By the time they stopped for the next meal, they had covered the first two years Lieutenant and Mrs.Digby had spent in the American colonies.Sophia made sure to number each piece of paper, her close writing covering the front and back of each sheet, before she turned it face down in a tidy stack.
Mrs.Royston covered a yawn as the footmen cleared the dishes from the dining table.
“I believe I’ll have a lie-down,” Mrs.Digby said, casting a bemused glance at her sister-in-law.“Marshall can show you the path to the beach if you’d like to go exploring.”
“Thank you.That’s very kind.”Sophia forced herself to calmly finish her meal instead of bolting from the room to go outdoors.
“I saw you last night from my window.”Mrs.Digby leaned closer to Sophia and lowered her voice.“Standing near the bluff, watching the waves.They call to you, don’t they?”
Sophia hardly dared breathe.
Mrs.Digby patted Sophia’s hand where she clutched her fork.“I recognize it, because they call to me, too.”
They shared a conspiratorial smile, and Sophia resumed eating.
“Even after so many years of following Digby around the world, weeks or months spent at sea transferring to one post or another, and now two decades here, I still can’t get my fill.”
“My last position was in Torquay,” Sophia shared.“I loved to walk along the seashore when my duties permitted.”
“Then by all means, you must do the same here.The path to the beach that starts by the box hedge is the nearest to the house, but it’s steep in places, and tends to be a bit crumbly after a storm.If you go farther along the bluff, there is a zigzag path with benches here and there should you want to pause and enjoy the view.”
As soon as she could politely do so, Sophia left the dining room, donned her pelisse and bonnet, and found Marshall, the footman who had shown her the way out yesterday, replacing candles in the foyer chandelier.“Mrs.Digby said you would show me the path to the beach?”
“Of course, Miss.”The young footman hoisted the chandelier back into place, then led her through the house.Goodness, there were a lot of turns to get anywhere.Just as he grabbed his coat hanging near the back door and shrugged into it, Enid walked up to him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Marshall tipped his head toward Sophia as he buttoned his coat.“The mistress said to show the miss down to the beach.”
Enid took a startled step back.Belatedly, she dipped a shallow curtsy.“Beg pardon, Miss.I didn’t see you there.I would be happy to show you the best path down.”
Marshall opened the door, letting in a gust of salty air.“After all the time I spend working in the dark?Your attic’s to let if you think I’m giving up a walk to the beach while on duty,” he said with a teasing smile directed at the maid.He bowed and gestured for Sophia to precede him outside.
They’d taken only a few steps when the door opened and closed again, and Enid practically ran toward them, still buttoning her cloak.“It’s my turn to check if any of the benches need repair or moving after the last storm.”
The footman’s faint smile indicated he didn’t believe the maid any more than Sophia did.Perhaps the waves called to Enid the same way they did to Sophia and Mrs.Digby.
They neared the box hedge maze, the top of the greenery taller than the footman, who stood head and shoulders above Sophia.“This here is the entrance to the maze, and the exit is over by the terrace off the drawing room.But if you turn left…” he let his words trail off as they drew closer to the edge of the bluff.An area of bare dirt between the blackberry bushes indicated the entrance to the path.
Sophia peered over the edge.She’d want her sturdy half-boots to walk this rocky, steep trail.Unfortunately, she hadn’t taken time to change her shoes.“Mrs.Digby said there was an easy path down?”
She thought she heard Enid make a derisive comment under her breath, but Marshall spoke.“It’s this way.”
They walked for several moments in silence, the only sounds the crashing waves below and occasional squawking seagull that swooped overhead.
The second path was indeed gentle, meandering down the bluff with wooden planks as steps in steeper places, and a bench at each wide spot where the path turned, facing different directions so one could enjoy a variety of views.
“Any of them need fixing?”Marshall said when the three of them stepped out onto the shale at the bottom.
“Any what?”Enid’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“Nothing.”
Cognizant of the two servants watching her, Sophia did not run toward the waves, but proceeded in a dignified walk.The rough shale close to the bluff became smoother and smaller pebbles before giving way to sand the closer she got to the line of high tide.The sand shifted under her feet, getting into her shoes.She did not care.Next time she’d change into her Grecian-style sandals before coming down to the beach, as long as she was taking the gentle path.But today she’d been too eager for even a tiny delay.She’d just have to be careful to avoid getting her feet wet.
She stopped walking south only when she reached where the pale, dry sand turned dark and damp, slowly drying out during low tide.Despite the wind buffeting her bonnet, she tilted her face up to the sun, shading her eyes with her hand, in haling deep breaths of the cool, salty air.Slowly she returned her gaze to the horizon, noting several fishing smacks.Farther in the distance she spotted a three-masted barque, all its sails unfurled.What exotic destination awaited the crew?Even if it was heading out with mundane cargo like wool or corn, would it return with spices from India, silks from China, or olives from Greece?
Then she gazed inland, to compare this beach to the familiar one in Torquay.As clear as the day was, she could see for more than a mile.Families on holiday were visible to the west, near the inns and coffeehouses of Sidmouth.Mixed in with the shriek of gulls she heard children laughing as they chased a ball on the sandy beach, while others tried to fly kites.Numerous groups of people strolled along the water’s edge, as well as several walking alone.A young man and woman walked past her, closer to the waves, a chaperone in widow’s weeds following at a discreet distance.Dogs barked as they chased after the gulls or played fetch with their master, some of them darting in and out of the water.
