Lydia ducked her head sadly and hurried into the adjacent room, closing the door behind her. She leaned back against the door and fought back the tears she had tried—and failed—to hold in ever since this entire ordeal began. Proving impossible, she fell onto the bed and wept silently.
“How is this ever to work?” she cried quietly, balling the bed covers in her hand tightly. “This is impossible.”
* * *
“I’m sorry, My Lord, there is nothing to be done about it,” the lieutenant said for the hundredth time. “We have no mast, we are at the mercy of the current until another ship comes to our rescue.”
“There must be something you can do!” Julius shouted, slamming his fist against the deck rail. “This is unacceptable. We cannot be stranded out here.”
“My Lord, it has been only six hours. We are hardly stranded,” the man said, his ire growing. “I realize you are not accustomed to sea travel, but that is simply the way of it. We will wait for assistance from another ship, and when they see that we have no mast and no sails, they will know at once that we are in need of their aid.”
“What sort of ridiculous method of transport is this? A man would have to be insane to trust his life or his fortune to such a preposterous thing as a ship!” Julius roared, pacing angrily. “You do not understand. I must reach Scotland at once.”
“As does every man on this ship and all of the cargo! Have you considered that you are by far the least expensive and least useful item aboard?” the lieutenant shouted back, tired of the passenger’s tantrum. “Unless you have a very long stick with which to row, there is no other option.”
“You will watch your tone,” Julius hissed through clenched teeth. The lieutenant glared at him, then came nearly toe to toe.
“And you will shut up your whining, else I toss you over the side. How was that tone…My Lord?”
Julius’ eyes widened with fear and he took a step back. Cowering slightly, he watched the lieutenant as he turned and stormed away to issue orders to the crew.
I’ve got to get there in time, Julius thought, his heart racing with panic.All will be lost and I will be ruined if I do not prevent that wedding.
* * *
“Elsie? Where are you, girl?” the governess called out frantically as she ran from room to room. “Lady Elsie, please show yourself at once!”
“What is all zee noise here?” Madame Saunier asked, sticking her head out of her chambers and pulling her robe more tightly around her.
“Madam, I cannot find Lady Elsie anywhere,” the governess cried. The lace edge of her nightcap fluttered frantically as she shook with nerves. “I awoke and thought to check on her, but her bed is empty.”
“Did you peek beneath zee bedclothes? Beneath zee bed itself?” the other woman asked, her eyes growing wide with concern.
“I’ve looked in all the rooms on this floor, she isn’t here!” The younger woman began to cry silently. “I feared this would happen, all the times that she’s walked about in her sleep she’s gotten farther and farther away. Madam, what if she has left the house?”
“Get a hold of yourself! We must look for her at once. Go and wake the servants and tell zem to help us search!” Madame Saunier instructed. “I will go to alert the hands in their quarters above the stables in case she has wandered out of doors. Hurry!”
The governess nodded gratefully, thankful for the assistance. She took off at a run as fast as her slippered feet could carry her while Madame Saunier put on something more substantial than the gauzy night gown she wore. By the time she was covered in an old coat and riding boots, several servants were already running up the stairs.
“Monsieur! Capitan of the horse! Please, you must wake up!” Madame Saunier called out as she pounded her fist against the door to the stables. She repeated her knocking until a candle flickered in the window overhead.
“Madam? What is the matter?” the old stable master asked, opening the window shutter to his quarters. His wife peered out, a frightened look upon her face.
“The child! We cannot find zee child anywhere,” Madame Saunier called out. Behind her, a few other servants emerged from the kitchens and fanned out in different directions. “Please, you must awaken zee stable hands and help us to look for her!”
“Yes, Madam! We will all be down at once!” The shutter slammed closed in the old man’s haste, followed by shouts from within to awaken the others.
Madame Saunier turned in a circle, trying to decide where to look first. From the back of the house, she could see flickers of candlelight dancing in every window as servants searched through the house. Lanterns bobbed across the fields in front as more servants hunted in the tall grass.
“Le flux,” Madame Saunier whispered in terror, remembering how Lady Elsie loved to wade in the rushing stream. She took off at a run, her hair coming loose from its chignon and flying out behind her. “Mon Dieu,non!”
Madame Saunier prayed fervently all the way to the banks of the stream, an urgent prayer that she may find the girl, and that the girl would be unharmed. She kept an image of the girl’s smiling face in her mind as she went, intent on willing her into healthy discovery.
“Lady Elsie! Please, mademoiselle, answer me!” Madame Saunier pleaded as loudly as she could once she reached the water’s edge. She raced up and down the bank, forcing herself to look in the water though she feared what she might find.
Up ahead, a soft white glow appeared in the reeds. Madame Saunier squinted her eyes to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her, then began to run faster and faster.
“Elsie!” Madame Saunier screamed as loudly as she could. “Elsie, can you hear me?”
