She knew the old lady had come to terms with the fact that she would never hear her name spoken from Selina’s lips… Still, she was not one to give up so easily, not even when fighting a battle she had clearly lost before it even began.
Selina so enjoyed the banter with the dowager. She was glad to have found a friend in her and despite how much she chastised the older woman, she delighted in their conversations almost as much as she did her eccentricities.
She would miss adventures like this when it was time to leave as she knew the day would soon come when she needed to go her way. At that time, she would take the memories she had with the dowager, treasuring them all the days of her life. Still, for now, she was content to laugh and roll her eyes at the woman’s persistence.
Selina eyed the woman fondly before turning around on the stool to retrieve the raw piece of meat the old lady was clearly still interested in. Just as her hands reached to grab the meat, Selina heard footsteps running quickly and heavily down the steps towards their direction.
She dropped her hands to the side, her brows furrowing as she waited for whoever it was to reach them. The Dowager Duchess had, just like her, turned towards the door, her face had a void expression as she also waited for the person to appear.
The door opened to admit one of the servants working on the estate. She was breathing heavily, her chest heaving as though a fox had just chased her skirts.
“Oh, do calm down, little one. Whatever seems to be the matter? What frightens you so?” the Dowager Duchess asked the servant, a look of concern on her face as she approached the young girl, her eyes taking her in to search for any injuries she might have sustained in a bid to reach them.
“Fire! There’s a fire, Your Grace,” she managed to get out after she had caught her breath for a little bit. Her hand lifted to point toward the fire although the ladies could not pinpoint the general location and the young girl was not in any shape to offer them a better description. Not that Selina thought they had the time for that.
“A fire, you say?” the dowager asked. She looked at Selina who had a frown on her face and had begun to step down from the stool. She was worried. Her mind recalled how warm it had been while she had been on the hunt for Her Grace. Had the fire been the reason for that?
No, she discarded the notion. Surely, it had not been burning for so long already. Someone would have noticed it and put it out immediately. Selina did not want to think about the damage that might have occurred if it really had been burning and left unattended for so long already.
She hurriedly walked out of the room, almost breaking into a run the moment her feet landed on solid ground, but she slowed to allow the older woman to keep up with her as she began to walk up the stairs.
“Oh my goodness,” she exclaimed, her hands flying to her chest in shock when she saw the thick cloud of smoke. “I passed through here just a few minutes ago and it was not smoked up like this.”
She was struggling to believe how fast this had happened. Surely, she had not been down in the cellar with the dowager for so long.
“They had to open the doors and windows. They have been trying to fan it down and stop it with water but nothing seems to be working because the fire was discovered way too late,” the young maid explained. The open doors and windows would explain the sudden smoke in the hallway.
“Oh dear!” the Dowager Duchess exclaimed, clutching at her neckpiece. Selina turned to her when she heard the tremble in her voice. It was strange to hear as nothing seemed to ever be able to bring the older woman down from the constant high she usually was on.
But, of course, she would be affected. This was her home and she had made so many memories here. Hearing that it was most likely going to be damaged because a fire seemed to have gone out of control and did not appear to be stopping any time soon must have been upsetting for her.
Selina looked at her worriedly when the woman held her fan over her face. She quickly sprang into action, ushering her and the young maid out of the estate into the open air. The dowager was an older woman and breathing in heavily polluted air could not be any good for her.
She breathed in heavily as she sat the woman on a small stool she had managed to retrieve on their way out the door. She stood beside her, resting her hand on her shoulder as they watched the servants rush in and out, actively trying to extinguish the fire.
This is really bad…Selina could see the smoke coming out of many windows which meant that it had spread even more since they ran out of the house. She could only hope that none of them would get hurt or worse as they fought against the fire.
Selina did not know how long they remained outside, watching the smoke rise from open windows before one of the servants approached them. His face was blackened in various areas by soot from the fire, and he had his hand over his nose still as he coughed. He stopped a few inches away from them, not wanting to step any closer and Selina could not help but feel grateful to all of them. Despite the stress of the day, they still worried more about the comfort of the dowager.
“We have put out the fire, Your Grace, and the smoke is no longer choking nor will it sting your eyes if you wish to come in and inspect the damages,” he said and Selina looked up at the windows she had been watching before he came. He was right, the thick smoke clouds seemed to have dissipated. She looked at the dowager, waiting for her to make her decision.
“Yes, thank you, Silas.” She got up from her seat, suddenly appearing older than she had been in the cellar. Her steps had lost its spring and her eyes shifted about nervously, almost as if she worried terribly about what she would find. Selina, too, was worried but she took the woman’s hand in hers and squeezed lightly in reassurance before stepping away from her.
“How many rooms were affected by the fire, Silas?” she asked, still looking up at the house.
“Quite a few of them, Your Grace. There was very little that was not destroyed.” He seemed to be taking a mental inventory of the house, going through all that had been destroyed and what was left undamaged.
“Before we go in, I think it best you know that there is no way you will be able to stay in the castle for a while, at least not until repairs have been made. The study is compromised and so is the drawing room. The tearoom as well and the kitchen… there is also the…”
“Oh dear!” the Dowager Duchess exclaimed suddenly. “Indeed, there is no way we can stay.”
“There is also your health to consider, Your Grace. Although the thick clouds have dissipated, it will take a while for the smoke to completely leave the building,” Selina chipped in.
“That is true as well,” the dowager sighed deeply. “What manner of misfortune is this?”
“Well, it seems to be a great deal of damage and it will be a while before the building can be fixed,” Silas said.
Selina had been living here for so long, and everything was going well. In fact, she had become quite comfortable here but it seemed that her luck had finally begun to run out. Her brows furrowed as she worried about where she was to go during the time that the estate would require fixing. She did not have to worry for long as the dowager soon offered her a way out.
