She passed by the stables and saw a light burning inside, but no one appeared to be about. Everyone was asleep or settling down for the night. The cottages came into view, and instead of walking directly towards them, she veered off towards the orchards. The perfect line of trees calmed her.
She was about to turn back to the cottage when a flash of movement caught her eye. Her heart skipped a beat until she realized it must be her mother. Outrage filled her as she started out in the direction. After everything that had passed between them recently, she was angry to think her mother had once again left her sister alone to prowl the workhouse grounds.
What was to be gained from this? Audrey wondered. Her mother had changed so much since their arrival that there were times Audrey scarcely recognized her. She had once been a vicar’s wife and held Ladies Tea with the women of the church and organized a jumble sale to help those less fortunate. Now she was like a shadow of her former self.
Audrey caught sight of the figure moving ahead of her, and she felt shivers move along her arms. The figure she saw was not her mother. This figure was taller with broad shoulders, and they carried a lantern. She watched as the man skirted along the orchard trees and then went in the direction of the mortuary building. She continued to watch the man until he entered the mortuary, and she stopped. What did it mean? She had no idea.
She waited for several minutes, watching the mortuary building closely, but the man never re-emerged. The temperature was dropping, and she must get inside. She closed the cottage door quietly behind her once she got inside. Making her way upstairs, she stopped outside her mother’s door, staring at it.
She opened the door softly and entered the room. There was no light inside, but her eyes adjusted easily. She saw her mother, dressed for bed in a flannel nightgown, seated in a chair at the window overlooking the garden.
She turned her head to her daughter and said not a word, but her eyes burned with triumph in the dark.
Audrey buttered a piece of toast and watched as her mother fixed her tea, adding milk and sugar to it. Frances sat nearby with her doll in a chair next to her. She was waiting for her mother to say something about the night before, but she remained silent. Then Audrey realized her mother was waiting for her to say something. She was waiting for Audrey to speak.
“I think we should put off the trials for now, Mother,” she said quietly.
“Whatever you think best,” her mother said quietly.
Audrey finished her breakfast and went outside to the garden. There was fresh dew on the plants, and the air was crisp. Her mother had followed her outside.
“I owe you an apology,” Audrey told her. Augusta said nothing. “I spoke too harshly. I didn’t believe you.”
Her mother didn’t speak immediately. “If our roles were reversed, Audrey, I’m not certain I would have believed you either.”
Audrey glanced at her mother. “But just because there’s someone out walking the property doesn’t mean he’s up to no good.”
Augusta pondered these words. “Perhaps not. But we don’t know anything for certain. Do we?”
“That’s true,” Audrey agreed.
“And as we are in a strange place, my only desire is to see you and Frances safe.” Her mother’s eyes pleaded with Audrey to understand.
“I know that, Mother.” And she did.
“And it isn’t just the man out walking that concerns me. I’ve seen him carrying large objects and moving about such that it didn’t seem normal,” Augusta told her.
Audrey was about to respond, but Frances skipped outside. “We’ll see you this evening,” Audrey told her.
Frances caught Audrey’s hand as they walked towards the workhouse. “Are you and Mother done quarrelling?”
“We never quarrel for long. It was just a misunderstanding. That happens sometimes. But I love our mother very much, and she does me. So, don’t worry. We are all fine,” Audrey reassured her sister.
It was a long day. Audrey had been asked to speak at the Board of Guardians meeting that evening on the progress of the schoolroom. She was pleased to be able to talk about the improvement and greeted several of the guardians by name. She had worked hard to bring the classroom up to par and help educate the children. She was making a name for herself at Bowthorpe.
She gave the board a progress report, and when they asked her questions, she was able to answer them accurately. She thanked them for their time and took a seat facing them in the audience. When the meeting was complete, Henry approached her.
“That was impressive,” he told her. “They realize what an asset you are to the workhouse.”
“And to think you didn’t want me here. You wanted me as a what was that? A law clerk?” she teased him.
He chuckled. “Something tells me you would fare well wherever you are,” he said, and she warmed at the praise. “Mother asked after you. She’s looking forward to the concert.”
“As am I.” She paused and then told him, “I’ve decided to postpone Mother’s medical trial.”
He looked surprised. “Really? You were so concerned.”
“I was. I still am. I would like to have her attend the concert. I think it would do us all some good.” She bit her lip. She hated to ask. “Can you get another ticket?”
“Of course. It will be a good evening.”
“I will see you Saturday.”
Audrey realized how far she had come since before her father’s death. No longer did she have Polly to dress her in a colorful gown to attend a village dance. Instead, she helped herself into her black gown and scrutinized herself in the mirror.
She knew she was pretty. Some called her beautiful. But her figure looked less full, and her cheekbones seemed hollower than before. Her new life had been difficult at times, and she had not been able to lead a life as carefree as she once had.
When Henry had first invited her to attend the concert, she had said no because she didn’t want to be the gossip of the town. Then tongues would wag that she had been given the job as schoolmistress because the only experience she had was that which had procured with Henry.
Matron would scowl at her, and no doubt Nanette and her daughter would hear the news and make her life more difficult. But how more difficult could her life be? For the first time since her father’s death, she wanted something for herself. She wanted to sit and enjoy the concert, and she wanted the man next to her to be Henry.
She liked Henry. More than that, she admired Henry. He was the type of man who relied on his brains, and she found that an attractive trait. He also liked to help those less fortunate, and that was a feature she found very admirable.
He was a handsome man. That could not be denied. But she could not remember a time she had spent in his company that had been dull. Whether he was dragging her along the Broads to look at the moon or pulling her into his embrace to kiss her, he was different.
At the same time, he was so quiet and reserved, and she never knew what he was thinking. But for one night, she wanted to sit next to this man in her dismal black dress and enjoy the night. It was not too much to ask. For too long she had been working hard to make sure her family was taken care of. Tonight, she would see to herself.
Downstairs, her sister was waiting patiently for once. Seconds after Audrey, her mother came down the stairs with a smile upon her face.
“Mother?” Audrey asked her. “Is everything okay?”
Augusta nodded. “Yes. I was just thinking how a nice night in town taking in a concert might benefit us all.”
“I agree.” Audrey turned to Frances. “You look like a little angel.”
Frances beamed and twirled. “Do I, Audrey?”
“You certainly do. I must hold you close, lest God steals you back.” She tweaked her nose.
Audrey thought her mother might scold her for blasphemy, but Augusta said nothing. She smiled at her little sister who looked adoringly up at her.
In the cab ride to the theater, Audrey nervously tugged at her
cuffs and her gloves and patted her hair. She looked across at her mother, who stared back at her.
“You look perfectly fine, Audrey,” her mother told her.
“Do I?” she asked, touching her hair again.
“You do,” chimed in her sister.
Augusta watched her daughter. “You seem to be taking certain care of your person today.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. But stop worrying. You look most pleasing.”
Audrey watched the streets pass by, and when the carriage arrived at the theater, they were one carriage in a line of many that were depositing their occupants onto the theater’s front doors. Audrey stepped outside the cab and took her sister’s hand.
“Come, Lambkin,” she said as their mother followed them.
“Ms. Wakefield,” came Theodocia’s voice, and she kissed Audrey on both cheeks. “Little cherub,” she said, seeing Frances.
Audrey introduced her to her mother. Both women greeted each other, and Audrey felt her heart race as she looked about for Henry.
Theodocia saw her face and told her, “Henry was running late, my dear. He told us to go on without him. He will join us as soon as he can.”
“We are looking forward to the concert. Aren’t we, darling?” She looked down at Frances.
Frances agreed, and the women took their seats in a private box Henry had purchased for them.
Augusta looked around the box, seemingly suitably impressed. Frances, who had never been to a concert before, took her time staring at the empty stage, the growing audience below, and the shining gaslights that glittered like jewels in the dark theater.
“What do you think, Lambkin?” she asked her as they both sat at the railing overlooking the stage and audience below
“It’s very remarkable,” the little girl said, causing the adults to smile.
She leaned forward, and Audrey told her to take care she didn’t fall into the orchestra pit. Audrey’s fingers curled around the railing as she looked about and scanned the audience for faces. Her eyes moved to the boxes across from them and then down into the pit. She saw the familiar faces of Levi and Joseph far below them before the lights dimmed.
The music began. Frances seemed glued to the sight of the orchestra playing. Her mother and Theodocia whispered together like young girls at their first social outing. Audrey scooted her chair behind them all, closed her eyes, and let the music overtake her. She had been listening to the music for ten minutes when she heard something behind her and then a voice in her ear.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Turning her head slightly, she saw Henry’s handsome face in the dim lights. “You’ve not missed much. It just started,” she whispered to him.
He took the seat next to her. Throughout the show, he kept glancing at her, but Audrey ignored him and focused her attention on the music.
“Are you enjoying the concert?” he asked her lowly, halfway through.
“I am. Thank you for the tickets,” she whispered. “It’s my sister’s first concert. As if you couldn’t tell.” She nodded to the little girl at the rail, who was unable to take her eyes off the orchestra.
“I’m glad you said yes to the concert.”
“Are you?”
“Yes. When I imagined the concert today, I wanted very much for you to be just as you are. By my side,” he told her, his eyes burning in the low lights.
“And here I am.” Their eyes locked until she looked away.
When the concert had an intermission, the five people went downstairs for refreshments. The older women decided on a glass of champagne while Henry bought himself a whiskey. Audrey asked for a brandy, and they purchased a glass of apple punch for Frances.
“This is wonderful, isn’t it, Audrey?” Frances asked, eyes wide as she watched the people from different walks of life mingle about the theater.
“It is.” Audrey looked indulgently at her sister.
When the two older women returned to the box, they took Frances with them, leaving the couple behind.
“Have you given any more thought to the numbers and initials?” Henry asked her.
She sipped her brandy and shook her head. “No. I haven’t.”
“I think it will come to us. We shouldn’t think too hard on it.”
“Exactly my thoughts.”
His eyes roamed over her face. “I’m not sure if I told you, Ms. Wakefield, but you look most alluring this evening.”
She looked away. “Do I?” she asked when she looked back at him.
“You do. I never thought black was an interesting color, even less when it’s someone in mourning. But you do look quite—”
“Quite?” she asked him.
He smiled broadly. “Quite.”
“Why are you smiling?” she asked, smiling back at him.
“Suddenly everything seems right with the world.”
“Does it?” she wondered.
His eyes were intense as they met hers. “It does for me.”
“Henry,” a womanly voice said, and they both turned to see Della Keene standing nearby with her mother beside her.
“Mrs. Keene. Ms. Keene,” he addressed them.
Nanette assessed Audrey with her eyes. “Ah. The schoolteacher.”
“Mrs. Keene,” Audrey said politely, but didn’t really want to speak to the two Keene women.
“You are surprisingly kind, Henry,” Nanette said slyly.
Henry frowned. “How is that?”
“Not only do you take such a deep concern in this young lady’s future, but you even take her out to a concert. That is generous. I’m not sure I would ever take my help to a concert, but then that’s me,” Nanette said coolly.
Henry refused to back down. “Yes, Mrs. Keene, you and I are different. And I daresay that Ms. Wakefield may be help, but she’s more educated than you or your daughter by far.”
Nanette Keene flushed red. “Indeed?”
“She speaks French, some Latin, and is well-versed in geography, math, and science,” he told her.
Della looked coldly at Audrey, who looked at her for a moment and then dropped her eyes. She had no wish to quarrel with the two women.
“I’m sure that’s not all she’s well-versed in,” Della said, and Audrey heard the vulgar meaning intended in the words and muttered an excuse to return to their box.
She felt flushed at the words Della had spoken. The two women were always trying to insinuate something was between her and Henry and demean her position. It must be that she was his mistress. She couldn’t have gotten the position on her own. Heaven forbid! Anger built inside her.
“Audrey!” She heard her name being called as she walked along the narrow hallway behind the box’s entrances. She ignored his voice until he grabbed her arm and pulled her around. “Audrey, I was calling you. Why didn’t you stop?”
She clenched her hands at her sides. “Because I’m angry. I’m tired of their snide comments and their insinuating sneers about how I got the teaching position.”
“What does it matter what they think?”
“Because I’m a respectable woman, Henry. They don’t have the right to say whatever they want about me. It’s insufferable.” How could he not see that?
He easily waved it away. “Don’t let it concern you. You know why they do it.”
“Why?”
“They don’t like seeing us together. They don’t want any other woman in my life except Della,” he said. She let her eyes fall to the floor. “But it doesn’t matter what they think. As I told you myself, Della’s mistake was too great. There is no going back.”
Audrey swallowed. “That’s what you say. But she still wants you. She wants to be your wife. She wants to be mistress of your grand house and that I heard from her myself. She thinks to win you back.”
Henry shrugged. “She can try. Certainly. But the woman I want by my side is the woman by my side right now.”
Audrey shook her head. “What are saying?”
He
boldly met her eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? Isn’t it perfectly clear?”
She could hear the music beginning again as the lights dimmed.
Audrey shook her head. “No. It isn’t.”
“Then let me make it perfectly clear,” he said lowly.
Without another word, he dipped his head to hers, and his mouth touched hers briefly. He pulled back to look into her eyes and then pulled her tightly into his arms and kissed her once more.
He kissed her as he had before, but this time, it was filled with heat and longing that made her feel weak in the knees. She pressed her hands on his chest, not to push him away, but he did.
“Audrey.”
“We should go back,” she said, trying to evade his hand on her waist and his mouth so near hers.
“No. Not yet.”
His mouth dipped down to touch hers. He tasted the brandy she had sipped earlier, and he felt himself drowning in her sweet mouth. How many times had he dreamed of exactly this? Audrey in his arms, warm and alive. A vibrant, intelligent woman who caused him to smile at himself and rethink what he knew about women. She was something so special to behold, like a rare diamond only a few could possess.
When he pulled away this time, his eyes met hers. “Audrey.”
“Henry.”
Her eyes seemed dazed, and he knew she had no experience with kissing. Of course, she wouldn’t have. She was a vicar’s daughter raised in Kent. Books and a simple country life had been all Audrey had encountered, except her time spent in London at college. But she was anything but simple. He found himself fascinated by her all the more.
“Do you know what I want to do more than anything at this moment?” he asked her huskily. She shook her head. “I want to take you back to the Broads and lie upon the grass with you. Just you, me, and the moon. Will you come with me now?”
Among the Darkness Stirs Page 20