Philippa didn’t answer. Instead, she prodded Elizabeth to step forward. “No, Uncle Devon. We’d be most pleased to join you if permitted.”
Philippa could have burst with pride. They’d worked for an hour that morning on how to address her uncle. Elizabeth had no fear of him, but she was always fearful of speaking. It was as if the child was waiting to be kicked for her efforts. “Very good.”
Mr. Falconer smiled. “Indeed, I should be most pleased to have your company, Elizabeth. And you, Miss Thomas.”
*
Devon could nothave been more thrilled with Elizabeth’s progress. In less than twenty-four hours, Miss Thomas had coaxed more speech from Elizabeth than he’d been able to do in six months. And the girl didn’t seem to be as fearful in her presence. Recalling the way Elizabeth had shrunk whenever Miss Hawley had stood next to her, he should have recognized then how wrong it all was.
“It is ever so much better not to eat alone.”
Getting Elizabeth into her seat, Miss Thomas then fixed plates for them both before returning to the table. He noted that she looked tired. There were dark shadows beneath her eyes that had not been present even with rigors of travel the day before.
When they were all seated, he asked, “Are you well, Miss Thomas?”
“Quite well, sir. Thank you for asking.”
“And you, Elizabeth?” he asked, turning his attention to his niece. “Are you well?”
“There are ghosts in my room,” she answered.
Devon felt his eyebrows climbing upwards. “Ghosts?”
Elizabeth didn’t elaborate, but simply nodded as she took a bite of her kippers.
“Miss Thomas, can you offer some insight into why this belief has suddenly occurred?”
“I don’t think it has occurred suddenly, Mr. Falconer. I think it has been present for some time, but Elizabeth was reluctant to speak of it. She has been without a governess for a while, as I understand it. And in that time, most of her daily supervision was conducted by Mrs. Baynard. She would have been hesitant to tell her for obvious reasons, I should think.”
There was no denying any of that. The staff had come with the house. And the house was, technically, Elizabeth’s. He was simply steward of it until such time as she married. And of the staff that had come with the house, the one who was truly problematic was Mrs. Baynard. Her work could not be faulted, only her personality. “I see... Elizabeth, if you are frightened of anything, you must tell Miss Thomas or myself. But I can assure you that there are no such things as ghosts, and if there were, they certainly would not be at Peregrine Hall. If they were, Mrs. Baynard would likely have them polishing silver by now.”
Elizabeth giggled, which was the response he had hoped for. Even then, he made a mental note to speak privately with Miss Thomas and determine who it was that might have been filling the child’s head with such nonsense. He would not have her living in fear in her own home.
Chapter Four
By nightfall, thesleeplessness of the previous evening, in addition to the travel weariness she had suffered, had Philippa’s eyes closing as she sat in the chair next to Elizabeth’s bed. The girl was already asleep, but she hadn’t had the heart to leave her.
Through the day, she had played and laughed. She’d been inquisitive during lessons, although she’d still been somewhat shy and reticent in asking those questions unprompted. But when night had fallen, she’d become a different child. Not simply quiet, but frozen. Fearful. And that was why Philippa had agreed to sit with her until she fell asleep. Of course, in doing so, she had not factored in the possibility that she might be too tired to get up afterwards.
Just for a minute, she told herself. She would close her eyes just for a minute.
That was her last memory before she awakened hours later. Her back ached, her neck was stiff, and she was near frozen. In fact, she could see her breath puffing in front of her, like little bits of white smoke drifting away from her face. The room was frigid. Terribly so. Unreasonably so. The windows were all closed, and what should have been a cheery blaze crackled in the fireplace.
It was then that Philippa heard the noise. It was a strange sort of shuffling in the darkness. Despite the flickering flames,there were recesses in the room, behind furniture and deep in corners, where light did not penetrate.
Another sound. This one was not a shuffle, but a very distinct footstep. “Who is there?” Philippa demanded.
On the bed, Elizabeth stirred, turning over, but did not awaken.
More footfalls and then, from the corridor, the sound of a door opening and closing.
Philippa did not hesitate. She rose quickly and exited the room, making directly for the corridor. What she saw as she emerged from the nursery was enough to make her blood run cold.
At the end of the corridor stood the dark and shadowy figure of a woman. Her face was indiscernible beneath a heavy veil. She was garbed entirely in black. Had it not been for the moonlight pouring through the window, she would have been invisible—camouflaged entirely. Lurking, waiting, watching.Unseen.
“Who are you, and what is your business here?” Philippa snapped the questions at her. As if she had the authority to do so.
The woman did not answer. Instead, she simply took two steps to her left and vanished into the wall.
