Ravenwood(26)

Alice smiled. “I’m glad. Mrs. Davenport will put another poultice on tonight. Perhaps a third tomorrow and then you should be all right.” She fixed Elinore with a fierce look. “I’m sure the Mr. Vollmonds warned you about going off the estate properly, did they not?”

Elinore nodded. “Yes, Caleb mentioned it before he set off hunting today.”

Alice seemed pleased by Elinore’s assertion. “The entire household will rest better once they track that wolf down.”

“Has it been in the area long? I admit I know hardly anything of wolves. I gather this one has been causing trouble?”

Alice fiddled with the hem of her skirt. “Yes. There’ve been several… incidents with some of the farm animals. And one of the horses.” Alice’s voice was soft and quiet, her tone causing Elinore to lean in closer. “We’re not to go off the estate lands. Not at night and certainly not when the moon is full. My father was quite distressed to find out you were scheduled to arrive last night. He wanted to say something to Mr. Vollmond the elder, but… Mr. Hayter does not like to be contradicted.”

Elinore knew this was often the way of the world, and was grateful Thistle had come to fetch her in town, but it still made her heart sink to think that Hayter had forced poor Thistle out last night.

“Why the full moon?” Elinore queried, her mind stuck on that one detail.

Alice’s eyes darted off to the side and she shuffled through some of her artwork. “I beg your pardon?”

“You said, ‘certainly not when the moon is full.’ Why should that make a difference?”

“It makes the animals restless. Always has.” Alice smiled, but it looked forced and tight on her face. “You likely think it simply a country superstition, but we’ve always stayed in on the full moons.”

It did seem rather superstitious to Elinore, but she had been born and bred in the city and had nothing to which to compare it. “Well, that shouldn’t be hard to abide by. While I enjoy a walk out doors, I’m certainly not one to go traipsing about at night. We are allowed to go out by day, yes?”

“Oh, yes. In fact, if you should like to go for a walk tomorrow, I would be happy to join you.” Alice’s eyes darted over to the clock in the corner. “I should return to my father. One of the other servants has to sit with him when my mother leaves to prepare meals. Dinner is usually up in an hour, so she’s likely already at it.”

Elinore realized that although she’d had quite a lot to eat at lunch, she was famished. The idea of waiting an hour for dinner seemed terribly long. “Of course. It was so good to meet you, Alice.”

“And you as well.” Alice hesitated, her fingers coming out to touch lightly on some of Elinore’s papers. “Your writings… may I take them with me? I would like to try sketching something from them tonight.”

She meant the scribblings of Elinore’s dream, that of a wolf, a raven and trees. Elinore wanted to steal the papers back and hide them away - the memory of the dream left her unsettled and leery. Instead she managed a smile and handed the papers to Alice.

“I would be honored. I can’t wait to see what you render.”

Alice smiled, her shoulders coming up by her ears as she did. “Thank you.” In an impetuous motion she lurched forward and gave Elinore a fierce hug. Feeling as though she’d found a new friend in a place that was so unknown and foreign to her made tears spring up in Elinore’s eyes.

“Until the morrow.” Alice gave a bob and a curtsey.

Elinore inclined her head. “Tomorrow.”

Once again alone in the library, Elinore was drawn to the bookshelves. She hardly knew where to begin. She tipped her head to the side, reading the spines of the books. She finally decided on one of the books on Greek mythology. Pulling the heavy tome from the shelf, she settled herself in one of the comfortable chairs in front of the fire (to which she added a few logs) and settled in to read until called for dinner.

Elinore became engrossed in the myths written out in the book. While she was familiar with the most popular of tales from mythology - those of Zeus and the other Olympians, some were strange and exotic to her. She could see why such a tale would have been kept from young ladies. King Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, was bespelled to fall in love with an animal and then take it as a mate. Elinore’s eyes darted around the room as she read, certain that someone would pop out of the woodwork and scold her for reading such a lurid tale. She hunched over the book protectively, as though she could hide what she was reading. She even went so far as to wonder if she should take another book from the shelf, a respectable, reputable book, and have it near her should someone ask what she was reading. Elinore’s eyes widened as they roved the pages, reading as Pasiphae shockingly pursued the bull and then had a child by it.

The door to the library opened and Elinore dropped the book, flipping it end over end as she scrambled to catch it before it hit the ground. She managed to catch it in her lap, looking up at Mrs. Davenport, who stood in the doorway. Elinore was certain guilt was all over her face.

“Mrs. Davenport, you startled me.” Elinore stood and brushed out the serviceable fabric of the gown. “Ravenwood is so quiet. I hardly hear anyone coming and going.” Not at all like her old home - smaller, in the city. Elinore would hear carriages and horses outside on the street and snippets of conversation.