Ravenwood(40)

“Thank you, Mrs. Davenport. I thought I might have to entomb myself in another one of my aunt’s dresses if nothing of mine was available. I would be beside myself this morning without you.”

Mrs. Davenport patted Elinore fondly on the back and returned her hug. “Think nothing of it. We take care of our own here at Ravenwood.”

Elinore pulled back, still keeping one hand on Mrs. Davenport’s arm. “You’re very kind for taking me in so quickly and doing everything you have to make me feel at home. I’m quite grateful.”

Mrs. Davenport made a shooing noise and waved Elinore’s words away. “You’ll make an old woman cry if you keep going on.”

“Then you may have to resign yourself to tears because I will keep saying it. Thank you,” Elinore said again.

Tears did spring to Mrs. Davenport’s eyes and she dashed at them making scoffing noises as she took Elinore’s soiled dress and left Elinore to change. Hopefully, Hayter would be too busy with his ’important’ work to want to spend any more time with Elinore.





Chapter Nine





Elinore learned the rhythm of Ravenwood quickly in a few days. Most of the staff were early risers, like herself and Caleb, and Elinore took the time to stop and inquire after everyone she met until she felt she had a good handle on each person’s name and position. While the staff was pleasant enough to speak to her or Caleb, Elinore noted they tended to avoid speaking directly to Hayter, even the staff he brought with him from his former estate.

“Hayter doesn’t like the staff to address him,” Alice told her, their heads bent together in the library. They quite often spent time in the afternoon together, Alice sketching while Elinore wrote or knit.

“Not at all?” asked Elinore and Alice shook her head.

“When he first came here, we thought he’d be rather like his brother, Caleb’s father. He was a more genteel sort of man. Boisterous and a little loud. Always pleasant. Caleb took more after his mother. Quiet, but kind. But when Hayter arrived…” Alice trailed off.

“I suppose every family has their black sheep,” Elinore said, searching for something neutral.

Alice sighed. “How I wish things could have stayed the way they were. If only…”

Elinore fiddled with her yarn, finishing a pair of socks she was gifting to Alice. Alice had protested saying Elinore needn’t make her anything, but Elinore liked to give things to people and she thought the soft grey yarn would keep Alice’s feet quite warm. “How did they die? Caleb’s parents, I mean.”

Alice bit her lip and looked around, as though unsure if they were still the only ones in the library. Hayter had gone to Haleton that morning on some important business, (dreadfully important according to him at breakfast) and the house seemed to relax in relief as he left. Caleb had indicated he would be visiting tenants today and would not be expected for lunch. Still, as Alice glanced about, Elinore couldn’t help but do the same, even though she was certain they were alone.

“Mr. Vollmond, Caleb’s father, was attacked. Out in the woods.”

Elinore gasped. “Oh my goodness. By a wolf?”

Alice nodded. “It was… very unusual and quite… unnatural.” She licked her lips. “The Vollmond men are uncommonly good hunters and for Mr. Vollmond to be taken unawares…” she shook her head. “Though it was a while ago, none of us have slept easy since.”

“How awful.” Elinore’s heart ached for Caleb. No wonder he was so intent on hunting down the feral wolf.

“Mrs. Vollmond, Caleb’s mother…” Alice sighed. “It’s like she died of a broken heart. She started to wither away after her husband’s death and then followed him to the grave.”

“So tragic,” Elinore said, knowing full well the misery Caleb must have felt upon losing both his parents so close together. It was likely the same misery that Elinore felt when hers passed from sickness. She may be considered a grown woman by the world, but when she thought of parents’ death, she felt all of six-years-old - lost and little. “Were they a love match? Caleb’s parents?”

Alice nodded. “The Vollmond family only marries for love.”

Elinore supposed when you were as wealthy as a family that could afford an estate like Ravenwood, you had the luxury of a love match. “And when did Hayter arrive?”

“Almost immediately after his brother’s death. Ravenwood has always had an Al… a master. Hayter arrived as soon as he could, I imagine.”

“Was his wife still alive then?”

Alice shook her head. “No, Victoria had already passed.” Alice paused, unsure for a moment and then pressed on. “She died from illness.”

Elinore nodded, knowing all too well how that must have gone, having watched her parents succumb to illness themselves. Though she did not like Hayter, she sympathized with him in that moment. She wondered if his wife’s death had changed the man he was.

“Has Hayter always been…” Elinore trailed off, not sure how to complete her sentence. How would she describe Hayter without seeming rude or harsh? Was he eerie? Firm? Sinister? “… so unyielding?”

Alice nodded. “I’ve only known of him since he came to Ravenwood, but he has been so since his arrival.” Alice looked young and vulnerable in that moment - hardly more than a child. “We were all of us much happier before.”