At the bottom of the stairs, she rushed through endless rooms until she reached a quiet corridor, with sash windows looking out into the dusk.
Hope flared at the sight of the courtyard. If there was time, she would have followed the corridor until she reached a door.
But there was no such time. Not when Captain was waiting for her.
She fumbled for one of the window catches, unlocked it, then carefully lifted the sash from the windowsill. Scarcely a creak.
Good.
Mayhap no one had heard.
Sucking in air, she climbed through, landed on all fours in soft grass, and ran for the boxwoods. Their giant shadows hid her until she reached the section of wall where Captain had made his leap.
Her heartbeat picked up pace. “Captain?” Moving forward, she went up and down the wall, along the path, and around each of the cone-shaped boxwoods. “Captain?”
Another excited woof reached her ears, and little Merrylad came bounding from the left with flopping ears.
She swooped the animal into her arms. “Merrylad.” Burying her face into his fur, she nuzzled back and forth as a thousand comforts soothed her fears. “Merrylad, my sweet.” But where was Captain?
He hadn’t left. He wouldn’t have. He had come for her, just as she’d known, and he was preparing the way to bring her home.
Please, Captain.She lowered the dog and hurried to the left, from whence Merrylad had come. When she stepped out into the open, though, she halted.
Tears stabbed her eyes as she watched the unlocked wooden gate creak back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
As if someone had just pushed through. In a hurry. Before she’d have a chance to see them or speak with them or run into their arms.
As if Captain hadn’t come to rescue her at all.
“What’ee doing?”
Eliza swiveled, her hand flying to her throat.
Standing in the middle of the stone path stood a gangly young woman, both hands on her hips, with a mass of frizzy brown hair framing her face.
Heavens, her face.
Eliza took one step back, but she couldn’t look away even if she wanted to.
Because the woman’s eyes were wide-set and bulging. One focused on Eliza while the other gazed somewhere to the right, and her nose was long and deformed. Even her mouth seemed too tiny for her face. “What’s the matter with’ee?” The creature hobbled forward, as if her hips didn’t quite work together. “Ne’er seen someone very oogley before?”
“I—”
“Oughtn’t be out here.”
“I’m sorry, but I—”
“Peoples died for less. People die all the time. Did’ee know that people die all the time, Miss Gillingham?”
Her throat tightened. She shook her head, but it seemed to amuse the woman and her head rolled sideways with a laugh.
“Funny, funny. Did’ee know what a funny girl’ee are?” Then the humor faded, and the twisted features grew tight and somber. “Get’ee back to yer room. Back to yer room. Hear me?”
Eliza’s gaze dropped to Merrylad. “My dog.”
“I shul watch him for’ee.”
“No, I must watch him.”
