The School for Brides

by Cheryl Ann Smith

  “We will look for a way to sneak into the abbey and up the stairs,” Eva said. “Mister Crawford learned the woman, whom we assume is Yvette, is hidden somewhere on the second floor. We must pray the earl is a deep sleeper.”

  “Caution is the only way to keep from getting caught.” Noelle stood. With her hair secured in a tight knot, she could almost be taken for a young man at a distance and in poor light. Truthfully, none of them could bear close scrutiny. There were too many curves to be masked effectively with their simple disguises.

  Eva shivered. She wanted to gather up her sister and courtesans and take the morning coach out of the village. They were all in danger because of her, and she was sick with fear. If any one of them was hurt, she’d never forgive herself. But the choice was theirs, and she could not squelch their desire to help Yvette.

  She walked to door. “Ready?”

  The abbey wasn’t far, but in the dark, and with dread growing with each step, the walk seemed to stretch for an eternity. Each rustle of damp, musty leaves or the call of some night creature had Abigail’s and Rose’s knees knocking with fright. Even Eva, who normally wasn’t fearful after nightfall, startled a few times when a rustle came close.

  The tension built to a level where they were all seeing shadowy figures behind every tree or bush. When the spire of the abbey finally came into view under a thin slip of the moon, Eva’s body went limp with relief.

  “Do you think he has dogs?” Sophie whispered.

  “Let us hope not,” Noelle replied.

  They fell silent, listening for hounds. When no baying was heard, Eva led them cautiously up the drive. Once they passed the last stand of trees, the abbey came into full view.

  “It is beautiful,” Pauline said, and crossed herself.

  The place was a monolith of stone and stood three stories tall; three very tall stories, with several wings added sometime after the original structure had been completed. It had housed a rectory and convent when it was built late in the fifteenth century. Some two hundred years ago it had been converted into a private residence.

  “Goodness,” Rose gasped, “we’ll never find Yvette in there.”

  “Have faith, ladies,” Eva whispered. It was just after midnight, and the household was asleep. Not a single candle glowed in a window. She took it as a sign of good fortune. “Since we are six, we’ll break into pairs, and each couple will search a section of the abbey. I’ll take Abigail, Noelle with Rose, and Sophie with Pauline. If there is any sign whatsoever of danger, you must leave the abbey at once and return to the inn.”

  Five heads nodded. Eva took a moment to summon up a few threads of courage. Looking at her band of miscreants, she felt a rush of affection. She wanted to hug each one tightly until their ribs bowed. Instead, she said a silent prayer for their safety.

  Rose and Abigail were the most skittish of the six, and Eva knew she and Noelle would have a calming influence over the two women. “At a time such as this, there is no place for panic,” she said firmly. “If anyone wishes to wait here, please say so now. Once we’re inside the abbey, it will be too dangerous to flee in hysterics.”

  Even in the dim light, Eva saw shadows of hesitation on the faces of Abigail, Pauline, and Rose. But they nodded anyway. They had come together, and they would conquer together. And the mad earl be damned.

  “Stay close.” Eva led them silently to the back of the abbey, keeping near to the walls and their shadows. Eva and Noelle searched for, and eventually found, a small unlocked door where one of the wings was cobbled together with the original structure.

  Where the door led to was a question. Built in a time of unrest, many old buildings had secret doors and passageways in which to flee marauders. Eva eased open the door and slipped cautiously inside; the room was clearly the kitchen. After taking a moment to listen for anyone moving in the dark, she waved for the women to join her.

  The courtesans huddled together for comfort. Eva peered from face to face. She knew one squeak of a door or creak of a floorboard, and at least half of her army would flee as if their borrowed clothes were afire.

  Eva drew Noelle aside. “I’m beginning to have reservations, sister. I think we might want to leave Rose and Abigail outside. They are jittery and on the verge of going to pieces. Any screams will wake the household and we’ll be caught.”

  Noelle looked over Eva’s shoulder and screwed up her face. “I believe you have a point. Perhaps we should leave them to keep watch outside. They can shout if they see anything untoward.”

  They returned to the women. The suggestion had barely left Eva’s mouth when Abigail and Rose fled through the open door.

  Down to four rescuers, Eva paired herself with Sophie and Pauline with Noelle. The four women joined hands, said a brief whispered prayer, and separated. Noelle and Pauline took the servants’ stairs in the kitchen, and Eva and Sophie walked quietly into the hallway as the moon moved from behind the clouds and cast light through stained glass windows.

  Their gasps were muffled behind gloved hands. It truly was an abbey. The high, rounded ceiling ran the length of the massive hall that had what Eva guessed was a floor formed of bits of colored glass patterned in a mosaic. Columns lined the open room that once had likely held rows of pews and an altar at the far end.

  Highland Abbey was a treasure. Eva leaned to whisper to Sophie, “It is impossible to believe such a vile man owns such a sacred and beautiful home. The angels must be weeping from the sheer injustice of it all.”

  The hall was eerily quiet and nearly as black as pitch when the moon returned to its hiding place. Eva was certain that were they to listen closely, the whispers of spirits of long-dead occupants could be heard behind the columns and in the shadows.

  She shook her head to clear it. “We must go quickly,” she said softly.

  It took several false starts to find a staircase. They stopped on the second-floor landing to get their bearings. On the left side were doors, and on the right side several narrow balconies overlooked the open hall. She and Sophie went to the balcony rail and took a brief peek at the expansive hall below.

  “I think the kitchen stairs lead to the south side of the abbey, so we shall start here.” Eva looked down the hall and counted doors. There looked to be a full dozen. “It’s impossible to know which one is His Lordship’s room.”

  “Look for a glow under the door,” Sophie said softly. “On this chill night he will have a fire.”

  Eva expelled a quick breath. “Excellent.”

  Sophie’s face broke into a grin. “I am quite used to sneaking about in the dark. My first lover installed me as a maid in his manor. He found it exciting to romp with me in his library, knowing his wife was one floor above.”

  Shaking her head disdainfully, Eva tried to imagine herself dusting the mantel during the day at Collingwood House and frolicking with His Grace in the pantry at night while Lucy slept innocently in their marital bed.

  She would never allow it. She could never share Nicholas. If he had a duchess, she vowed, he wouldn’t have her.

  “We will have to check them all.” Eva and Sophie began the task of opening the door of each room in turn. Every rusty hinge and creaking floorboard caused heart stoppage. Yet no alarm sounded in the darkness.

  Most of the rooms were dark except for moonlight coming through the narrow windows. One had a glow under the door, but when they cracked open the panel for a peek, they found a middle-aged man and woman sleeping in the bed, emitting a pair of muffled snores.

  By the time they reached the end of the hallway, Eva’s muscles ached from the strain of tiptoeing about. Ice ran through her veins, and her hands and toes were stiff. She closed the last door and turned to Sophie. “Yvette can be anywhere or nowhere at all. There is certainly a cellar, and many outbuildings, too. We could search all night and still not discover every secret nook and hidden room.”

  Sophie matched her low tone. “Perhaps Noelle and Pauline have had better luck.”

  The two wome
n followed the railing around to the south wing and listened for signs of the other women. There wasn’t a single glow under any door, and Eva wondered if the earl was away. “It is possible he’s spirited Yvette off, if he has held her at all,” she said tightly. “The woman rumored to be hidden here could’ve been someone else.”

  “Wait, I hear something.” Sophie pointed down the hallway. Hushed voices drifted around them. They clasped hands and carefully took a few steps. The fevered whispers grew louder. It took a moment for Eva to recognize Noelle’s voice coming from behind a closed door.

  “Noelle?” The two voices went silent. Then the door was eased open and Noelle’s pale face peered out.

  “Eva, thank goodness. We think we found her.” She pulled Eva and Sophie inside the room and closed and locked the door. Noelle hurried toward the fireplace, and the others followed. She pointed to a panel on the left side of the stone hearth that was almost unnoticeably different textured wood than the other panels. “We heard a noise coming from here and a shuffle of what we think were feet. We think this is a hidden door.”

  “Could it be rats?” Eva asked as she tapped the panel. A small squeak sounded, like no rat she’d ever heard. She pressed her ear against the wood. “Yvette?”

  A whimper followed. “Yvette!” Eva whispered sharply. “Tap twice if you are well.”

  Two taps. Sophie and Pauline fell into each other’s arms and rocked happily back and forth. Eva felt around for a lock. But when she did find an indentation in the door and a lock, her joy was tempered. No amount of manipulating her fingertips around the metal loosened its locking mechanism.

  “Ladies, we need to find a key.”

  Four pairs of hands began a frantic search of the room. Pauline almost upended a vase, catching it just before it could hit the floor. She smiled sheepishly.

  Eva pressed her ear to the door. She thought she heard muffled weeping. “Stay calm, Yvette, we’ll get you out.”

  “There is nothing,” Noelle whispered.

  “There has to be a key,” Eva hissed. She checked the mantel and the hearth. Nothing. “We cannot break the door down.”

  “Wait, I might be able to help.” Sophie pulled off her cap and removed several pins from her hair. “My father was a thief. He taught me how to open locks when I was a child. I haven’t had to use the skill for many years.”

  Eva, Noelle, and Pauline stared. Sophie smiled wryly and shrugged. “If you don’t match me with a husband, I can always turn to thievery.”

  Pauline bit back a snort as Sophie turned to the panel and dropped to her knees. Eva watched intently. Her courtesans were full of surprises.

  “Have you ever opened a lock in the dark?” Eva asked.

  “I used to be able to open them blindfolded. But it’s been almost twenty years since he died.” Sophie examined the lock for a moment with her fingertips, then went to work. “I hope I can remember his teaching.”

  “Do your best,” Noelle urged.

  Pauline and Noelle clasped hands as the muted sounds of the hairpins against metal filled the silence. Eva knew it would be a miracle if this worked, but she had faith that someone was watching over them.

  It took several unsuccessful attempts before a click finally resonated in the small room and Sophie jumped to her feet. “I did it,” she said softly, and looked skyward. “Thank you, Papa.”

  With Eva’s help, they swung the door wide.

  Tied to a chair against a wall and wearing only a thin chemise and a pair of stockings, Yvette cried silent tears. Her mouth was wrapped with cloth, and she struggled against her bonds.

  Eva rushed to her and knelt at her feet. “Quiet, now. We will get you free.” She started to free one of Yvette’s feet while Noelle and Sophie worked on her hands. Pauline hugged Yvette’s neck gently for a second, then unwrapped the cloth around her mouth. In minutes she was free. She wobbled as Eva, Pauline, and Sophie eased her to her feet. They held her in a tight embrace while Noelle watched the happy reunion.

  “We’re so happy to see you,” Eva whispered as tears ran down her face. She held Yvette by the arms when she swayed, and peered into her red eyes. “We were so worried.”

  Sophie and Pauline pulled back to allow Yvette to breathe and give Eva a brief chance to check her over. There were no outward signs of injury, but some scars were impossible to see. There was no telling the level of mistreatment she’d been subjected to.

  Traumatized, Yvette sobbed. “Thank you for coming for me, Miss Eva. All of you.”

  Of all of Eva’s students, Yvette had been the most difficult to warm to. But over their weeks together, the hardened courtesan had broken down some of her protective walls and allowed Eva to see a hint of vulnerability. Just before her kidnapping she and Eva had built a tenuous companionship. She hoped it would continue.

  Eva touched her face. “We had to come,” she said, then hugged Yvette again. They held each other tight.

  Finally Noelle touched Eva on the shoulder. “We must leave this reunion for later. It’s best if we get out of the abbey quickly, before we are discovered.”

  With Eva on her left and Sophie on her right, Yvette was helped out of the room and into the hallway.

  “The tight bindings caused my feet to numb,” Yvette murmured. “I feel tingles now. Give me a moment and I should be able to stand unaided.”

  Helped along, Yvette gradually stood more firmly on her feet. They had nearly reached the end of the hall when the light of a candle pierced the darkness behind them. The five women came to an abrupt stop and spun around as a man came around the corner.

  The stranger holding the candle froze. “What is this?” His angry face glowed demonically in the flickering light. He seemed as outraged to see them huddled in the hallway as they were shocked to see him wearing nothing but a pair of breeches and boots below a stark white belly.

  Yvette moaned. “ ’Tis His Lordship.”

  Eva was the first to recover. “Run!” She and Sophie turned Yvette, and they hobble-carried her toward the staircase.

  “Stop,” the earl roared. Booted footsteps pounded behind them at a full run. They heard a clatter and then his candle went out. Harsh swearing followed. Without a candle, he was momentarily blinded by the darkness.

  Yvette hung heavy between them, but Eva barely felt her weight. Abject terror gripped her, and she could focus on nothing but the sound of His Lordship in pursuit and their group reaching freedom.

  “Faster,” Eva cried, and Sophie grabbed for the rail as they tripped down the first few steps. Pauline tangled her fingers in the back of Eva’s shirt as Noelle grabbed Sophie’s waistband to keep them from falling. “Almost there!”

  Pauline cried out as they took the bottom step and stumbled from the staircase into the great hall. The earl was steps behind, and closing in.

  Eva spun to get her bearings, and gasped when she ran into something large.

  Nicholas’s hard eyes stared down at her.

  “Nicholas!”

  No time for questions. He reached for Sophie, and pushed her and Yvette in the direction of the kitchen. Noelle and Pauline ran after them. He grabbed Eva by the hand and pulled her after the women as the earl took the last stair and stumbled to a halt.

  The earl shouted a name, and a voice answered from somewhere within the immense hall. Eva sped beside His Grace. She caught sight of the women running through the open kitchen door and outside. Nicholas slowed as they rushed onto the lawn. They paused to look for the rest of the women, which gave the earl just enough time to catch them. Nicholas spun around to face their adversary, abruptly releasing Eva.

  The earl squinted at Nicholas, his breath harsh and his rage clear. “I know you.” He took a step closer. “Stanfield?”

  “Maddington.”

  Though Nicholas was taller by a hand, the earl outweighed him by a good two stone, most of it around his midsection. The mad lord stood to his full height, closed his fists, and demanded, “Give me back Yvette, and we will forget you brok
e into my home.”

  “She is now under my protection.” Nicholas reached out to block Eva when she jumped forward, sputtering in outrage. “And there she will stay.”

  Eva went weak with relief. She wasn’t sure how Nicholas had come to be there or what his intentions toward her were, but clearly he had come for her and to save Yvette.

  Thankfully, the earl had no power to take Yvette back. Lord Maddington was a mouse in comparison to the strength and power of her duke. Love welled in her heart for her gallant knight.

  “You intend to pull rank, Your Grace?” the earl sneered. “I am well within my rights to have you shot. How was I to know the thief was a peer?” Maddington glanced at Eva. His tongue touched his bottom lip. “It will be my pleasure to teach the wench not to cross me.”

  A low growl rumbled from inside Nicholas, and he launched himself at the earl. A woof was expelled from the earl’s lungs as His Grace caught him in his flabby stomach with his shoulder, and the two men fell to the ground.

  Nicholas gained his feet first and punched Maddington in the chin as he rose. Maddington stumbled back, shook his head, and charged.

  The fight was violent and brutal. Fists connected with alarming accuracy and speed. Eva was only partially aware of Noelle’s hand on her arm as she and Sophie ran out of the darkness to watch the fray. Nicholas took a blow to the face and returned a punch of his own to the earl’s stomach. The man doubled over, and staggered back.

  Nicholas grabbed him by the arm and raised his fist. A shot rang out, and Nicholas lurched backward. He just managed to keep his footing, and jerked the earl upright as a second shot pierced the night. The earl gasped and went limp. Nicholas released him, and Maddington crumpled to the ground.

  Eva looked toward movement beneath a tree and saw a footman staring wide-eyed at the bloodshed and the earl lying lifeless at Nicholas’s feet. He let out a low moan, dropped a pair of pistols, and ran.

  “Nicholas!” Eva ran to him in time to keep him from falling. A dark stain spread beneath his coat. “Oh, Nicholas!”

  Someone came running toward them.