A Dreadful Splendor (60)

“You can’t trick me,” I said to the darkened room. Still, Mrs. Donovan’s warning about locking my door had put me on edge. I wedged a chair under the doorknob, a trick I learned at Miss Crane’s. “Let’s see you get by that, you scowling cow.”

Satisfied, I finished my toddy and slipped into my bedclothes. Just before dozing off, a vision of Audra’s top drawer entered my mind once more. I had the answer, but it slipped away like water through my fingers.



It seemed I had only just closed my eyes before there was a knocking at the door. The cobwebs of a troubling dream clung to my sleepiness. I had been on the cliff with the wind blowing my hair.

The knocking came again, harder this time. Flora’s urgent voice was on the other side. “Jenny?”

“Coming,” I said drowsily. I winced as I made my way to the door. My body felt stiff.

I removed the chair and unlocked the door.

Flora came into the room holding a tray, but instead of her usual rosy cheeks she was pale and harried-looking. “I have your morning tea. You have to get dressed quickly and meet the others downstairs.” She filled the basin on the nightstand with fresh hot water.

“Mm-hmm,” I said sleepily, dunking the cloth into the steaming water and washing my face.

“His lordship is some upset.” She continued buzzing around my room. “The parish constable had to be summoned.”

All my blood whooshed to my feet. I dropped the cloth into the basin. I had slept all night instead of hiding the tiara. I cursed Mrs. Donovan and her nightcap. She must have found out about the tiara and told Mr. Pemberton. I had to leave at once! “Can you sneak me down to the kitchen without being seen?” I asked Flora.

She snorted. “The kitchen? That’s the last place you want to be, what with all the panic going on down there.” Dishes clinked as she continued to set up my breakfast. “Mrs. Donovan was found this morning in the back garden, lying still on the ground and drenched in mud. Joseph thought she was dead. He nearly died himself when her eyes snapped open after he’d been patting her cheeks and hollering her name. They’re saying she’s been attacked!” Flora paused and added thoughtfully, “I wonder what I would’ve done if I were the one who found her.”

My mouth hung open. “Attacked?” I asked. Even though she’d shown a glimpse of vulnerability last night, Mrs. Donovan was hardly the sort to play victim.

“She was hysterical at first, but since then she’s been coming in and out of consciousness. Dr. Barnaby is with her now.”

I couldn’t imagine her in that state. “And that’s why the police are coming?” I asked.

She handed me a cup of tea with a strange look. “Why else? But don’t you worry, Jenny. I’m sure whoever it was will be caught soon. Probably a drunken vagrant who got kicked out of the Plough and Bell and wandered along the road until they ended up here. It’s happened before.”

“The Plough and Bell?”

“The village pub.”

“Oh.” Picking a slice of toast off the tray, I ignored the butter and preserves and took a bite. I turned so Flora couldn’t see the immense relief on my face. “How awful for her,” I said. In honesty, I was glad it was Mrs. Donovan and not Flora who had been accosted.

“Hurry, now. I’m under strict orders to get you downstairs.”

Taking the last sip of tea, I passed her my cup and fixed my attention on the wardrobe. I chose a light brown dress with a high neck and a simple lace trim on the cuffs. It needed to be taken in at the waist, but there was no time to worry about a proper fit.

Flora helped me as I stepped into the skirt. I could feel her hands working the back buttons. With an attacker on the loose, my thoughts turned again to the story she had started to tell me previously. Was it possible the two were related? “Remember what we were talking about before Mrs. Donovan interrupted us last night?” I started, half turning to glimpse her expression. “You were telling me about a man you’d seen coming from the woods.”

She grimaced. “I wish I hadn’t said anythin’. Please, too many horrible things are goin’ on, I can’t bear to talk about it now. I might have the hysterics if I think about it too much.” She patted my back. “There now, all buttoned up. Hurry, get yer shoes on.”

“Please, Flora,” I pleaded. “I’ll tell no one.” I knelt down, reaching for my boots, and froze. They were covered in dried mud. A lump of toast threatened to come up. I knew for a fact my boots were clean and dry when I took them off last night.

“Mrs. Galloway is beside herself,” Flora continued. She reached around me and took out the white shawl. “She said there’s been a fairy ring around the moon, and the ghosts in the pantry have been howlin’ more than usual. She claims an entire wall of preserves was smashed the other night.”

With my heart in my throat, I pushed my boots back into the closet and instead chose the polished black shoes. The girls at Miss Crane’s said they were scared to wake me when I was sleepwalking. I could be very strong and combative. They only touched me when I came too close to the top of the stairs.

Flora sat me at the vanity and quickly pinned my curls in place. She chattered on as my gaze took in the room. On the rug were dried footprints going from the door to the wardrobe. How could someone get in without disrupting the chair? There was one answer, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it.