“How often does Miss Talbot come to check on you?”
“Twice a day. She brings me food, but very little.” A whine escaped the woman’s throat. “I think she’s trying to starve me to death. Oh, Miss Paget, I don’t want to die.” She sniffed. “Miss Talbot blames me for David’s death. Can you believe that?”
Tabitha stroked Miss Johnson’s matted hair in hopes of calming her. “How so?”
“She told me that if I hadn’t flirted with David, he would still be alive.”
“You don’t suppose…” Tabitha held her breath. No, she shouldn’t even think such a thing. The very idea was preposterous.
“Suppose what, Miss Paget?”
“That Miss Talbot…killed David.”
“Oh, yes. I do think she killed my David. I don’t know why, but she’s very capable of murder. The grip she had on my arms was very strong, and I recall when she brought me here, I was surprised by her strength. She even kicked me a few times while I was on the ground. Indeed, that woman has the strength to end someone’s life.”
Miss Johnson started crying again as she leaned against Tabitha’s shoulder. Each sob from the other woman brokeTabitha’s heart. Miss Johnson was probably very weak and wouldn’t be much help if Tabitha tried to go up against the spinster, who for some reason was set on revenge. But she couldn’t understand why Miss Talbot would want Tabitha. What had she done to the older woman to upset her?
The only way she was going to know would be to ask her. Hopefully, Mildred would come soon. Tabitha didn’t want to be in this dark, smelly room any longer.
Although her head was still spinning from that tea she’d sipped, Tabitha had to find a way out of here. Blinking, she tried to adjust her blurry vision enough to map out the room, but unfortunately it was too dark. But, from the small amount of light coming from the hidden trap door above them, she could barely see an outline of the stairs.
“Miss Johnson? Has Miss Talbot been here today yet?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to tell when it’s day or night. All I know is that she brought me some food, which of course made me sleep, and when I awoke, you were here.”
“I’m going to try to crawl to those stairs.” Tabitha studied the pathway she’d have to take. “I want to see if I can open the trap door.”
“It’s locked. I tried doing that the first day I was here, but I’m not very strong, and I couldn’t get the door to budge.”
Tabitha frowned. “Have you searched the room to see if there are any boards or sticks, or rocks? I’m wondering if there is anything in here we can use to defend ourselves from when she comes.”
“No.” Miss Johnson shivered. “I hate dark places like this. I haven’t left my mattress, except of course to do the womanly necessities.”
Bile rose in Tabitha’s throat. Now she knew why the room smelled so wretched. “Well, I’m determined to break that door open. I still have a little strength, so I must try.”
Miss Johnson squeezed Tabitha’s fingers. “May God be with you—with us.”
“Yes, I pray for that as well.”
Taking a deep breath in hopes of clearing her mind a little better, she moved away from Miss Johnson and slowly scooted across the floor toward the stairs. Dizziness assaulted her, and she paused, trying to control the feeling consuming her body. She closed her eyes and breathed steady again, but her world still continued to tilt.No!She must not allow this to happen. She must be in control.
She had something to live for, and she would fight every second to keep alive. Regrets surfaced in her mind, and saddened her. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so ashamed over her parentage and allowed the Worthington brothers to introduce her to Society as their sister. After all, it wasn’thersin that she was born out of wedlock. It was their deceased father’s sin.
And then there was Dominic, Lord Hawthorne—the only man who had achieved making her feel like a desired woman. At first she hadn’t taken his flirtations seriously, because he was, after all, a gifted rogue. But he was still able to make her weak in the knees, and yearn for his passionate kisses. He’d accomplished making her fall in love with him.
She should have done things differently with Nic. Instead of trying to hide her feelings for him, she should have embraced them, and let him know how she’d fallen in love. She should not have pushed him away. Instead, she wished she’d have cherished every day—every moment—he’d made her happy and complete.
If she got out of here… No,whenshe got out of here, she’d find him and apologize and tell him her feelings. Hopefully, he would return them.
She started out toward the stairs slower this time, and focused on her destination.I will do this!When she bumped against the bottom step, she heaved a relieved sigh. “I’m to the steps.”
“Oh, Miss Paget. Please be careful.”
At this point, Tabitha didn’t dare stand, so she bunched her gown to her knees and proceeded up the stairs in an unhurried pace. Right away, she could tell the steps were very rickety and old. She would definitely have splinters in her palms and knees once she was finished. But she’d worry about that later.
When she placed her weight on the next step, it creaked and wobbled. She held her breath, praying that it wouldn’t break beneath her. Then she realized if Miss Talbot’s large frame hadn’t broken the piece of wood by now, there was no way Tabitha’s small body would, either.
Continuing on her way, she crawled slower. She discovered that hurrying only made the dizziness in her head worse. But she was almost to the top of the stairs, so she couldn’t stop now. As she climbed the next step, it trembled more than the first had. Reaching her hand out, she tried to grasp something to hold onto. Wasn’t there supposed to be a railing? But she couldn’t find it. Blindly, she searched for something to stop her—to keep from tumbling down the steps, but her hand came up empty.
