WoA2.23Smashwords (19 page)

“Creeda cared for me for a time when I was a little girl. She was the midwife when I was born. She knew my mother well,” Fleur said, confirming that Camilla was pregnant when she left my mother and Rhineholt.

“I trust that your holiday has been pleasant, so far?” I asked.

“Oh yes, I work in the garden all morning, it is very calming,” she replied, but she seemed ill at ease.

When Creeda returned with the tea, Fleur excused herself saying that she was meeting a friend, who used to work at Rhineholt, in town. It was a strange chance meeting her there, and Fleur seemed quite nervous, but I couldn’t be sure if it was because I brought back the memory of her killing Eckhardt, or if she did not want me to know where she was.

“Your garden is flourishing,” I said, and Creeda was delighted that I chose that as a topic of conversation. She chatted about the different vegetables, the flowers, and the tiny animals that would visit. Li said it seemed like something out of a fairy tale, and that delighted the plump old woman.

“Now, me lady. Tell me about me Jules and little Leo! I’ve not seen them boys so much this summer. This is Leo’s betrothed, hm?” she asked pleasantly.

“Yes, ma’am. We will wed near the end of October,” Li said.

“Won’t that be splendid, with the trees a’changin’...” Creeda replied.

“An’ Lady Rhineholt? Do the bells chime fer yeh as well?” she asked expectantly. She was eager for my answer, and I knew it was because she wanted both of ‘
er boys
’ to be happy.

“Not yet,” I said and she frowned.

“No, ye’ve had a bit of a time, what with the fire an’ such...” She reached over and patted my knee.

“Before long, though. There’ll be a golden band fer yeh!” Li thought that was a funny expression.

We talked for a long time about Li’s wedding plans, and that she and Leo would be going to spend their first year of marriage in India.

“Them outlandish places! But fer the tea me boys wouldn’t bother!” Creeda shook her head.

“I worry fer them boys somethin’ awful!” I looked at Li, but she didn’t seem bothered with the talk of worry regarding India.

There was a little more small talk then I was finally able to bring up Fleur.

“I was surprised to see Fleur is staying with you,” I said.

“Oh she’s darlin’, that one. Born too soon an’ ‘er mum taken off to heav’n just as the little ‘un come into the world. That mother of ‘ers were a bad sort, though. Camilla... An’ even the grandmother were a woman who took strange men to bed... I should not speak so of the deceased, they will come in me sleep if I don’t hush me-self.” Creeda looked sincerely worried, and I was not surprised to find she was a superstitious woman.

“Fleur, I called ‘er fer me flowers, ‘cause that child were such a joy to hold. A quiet babe, ne’er gave me cause fer worry, that one. I sent ‘er off to Bernadine, a child has need fer ‘er own family, though I would’ve kept that dear little thing if I were given a choice in the matter. Bernadine, she were insistin’ that ‘er be taken in there so she might learn to work in the great house an’ make a wage. So I let ‘er go. She come to sit with me now an’ again, her got a love fer this place. When she come to stay a whole week I were thrilled to have ‘er.”

“There was no father to take her in?” Li asked, and I was grateful that I wouldn’t sound like I was prying.

“Camilla, she talked like that babe were meant to be someone important, sent from the good Lard ‘imself, she thought. That woman were known for unsavory things, and I’d hoped that child might turn ‘er from them wicked ways. Rest her soul.” She looked to the window while she spoke.

“Oh! Ye’v not seen the back of the cottage, Miss!” She was talking to Li.

“Yeh must go and take a turn ‘round the garden.” It was her pride and joy, after all.

“Li, you go ahead and I’ll be out in a moment.” She nodded and left us.

“Creeda--” I began but she interrupted me.

“May I?” She was asking for my empty teacup which she took from me before I could hand it to her. She overturned it onto the saucer and then lifted it to look into the cup.

“Creeda--” I began again.

“I felt it soon as yeh stepped on the path to come to me. There’s an evil in yer life an’ it just won’t let go it’s hold. There were a chill in the wind this mornin’ an’ I couldn’t tell what. Then yeh were on me doorstep.” She slapped a hand to her chest.

“Tis yer own free will that will keep yeh... an’ there are souls that looks after yeh. But there be also evil. Seek it out an’ be rid of it.” She dropped the tea cup then, and it shattered on the floor. I gathered up the pieces, and I was shaken by what she said. She was trying to warn me of something, but I was not sure what to make of it.

As I picked up a large piece of the cup, she grabbed me by the wrist and looked at me with a hard expression. “Miss, them nightmares. They are the key to whate’er evil pursues yeh.” She let go.

On our way back to the inn I told Li what Creeda had said and she scoffed at the tale. She said that the old woman certainly was entertaining, but she was mad to say such things. She was decidedly angry that Creeda had frightened me after all I was put through. I hoped she was not saying these things to Fleur, as well. That unfortunate girl had experienced enough tragedy for a lifetime.

I thought about what Creeda said when she spoke of Camilla, thinking that Fleur would be some kind of salvation to her. Could that mean she planned to use Fleur to blackmail Uncle Charles into setting her up with a house and money? If Camilla was the type of person Creeda thought she was, and my mother seemed to see her as, then I would not put it past her.

That night was filled with dreams of Rhineholt. The old woman with the candle was again standing before me, but she took my hand and led me over to a mirror. She pointed to my reflection. The eyes looking back at me were my mother’s. There were flames in the mirror, and I turned to see the old woman standing engulfed, her face and hands melting beneath the blaze. I tried to run but the door was locked from the outside.

I heard German voices in the hallway in hushed conversation. I screamed for them to help me, but they continued to whisper as if they could not hear my pleas. I screamed out in English and in German for help, but no one answered me. When I turned, the old woman was nothing more than a blackened shell with white eyes speaking the chilling words that haunted me.

“
Zwei Seelen, ein Körper.
”

I snapped straight up and felt the sweat holding my night dress wet against my body. I went to the window and let a breeze cool me, and I shook from remembering the nightmare. Goose pimples rose up on my arms. What did it mean? Creeda said these horrifying dreams were the key to what haunted me,
what pursued me
.

But Eckhardt was dead.

* * *

I received a letter from Eckhardt’s mother. It was specifically addressed for Lady Rhineholt. I was shocked when Bernadine brought it to me, as it was completely unexpected.

“I brung it to yeh straight away. I trust it must be important with the name of that despicable character on it!” she said, and left me alone right away to read it in my room.

“
Dear Lady Rhineholt,

I have been informed of my son’s death and I want you to know that I am sorry for all the pain he has caused you and those around you. Since the death of my husband, I have been forced to sell the family estate and nearly everything with it to appease the people he owed. I will be traveling to Devonshire to be with my own family in England, and I hope that you might let me meet with you to offer my apology and condolences.

What my son did... it was unthinkable. There is so much you must know before you go passing judgment on this family. I take no blame for what he has done. His father was a good man who unfortunately led his son into a gambling debt. They both became obsessed, and before I knew anything, there were men coming to take away the tapestries and any gold or silver that might be left in the house.

My apologies to you, what has befallen you at the hands of Otto cannot be expressed in a letter. Please let me come to you on the way to my own family. There are things you don’t know about your Grandmother that I feel you have a right to hear. The Eckhardts were known for paying off their illegitimate relatives to keep them quiet. It is their curse that only the illegitimate relatives are left, now.

I hope you will write to me before I am forced to leave this place. There are only a few more weeks that I will be able to stay here, so please write soon. Again, my condolences to you.

Sincerely,

Cordelia Eckhardt
”

I held the letter for a long while before deciding to show it to Celia. She remembered that Mrs. Eckhardt wrote to tell us their position on their son’s behavior, but Baron Eckhardt was alive, then. Sometime over the past few months her husband must have died.

“I’m not so sure it is a good idea to meet with her,” I said.

“She seems to be different from the rest of the Eckhardts. She is English, too. I don’t think it would be such a bad idea. Are you not curious what she has to say about your Grandmother?” Celia asked.

“Of course I am! I just--”

“Dear, I know that this year has brought you much sorrow. You must remember that all of that is over, now. I will sit with you when she comes and you will feel more safe.” She patted my hands, and I didn’t think I had a choice. I believe Celia was as tied up in my mother’s history as I was.

“I will write back to her for you and invite her to spend a night with us; or if you would prefer, we might set up to go into town and meet with her in public. Perhaps at the inn?” she asked.

“Well, if she is coming all that way, we might as well let her stay here,” I said slowly.

“Very good, then. If it makes you more comfortable, I’m sure that Li would be glad to let you stay in her room again. I can also ask that Reginald’s man keep a watch in the hallway overnight if it will help you sleep,” she said. I nodded slowly, knowing that I could not change my mind, now.

Li joined us for tea a moment later, and we began to talk of India. Celia had only been to Punam Estate once, just after my mother and father’s death. She spent nearly a year there with Reginald, but she was separated from Leo, who was at school, and missed him sorely, so she never went back. Reginald only travelled there once more after that, and then Julian began to take over the business in India so that Lord Hilbourne could stay with his wife.

“Leo is still learning the business, though Julian has been practically running things on his own since he became old enough to travel by himself. He spent so much of his youth with Reginald on that Estate. Julian has always been one to want to run things, he’s sharp as a knitting needle. When he was sixteen and home for a summer from school, he had my Leo following him around like a lost dog. Leo has always looked up to him,” she said.

“I think Leo still has a great affection for his older brother,” Li interjected, and Celia agreed.

“There was a time when they did not get on so well. They realized that they would have to decide who would be in charge of what part of the family business, and it would mean they might be unhappy with what the other one took. I think that Leo would do whatever Julian told him to... Julian has his own ideas about what should be done with the tea business, and I believe he thinks that he could control both the land here and in India without blinking. Reginald grew weary of doing both quickly. The journey back and forth took such a long time. He might have sold off the plantation had it not been for Julian.”

“I made Father see that it would be a grave mistake,” said Julian from the doorway, and we weren’t sure how long he was standing there listening to the conversation.

“I gave him Mr. Pyne’s book, ‘The Microcosm of London’, and he immediately rethought his position and rightly so. The reward for holding off on selling has nearly tripled the income from Punam since then.”

He came and wedged himself in between myself and Li, which made Li giggle. Celia and I exchanged a look.

“Tam, you will find the estate exhilarating. I brought the lanterns that were used at the garden party back from India, though I’m not sure you will remember them.” He put his arms around myself and Li. Celia and Li just about died laughing, but I was turning red with mortification. Li pointed out that it was the same hue of red that I turned that night at the party. I finally chuckled and cut into the laughter.

“Yes, well, I daresay I learned my lesson. Only drink wine when Bernadine is near. Otherwise I might have wound up with a terrible headache the next morning.” This also had everyone laughing.

Leo walked into the room with his Father just as we were finally calming, and we were all in shatters again at the look on their faces. We never told them what all the commotion was about.

CHAPTER 15

Celia began to talk about parties and dresses again, but I told her that I would hold off on the debutante nonsense for a while. She gave me a significant look.

‘If you would only accept Julian’s hand, you would not have to...’

“I don’t see what the rush is,” I said.

“Dear, a man has need of a wife, and he may not be willing to wait for you for an eternity. He is the elder son of this family, and it is an obligation that he carries on that name with children. He cannot do that on his own,” she said. I giggled at the comment but the look on Celia’s face was gravely serious.

“I’m sorry, Celia.” I stopped and tried to be serious, too.

“Tamsin, you are my charge, now. I feel it is my responsibility to see you safely into your future, but I will not be able to take care of you when you go to India. You know that Reginald and I love you as our family, why else would we be willing to lend you the money to keep your maids and the house in London running? We cannot provide for you forever, dear. Julian is a prideful man, he only wants you to want him back. Is it so difficult for you to pretend?” she asked. I was blushing again.