The School for Brides (30 page)
Read The School for Brides Online
Authors: Cheryl Ann Smith
Chapter Seventeen
S
ophie and Rose managed to find breeches, shirts, and boots for Noelle and Eva. Eva didn’t ask them for details as she pulled on the too-large boots and laced them tight. Their crimes were piling up, and by the end of the evening, there’d be more. Tomorrow, she’d make sure all the borrowed garments were returned.
ophie and Rose managed to find breeches, shirts, and boots for Noelle and Eva. Eva didn’t ask them for details as she pulled on the too-large boots and laced them tight. Their crimes were piling up, and by the end of the evening, there’d be more. Tomorrow, she’d make sure all the borrowed garments were returned.
Eva left the spectacles behind but kept her wig in place. The courtesans didn’t know her any other way, and her bright hair could draw unwelcome interest.
“We will look for a way to sneak into the abbey and up the stairs,” Eva said. “Mister Crawford learned the woman, whom we assume is Yvette, is hidden somewhere on the second floor. We must pray the earl is a deep sleeper.”
“Caution is the only way to keep from getting caught.” Noelle stood. With her hair secured in a tight knot, she could almost be taken for a young man at a distance and in poor light. Truthfully, none of them could bear close scrutiny. There were too many curves to be masked effectively with their simple disguises.
Eva shivered. She wanted to gather up her sister and courtesans and take the morning coach out of the village. They were all in danger because of her, and she was sick with fear. If any one of them was hurt, she’d never forgive herself. But the choice was theirs, and she could not squelch their desire to help Yvette.
She walked to door. “Ready?”
The abbey wasn’t far, but in the dark, and with dread growing with each step, the walk seemed to stretch for an eternity. Each rustle of damp, musty leaves or the call of some night creature had Abigail’s and Rose’s knees knocking with fright. Even Eva, who normally wasn’t fearful after nightfall, startled a few times when a rustle came close.
The tension built to a level where they were all seeing shadowy figures behind every tree or bush. When the spire of the abbey finally came into view under a thin slip of the moon, Eva’s body went limp with relief.
“Do you think he has dogs?” Sophie whispered.
“Let us hope not,” Noelle replied.
They fell silent, listening for hounds. When no baying was heard, Eva led them cautiously up the drive. Once they passed the last stand of trees, the abbey came into full view.
“It is beautiful,” Pauline said, and crossed herself.
The place was a monolith of stone and stood three stories tall; three very tall stories, with several wings added sometime after the original structure had been completed. It had housed a rectory and convent when it was built late in the fifteenth century. Some two hundred years ago it had been converted into a private residence.
“Goodness,” Rose gasped, “we’ll never find Yvette in there.”
“Have faith, ladies,” Eva whispered. It was just after midnight, and the household was asleep. Not a single candle glowed in a window. She took it as a sign of good fortune. “Since we are six, we’ll break into pairs, and each couple will search a section of the abbey. I’ll take Abigail, Noelle with Rose, and Sophie with Pauline. If there is any sign whatsoever of danger, you must leave the abbey at once and return to the inn.”
Five heads nodded. Eva took a moment to summon up a few threads of courage. Looking at her band of miscreants, she felt a rush of affection. She wanted to hug each one tightly until their ribs bowed. Instead, she said a silent prayer for their safety.
Rose and Abigail were the most skittish of the six, and Eva knew she and Noelle would have a calming influence over the two women. “At a time such as this, there is no place for panic,” she said firmly. “If anyone wishes to wait here, please say so now. Once we’re inside the abbey, it will be too dangerous to flee in hysterics.”
Even in the dim light, Eva saw shadows of hesitation on the faces of Abigail, Pauline, and Rose. But they nodded anyway. They had come together, and they would conquer together. And the mad earl be damned.
“Stay close.” Eva led them silently to the back of the abbey, keeping near to the walls and their shadows. Eva and Noelle searched for, and eventually found, a small unlocked door where one of the wings was cobbled together with the original structure.
Where the door led to was a question. Built in a time of unrest, many old buildings had secret doors and passageways in which to flee marauders. Eva eased open the door and slipped cautiously inside; the room was clearly the kitchen. After taking a moment to listen for anyone moving in the dark, she waved for the women to join her.
The courtesans huddled together for comfort. Eva peered from face to face. She knew one squeak of a door or creak of a floorboard, and at least half of her army would flee as if their borrowed clothes were afire.
Eva drew Noelle aside. “I’m beginning to have reservations, sister. I think we might want to leave Rose and Abigail outside. They are jittery and on the verge of going to pieces. Any screams will wake the household and we’ll be caught.”
Noelle looked over Eva’s shoulder and screwed up her face. “I believe you have a point. Perhaps we should leave them to keep watch outside. They can shout if they see anything untoward.”
They returned to the women. The suggestion had barely left Eva’s mouth when Abigail and Rose fled through the open door.
Down to four rescuers, Eva paired herself with Sophie and Pauline with Noelle. The four women joined hands, said a brief whispered prayer, and separated. Noelle and Pauline took the servants’ stairs in the kitchen, and Eva and Sophie walked quietly into the hallway as the moon moved from behind the clouds and cast light through stained glass windows.
Their gasps were muffled behind gloved hands. It truly was an abbey. The high, rounded ceiling ran the length of the massive hall that had what Eva guessed was a floor formed of bits of colored glass patterned in a mosaic. Columns lined the open room that once had likely held rows of pews and an altar at the far end.
Highland Abbey was a treasure. Eva leaned to whisper to Sophie, “It is impossible to believe such a vile man owns such a sacred and beautiful home. The angels must be weeping from the sheer injustice of it all.”
The hall was eerily quiet and nearly as black as pitch when the moon returned to its hiding place. Eva was certain that were they to listen closely, the whispers of spirits of long-dead occupants could be heard behind the columns and in the shadows.
She shook her head to clear it. “We must go quickly,” she said softly.
It took several false starts to find a staircase. They stopped on the second-floor landing to get their bearings. On the left side were doors, and on the right side several narrow balconies overlooked the open hall. She and Sophie went to the balcony rail and took a brief peek at the expansive hall below.
“I think the kitchen stairs lead to the south side of the abbey, so we shall start here.” Eva looked down the hall and counted doors. There looked to be a full dozen. “It’s impossible to know which one is His Lordship’s room.”
“Look for a glow under the door,” Sophie said softly. “On this chill night he will have a fire.”
Eva expelled a quick breath. “Excellent.”
Sophie’s face broke into a grin. “I am quite used to sneaking about in the dark. My first lover installed me as a maid in his manor. He found it exciting to romp with me in his library, knowing his wife was one floor above.”
Shaking her head disdainfully, Eva tried to imagine herself dusting the mantel during the day at Collingwood House and frolicking with His Grace in the pantry at night while Lucy slept innocently in their marital bed.
She would never allow it. She could never share Nicholas. If he had a duchess, she vowed, he wouldn’t have her.
“We will have to check them all.” Eva and Sophie began the task of opening the door of each room in turn. Every rusty hinge and creaking floorboard caused heart stoppage. Yet no alarm sounded in the darkness.
Most of the rooms were dark except for moonlight coming through the narrow windows. One had a glow under the door, but when they cracked open the panel for a peek, they found a middle-aged man and woman sleeping in the bed, emitting a pair of muffled snores.
By the time they reached the end of the hallway, Eva’s muscles ached from the strain of tiptoeing about. Ice ran through her veins, and her hands and toes were stiff. She closed the last door and turned to Sophie. “Yvette can be anywhere or nowhere at all. There is certainly a cellar, and many outbuildings, too. We could search all night and still not discover every secret nook and hidden room.”
Sophie matched her low tone. “Perhaps Noelle and Pauline have had better luck.”
The two women followed the railing around to the south wing and listened for signs of the other women. There wasn’t a single glow under any door, and Eva wondered if the earl was away. “It is possible he’s spirited Yvette off, if he has held her at all,” she said tightly. “The woman rumored to be hidden here could’ve been someone else.”
“Wait, I hear something.” Sophie pointed down the hallway. Hushed voices drifted around them. They clasped hands and carefully took a few steps. The fevered whispers grew louder. It took a moment for Eva to recognize Noelle’s voice coming from behind a closed door.
“Noelle?” The two voices went silent. Then the door was eased open and Noelle’s pale face peered out.
“Eva, thank goodness. We think we found her.” She pulled Eva and Sophie inside the room and closed and locked the door. Noelle hurried toward the fireplace, and the others followed. She pointed to a panel on the left side of the stone hearth that was almost unnoticeably different textured wood than the other panels. “We heard a noise coming from here and a shuffle of what we think were feet. We think this is a hidden door.”
“Could it be rats?” Eva asked as she tapped the panel. A small squeak sounded, like no rat she’d ever heard. She pressed her ear against the wood. “Yvette?”
A whimper followed. “Yvette!” Eva whispered sharply. “Tap twice if you are well.”
Two taps. Sophie and Pauline fell into each other’s arms and rocked happily back and forth. Eva felt around for a lock. But when she did find an indentation in the door and a lock, her joy was tempered. No amount of manipulating her fingertips around the metal loosened its locking mechanism.
“Ladies, we need to find a key.”
Four pairs of hands began a frantic search of the room. Pauline almost upended a vase, catching it just before it could hit the floor. She smiled sheepishly.
Eva pressed her ear to the door. She thought she heard muffled weeping. “Stay calm, Yvette, we’ll get you out.”
“There is nothing,” Noelle whispered.
“There has to be a key,” Eva hissed. She checked the mantel and the hearth. Nothing. “We cannot break the door down.”
“Wait, I might be able to help.” Sophie pulled off her cap and removed several pins from her hair. “My father was a thief. He taught me how to open locks when I was a child. I haven’t had to use the skill for many years.”
Eva, Noelle, and Pauline stared. Sophie smiled wryly and shrugged. “If you don’t match me with a husband, I can always turn to thievery.”
Pauline bit back a snort as Sophie turned to the panel and dropped to her knees. Eva watched intently. Her courtesans were full of surprises.
“Have you ever opened a lock in the dark?” Eva asked.
“I used to be able to open them blindfolded. But it’s been almost twenty years since he died.” Sophie examined the lock for a moment with her fingertips, then went to work. “I hope I can remember his teaching.”
“Do your best,” Noelle urged.
Pauline and Noelle clasped hands as the muted sounds of the hairpins against metal filled the silence. Eva knew it would be a miracle if this worked, but she had faith that someone was watching over them.
It took several unsuccessful attempts before a click finally resonated in the small room and Sophie jumped to her feet. “I did it,” she said softly, and looked skyward. “Thank you, Papa.”
With Eva’s help, they swung the door wide.
Tied to a chair against a wall and wearing only a thin chemise and a pair of stockings, Yvette cried silent tears. Her mouth was wrapped with cloth, and she struggled against her bonds.
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