But where was Phyllis?
She must have been gone for more than two hours.
Could it be that Phyllis too had turned against her?
Had she come back upstairs from the kitchen and seen or heard something she had misinterpreted?
Too shaken and frightened to undress and terrified that now she was completely and utterly alone in the world, Aurora crept into her bed and wept bitterly, her many tears soaking into the soft feather pillows.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Aurora slept at last, exhausted from the horrors of the night, but it seemed that no sooner had she closed her eyes and drifted away into merciful oblivion, than she was disturbed by a soft tapping noise.
She sprang awake and sat bolt upright in her bed, clutching her pillow and peering around the room that was now faintly visible through the grey dawn light.
The single candle had long gone out, leaving a pool of wrinkled wax on the table.
“Who is it?” she whispered, her voice sticking in her throat. “Phyllis, is that you?”
The tapping noise continued and Aurora realised it was coming from outside her window.
She stifled a scream at the awful thought that Lord Moreton had somehow managed to climb up the drainpipe and was crouching outside on the windowsill, knocking on the glass to attract her attention.
She lay back on the pillows, her heart pounding and waited for him to come crashing through the casement and resume his attack on her.
But nothing happened.
The tapping continued in a steady rhythm.
‘It cannot be him,’ she mused, breathing deeply and trying to calm her beating heart, ‘he is much too drunk to be able to climb up the side of The Hall, and anyway, the drainpipe would never hold his weight.’
But what could the noise be?
There was something familiar and almost soothing about it, Aurora thought as she lay still and listened.
Suddenly she smiled to herself.
Of course, it was the sound of water dripping onto the windowsill from melting icicles.
She crept out of bed and went over to the window, lifting up the curtain to peer out and for a moment felt a thrill of fear at the thought of seeing Lord Moreton’s red face pressed against the glass.
But there was no one there.
The trees in the Park were veiled in thick fog and the snow was grey and dank, and starting to melt in places so that patches of dark earth showed through.
Aurora shivered and went over to sit at her dressing table.
Her cheeks felt raw from her hot tears and her body was bruised and stiff.
She was just picking up her brush to try and smooth her tangled hair when there was a scratch at the door.
Aurora leapt to her feet, seizing her heavy silver backed mirror to use as a weapon.
The scratching came again and then the door inched open, revealing a white face with two black eyes peering warily out from under a white lace cap.
“Phyllis! Whatever happened to you?”
“Oh, Miss Aurora,” sighed Phyllis. “Just wait till you hear what I have to tell!”
She slipped through the door and closed it behind her leaning against it to ensure it was firmly shut.
And then she saw Aurora’s torn dress and tangled hair and her eyes grew even larger and rounder.
“But Miss Aurora, whatever has happened to you! I never saw such a sight in all my life.”
“Oh, Phyllis!” cried Aurora, as tears welled up in her eyes again. “I don’t know how to begin to tell you. If only you had been here.”
Phyllis ran across the room and put her arms around Aurora.
“Phyllis, you are freezing!” she exclaimed, as she felt the icy touch of her maid’s cold hands and the damp chill that clung to her clothes.
“Wherever have you been?”
Phyllis shook her head forlornly, as if she just could not believe what had happened to her.
“I went down to the kitchen, just as you told me to, and cook had made a really fine dinner of beef stew with dumplings.
“All the staff were sat around the kitchen table laughin’ and jokin’ and so I thought there would be no harm to sit down with them for a moment and eat my share.”
“But, of course, Phyllis, I would expect you to do that.”
“And while I was eatin’, cook suddenly jumped to her feet like she’d seen a ghost and when I looked round, there was Lady Hartnell in all her finery standin’ there at the kitchen door.”
“But why? If she wanted to speak to cook, why did she not send for her to go to the drawing room?”
“Indeed. Poor cook, I felt she would have a heart attack from the colour she went. She thought she had done somethin’ terribly wrong, but her Ladyship took no notice of cook. She came right into the kitchen and she stood by Frank, the young footman, and tapped him on the shoulder.”
“Why, I think I saw her speaking to him yesterday, at the foot of the stairs. He has fair hair, hasn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s him, he has not been here very long. He got up and followed her out of the kitchen, and as she went out, Lady Hartnell turned back and looked at me and my blood ran cold, for I didn’t like what I saw in her eyes.”
“Poor Phyllis,” Aurora shivered. “I know that look very well.”
“I finished my dinner and I asked cook if I might go to the pantry and find some things to bring for you and she told me where I could find the nicest morsels of cheese and the freshest bread.”
“And I was here, waiting for you. So why did you not come?”
“I went out of the kitchen and down them steps into the pantry and I was just layin’ out the tray for you when I heard footsteps comin’ after me. I turned round, thinkin’ it might be cook, and someone took hold of me and threw a blanket over my head!”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know, because I couldn’t see a thing, but I think it must have been a man as he was very strong. I felt him take the tray from me and I fought to get away, but he twisted that rough old blanket round my head and my body so I could hardly move.
“And then he just picked me up and carried me into somewhere cold and damp and threw me down on a stone floor.”
“Were you hurt, Phyllis?”
“Why no, Miss Aurora. I was shocked, but I come to no harm. I heard a door shut and a bolt being drawn and then I threw off the blanket and looked around and I nearly passed out, for all around me there were great dead beasts and birds hangin’ upside down and starin’ at me with their bulgin’ eyes!”
“Oh, poor Phyllis, you were locked up in the game larder!”
“Yes, Miss Aurora, and very cold and unpleasant it was too!”
Aurora shuddered at the thought of her maid lying on the damp floor surrounded by all the dead creatures.
And then she asked Phyllis if it could have been Frank who had locked her in the game larder.
“I don’t rightly know for certain, miss, but it could have been. Why ever would he want to do that to me?”
Aurora took her maid’s hand and led her over to the sofa, where she sat her down and told her of the terrible events of the previous night.
“But Miss Aurora,” exclaimed Phyllis as she heard the full story of Lord Moreton’s behaviour and about how Lady Hartnell had refused to believe her innocence.
“Your Papa would never ever stand such goin’s on under his roof!”
“I know, Phyllis,” said Aurora, wondering how she could ever have thought that her maid might doubt her or turn against her.
“But I couldn’t make her listen and I now think she may have wanted to keep you away, so that you could not help me.”
Phyllis hugged her tightly and told her not to fear, that all would be sorted out as soon as Lord Hartnell knew the full story.
Then she rang the bell for the parlour maid to come and make up the fire so that they could get warm at last.
*
Aurora was feeling fearful throughout that morning t
hat either Lord Moreton or Lady Hartnell would return to her room.
So she kept Phyllis closely by her side, but no one came to bother her, and shortly before luncheon they saw Lord Moreton ride down the drive, sitting lopsidedly on a big brown horse.
“He has gone!”
Aurora turned to Phyllis.
“And suddenly I have got my appetite back. Let’s ring down for some soup, as really I don’t think I can face my stepmother just yet. I need to see Papa on his own.”
As Phyllis ordered their luncheon from the parlour maid, Aurora sat back on the sofa, deeply relieved that her tormentor was no longer at Hadleigh Hall.
She looked out over the Park where the snow was now melting fast, uncovering large areas of green grass.
All of a sudden her heart skipped a beat.
Another horseman was rapidly approaching through the misty rain, spray from the wet grass flying up under his horse’s hooves.
“Phyllis. Look, perhaps we have rejoiced too soon. Could that be Lord Moreton returning?”
Phyllis peered over her shoulder.
“No, Miss Aurora, most definitely not. Look what a gallop he comes at and how well he sits on his horse.”
Aurora turned to speak to her, but Phyllis had gone from her side and was running towards the bedroom door.
“Where are you going?” she asked, alarmed at the secretive expression on her maid’s face.
“I’ve got somethin’ to attend to, miss. I’ll be back before you know I’ve gone and I’ll be ever so careful not to speak to anyone carryin’ a blanket!”
Aurora’s heart sank as she found herself alone again and she felt fearful at the nasty thought that Phyllis had deserted her by running off on a secret errand.
After a few minutes there was a light tap at the door and Aurora pulled the heavy silk cover from her bed and wrapped it around herself for protection.
“Who is it?” she called out and then felt ashamed for being so afraid as she heard the parlour maid’s whispered reply.
It was only the tray of soup for her luncheon.
“Where is my maid, Phyllis? Have you seen her downstairs?” she demanded and was surprised to see the parlour maid blushing and as if she was about to giggle.
“Yes, miss, I have,” replied the girl. “She ran out of the house and I then saw her talkin’ to a young man by the entrance to the stable yard.”
The parlour maid grinned and then clapped a hand over her mouth as she realised that she had said more than she should.
Aurora felt faint with fear that Phyllis might have walked into another trap, or even worse, have betrayed her Mistress in some unforeseen way.
She waved for the parlour maid to leave and racked her brains to think what might be going on.
The luncheon tray was still lying untouched when Phyllis’s light step was heard on the landing and she came skipping into the bedroom with a little smile on her face.
“Where have you been, Phyllis? How could you leave me alone after what I went through last night?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Aurora,” admitted Phyllis, but she did not look at all remorseful and indeed seemed as if she might at any moment start dancing round the room.
“Who were you talking to by the stable yard? Don’t lie to me Phyllis, I know that’s where you have been. And what is that you are holding?”
She had suddenly noticed that Phyllis was carrying an envelope in her hand.
“You have been having an assignation with a man! The parlour maid saw you – and he has passed notes to you.”
Aurora felt so shocked that she could scarcely get her words out.
Much to her horror, Phyllis laughed out loud when she heard this, but before her Mistress could berate her for her brazen behaviour, she held out an envelope.
“You are right, Miss Aurora, but before you lay any blame where there be none, I think you should look at the name on this letter.”
Aurora took the envelope and turned it over in her hands, feeling the luxurious texture of the heavy paper and then she caught her breath as she read her own name.
“Miss Aurora Hartnell,” written in a bold hand.
“Why, it’s for me,” she exclaimed.
“Yes, it is indeed and shame on you, Miss Aurora, for doubting my good conduct.”
As she touched the fine black letters that spelled out her name, Aurora felt a shiver of excitement pass through her and it seemed that the envelope was filled with a warm glowing radiance so that she hardly dared to open it.
She looked out of the window for a second and saw the raindrops on the glass and the green Parkland emerging from the snow and ice, and once again she heard the words the Earl had spoken to her as they bade each other farewell through the falling snow,
“I shall send for you just as soon as the snow has melted.”
She turned to Phyllis.
“This is from the Earl, isn’t it? But how did you know? Was it him we saw riding through the Park?”
And she felt her heart pounding at the thought that he might have been so near to her.
“No, Miss Aurora, that wasn’t him – there would be no mistakin’ the Earl and his big black horse.”
Phyllis went pink and bashful as she explained,
“The Earl sent his coachman, Duncan, with the note. You might remember that I spoke with him when we were at Linford Castle?”
Now it was Aurora’s turn to laugh.
“Yes, I do, now you come to mention it. He must have made quite an impression on you, Phyllis.”
Phyllis’s blush turned from pink to a deep red and she looked uncomfortable.
“Yes, Miss Aurora. I just had a feelin’ it might be him, when I saw the rider comin’ through the Park and so I went down to see.”
“I am so glad you did, Phyllis.”
Aurora turned to the light from the window to read the note.
As she went to open the envelope she noticed that the red wax seal on the back of it bore the outline of a little prancing unicorn, which must have come from the Earl’s signet ring. She broke the red wax gently, being careful to leave the impression intact.
She read through the polite and formal phrases with which the Earl began his letter and then felt her face grow warm with excitement,
“It would give me great joy, Miss Hartnell, to share your company once more and to return to you a little of the pleasure you have given to me by bringing your delightful presence to Linford Castle.
At the White Hart Inn, an ancient hostelry that lies in a secluded spot on the banks of the river, there is a private dining room and the proprietor assures me that he will spare no effort to serve us there with the finest dinner in the County.
Will you meet with me tomorrow evening? I know, as I think I said to you when last we met, that your maid and amanuensis would be an admirable chaperone, but if you are concerned that we may be seen at the inn why not let’s add to the delight of the evening with a little masquerade?
If you are agreeable, I shall meet with you there in the disguise of Jim the Carter, a respectable hard-working man, and perhaps you might care to reinvent yourself as Mary, his devoted wife?
If you would find pleasure in this gentle caper, it would be my privilege to be your host and you can rest assured that I would do everything in my power to assure your safety and enjoyment.
I await your reply with considerable anticipation and I remain, Miss Hartnell, your most devoted servant,
Linford.”
Aurora folded the letter and held it against her heart for a moment, repeating softly to herself the last phrase of the letter, ‘your most devoted servant’, as she conjured up the Earl’s strong handsome face and eloquent dark eyes.
“What does it say, Miss Aurora?” enquired Phyllis eagerly, as she leant forward to see what was in the letter.
Aurora could not bear even for Phyllis to read the precious words the Earl had sent to her, but she told her of his request to meet her at the White Hart Inn.
“I would really love to go, Phyllis, but I really don’t see how I can – ”
“Why ever not?” countered Phyllis at once. “He is a true gentleman of noble heart and if I am to go with you and look out for you, I really can’t see no harm in it.”
“How do you know that we can trust him?” asked Aurora, a sudden chill striking her as she remembered Lord Moreton’s cruel and unexpected onslaught last night.
“I feel it in my bones, miss, he has an honest face and his servant speaks well of him. He most truly means what he says, I’m quite sure.”
Aurora noticed that Phyllis had gone slightly pink again and a sudden suspicion occurred to her.
“Phyllis! Are you quite sure you are not persuading me to go on this assignation simply so that you can have another tryst with Duncan?”
Phyllis coughed and looked embarrassed.
“I won’t deny, miss, that I should be pleased to see that young man again, but it be yourself I’m a-thinkin’ of. You deserve a little pleasure and do remember the kindness of that Earl in bringin’ us home in that awful snowstorm.”
Aurora read the letter again and sat for a while on the sofa trying to decide what she should do.
Should she go on such a wild adventure with this man? She scarcely knew him, yet she felt increasingly close to – this man who had invited her to his castle and shared with her the sadness of his family history.
“I should not go without speaking to my Papa,” she said, suddenly feeling remorseful. “I need to see him and explain what happened last night and then tell him what I am planning to do.”
Phyllis looked sad.
“He is resting, Miss Aurora. I asked after him when I went to the stables and the butler said he was unwell and would not be receivin’ any visitors today.”
“Poor Papa,” Aurora sighed. “He is never very well these days. I wish I could do more to make him feel better. But whenever I see him, I just seem to add to his troubles.”
She closed her eyes for a brief moment and tried to imagine her dear Mama sitting beside her on the sofa.
‘What shall I do, Mama?’ she pleaded. ‘I just don’t know which way to turn.’
But there was no reply to her silent question.
Instead she felt a warm glow inside herself, a gentle happiness that was like a deep echo of the feeling she had experienced when she read the Earl’s letter.
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