22. Chapter 22
D espite the storm, our guests were able to take their leave around two in the morning, after a midnight buffet and more dancing.
My exhaustion had reached new heights, but I was buoyed by the truce Ames and I had made, and the smiles on Collins and Ruth’s faces, and Everett and Martha’s faces, as they emerged from the Cedar drawing room that evening.
There would be a bit of scandal, to be sure, when our guests learned that there had been a switch made between the pairs, but that would be drama for another day.
Brant had stayed at the ball throughout the evening, though he only danced with a handful of women. He and Ames did not speak, nor did I ask any questions. As soon as the party broke up, Brant had left the Great Room, and I had not seen him again before Ames and I went to bed.
It was now close to three and I was lying in bed, listening to the storm.
The soft sound of Ames breathing beside me was like an anchor on the dark and windswept night as the embers of the fire from the hearth glowed in my room.
I laid my hand over my stomach, wondering about the child that would be born.
Was I carrying the next Duke of Severton?
Or perhaps a little lady, who would be the first Welby daughter born since Aunt Eliza.
I prayed Ames had made peace about breaking the deathbed vow he’d made to his father, because sooner than he might realize, he would be continuing the family legacy.
The moaning noise I’d heard so many times before suddenly reappeared, making me sit up in bed.
I’d never heard it so late at night. It had always happened before midnight, when Ames was awake and could play the piano to mask the noise.
It had been absent during this storm, and I’d almost forgotten about it.
But here it was again. The Wailing Duchess.
Were the smugglers using the caves? Ames had said they were done, no matter what happened. So, was it someone else?
A sudden realization hit me with force.
Who else knew about the passageways and caves? Who might use them to benefit themselves?
The Welby brothers, specifically Brant.
And since Aunt Eliza had chosen to stay the night, that meant Molly was still in the castle.
Alarm made me feel more awake, and when I saw a small, white envelope on the floor, near my door, I was fully alert.
Quietly and gently, so I wouldn’t wake Ames, I climbed out of my bed and grabbed a shawl from the bedpost. Wrapping it around my shoulders, I walked across the room and lifted the envelope from the floor.
There was no wording on the outside, so I opened the flap and pulled out a single piece of paper. I quickly glanced at the bottom and saw that Brant had signed it, then I went back to the top and read it through.
Lily, when you read this, Molly and I will have been married by the vicar in Scarborough.
We plan to take the seven o’clock train this morning to Hull and then to Liverpool, where I will secure passage for us to New York City.
I tried to tell Ames that I didn’t want the earldom, but he refused to listen to me.
Molly and I were forced to elope before Ames did something to keep us apart forever.
We will write when we are settled. Brant .
I lowered the letter, wondering how long ago they had left.
Was that the noise I’d heard in the passageway?
I did not fault Brant for choosing to elope, but it would cause a scandal, and worse, people might claim that Brant and Molly were not married if they didn’t have a proper witness.
If they were going to do it, they needed to do it properly.
Were they still close enough that I might find them and talk sense into them? An early morning elopement would ruin Molly’s reputation and bring more shame upon the Welby family.
I had no time to lose and went into my dressing room to find the simplest gown I owned. As quickly as I could, I pulled it on and grabbed a cloak and shoes. My hair was in a braid, but I didn’t bother to grab a hat. I hoped I would not need to leave the cave.
The last thing I wanted to do was worry Ames, so I took a single candle and lit it in the embers, then I left my bedchamber quietly, planning to enter the passageway through the hall, so I would not wake him.
I needed to stop the couple before they left Pickering Castle.
When I had them back inside, Ames and I could both speak to them and come up with a better plan.
In just a few moments, I was in the passageway, holding my hand in front of the candle so it would not blow out.
The passageway was just as dark and ominous as before as I rushed through the tunnel that went from wood to stone. It suddenly occurred to me that if I’d heard the moaning noise, it probably meant they had opened the entrance of the cave and already left.
Desperation pushed me faster. Brant and Molly could not elope like this. If Brant wanted to renounce his title and marry Molly the proper way, I would support it wholeheartedly. But running away to elope in secret, without a proper witness, would only cause more trouble for them.
When I finally arrived in the cave, it was empty, as I’d feared. There were no boxes or crates there anymore.
What was beyond the door? Had Brant and Molly used it? Might I catch up with them this way?
Carefully, I walked across the cave and grabbed the latch, holding the candle behind the door so it wouldn’t blow out when I opened it.
The door unlatched without effort, and the low, moaning noise I so often heard on nights like this rushed through the passageway behind me.
Holding my hand in front of the candle again, I took a tentative step beyond the door and found another passageway cut into the cliffside.
This one was more rugged. I remembered what Ames said about coming to the cliff face without warning, so I stepped lightly.
The wind was soon damp, which told me I was getting closer to the outside.
When I finally arrived at the opening, the wind was too fierce for my candle, and it was snuffed out.
But my eyes had adjusted enough to see perfectly.
I was surprised to find a rutted road, with the cliffside farther away.
Brant was helping Molly into a waiting carriage.
Several trunks were fastened to the top and one of the castle grooms was in the driver’s seat.
When the groom saw me, he stood, shocked and worried. “Lord Brant!” he called. “It’s Her Grace!”
Brant turned as Molly disappeared inside the carriage. When his gaze met mine, his eyes grew wide. “Lily! How did you find us?”
Molly poked her head out the carriage door, her surprised face just as revealing as Brant’s.
Rain spattered against me as I stared at the three of them, speechless.
“Come into the carriage and out of the rain,” Brant said as he approached. “We must speak.”
“You cannot be serious, Brant,” I told him. “You’ll ruin Molly for certain if you elope this way. You are being selfish and the worst sort of cad to ask her to marry in secret. It will only fuel rumors and scandal.”
“She will not be ruined when I make her my wife.”
“If you have no credible witness, no one will believe you.”
“We have Roy.”
Brant and I both looked up at the groom, who gave us an awkward smile.
“No offense to Roy,” I said to Brant, lowering my voice, “but who would take the word of a groom?”
Brant grasped my upper arms. “Then come with us, Lily. You can be our witness. No one will question the word of a duchess.”
“I—I—” I sputtered. “Ames would be furious.”
“Perhaps for a little while, but he will soon see reason. He always does.”
“I cannot.”
“We will be in Scarborough in less than half an hour. The vicar is waiting for us, since I paid him handsomely to accept a special license. The ceremony will be done in less than ten minutes, and then Roy will deliver you right back to this spot thirty minutes after that. You will be back before five, and Ames won’t even have to know. ”
“I cannot lie to him or withhold the truth, especially if I will be called in to question as a witness.”
Brant let go of my arms. “Then we will go alone, come what may.”
Molly still watched me, pain and hope mingling on her face.
She had been by my side for years, keeping the secret that I was an author, helping me navigate through two seasons, agreeing to stay in England when she had finally immigrated to America, and offering her strength and advice when needed.
I did not want to see her reputation ruined, and whether I went or not, she and Brant would marry.
If I was there, I would spare them the brunt of the scandal. Either way, Ames would not be happy.
“I cannot go without telling Ames.”
“We do not have time to convince him,” Brant said. “We must get on the seven o’clock train if we want to make our connection in Hull and then get to Liverpool by this evening. Our ship leaves port tonight.”
“Is there no time to change course?”
“I have used the only money I possess to acquire the special license, pay the vicar, and secure passage. If we do not get there in time, I will lose it all.” He offered me his hand. “Either come with us now, or do not delay us any longer, Lily.”
There was no other choice. Hopefully Ames would understand.
“Fine. But we must hurry.”
Brant looked relieved as he took my arm to help me into the carriage.
My boots and the hem of my gown were soaked in mud, but it mattered little what I looked like. I did not know the vicar in Scarborough, and I would likely not see him again.
Molly moved into the carriage and took a seat on the opposite bench as I stepped inside, followed by Brant, who sat next to Molly.
Soon, the carriage was in motion over the rocky terrain, and my stomach turned with a vengeance.
I prayed Ames would not hate me for what I was about to do.
“Thank you,” Brant said as he took Molly’s hand in his own. “We will not forget your kindness, Lily.”