Charles heard the sound of a door closing and his valet mumbling to himself. A few minutes later, Charles heard the servant’s door open and close and suddenly it was completelyquiet. He paced up and down the hall for a few minutes. He wanted to make sure Frazier was indeed gone.
When he did emerge, Charles quickly penned a note for his valet, grabbed his notebooks, pens, and some apples from a nearby table. He knew Frazier would know what to do. He’d see to it that he got food, some blankets, and other necessities to keep him sustained.
What bothered him now was Lady Cathryn being left by her sister. Would she stay here to wait on him? Or would she find somewhere else to go? From the few times he’d met her, she seemed docile. When he found her during the hunt, his first impression was that she was capable of more than most young ladies. Today really surprised him. He’d expected her to stand up for herself. He wanted to believe it was all her sister’s doing, but something told him to keep his distance.
He headed back through the opening and closed the panel. He would go up to the attic because the window was going to be the only source of light. Once it got dark, he would have to rely on a candle, which he would have to use cautiously in case someone happened to look up at the house and saw light coming from the attics.
Entering the attic room again, he set the notebooks, pens, ink, and everything else he’d been able to carry onto a table under the window. It was then he realized he had forgotten matches and a holder for the candle. This was a conundrum. The only reason one could see in the hidden hallways and stairs was because there were lanterns near doorways for the servants to use. They weren’t all lit but they were there waiting for use.
Realizing he’d be taking a risk, Charles thought he’d go down and try to find a lantern already lit and bring it back up with him.
The task was easier than he anticipated, and he even found some matches sitting nearby. At least he wouldn’t be in the dark all the time. So, before going back upstairs, he walked to thehidden door to see if Frazier had left him what he’d asked for just outside the door.
A couple of heavy blankets and other necessities along with a hamper were waiting on him, just inside the door. Frazier had figured out where he was. Not what he wanted, but it was probably better he did. He knew his valet would keep his secret.
The room had been where his father would lock him away whenever he had a major tantrum, as his father called them. Back then he had a mattress and a couple of crates, nothing else. His father was afraid he might try and climb up to the window and try getting out on the roof to escape. When locking him away from the household, his father sent him first to a home which dealt in infirmities such as he had. After that didn’t help, he sent him to live on Wight.
Opening the hamper, he found a note from Frazier, along with some fruit, a loaf of bread, cheese, and roast chicken. Two bottles of wine were to one end of the hamper.
Frazier mentioned he would leave him food once a day and would try to do more if he didn’t raise any eyebrows with the kitchen staff.
After eating and putting everything up, Charles noted it had gotten dark. He’d written a list of things he’d need for the place by the creek. Perhaps, if the moon was out, he’d try and sneak out and return early in the morning. He lay down on the blankets and fell fast asleep, until he woke sometime in the middle of the night to the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning. Hopefully the storm would move on before morning. If not, it meant everyone would be in the house for the day. He wondered about Lady Cathryn. It couldn’t be easy for her, her sister casting her aside.
He wouldn’t mind talking to her since he was very attracted to her. Or so said his body. She seemed to be easy to talk to. That would need to wait. He needed to let everything settle tosee if her sister changed her mind. He doubted that would ever happen.
*
Waking up slowly,his senses were hit by the smell of coffee and sausages. He sat up from the pallet he had made the night before and found a covered plate on the small table. Frazier had brought him a tray. There was also toast, butter, and marmalade to one side. When he opened the lid keeping the rest warm, he found two types of sausages and a spoonful of scrambled egg. Replacing the cover, Charles looked around the room and found a change of clothes, a basin with water, and soap and a towel. Pulling the chair up, he took a sip of coffee, then began eating the hearty breakfast Frazier had brought. Everything tasted amazing.
What he was going to do for the day was limited. He couldn’t afford to be seen by any of the staff. A sighting would make its way back to Arthur, and he wasn’t ready for that discussion. He needed time to himself to think. How would he respond to Lady Cathryn’s sister’s accusations? Or would he? He had denied the accusations though his declaration had fallen on deaf ears. He felt as though he was going in circles.
Remembering Lady Cathryn liked to take long walks, he thought perhaps he could use that to his advantage. He could have Frazier perhaps find out where she went. Did she have a preferred time to go on her walks? If he were careful, he could leave earlier and be there waiting. She would probably startle, but he needed to see what she was about. From his observation, he was fairly sure she had not agreed to what her sister had proposed.
He had nothing to offer her except the books he had published. The income they generated was unpredictable. Noone had really seen he was properly prepared for life in the world. He was the second son of a duke. Traditionally he should have become a priest or gone into the navy or army. But everyone had been sure Charles would never become either. That he would remain in seclusion forever. No one, not even his siblings, would ever know of his existence until he passed.
He’d been through this numerous times. For years he questioned his own existence. Very few questions had ever received answers. Now and then he heard words thrown around like crazy, idiot, mad, all used to describe him. Charles had proven them all wrong.
It was raining. He could hear it beating down on the roof above him. The day was going to be long and dismal. Writing on his new book would be how he spent this day. He also had observations he needed to put to paper because perhaps they might become a part of a story. In reality, he had plenty to keep him occupied.
Waking up to sunshine beaming through the dormer window in his hideaway, Charles smiled at the sight. Even though he couldn’t step outside for fear of being discovered, his day would be much more content.
There should be a moon tonight and he decided that after the house was asleep, he would sneak outside and take a walk through the gardens. He’d also decided his decision to move to near the creek wasn’t feasible. He couldn’t saddle a horse for fear of being discovered, and walking to and from the location would take longer than the time he would have to work. So in the middle of the night, he decided until he was sure his point was made, he would stay right where he was.
Frazier came with breakfast which consisted of fruit, bread, a hunk of cheese, and coffee. The two men talked for a while with the valet telling him what was going on in the house. Lady Cathryn was still in residence, her sister completely ignoring herand Arthur’s letters. Daphne and Arthur were trying to make her feel welcome and decided she should stay for the summer if her sister didn’t have a change of heart.
His valet scoffed at the idea of Lady Agnes changing her mind about anything. The woman, he found out, had never been married, not even a prospect. That would explain part of the reason for her bitterness toward Cathryn.
She had a dowry, Charles knew that much. A substantial one if he remembered what Arthur and Agnes discussed. It wasn’t like she would profit from the marriage. He, Arthur, and the solicitor would be the ones controlling the money.
“Do you know how long Lady Cathryn’s parents will be away?”
“I heard Her Grace mention late summer, early autumn.”
“I wonder if her father knows anything about this?”
Frazier shook his head. “I doubt it. If he knew, he’d be headed back to England.”
“Point taken,” Charles replied.
