“Where is your family? What is your name?”
“Promise you won’t tell, ma’am?”
“I promise. Now, what is your name?”
“Thomas, ma’am. And my family lives over by Thorn’s Hill.”
Reanna dismounted from Ivy, stepping to the front of the horse to talk to him. “From what I understand, Thomas, that is a distance away. Whatever are you doing in Holloton?”
“There’s nothing left right round us, not that I can catch. ‘Specially with the last cold days and all. I got all I could from there, but no more, and the baby needs something real bad.”
“Baby?”
“Yes, ma’am, my little sister.”
“Well, what about your mother, Thomas?”
The boy’s dirty form froze at the question. Reanna could see tears welling in his big, clear brown eyes and recognized the struggle he was going through not to let them fall. They didn’t. “She passed on, ‘bout three weeks ago.”
“What about your father?”
Thomas shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know.”
“Has he been gone for a while?”
Another shrug. “I think I saw him ‘bout four years back. Mama said I was five.”
Reanna’s breath caught as the boy’s words hit her. And what it could mean. “Thomas, who are you living with now?”
“My brothers and sisters.”
“And are they much older than you?”
His stance straightened a bit in pride. “I’m the oldest.”
Reanna swayed. “And there are no grown-ups?”
“No, ma’am.”
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“Five, and me, course.” He began to fidget again, shuffling the dead rabbit from one hand to the next. “Ma’am, is that all? Please, can I go? The young ones—I need to get back.”
Reanna put on an easy smile. “Tell you what, Thomas, since I have taken up so much of your time, why don’t we tie that game to Ivy, and I will give you a ride back to your place. Does that sound all right?”
“Well…yes, ma’am, but I shouldn’t. Mama always said to not impose.”
“It will not be an imposition at all, Thomas. I was thinking of heading over to Thorn’s Hill today, myself.”
Reanna watched the boy hedge, wondering at the harm in accepting her proposal. Reanna gave him a nudge. “You did say that the baby needed something, didn’t you?”
That was all it took. The two were off within moments.
~~~
Riding up the small road, which was more of a rocky trail, Reanna was silenced by the desolateness of Thomas’s home.
The shack was rickety, the roof sagging, and gaping holes in the walls whistled in the wind. Just then, the pair passed by a large lump on the ground, with rocks, snow, and dirt built up in a long form.
Thomas glanced over his shoulder up at Reanna and then looked back at the lump.
“Sorry, she’s right there, ma’am. It was as far…as far as I could drag her.”
Reanna couldn’t hide her sharp intake of breath and had to swallow back the bile reaching her tongue. Her right arm left the reins to go around the little boy, squeezing him. “It is all right, Thomas, you did very well.” She bit her lip, trying to hold in all emotion. “I am sure she would be pleased to know you cared so much.”
He nodded, but Reanna couldn’t see his face.
They reached the front of the shack, and Reanna could hear the mayhem inside. The dread that had settled into Reanna when first talking with Thomas multiplied tenfold. She dismounted and then reached up to let Thomas off the horse. She followed him into the house.
The smell blasted her the second the door opened. Unemptied chamber pots, spoilt milk, and rotted food permeated the air. Her hand went to cover her nose just as five little faces, filthy, with the same enormous brown eyes as Thomas, went silent and looked up at her.
Reanna froze, for not only did the putrid smell hang in the air, strong, even against the open doorway, but the condition of the interior was deplorable. The lone piece of furniture, a table with no legs, sat in the middle of the one-room shack. A baby sat atop the table, bottomless and crying, next to an old blackened iron pot. The other kids sat about the room, lifeless and in tattered clothing. Reanna could see bones through all of their unfed skin.
She forced herself to not take a step back. To not jump onto Ivy and ride breakneck back to Holloton and forget the hell she was witnessing.
Thomas went over to the baby, his skinny arms picking up the babe, and he tried to rock her.
“Ma’am, these are my brothers and sisters. I here got Lizzie. Then Maggie is next oldest after me.” He shuffled the baby to one arm and pointed to the little girl at the far end of the room, holding on tightly to a toddler. The little girl eyed her warily. “She’s got Henry there, the second youngest. Then there’s Jeannie and Albert over there.”
Shock subsiding, Reanna conjured a bright smile and looked at each of the children. She had decided within moments of walking into the shack what she was going to do, but she didn’t want to scare the children. “It is very nice to meet all of you. I just met your big brother in the woods and was about to invite him over to my place for a big meal of duck and pudding and milk, but then he told me he had to come home.”
She walked over to the little girl closest to her, Jeannie, and bent to her eye level. “I was thinking that maybe all of you would like to come with me as well?”
Thomas didn’t let her win so easily, as she guessed he wouldn’t. He was a proud little boy.
“No, ma’am, I’m afraid we can’t. Mama always say no imposing. She wouldn’t like it.”
Reanna stayed bent, taking off her gloves and handing them to Jeannie. Albert scooted along the wall to investigate the treasure Jeannie had in her hands.
Reanna looked up at Thomas, her voice holding no sympathy, only kind suggestion. “I think if your mother knew you were all alone to take care of everyone, she would have been very proud of you, Thomas, for what you have done. But I also imagine she would want you to take a break for just a night and let someone else feed your brothers and sisters. I do not think that would be too much imposition, especially for just one night, do you?”
Thomas dug his toes into the dirt floor, debating with himself. His dead mother’s voice fought his obviously hungry siblings. None of the other children said anything. They all just looked at Thomas, waiting. Those that were old enough to understand what food was looked at him hopefully.
But Reanna knew Thomas would have to make the decision.
“Just one night, Thomas, I cannot imagine it would hurt anything—and your rabbit you caught will last that much longer. How does that sound?”
Finally, Thomas looked at her, and the smallest smile formed. “All right, ma’am, just one night, and we be so grateful.”
At that, the little girl by Reanna got her unspoken permission and clumsily stood up, falling onto Reanna, and hugged her with what little strength she had.
~~~
Reanna smiled at the bright room and grinning faces around her. Eager eyes looked at her as she went through the alphabet once more. None of the children had ever been educated, but she was quickly finding that the children who were old enough were quick learners. Easy, she imagined, now that they had food and a warm, safe place to stay. Some of them were sparks, and some were shy turtles slowly coming out of their shells.
Since convincing Thomas to let his family stay with her over two months ago, Reanna was awed by how much had happened.
The Visper children had moved into Holloton, and it had been a week before Reanna had realized how uncomfortable they all were. She should have guessed it on the first day when Thomas had said, “Buggers, ma’am, I didn’t know you lived in the palace. Mama wouldn’t like us bothering his lordship.”
It had taken a lot of convincing to get Thomas to allow them all to stay. And while Holloton wasn’t exactly a palace, to the children it was, and it was
entirely too big for the tiny ones. Many of the rooms were cold and impersonal, and the children had walked around the house, jumping at every sound that echoed through the barren hallways.
Although Reanna had separated them into three bedrooms, she would wake each morning to find all six in one bedroom, heaped in a pile on one bed.
It was when she and Thomas were traveling back to his home to pick up some of the family’s very few possessions, that she noticed a hunting cottage. It was in good condition, large, two stories with plenty of bedrooms. And most importantly, unused. Ten minutes from the main house by horse, Reanna was sure it would be close enough that the children wouldn’t feel abandoned by her.
She had the place cleaned and ready within two days. The children moved in immediately with the nanny, Joan, that she had hired. And it soon became obvious that the children were slowly beginning to feel the blooming seeds of security.
To Reanna’s surprise, the Holloton staff had enthusiastically taken to caring for the Visper children, because, Reanna secretly guessed, they were actually quite bored. Taking care of one low-maintenance marchioness had not exactly filled their days. Whether it was specially concocted treats by cook, or making toys for the children, or the several maids that spent every day helping to take care of the children, Reanna was impressed again and again by the servants’ generosity.
A week after the children moved into the cottage, a knock had come on the door. Reanna answered the door, expecting to see one of the Holloton staff. So she was surprised to not be greeted by staff, but by a haggard woman with a stooped back and grey, stringy hair. A child was propped onto each of her round hips, both gripping tightly to her wool sleeves. Reanna could see several holes worn through her serviceable dress.
“Ye the lady takin’ in the wee ones?” She didn’t smile, but her mouth gaped open, showing toothless gums.
“Excuse me?” Reanna wiped her hands on her apron, removing the chalk dust from going over lessons with some of the older children. She had planned to find a suitable tutor soon, but wanted to get the children started right away on their schooling.
“The wee ones.” The lady stepped in toward Reanna. “I hear ye be the lady takin’ ‘em in. I’ve got two more for ye here.”
“What? I am sorry, there must be some mistake.”
The lady peered past Reanna into the house. Kids were running back and forth. “Yep, this be the place. I’ve had these two since me neighbor died months back. I can’t handle ‘em no more. This is Sam.” She shoved one of the children, a boy with curly blond locks into Reanna’s arms. “And this one is Connie. They be twins, two, maybe three years. Don’t know.”
Reanna had no choice but to fumble the girl into her arms next to the boy, for she was sure the woman was going to drop her.
The lady turned to leave.
“Wait, just one moment,” Reanna said.
The lady turned back, impatience clear on her face.
“How did you know?” Reanna shuffled the children in her arms as they began to squirm. “I mean, how did you find us? Where did you hear that we were taking children in?”
The lady shrugged. “It be gettin ‘round the countryside. Ever since the Visper kids. There be anything else?”
Reanna had to shake the shocked looked off her face. “No, no.”
The woman turned and left in a rickety wagon.
Reanna could only gape after her, and would have stood in the doorway for some time doing so, if the two wiggling twins in her arms would have allowed it. But their insistence had made Reanna quickly turn and bring them into the warm confines of the cottage.
That had been five weeks ago, and since that time, three more orphaned children had made their way into Reanna’s makeshift orphanage. And Reanna had also recruited several of the Holloton maids to help out Joan around the clock.
Spring had come, and with it, a semblance of normalcy for both the children and her. Reanna smiled again at the faces around her. Maggie was slowly taking her turn at reciting the alphabet, but Reanna could tell she was preoccupied by the man and woman at the big table. The couple was visiting with her younger brother, Albert, and if everything went well, they would take him home.
Reanna hated to see the Visper children broken up, but she had talked to Thomas about his brothers and sisters, and they had decided that it was more important for everyone to have a good home with a mother and father.
The Wortsons, a childless couple, had approached her about taking one of the children in. He was a miller, and from what Reanna understood, that would provide about as much stability in a family as she could hope for. Albert would eventually learn a good trade from Mr. Wortson.
After about an hour, the Wortsons and Albert interrupted the lesson Reanna was teaching.
“Did it go well?” Reanna asked.
“It was delightful! He is a wonderful little boy, and we would love to have him join our family. I believe he liked us too.” Mrs. Wortson beamed.
Reanna bent down to talk to the little boy. “Albert, how did you like the Wortsons?”
“Very much, Lady Ana. Thomas says I’m to go with them.”
“If you would like to, Albert. Would you?”
“Yes, Lady Ana,” he affirmed, though didn’t smile.
Reanna knew he was sad about leaving his brothers and sisters.
She grabbed his hands as she stood up. “Why don’t you say goodbye to your brothers and sisters and then meet us at the front door.”
Albert nodded and ran off.
Twenty minutes later, Reanna stood with all of the children waving goodbye to Albert. He sat in the back of a sturdy wagon as it started off down the road that led to the cottage. Little puffs of breath were visible in the chilly air from all of the children shouting goodbyes. Albert waved hard, with tears in his eyes, but a smile plainly on his face.
It was when Reanna had ushered all of the children back inside, that she saw Thomas still standing outside with obvious worry on his face.
“Thomas, you will miss him, won’t you?” Reanna said as she joined him outside the closed door.
“I will. He was a good brother. I just wished the Wortsons still had other kids for him to play with.”
“Other kids? What other kids?”
“Their other kids.” He turned and opened the door to the house, stepping inside. Reanna followed. “They used to have two other boys.”
Reanna grabbed his arm, stopping him. “What? They did? They didn’t mention anything about them to me. They said they could not have children. What happened to their boys?”
Thomas shrugged. “The good lord did not see fit to make them strong enough to accept their punishment when they were bad.”
Understanding, but desperately not wanting to, Reanna grabbed Thomas’s shoulders and went to eye level with him. “What are you talking about Thomas? Who told you that?” She couldn’t help her voice from shrieking in panic.
“I used to see them out at the stream sometimes. Their boys. We used to fish. When the older one stopped showing up, that’s what the younger one said had happened.” Thomas shrugged again. “Then the young one stopped showing up. I just figured he was bad too. I hope Albert’s good.”
“My God.” Reanna stood up, heart almost stopping. Hands shaking, she snatched her shawl from the hook by the door and swung it on. “Don’t worry, Thomas. Albert will not have to be good for them. He is not going with them.”
She looked around the cottage, desperate for some sort of weapon, should she need it. Nothing. The riding crop she never used sat propped by the door. It would have to do. She grabbed it and started to run out the door, but then whipped back to Thomas.
She gripped his arm and pulled him through the open door, closing it tight after them.
“Thomas, you need to take the pony out back you have been practicing on, and ride as fast as you can to the stables. Get Ike and bring him back here with a rifle or a pitchfork or something. Do you understand?”
Thomas’s eyes
went huge, then he nodded.
“Good. Quickly. Go.”
Swearing at herself, it only took minutes for Reanna to push Ivy hard and catch up to the Wortsons. Breathless, riding crop gripped in her hand, she came up alongside them, a bright smile on her face. “Mr. and Mrs. Wortson, I am so happy to catch you before you got too far.”
Mr. Wortson tipped his hat. “Lady Southfork, what can we do for you?”
“I am so sorry to inconvenience you, but little Albert’s youngest sister woke up from her nap and realized he was gone. We promised her he would say goodbye, and she is beyond distraught. You know how children can get.”
“Do we ever.” He winked at her.
Reanna’s stomach churned, but she kept her smile pasted on. “Yes, well I was hoping I could just steal Albert back for a moment and bring him to say goodbye. It should only take a couple of minutes.”
“Well, we can certainly turn around—”
“No, that is not necessary, turning the wagon around on this skinny road. I do not wish to inconvenience you so. If you do not mind, I will just pop Albert in front of me and run him back.”
“Thank you. That would be easiest.” He looked over at his shoulder at the boy. “Hop over to Lady Southfork, Albert.”
Albert climbed to the edge of the wagon, and Reanna grabbed him, settling him half across her lap. She nudged Ivy a few steps away from the wagon, then stopped.
The smile left her face as she looked at the couple. “Mr. Wortson, I meant to ask you, I know you said you could not have children, but have you ever had children?”
A glance shot between the couple. Mrs. Wortson looked at Reanna, not able to hide her wariness. Her husband kept a confused smile on his face.
“Well, yes, we actually had two boys that passed away several years ago.” He grabbed his wife’s hand, squeezing it. Squeezing it hard, Reanna could see.
“As you can imagine, we’ve missed them terribly. It has been ‘specially hard on Mrs. Wortson.”
Reanna nodded. “I am so sorry for your loss.” She tightened her hold on Albert. “How did they die, if I may ask?”
Hold Your Breath 02 - Unmasking the Marquess Page 7