A Dreadful Splendor (66)

I shook my head. The only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat in my ears.

He dragged me down to the wine cellar, a part of Somerset I had never visited before. He showed me a wooden door with rusted hinges and said we had to stop her from crying out or else she would get out and kill us all.

I began to cry louder, asking for Mother. He dropped the candle and put his hands up to his ears, yelling for her to stop.

Leaving him there, I ran back to my room and pulled the covers over my head. I lay awake all night, convinced each creak outside my door was Grandfather coming back. Finally, at dawn, I fell asleep.

Later that day, the low tide revealed Grandfather’s body at the bottom of the cliff.

I never told anyone what happened. I wanted to pretend it was a nightmare. Sometimes I think it might have been his ghost that fetched me that night. Regardless, the memory faded. Over the years, I pushed it far down so I wouldn’t have to relive it again. But now I feel as if I’m that little girl again, and more memories of Grandfather are coming back. More secrets about Somerset.

I am so sleepy, Dearest. I can hardly keep my eyes open.





Chapter Forty




I was more determined than ever to get back to my room and check on the tiara. I had the perfect hiding place in mind.

“. . . for years,” Flora said. “Even people in the surrounding villages visit for her herbs and such.”

I blinked a few times and realized I had been daydreaming while Flora had been talking.

“She wants me to take over for her, says she’s gettin’ too old, but I’d rather go somewhere else. I can’t stand the thought of stayin’ in the same place I was born. Maisie used to say I was like a dandelion: bright and cheery but would scatter on the wind when I got older.” She looked up at the sky. “Letting destiny decide where I’ll land and take root.”

Flora’s perspective on life struck me as naive, but there was something comforting in her romantic notions. That kind of optimism was rare in my world. “Does that mean you have no connection to Somerset Park?” I asked.

Her smile became secretive. “Well, maybe one thing.”

The questions built up in my mind, but I held myself back. Unlike her aunt, Flora wasn’t ready to divulge all her stories.

“Thank you for letting me accompany you to your aunt’s,” I said, thinking of Mrs. Rinaldo. “She’s very kind.”

Flora switched the basket to her other hand. Then her face took on a curious expression. “Where was you and the lord coming from this morning?”

“Just taking a stroll through the garden,” I lied.

She chewed on her lower lip. “I can’t tell you what to do, Jenny, but I wouldn’t be caught alone with him for all the silverware in Somerset Park.”

I laughed. “He’s been a perfect gentleman, Flora.”

Stopping in the middle of the road, she gripped my arm. “That’s not what I’m talkin’ about. He’s the one I saw coming out of the woods that night.” She leaned closer, even though we were the only ones on the road. “I was in the shadows as he staggered into view. He had this fierce expression on his face, but he looked exhausted, as if he’d been fightin’ someone. I held my breath, praying he wouldn’t see me.”

A coolness crept up my back. “And did he?”

She nodded. “He handed his shirt to me, telling me to clean it for him. I asked if he was hurt and if I should get the doctor. He seemed really upset. His nostrils were flaring like a horse’s. I’d never seen anythin’ like it, Jenny! Then he told me not to mention it to anyone.”

I felt like I couldn’t take a breath. “Why the secrecy?” I asked.

Flora set her mouth in a grim line. “I knows blood when I sees it, and his shirt was covered. There was no way that stain would come out. I ended up tossin’ it in the fireplace. When Lady Audra went missin’, I was too scared to say anythin’, sure he would do the same to me. I can’t even look at him now without shakin’ in me boots.”

My mind was trying to take in her words. “Has he said anything to you since?” I asked.

“Only the usual greetin’s.”

What I had taken as Flora’s shyness around her employer was fear. The ground no longer felt solid under my feet. A huge part of my understanding had been erased. I had begun to trust Mr. Pemberton, or at least feel secure in our alliance. Now my reasoning was in turmoil. The image of him soaked in blood ran rampant in my mind.

Flora was watching me, waiting for a reply. It took all my concentration to push that vision away for later. “I see,” I said. It was all I could muster.

We passed a graveyard encircled by a low stone wall. Flora put down the basket and picked out the posy her aunt had given her. “I’ll be right back,” she said. Beyond a few rows of grave markers, she knelt in front of a polished headstone and carefully placed the bundle of flowers.

I stayed a respectful distance away, but I could still read Maisie’s name. Dr. Barnaby mentioned a sickness in the village had taken the life of a young girl around the time of Audra’s disappearance. I wondered if it was Maisie he’d been speaking of.

When we continued back to Somerset Park, a particular melancholy had settled around both of us. I wanted to help her feel better, but being a friend was something foreign to me. Miss Crane’s girls only saw me as an anomaly—more of a ghost herself than a spiritualist.