The Locket of Dreams (9 page)

‘Oh, Charlotte, where are you going?’ Arabella asked impatiently. ‘Should you not be in the schoolroom eating your supper?’

‘I … I am going … to the –’ stuttered Charlotte guiltily.

‘Oh, never mind,’ Arabella cut her off. ‘I have been meaning to ask you. I have searched and searched through the Dungorm jewels but I cannot find the Star of Serendib. It is a very valuable ring and should be locked in the safe. Do you have any idea where it might be?’

Charlotte’s heart skipped in fright. She was sure if Arabella ever found the Star of Serendib, she would take it for herself.

‘It … I … My mother always wore that ring. It was her favourite.’

‘Yes, I know that, but where is it now?’ Arabella raised her voice with irritation. ‘There were other things missing also. I suppose one of the servants must have taken them. I must call the constable.’

Arabella is a loathsome woman
, thought Sophie in disgust.
How could she be so cruel?

‘No!’ Charlotte cried. ‘The servants would never steal from my mother. They loved her. My mother gave me some of her things just before she died – her locket and a bracelet for Nell. My mother said all her jewellery was to be ours.’

‘Well,’ sniffed Arabella, protectively clutching the priceless diamonds she wore around her neck, ‘I do not know that it was your mother’s to give away so easily; they are the Dungorm jewels. Hmmm, well, I mean, perhaps when you are older … Anyway, run along, child. I will be late for supper.’

Charlotte was absolutely certain that her aunt would stop at nothing to get her hands on the Star of Serendib.

It was something in her glittering eyes when she spoke of it. It was revealed by the way she clutched her mother’s diamonds as if they were the most precious thing in the world to her, more precious than husband, son or nieces. It was pure avarice.

I will never, ever let that woman take the Star of Serendib,
thought Charlotte with determination.
My mother gave me her talisman and I will cherish it my whole life.

The next morning dawned fair and crisp, a golden autumn morning and possibly one of the last fair mornings for many months. Nanny had left the girls while she ran some errands, and Roddy was in bed with a chill.

The outdoors called to Charlotte, whispering of sunshine, rolling moors, emerald hillsides, fresh air and a breeze in her hair. It was hard to be miserable all of the time. Would the whole of the rest of her life be this long dull ache of despair?

Charlotte whispered to Nell and led her down the back stairs to the stables. They let Flossie free and saddled and bridled their ponies. In a few minutes they were riding out the archway of the stable yard and heading for the moors, with Flossie lolloping happily at their heels, her tongue lolling.

Angus the stableboy saw them and quickly saddled another pony and set off after them. He soon caught up
with them. Charlotte was glad of the company. Nell hardly said a word these days.

It was wonderful to be on horseback again. The horses were fresh, just as tired of their containment in the stables as the girls were of their enforced inactivity in the schoolroom.

Charlotte let Rosie have her head and she stretched out in a wild gallop, Nell and Angus following close behind. Black-faced sheep scattered from their flight, startled from their endless grazing. Sophie flew along, keeping pace with the others, relieved to be outside in the sunshine as much as the girls.

When Rosie tired, they slowed to a walk. The air was fresh and cold and clear. It felt like a draught of new life itself.

On the moor, Rosie cantered, following the stock trails through the heather, swinging through its rhythmic bends and turns. In summer this was a vast sea of purple heather bells as far as the horizon. In winter it was a vast white sea of snow. A sudden fallen log was cleared in a flying leap and still they cantered on, horse and girl as one.

Charlotte headed towards her favourite hill, where she could see the whole Dungorm estate laid out at her feet like a map: the house, the loch, the castle ruins on the island, the fields and moors, the village and kirk, the roads, and in the distance, the great ocean.

At the top they all halted, letting the ponies crop the grass. Angus said nothing, allowing the girls the peace of their own thoughts. The faraway sun felt warm on their backs and bathed the world in a golden glow.

Flossie lay down panting, happy to be with her favourite
people once more. Sophie sat on the grass beside the dog and twined her cold fingers in Flossie’s thick fur.

Charlotte drank in the view. This was her home, her land, her people. She loved it with a passion.

They walked slowly down the hill and back to the shore of the loch. Rusty-red weed lay along the round grey stones of the shore. The water, as usual, was grey and cold, with white-capped waves skimming across the top with the breeze. They trotted past the island and the castle, and then at last headed for home.

The beauty of the morning was quickly destroyed when they returned, for Aunt Arabella had discovered them missing. They were summoned to meet her and Uncle Roderick in the sitting room. With trepidation, Sophie went too.

‘What is the meaning of this?’ bellowed Uncle Roderick. ‘Where have you been?’

‘It was a beautiful morning – probably the last one for the year – so we went riding,’ answered Charlotte. ‘It was lovely.’

‘You went riding? Alone? On the moors?’ Uncle Roderick blustered.

‘We were not alone,’ Charlotte maintained. ‘Angus accompanied us, and we had Flossie too.’

‘A dog and a stableboy are not fit companions for the ladies of Dungorm. This is simply not seemly behaviour.’

‘Well, who else should we have ridden with? Papa always said we should ride with Angus so we were safe.’

‘This is what comes of not having a proper governess,’ Roderick pronounced. ‘Your nanny is obviously not able to control you.’

Arabella nodded vigorously. Nell hung her head. Sophie fumed.

‘Fortunately I have already taken steps to remedy this situation,’ Roderick continued. ‘I have engaged a governess and she will be arriving very shortly. You have been allowed to be wilful and spoilt, indulged by your parents. But no more. A strict governess will tame this wild behaviour and mould you into the young ladies we expect.’

Charlotte trembled with fury and irritation, thoughts tumbling through her mind. Not allowed to ride? A strange governess? What would happen to Nanny? What right had Uncle Roderick to come in and change everything? It was not fair. Nothing was fair.

Weeks of misery and frustration and anger at the world bubbled up in Charlotte and she flew into a wild rage, shouting and storming and crying.

‘How dare you? What right do you have? You cannot just come here and ruin everything. You cannot just take everything that was ours! It is just not fair! I hate you. I hate you. We all hate you.’

Roderick rang the bell furiously so Wilson and the footman came running.

‘Why did you burn my father’s papers?’ accused Charlotte. ‘I saw you! Was it his will? How can you ruin our lives?’

‘Take Miss Charlotte upstairs and lock her in her room,’ Roderick ordered. ‘She is hysterical and raving nonsense. Tell Cook that Miss Charlotte will not require any food today.’

‘Yes, my laird,’ replied Wilson stiffly. He gently took Charlotte by the arm and led her away to the nursery. Nell followed silently, her head bowed.

A few moments later, Uncle Roderick came to the door.

‘Eleanor, you are to go next door to the schoolroom and return to your lessons,’ Roderick ordered. ‘Do not contact your sister or bring her any food, or you will share her punishment, is that understood?’

Nell nodded once, her head still facing the floor, and shuffled out the door.

‘You will apologise in the morning, or your confinement will continue until you do. I will not tolerate this behaviour. Think carefully about your actions.’

Roderick left. Charlotte did think. She worried about her sister Nell. The life and spirit seemed to have been crushed out of her. She was a different child to her old, sweet self. Charlotte worried about the staff, especially Nanny and Angus. Uncle Roderick might punish them, or they could even lose their jobs. She yearned to fight her uncle and aunt with every bone in her body. But what would happen to her sister and friends if she did?

Sophie flitted between Charlotte and Nell, checking on them in their punishment. By mid-afternoon Charlotte was hungry, but no-one came near. In the evening the door was unlocked and Nell came in, looking pale and sick. The door was locked immediately behind her.

‘I am sorry,’ Nell murmured, her face miserable. ‘I could not bring you any food. Aunt Arabella watched me to make sure I did not hide any away. I could not eat anything anyway. How could I eat when you were hungry?’

Charlotte gave her sister a hug. ‘It is all right. We will be all right. At least we have each other and Flossie and the ponies.’

Charlotte’s stomach was rumbling. She prowled around
the room, looking out the window into the darkness and in the cupboards. She tried the door once more, rattling the knob.

As Charlotte passed the window again, a thought came to her. Outside the window were the broad branches of an oak tree, barely visible in the gloom. Sophie could see Charlotte’s pale face reflected in the window panes.

A blast of cold air froze her face and hands as Charlotte opened the window.

Charlotte estimated the distance from the windowsill to the nearest branch, and the distance to the ground if she fell. Could it take her weight? Could she jump that far? Hunger won out over nerves.

‘Nell, I am going to climb down the tree, to find some food in the kitchen. You stay here and I will be back shortly.’

‘No, Charlotte!’ cried Nell, clutching Charlotte’s arm. ‘It is too dangerous. You might fall.’

Charlotte squeezed Nell’s hand.

‘I will be fine. It is not that far.’

‘If you are going down the tree, I am coming too,’ insisted Nell. ‘We can look out for each other.’

‘No, Nell. If we get caught …’

‘If you go, I am coming too. Besides, I had no supper either.’

‘Come on then,’ invited Charlotte with a smile.

Charlotte went first, swinging herself onto the windowsill and lowering herself down onto the branch. Nell tentatively followed. Bough by bough, branch by branch, they clambered down the tree to the ground, listening for the sound of anyone who might discover them.

Sophie floated down quickly and scouted around the dark garden. There was no-one there.

The lighted window of the servants’ parlour showed the servants chatting after their supper. Charlotte and Nell crept to the kitchen door and cautiously turned the doorknob. It was still unlocked.

The door creaked open. There was no-one there. Charlotte, Nell and Sophie prowled around the kitchen, which was still warm from the day’s cooking. The only sign of life was Marmalade curled up on a cushion on the bench, miaowing in welcome.

Nell glanced around nervously, jumping as a log settled in the grate. Sophie blew on the coals to make the flames leap higher.

‘Do not worry,’ Charlotte reassured Nell, reading her thoughts. ‘Uncle Roderick and Aunt Arabella would never condescend to come into the kitchen, so we are safe. And if any of the servants come in they would never give us away to
them
.’

In the pantry Charlotte discovered a welcome sight: the remains of a chicken-and-ham pie, a fruitcake, a bowl of freshly picked berries from the garden and an old lamb bone.

Charlotte and Nell set two places at the long kitchen table and laid out the food they had found. Charlotte slipped out the back door and raced over to the kennels to untie Flossie and bring her inside.

They sat down together to enjoy their illicit late-night feast, with Marmalade sitting between them, delicately accepting offerings of shredded chicken and ham. Flossie noisily chewed the lamb bone under the table and licked her mistresses’ bare hands.

‘This is really good,’ said Nell, licking crumbs from her top lip. ‘I have not had Cook’s fruitcake for so long.’

Charlotte’s heart filled with gladness. Nell had hardly spoken since their father’s death. It was good to see a small spark of the old Nell back.

Sophie risked stealing a titbit of fruitcake to taste it. She wondered how it would look to the girls, a crumbly morsel flying through the air.
Will it disappear when I swallow it, or will they see it still floating there in midair in my tummy?
Sophie thought.

The fruitcake was completely tasteless to Sophie; it was very disappointing. It looked so good. The girls did not seem to notice the flying crumb.

‘I am sure Cook would not mind us helping ourselves to food,’ added Charlotte. ‘She did tell us to come down to the kitchen if ever we were hungry. More ham, puss?’

‘Miaow,’ agreed Marmalade, uncurling her pink tongue.

They had seconds of everything, then sat back feeling replete and happier. Charlotte rubbed her feet on Flossie’s shaggy back. Flossie shivered with happiness.

‘I suppose we should clean up, take Flossie back to the kennels then climb back up to bed,’ Charlotte suggested with a sigh. Nell nodded and they set to work packing away the food.

In a few minutes, Flossie was returned to her kennel, whining piteously, and Charlotte and Nell had climbed back up the oak tree to their bedroom window. Sophie watched the girls climb in the window, then scooted up through the sky, back to her own bed.