kitchen maids and I are collecting medical supplies. Perhaps you had better wait upstairs to welcome our unexpected guests and reassure the house party that all is well. One of the maids said Mrs. Danby is having vapors.”
I didn’t want to leave, but Mrs. Moore was right. I would probably be of better use soothing my guests.
Our four heiresses and their four chaperones had moved to the Cedar drawing room after Ames had left with his brothers. I found them there, sitting in a tight group, speaking in low tones. When I entered, Alice rose from her chair and rushed to my side.
“Have you heard? Are they back yet?” she asked.
“It’s far too soon, I’d wager.” I tucked her arm through mine and walked her back to the others. “It takes a bit of time to get to the beach, but in weather like this, it would be especially difficult.”
Alice turned her concerned gaze to the windows as the storm continued to roar. “It was nearly impossible to climb down the hill in good weather,” she said, “what if one of them slips and falls in the cold, dark wetness?”
I smiled at her. “The Welby brothers have lived here all their lives. They managed just fine before we arrived. I trust they know more about the dangers of the cliffs than we do.”
Alice’s dark eyes softened, though they still looked concerned. “Perhaps you’re right.”
I patted her hand. “Davis is lucky to have you worried for him.”
She smiled and then left my side to join her aunt.
I wanted to search the castle for Brant, but I had a feeling I could look high and low and wouldn’t find him.
I also wanted to take the passageway to the caves and see if there were any smugglers there, and discover if they had caused the moaning noise, but what would be the point?
Ames would be angry at me and tonight was about dealing with the shipwreck.
The women’s faces were filled with such trepidation, I said, “If you’d like to go to bed, I’m sure all will be well in the morning. You need not worry yourselves or wait up for the others to get back.”
“I want to be of service,” Mrs. Talmadge said. “It’s my Christian duty.”
“And I’d like to offer the use of my medical knowledge,” Mrs. Danby added. “I have several bottles of medicine I can donate to the cause.”
“You don’t have medical knowledge, Mother,” Sarah said, rolling her eyes. “You have expensive bottles of liquid and unfounded claims.”
Mrs. Danby lifted her nose and snorted.
“Please do not feel obligated to stay awake,” I told them. “We have plenty of staff to see to everyone’s needs. If your service is required, I’ll personally fetch you.”
Mrs. Harrington hid a yawn behind her hand, her eyes watering. “I think I will retire for the night. Ruth, you should do the same. We’ll only be in the way.”
Ruth looked disappointed, but she agreed with her mother, and they left the drawing room. Soon, Martha and her sister left, and then Mrs. Danby and Sarah. All that was left was Mrs. Talmadge, Alice, and myself.
“Please don’t stay awake on my account,” Alice said to her aunt. “Lily will soon be my sister. She can act as chaperone for me. I cannot go to sleep without knowing that Davis has returned unharmed.”
Mrs. Talmadge didn’t look convinced, but she finally agreed and then left to find her bed.
The fireplace crackled as we pulled chairs up to the warmth. The improvements on the castle had helped with some of the draftiness, but on nights like this, it was almost impossible to keep the large rooms warm.
Despite the seriousness of the tasks facing my husband and Alice’s fiancé, and the uncertainty of what might happen, I felt grateful for Alice and this moment alone with her.
“I’m very pleased that you and Davis will wed,” I told her, “and that we will soon be family. He’s a lucky young man.”
She reached out and took my hand in hers.
“I cannot be happier, Lily. Davis impressed me the first time we met with his intelligence, thoughtfulness, and kindness. My admiration has grown stronger each day I’ve come to know him.
I feel blessed that God would cross our paths and allow us to share a life together. ”
“I’m very glad for you.” I patted her hand as I contemplated the wisdom in what I would say next. “I could use a sister right about now.” Nerves filled my tummy. “There is something I’d like to tell you—something I’ve told no one.”
Alice tilted her head in curiosity.
“I—I think I might be having a baby.”
She sat up straight, her mouth parting. “Lily! That’s wonderful. Does Ames know?”
I shook my head quickly. “I’ve told no one. I—I want to speak to Dr. Aiken if I have a chance before he leaves. But only if I do not interfere with other people who need him more.”
“Ames doesn’t know?”
“I only suspect.” I didn’t know much about such things, but I knew enough to be suspicious. It would also explain why I’d been so sick to my stomach and emotional. “I wanted to tell someone—and since we’re going to be family—”
“Of course.” She reached over and gave me a hug. “I’m honored to know.”
“Please don’t tell anyone—not even Davis. I want to be the one to tell Ames, if in fact, we are to be parents.”
“I will tell no one.” She smiled, and it was the tender kind of look reserved for moments such as this one. “I am so happy for you.”
I wanted to say I was just as excited to become a mother as she was to become Davis’s wife, but with things so unsettled between Ames and me, I couldn’t muster the joy I should be feeling.
I didn’t want to raise a child in a loveless home, with parents who didn’t trust each other.
But I didn’t know how to make things right with him, either.
He had a reason to be upset with me—I had kept several secrets from him.
Another hour passed before Davis arrived in the Cedar drawing room, wet and muddy.
Alice cried out in relief at the sight of him and raced across the room to embrace him.
A moment later, she pulled away, and when she caught me watching them, her cheeks turned bright pink.
A pang of jealousy wrapped around my heart. If Ames had appeared, I wouldn’t have felt at liberty to throw myself into his arms—not because I didn’t want to, but because I wasn’t sure he’d want me to.
“Have you brought back survivors?” I asked Davis, moving toward the door.
“Yes, four.”
“Only four?” I frowned. “How many do you think perished?”
Davis paused for a heartbeat. “There was a misunderstanding,” he said.
“It wasn’t a ship that wrecked, but a rather large boat.
There were only four crew members on board, and all have survived, though their injuries will need to be tended to.
Ames said that everything was under control, and you should go to bed. ”
“What kind of boat was it?”
Davis glanced at Alice and then back at me. “I—I couldn’t say.”
There was something he wasn’t telling me.
“Perhaps we should all go to bed,” I told them.
“I’ll escort Alice to her room,” Davis offered.
It might not have been proper for them to be alone, but I wanted to check on Ames and find out what Davis wasn’t telling me.
After they were gone, I left the Cedar drawing room and made my way to the lower level.
I expected it to be a hive of activity, but it appeared that all the staff had been told to go to bed, because the only people in the rooms that had been prepared were Ames, Dr. Aiken, and four rough-looking strangers I didn’t know.
One was standing, another was lying on a cot moaning, and the other two were sitting on a separate cot, watching the doctor tend to the one lying down.
The men looked up at my arrival.
“Your Grace,” Dr. Aiken said, starting to rise.
“Oh, please don’t stop on my account,” I told him.
“Lily. What are you doing here?” Ames strode across the room and took my arm to turn me away. “I instructed Davis to send you to bed.”
“I wanted to see if I could be helpful.” I glanced over my shoulder and saw the four strange men staring at me.
They were of varying ages, from perhaps mid-twenties to mid-fifties, dressed in worn clothing, their faces unshaved and their hair in need of a trim.
One had a patch over his eye, and another had a thick, black beard.
None of them were smiling, and if they hadn’t been wet and injured, I wasn’t certain they would have been there willingly.
“Come,” Ames said as he led me away. “You should go to bed.”
I followed along with him, but when we were out of sight of the men, he stopped and spoke quietly but earnestly. “Those men are not to be trusted, Lily. I want you to go to your bedchamber and do not leave it again until I’ve come to you and told you it’s safe.”
Fear gripped my heart as I grasped his elbow. “Who are they?”
He glanced over his shoulder and then leaned in close.
“They are the smugglers who use our caves. This was to be their last night, but the storm came up while they were unloading, and they lost much of their cargo in the sea. They are very angry and I do not want to leave Dr. Aiken alone with them for long. I don’t know what they are capable of. ”
“What of you? Are you unsafe with them?”
“I will be fine. But I need to ensure that they are out of the castle as soon as possible.”
I hesitated, and when I did, Ames said, “There is nothing more important to me than your safety, Lily. Please. Go to your room. I will join you when they are gone.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, his concern warmed my heart, and I took my leave.
I was so exhausted, I could hardly keep my eyes open as Jenny helped me prepare for bed, and I was asleep almost before my head hit the pillow.
At some point, in the wee hours of the morning, Ames entered my room and softly brushed hair off my cheek, whispering, “The castle is safe again.”
I fell back to sleep with a sense of relief.
But when I woke up the next morning, he was not in my room.