Love at the Tower (9 page)

‘I shall wait until everyone is in bed and then I shall make my escape,' she told herself.

She sat and read until she heard the house fall silent and the clock struck one. Then, as quietly as she could, she changed into her riding habit.

Within a few moments she was creeping down the backstairs, hoping that none of the servants were still up.

The kitchen was quiet and dark as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She tiptoed into the main pantry and unlocked the back door as quietly as she could.

Outside the backyard was quiet. A bright moon lit her way across the garden and to the stables.

The horses had already sensed her coming and were shuffling in their stalls. She knew that Jack often slept in with the horses and she had come prepared.

As she opened the door to Firefly's stall, the horse snorted at her in greeting.

As she patted his forelock, she looked down to see the tousled blond head of Jack, as he lay on a pile of straw.

Taking a sixpence from her purse, she crept over to the boy and gently shook him.

“Jack. Jack,” she whispered. “Wake up!”

The boy was soon awake and jumped to his feet.

“Sorry,” he yawned, thinking he had overslept.

“Shhh, now listen carefully. I want you to saddle up Firefly for me, but you must promise me that you will not tell a soul. Look, here is sixpence for your trouble.”

The boy gazed at the silver coin and without saying a word went and fetched the bridle and saddle.

“Now, go and sleep with Peony – she is docile and will not mind your being there. If Charles asks you about this, say you were so tired that you did not stir all night.”

“Yes, miss,” answered the boy, looking scared.

“Don't worry, you will not get into any trouble. I will make certain of that.”

Robina led Firefly out of the stables and mounted him in the yard.

Within moments she was riding out along the dark road towards the Castle.

*

Although the moon was now bright, she had never ridden alone at night and it was more frightening than she thought it would be.

The trees seemed to loom up menacingly in front of her, while the wind whipped her hair from under her hat.

By the time she reached Hampton Castle, she was dishevelled and freezing. She had not realised how much colder it would be at night and she had forgotten to wear her gloves.

Everything was silent as she rode into the courtyard that led to the stables.

The only sounds to break the cool night air were the snorting of horses and the snoring of the stable boys in the hayloft.

She quickly found an empty stall for Firefly before making her way to the Castle.

Her first inclination was to try the French windows, but, feeling that was too much like breaking in, she decided to try the back door to the kitchen first.

She crept around the corner and found to her great surprise that the kitchen door was wide open.

‘How very odd,' she mused as she slipped inside.

She stood for a moment in the pitch-blackness and tried to find the electric light switch on the wall. Then she noticed a large oil lamp and a box of matches.

‘Perfect. I will leave my bag here and explore. I seem to recall that the guest rooms are on the ground floor from the days of the old Earl's large hunting parties.'

As she crept along, the lamp threw up shadows and made her start.

The Castle was eerie at night and as a little girl she had heard tales of a resident ghost.

Feeling her way she passed by the Earl's study and followed the corridor around.

‘I am sure that the guest rooms are just a bit further along,' she muttered, as she felt her way along the wall.

The floorboards began to creak under her feet and there were strange noises at every step.

More than once she stopped to look around, feeling certain that someone was watching her.

That feeling grew stronger as she at last found the guest rooms.

‘Ah, this must be the green room,' she thought, as she pushed open a half-ajar door.

This room was elegant and plush. By the flickering light of the lamp, she could see that it was well cared-for and appeared not have suffered any deterioration.

‘To think, in its heyday, this wing would have been filled with up to fifty guests!'

A noise out in the corridor made her start and she nervously went to investigate. She opened door after door, but found only furniture swathed in white sheets.

‘It would appear that only the green room has been made ready,' she observed, as she closed yet another door. ‘Perhaps the Earl has had it put in order for me already?'

The feeling that she was being watched grew even stronger, so she quickly returned to the kitchen for her bag.

She could not help looking over her shoulder as she went and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

‘I would hate to see a ghost – even if it was Mama,' she murmured, trying to walk noiselessly on the tiled floor.

As she balanced her bag in one hand and the lamp in the other, she made slow progress along the corridors back to the East wing.

Eventually she reached the green room again and as she was feeling very tired she wanted to go to bed.

But something was not right.

She paced around the room and decided that it was because the room was too stuffy and warm. So she walked over to the French windows and undid the latch.

Swinging open the doors the night air gusted in and blew back the curtains.

For a short while Robina stood there with the cool air fanning her cheeks.

“Oh! I am so very tired,” she cried out, as the wind tugged at her hair.

Pulling off her hat, she ran her fingers through her heavy dark locks and started to unbutton her jacket.

When she came to her boots, she could not see, so she went and retrieved the lamp and placed it on the floor.

The buttons on her boots were difficult to undo and she struggled, wishing that she had a boot hook.

“Oh, bother!” she exclaimed in frustration, as she snapped a fingernail.

Finally she managed to pull off her boots and began to roll down her stockings. Flinging them onto a chair, she bent down to pick up the lamp.

As she raised it, she happened to look towards the door and there, lolling in the doorway, was the figure of a man who was staring intently at her.

She almost jumped right out of her skin and then with horror she realised that he must have been watching her as she took off her garments.

“Who – just who are you?” she stammered, as she moved the lamp to get a better look.

The man's black hair fell over his face and he wore no jacket. His shirt was undone almost to the waist and in his hand he carried an open bottle of wine.

“A very pretty show!” he slurred in a heavy voice. “Now what have we here?”

Robina was frozen to the spot in horror as the man crossed the room to where she was standing.

As she tried to make out his face, she realised there was something vaguely familiar about his angled nose and wide lascivious mouth.

Something about the way his hair fell forward and his lip curled –

“Who, who are you?
Do
answer me,” she repeated, her voice rising in panic.

Should she scream? Should she run?

A thousand thoughts teemed in her head as she was paralysed by fear.

The man lurched across the room and grabbed her wrist.

“Why, if it isn't little Robina Melville!” he snorted. “Except that you're not so little any more!”

He laughed and the sound filled her with terror.

She tried to pull herself free, but he was too strong.

Pulling her close to him, she could smell stale drink on his breath and heard his heavy breathing.

“And just why are you wandering around the Castle at this hour? In fact what are you doing here at all?”

She swung the lamp round and then she saw who her captor was.

“
Ellis
! Let go of me!” she shouted, hoping that she might be heard.

He pulled her closer so that she almost dropped the lamp.

She felt herself pressed against his damp chest and it revolted her to her very core.

“Let go of me, please,” she whimpered, hoping that pleading with him would work.

“Not until you tell me why you are here,” he snarled, “and besides, I think it's time we re-acquainted ourselves, don't you?”

He tried to kiss her, but she pulled away from him.

In the struggle the lamp smashed to the ground and the wind blew out the wick seconds before it hit the floor.

They were now both in total darkness.

Ellis renewed his grip and she battered him with her fists as he moved his face towards hers menacingly.

“You always were a high and mighty little miss,” he grated, holding her so fast that she could neither move nor breathe. “And now you are going to be nice to
me
– ”

Robina closed her eyes and opened her mouth to scream, while behind her the French doors banged noisily in the wind.

Robina closed her eyes and clamped her lips shut.

“Please, Ellis, don't!” she shouted, twisting her face away.

But Ellis only laughed – a low horrible laugh full of menace.

Suddenly from behind her came a full-blooded yell.

“Ellis! What on earth are you doing? Let go of her at once!”

“
Robert
!” cried out Robina, too terrified to consider that she had addressed him in a rather familiar fashion.

Pushing her away with a dismissive gesture, Ellis now let out a cruel laugh. She had heard that sound before when, as a child, he had pulled the legs off insects.

Robina fell to the ground and cut her hand on some fragments of glass from the smashed oil lamp.

“Now, get out of here,” bawled the Earl to Ellis, in a cold voice that chilled Robina's blood. “I will deal with you later!”

As Ellis slunk out of the room, the Earl rushed over to where she was nursing her cut hand.

Tenderly brushing back her hair, he held her for a fleeting moment.

“Are you all right?” he asked very gently.

He was staring into her face with a concerned air.

“My hand is bleeding – oh, Robert.”

He took a large handkerchief from the pocket of his dressing gown and deftly wound it around her hand.

“Shhh, you are safe now. I will ring for Mrs. Osidge to take care of you. I am certain that all this rumpus has awoken her.”

“I am so so terribly sorry!” she sobbed, holding the handkerchief firmly around her hand. “I had to get away from home and you said that I was always welcome here.”

“What can have happened to make you run away in the middle of the night?”

“My Stepmama drove me to it. The man she invited to dinner was horrid! Old, fat and disgusting and the way he looked at me made me feel sick. His eyes raked over me as if I was only wearing my undergarments!”

“And was the subject of marriage raised?”

“I believe so. At the end of dinner he disappeared off with Papa for a talk and then, I was summoned into the drawing room and told he would be taking me for a drive the next day. I assume he intended to propose – why else would he seek to get me on my own?”

He did not like to say what was in his head, but he feared the worst.

Robina continued,

“And so I decided to run away. I thought that if I was not at home when he arrived for me, then perhaps, he might go away. I did not think that I would go from one peril straight into another!”

The Earl sighed deeply.

“Ellis suddenly appeared not so long after you left yesterday. There has been trouble with one of the girls at the
Gaiety Theatre
– a matter of some delicacy that is not fit for your ears.

“Suffice it to say Ellis is in hiding and so, like you, sought refuge at the Castle. He had not been here for five minutes before he began to drink the contents of my cellar. I am afraid he is rather inebriated – that was his third bottle of claret you saw him with.”

“So he has run away to escape the consequences of his actions? Then he is not a man!” cried Robina.

“I agree with you. The worst thing is that Ellis has heaped shame on the Hampton name with his deeds. I will have to keep him closely in check and cut off his allowance properly this time.”

“I thought you had already done so.”

“I said I would, but then I relented and gave him a small monthly sum. I can see that the only way forward is to keep him on a tight rein.”

Just at that very moment, Mrs. Osidge appeared in a mobcap and wearing a green dressing gown. In her hand was an oil lamp.

“My Lord, I thought I could hear a woman crying out and so I came to investigate. The kitchen door is wide open, has that brother of yours been prowling round again? We heard that he had returned to the Castle.”

“It is well that you are here as I was on the point of ringing for you. Mrs. Osidge, Miss Melville has hurt her hand. Could you have this mess cleared up and a bandage brought for her?”

“I shall do it myself, my Lord,”

She disappeared off down the dark corridor.

The Earl sighed once more.

“Even the servants know of my brother's character and are on their guard.”

“He frightened me so much – I was
so
terrified that he would do something untoward.”

“Ellis may well be cruel, but he is not stupid. Your father is a gentleman to be reckoned with and I would not have cared to have been in Ellis's shoes had he gone any further. No, I believe his sole intention was to frighten you – it has always been that way with him.”

“How can two brothers be so utterly unalike?”

The Earl smiled.

“Look, here is Mrs. Osidge. She will take care of you and make you comfortable. Anything you wish for, just ask. Now, I must return to my bed and I will see you at breakfast tomorrow. Good night, Robina.”

Mrs. Osidge fussed and tended to Robina's wound.