Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
RUE
None of us spoke. I stared at the middle of the circle where my mother’s ghost had been seconds before and willed her to return, though I knew it was pointless.
This was the first time she had come to me, to any of us as far as I was aware, in the decade since her death.
I must be in terrible danger. She had caused something to happen in the manor so ghastly that my grandmother, aunt and I had brought the coven together not once but three times to summon her. That frightened me.
The mould. Was it still there? I gazed around the attic but couldn’t see it anywhere. I needed to check my bedroom.
I snatched my hands from the other women’s and ran to the door.
‘Where are you going?’ my aunt shouted.
‘My bedroom.’ I didn’t bother explaining further. They would guess my reason.
I ran down the stairs and along the corridor to my bedroom, nervous in case I was wrong and the vile creeping mass would still be there.
I stopped in front of my bedroom door and took a deep, steadying breath before placing my hand on the doorknob.
I turned it slowly, pushed the door open and stepped inside.
I expected to be disappointed … but it was gone.
Vanished. There wasn’t a mark on the wall where the blackness had been.
I stared at the unmarked wall in awed silence.
I reached out hesitantly, touching where it had been earlier with the tips of my fingers. Not even any dampness. I flattened my hand against the wall, then placed the other one next to it. The wall was cool but dry. I was impressed by my mother’s ingenuity and how well she knew us women.
But then I recalled her words. My life was at stake. Now wasn’t the time for sentimentality. I needed to be vigilant and act accordingly.
‘I’ll do as you ask, Mama,’ I whispered to my empty room.
‘Rue! Quick, you need to come.’ I heard the urgency in my aunt’s voice, then the sound of heels on the attic stairs.
Frightened, I left my room and saw the women, white-faced, racing downstairs.
‘What’s happened?’ I asked, hurrying over to join them.
My aunt glared out of the window. ‘That man is here again.’
I heard a horse’s hooves cantering towards the house. What could he want now?
‘Can’t he leave us be? Even for a short time?’ She grabbed my forearm and pulled me towards the window to see for myself. ‘Look. He’s alone this time.’ She looked concerned. ‘There’s something different about this visit though, I can sense it.’
I stared at him. There was an unmistakable urgency to the way he was riding and this time he wasn’t coming down the drive but from the direction of the fields.
I thought about the other witches, terrified in case they were caught.
The Witchfinder would relish such an unexpected achievement.
I would not let that happen. The women had been here doing their best to help my family.
‘What about the women? We can’t let him find them.’
She put her finger to her lips, even though he was still outside. ‘Don’t fret, Rue. They all know the route out of here now, don’t forget. Pierre ran up and warned us. He’s already sent them down the back stairs. He will help Jem distract from their escape.’
What we would have done without dear, loyal Pierre and Jem looking out for us over these years, I couldn’t imagine.
My aunt grabbed me by the wrist and began pulling me downstairs. ‘Smooth down your skirts. You must try to appear composed. If he sees us flustered, he’ll be even more suspicious than he already is of us.’
She had a point. That was the last thing we needed. Without Pierre to open the door I went towards it, checking that my hair was neat and my bodice straight. I didn’t need to pinch my cheeks because I imagined they were already pink with trepidation.
I heard Theo speak to someone – I assumed Pierre – then his footsteps as he made his way towards the front door. I took a calming breath and closed my eyes briefly to prepare myself. I might be terrified by his visit but had no intention of showing Theo Le Cerf how much his presence unsettled me.
I waited for him to ring the bell, then stepped forward and opened the door.
‘Oh, Mistress Underwood.’
‘You hadn’t expected me to be here?’ I asked, aware that my pleasure in surprising him like this probably came across as rather mocking.
‘I, er, of course…’
He was sweating slightly and his face red from exertion. He seemed anxious about something and very unlike his usual self. Remembering how he had left a few hours earlier with my father, I wondered why Theo was now alone. My amusement vanished. ‘Something has happened? Is it my father?’
He reached out and took my hand in his. A sensation shot through me, taking me by surprise, but it passed almost instantly. As if alerted by my reaction, he immediately let go of my hand and took a step back, as if to put a more appropriate distance between us.
‘I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. Your father is well.’
Concerned about my father’s whereabouts and needing to know nothing had happened to him, I asked, ‘You haven’t left him with your … the Witchfinder?’
His eyes widened and I saw that the notion troubled him as much as it did me, which somewhat soothed my annoyance with him.
‘Not at all. Your father is on his way home and as soon as I’ve said what I’ve come here to tell you, I’ll return to him as quickly as I can.’
I was confused, sensing the urgency in his visit. ‘I don’t understand. Why are you here then?’
His eyes locked with mine and I saw he was troubled. Deeply. ‘Your father accompanied me to the Witchfinder’s office, as you are aware.’
I nodded, impatient to hear more.
‘He wanted to plead your case, as he had explained to you earlier.’
Fearful at what was about to come, I winced. ‘And it didn’t go the way he hoped?’
Theo looked downcast. ‘I’m so sorry but no.
My, er, the Witchfinder instructed me to take your father home and meet his men a few miles from here.
We are then to come to the manor and search each room.
’ He hesitated. I supposed he was trying to find the best way to explain something.
‘We’ve been tasked with finding evidence to prove the witchcraft accusation against you and possibly your family. ’
‘They are on their way here? Now?’
He looked away, no doubt embarrassed. ‘I wish there was some way I could stop this,’ he said earnestly. ‘I hate to think of anyone invading your home and privacy, and I feel deep guilt for my part in it.’
‘Then why do it?’
‘If I thought it would make any difference to the Witchfinder’s decision, I would refuse to take part. But I believe that if I am here with the other men, it will be a good thing.’
‘How exactly?’ I asked, beside myself with fright at the thought of what this could mean.
‘I’m sorry, Rue. Your father and I did our best to change his mind, but he was determined.’ His expression changed to one of despair. ‘I’ve seen him when he’s this way and there’s no diverting him.’ He looked over his shoulder as if half-expecting someone to arrive at that moment.
‘Are you expecting his men now?’ I asked, horrified at the thought of all we needed to do before they came.
He turned back to me and took both my hands in his. ‘I know there will be no evidence, but I felt compelled to warn you.’
Never mind the repercussions for us, I thought, as the reality of what was happening slowly dawned on me. What about Theo’s standing with his father if this act of disloyalty were ever to be discovered?
I gazed into his dark blue eyes and saw his desperation matched my own. ‘You’ve gone against your father’s wishes for us. I imagine he would not show you much mercy if he discovered what you have done.’
He shrugged, then said, ‘I will be back here soon to carry out my orders.’
I was deeply grateful to him for coming out of his way to warn us and thereby being disloyal to his father. I gave his hands a gentle squeeze and leaning forward, without thinking, kissed his left cheek. ‘Thank you, Theo. I will not forget what you have done for us today.’
He stared at me, stunned. ‘I, er, I had better go. I daren’t be caught warning you.’
I let go of his hands and thanked him again, then watched as he ran down the front steps, mounted his horse and cantered back towards the field without a backward glance.
I closed the door, stunned that he had gone out of his way to help us. I didn’t want to witness his disappointment if he discovered I had lied to him all along.