by Lindsey Duga
“No—it wasn’t—”
“My dear, I have much to do. Why don’t you try exploring outside? There are some lovely blackberry bushes you could pick from. If you pick me a bucketful, I might make a pie.”
Emily didn’t mind in the least that Miss Greer was so obviously trying to get rid of her. She nodded and headed for the scullery with Archie right behind.
After fetching a bucket and emerging into the sunshine, Emily felt her nervousness begin to dissipate. She was already excited at the prospect of picking blackberries, which she’d never done before. In fact, the one time she’d even tasted a blackberry had been during a rare dessert the girls had received on Easter Sunday. She honestly didn’t think she’d ever have one again. Yet here they were, bushes of them.
The sight of the plump blackberries hanging heavily on their brambles made Emily’s mouth start to water. Before she took another step, though, a furry little creature—a rabbit, most likely—darted under the brambles and Archie took off after it.
“Archie, no!” she called, but it was far too late. Archie was gone in the bushes as fast as his prey. “Leave him alone, boy!” she cried, running around the bushes.
But she did not find Archie behind the blackberries. She found … another girl.
In fact, Emily almost ran into her, making the girl drop her apron, along with all the blackberries she’d been collecting. The girl looked to be about Emily’s age, with blond curls and bright blue eyes—a very different sight from Emily, to be sure.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.” Emily crouched down to gather the berries. “I wasn’t really expecting to see anyone else here.”
There was a rustling of skirts, and then the girl joined Emily on the ground, her dress tucked under her knees. “You’re also a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you, either.”
Emily glanced up, her eyes catching on a glimmer of gold around the girl’s neck. It was a lovely golden heart-shaped locket. Emily was so close that she could even read the inscription: KAT.
“Kat,” Emily said, without thinking, “is that your name?” Emily’s gaze lifted from the locket to the girl’s face.
The girl was smiling, but it didn’t seem to touch her bright blue eyes. She shrugged and picked up another blackberry.
“Do you live around here?” Emily asked.
She shrugged again. “You could say that.”
“Oh, well, I’m Emily.” Thinking Kat a bit strange, Emily dropped the recovered blackberries into the girl’s lap. “It was nice to meet you.”
She started to get up when Kat grabbed Emily’s dress and tugged her back down. “Don’t leave so soon. We can pick blackberries together.” This time, when Kat smiled, the grin lit up her face. “I can show you all the best spots.”
A little thrill went through Emily at not only the idea of finding the best blackberry patches, but also the possibility of a new friend. Though she loved Archie with all her heart, it would be nice to have a companion that would actually talk back.
“Lead the way!” Emily said, returning the smile.
Still grinning, Kat beckoned Emily deeper into the bushes, weaving under the bigger brambles and avoiding the harsh thorns. Sure enough, they emerged into a little clearing surrounded by the lushest blackberries Emily had ever seen. Even without having any frame of reference, she knew they were impressive.
Immediately, Emily plucked a berry and popped it into her mouth. The juice was sweet and sour and delicious. Emily had always loved strawberries, but maybe she’d found a new favorite fruit.
“How did you find these bushes?” Emily asked.
Kat shrugged. “I spend a lot of time around here.” Her voice was tinged in sadness, maybe even a little wistful. “So I know all Blackthorn’s good places—inside and outside, like the back of my hand.”
Immediately Emily thought of the laugh—the laugh that had scared her so much. Could that have been Kat? But before she had a chance to ask, Kat turned to Emily with a fierce gaze, her blue eyes so sharp they almost seemed to burn. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Emily asked, confused.
“I’ve never seen you before. Why did you come here?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Thornton—they adopted me,” Emily said, feeling a little small under Kat’s withering gaze.
Kat’s eyes narrowed further, but she said nothing in response.
“What about you?”
“What about me?” Kat asked, echoing Emily’s reply.
“Where is your family?”
This earned Emily a deep scowl from Kat, her face pale with anger. “My family doesn’t care about me. They haven’t for quite some time. I don’t like talking about them.”
Kat’s words were so cold and waspish that Emily almost winced. “All—all right” was the only thing Emily could say.
How strange. What did Kat mean by that? How could her family no longer care about her? Was she an orphan, too?
Then Kat’s expression softened a little. “I’m sorry. Don’t worry about me. Technically I’m not supposed to be here, so you won’t tell anyone on me, will you?” Kat held a finger to her lips and gave Emily an imploring look.
Emily thought of her time at Evanshire’s Home for Neglected Girls and understood Kat’s feeling of pain and rebellion, probably better than most girls would. Sneaking out to see Archie and finding new ways to keep him hidden, while nerve-racking, was still a bit exciting. And she had relished those small victories. They made her feel less trapped, the world less hopeless.
Emily nodded. “I promise.”
With Kat’s help, the blackberry picking was a wild success. In no time at all they had filled the bucket for Miss Greer, and Emily could almost taste the promised blackberry pie.
As they neared the doors to the manor, Emily turned to Kat, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed to ask her what she wanted. But it didn’t matter. Kat beat her to it.
“Emily, would you like to play again tomorrow?”
Emily’s grin was huge as a feeling of warmth spread through her chest all the way to her toes. “I’d love that.”
Kat gave her a tiny, mischievous smile, then turned and ran back from where she came, her blond curls bouncing off her shoulders.
As her new friend left, Emily squeezed the handle of her heavy bucket and whistled through her teeth for her old friend.
That night marked Emily’s first official meal with her new family. As they sat in the fancy dining room with the elegant chandelier and ornate silverware, Emily couldn’t help but feel woefully unprepared and out of place. She preferred the scullery, with its warm fire, comforting scents, and the noise of clanging pots and pans as Miss Greer bustled about.
But at the same time, she was excited to be finally eating with her new parents.
As it turned out, a day shopping in London was exactly what Mrs. Thornton had needed. She was brighter and cheerier than before, gushing animatedly about the dresses she had found for Emily.
“Oh, Emily dear, you will adore this lavender dress I found. It will be such a nice contrast to your lovely dark hair.”
Emily flushed with pleasure. Never had her hair been called lovely before.
Mr. Thornton, too, was good-natured, though not quite as talkative as Mrs. Thornton. He nodded and smiled when appropriate.
Finally, Mrs. Thornton fixed Emily with a steady gaze. “And what did you do today, darling?”
“I met—” Emily stopped abruptly, remembering her promise to Kat to keep her a secret.
“You what, dear?” Mrs. Thornton encouraged, lifting a spoonful of stew to her lips.
“I … went blackberry picking and picked enough for a pie,” Emily finished.
But apparently that had been the wrong thing to say as well, because at Emily’s words, Mrs. Thornton’s face fell in a mask of devastation. She dropped her cutlery involuntarily, the resulting clatter echoing through the hall, then leaned back in her chair, her hand over her eyes.
Mr. Thornton and
Emily exchanged worried looks. “Are you quite well, Charlotte?” Mr. Thornton asked.
“I …” Mrs. Thornton began softly. “I think I will turn in early.”
Before Emily could say another word, her new mother was gone from the table in a rustle of blue silk skirts. Mr. Thornton stood to go after his wife, but then turned to Emily, his face severe and somewhat … sad. “No more blackberry picking. Are we clear, Emily?”
“Y-yes, sir.” Emily was so startled she forgot to mention that it had been Miss Greer who suggested it in the first place.
Now she was left alone at the long table, not knowing what else to do, or what, exactly, she had done wrong.
After Emily helped Miss Greer clear the table, she left the dining room, still confused. As she recalled the events of the day in her mind, trying to make some sense of what had happened, she found herself suddenly in an unfamiliar hallway. It looked different than any other part of the manor she’d seen so far: The moldings were fresh and pristine, while the cobwebs and the dust were gone. It was as if the hallway was new, as if Emily had gone back in time to when the manor was first built, back to its original majesty.
She kept on walking. And walking. She walked for so long that her feet began to ache. But she didn’t stop. Every step she took brought her closer to the room at the end of the hall.
The forbidden room.
But why? What was in there?
Emily kept walking.
When she thought about stopping, a voice whispered near her ear, “You’re almost there.”
And Emily would walk faster.
Soon, she was running. She felt the need to run like something behind her was chasing her, and the room at the end of the hall was her only escape.
She was too scared to look over her shoulder. She didn’t want to see what was chasing her. A monster? A demon? Spring-Heeled Jack?
Whatever was after her was silent as a shadow.
No matter how far Emily ran, the door never got closer. It was too far away for her even to tell what it looked like, but Emily kept running, her lungs screaming at her to stop. But she had to go or that something would catch her, grab her, and devour her, or whatever it was that monsters did.
As a cold breath tickled her neck, Emily ran faster, and the door seemed to stop, allowing her to catch up, as she felt someone—or something—brush against her shoulder. Suddenly, the door slowly creaked open, revealing just the tiniest sliver of light …
But her arm was too short. She couldn’t reach. An icy grip tightened on her arm and wrenched her back, back …
Emily woke with a wail. Floundering in her bed and fluffy pillows, she ripped herself out of the sheets and tumbled to the floor, Archie greeting her with a dozen licks to her face.
Wrapping her arms around the neck of her friend, she breathed in his familiar scent as she repeated to herself, “Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a …”
But that hadn’t been a dream; it was a nightmare. Maybe the worst she’d ever had. She couldn’t remember anything so frightening in her life. She still felt like running away as far as she could.
Even if it was a nightmare, though, it still wasn’t real.
It must have been because of her terrible curiosity the day before. When she and Archie had almost gone down the third-floor west wing toward the door. Her mind didn’t want to let it go.
Well, you’ll just have to, Emily told herself.
Picking herself up off the floor, she straightened her sheets and put on one of the dresses that Mrs. Thornton had mentioned at supper the night before.
It was a lovely lavender dress that stopped below her knees with a lavender ribbon Emily used to tie back her dark hair. She couldn’t help hoping that her choice in this dress would make Mrs. Thornton forgive her for whatever she’d done or said wrong last night.
Or maybe it hadn’t been her fault at all.
But she couldn’t help suspecting it had been the blackberry picking because of Mr. Thornton’s reaction. Did Mrs. Thornton not like blackberries? Did she have a bad reaction to them?
Regardless, Emily hoped the dress would please her new mother in some way—that is, if Emily even ended up seeing her at all that day. Once again, Emily found herself in the scullery for breakfast, eating alone except for Archie curled under the table, and Miss Greer off doing laundry. Emily was just finishing her bowl of porridge when she heard a familiar giggle coming from behind her.
Invisible fingers seemed to brush her neck and send shivers down her spine at the laughter. Still remembering the nightmare, Emily twisted around, preparing to scream at whatever it was that had followed her into the waking world. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she saw Kat standing in the doorway, pressed against its frame, smiling.
“You scared me!” Emily said. She hadn’t heard any door open at all. “How did you get in?”
Kat held her finger up to her lips in the same mischievous way she had yesterday and smiled. “I told you, I know everything about this place.”
As Kat took a step closer to Emily, Archie emerged from under the table, where he had been waiting for Emily to drop some scraps, a growl rumbling in his throat.
Emily put her hand on the top of his head, surprised to find her usually friendly dog acting so territorial. “It’s all right, boy. Kat’s a friend, too.”
Kat narrowed her eyes at the dog and Archie’s ears pulled back, but his growling had stopped.
“He can’t understand you, Emily. He’s a dog. Now let’s go play.” Kat turned on her heel and hurried around the corner, her skirts and blond curls whipping out of view.
But Archie was more than just a dog to Emily, and she was quite sure that he did understand her. At least most of the time. She rubbed the top of his head affectionately. “You coming, boy?”
“Emily!” Kat called.
Not wanting to lose or irritate Kat, Emily left Archie, but the sound of paws against the wood floor told her that he was right behind her like always.
Kat led Emily and Archie up to the third floor, east wing, down the hall and around a corner into a small room that was so plain and unnoticeable, Emily was sure that she would have overlooked it had she been exploring on her own.
It had some old dusty furniture tucked into a corner, half-draped in plain white sheets, but other than that, the room was bare. What were they doing in here?
Emily was about to ask Kat that very question, but stopped at the sight of the girl crouching in the opposite corner of the room. Stepping up behind her just in time to see Kat slide open a hidden door in the wall, Emily’s mouth popped open in astonishment.
“How … how did you know it was there?” Emily practically stuttered. “Where does it lead to?”
“You’ll have to come along if you want to find out,” Kat called over her shoulder as she stepped fearlessly through the secret sliding panel.
Emily tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth, glancing around the small room. Surely Mr. and Mrs. Thornton wouldn’t get mad about her exploring unknown places—apart from the forbidden room, of course. Besides, they probably wouldn’t find out anyway, unless she elected to tell them. The manor was so big, it was unlikely anyone would hear anything at all.
Her decision made, Emily hunched over and stepped through the hidden door, following Kat into a world even dustier than the one they’d left. And that was saying something.
A whine came from behind her. Emily looked over her shoulder to find Archie hovering at the secret passageway’s entrance. His feet danced lightly up and down, and he paced. Clearly, he was torn between his fear of going through the small space and his desire to follow Emily.
“Stay there, boy,” she called. “I’ll be back!” Then she turned to focus on her new surroundings.
Despite the dust, Emily couldn’t help but feel awestruck. The manor’s roof was constructed at a slant, and the windows were built on the sides way above their heads so the morning sun rained down in distinct sections, separated by shadows. Dust motes f
loated in the air, and the wind whistled through the windows. Except for the creak of the floorboards from Emily’s footsteps and the pounding of her heart, everything was silent. Not even a mouse scampering was heard.
She kept her gaze trained on Kat’s back, trying to step where she stepped and hoping that they would get where they were going soon.
“How much farther?” Emily couldn’t stop herself from asking.
“Not much,” Kat answered without looking back.
A few minutes later, Kat came to a small crawl space. In many ways, it was like a tunnel made of old wood and cobwebs, but the slanted wood boards overhead didn’t completely connect, so the air flowed freely. It didn’t make Emily feel any better about the situation, though. She thought of the spider crawling across the globe and took a step back.
Without any hesitation, Kat got down on her hands and knees and began crawling, her petite form easily going under the wood, her blond hair not even brushing the cobwebs.
From inside the crawl space, Kat beckoned Emily with a large grin. “C’mon, scaredy-cat.”
Emily clenched her jaw and dropped down on her hands and knees, trying to ignore how much bigger and broader she was compared to Kat. She would still be able to fit … right?
Oh so carefully, Emily made her way through, her breath stalled tight in her lungs. Her shoulders brushed against the wood, and the fragile cobwebs broke at the lightest touches of her dress and hair. But, thankfully, she fit.
She was just about to breathe out a sigh of relief as she emerged from under the wood when she heard a loud noise.
RIIIP.
Heart dropping to her stomach, Emily whirled around to find a terribly long tear in her new lavender dress. A piece of it was still snagged on the old wood. Dismayed, Emily desperately ran her fingers over the fabric, feeling how large it was. There was no way it could be hidden.
She didn’t even want to picture how devastated Mrs. Thornton would be.
Unbidden, tears sprang to her eyes and she sniffed, trying to shove it down. How could she be so careless to ruin her new dress—a gift from her parents?