“Yes,” I said without hesitation or uncertainty.
Isaac’s smile could light the darkness—and it had many times.
I realized that what I’d felt for Luc had been mere attraction and nothing more—I hadn’t been in love. I had been enamored with the idea of Luc—the international hero. Grace was in love with the man behind the façade—the real Lucas Voland. Yet even in the glow of this understanding, pain darkened the edges as I thought of my sister. If her love for Luc was as strong as my love for Isaac, how could I ask her to stay with me in 1692?
Grief settled over me like a cloak, enveloping me completely in the darkness as I realized what I needed to do.
28
GRACE
OCTOBER 2, 1912
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
The moment my eyes opened in the Hollywood Hotel, I slipped out of my bed and put on my robe. It was early, and the sky was still pale with the first hint of daylight, but I couldn’t wait to tell my parents what had happened.
We were sharing a suite in the lavish hotel overlooking Hollywood Boulevard. William Randolph Hearst had reserved rooms for us, wiring his staff to treat us to anything that money could buy. The Hollywood Hotel was the cultural center of the emerging movie industry and the place to see and be seen in Los Angeles.
I rapped on my parents’ bedroom door, knowing they wouldn’t mind the early wake-up.
“Come in,” Mama called in a sleepy voice.
I entered the room and found them still in bed. Daddy wasyawning as he sat up, and Mama was just blinking her eyes open.
“What’s wrong?” Daddy asked as he took his glasses off the nightstand. “Did something happen to Hope?”
“She escaped the gaol!” I said, relief making me want to cry.
“How?” Mama was now wide awake as she, too, sat up.
“I don’t know—but I think Isaac Abbot had something to do with it. If it wasn’t him, he would have come for me yesterday morning, like usual. But he didn’t, so I suspect he broke her out.”
“How did he do it?” Daddy asked.
“From the report I heard, he slipped into the gaoler’s home and simply took the keys off the hook near his door. When I was there with Isaac the day before this happened, he went into the gaoler’s house to pay him to let the prisoners out into the courtyard for a few minutes. I suspect he did it in order to identify where the keys were kept.”
I was breathless with excitement—but then the reminder of the other news sobered my thoughts.
“Rachel Howlett died giving birth to her child. I sent word to Tacy’s sister that a child was born, and I pray they can retrieve her from the gaoler’s wife.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Mama said. “How awful.”
“I think it happened before Hope escaped,” I added, “so she was with Rachel until the end.”
“A small consolation,” Daddy said. “What about the others in gaol?”
“Several escaped, since Isaac left the door open, but the gaoler discovered what had happened before they could all leave. A few of them were brought back, but Hope is still not found.”
“Where do you think he took her?” Mama asked.
“I’m not sure—and the less I know, the better. I was already questioned by Father and the sheriff, George Corwin. But I honestly told them I have no idea what happened to her.”
“I’m so relieved,” Mama said. “We’ll pray Isaac keeps her hidden until it all blows over.”
“He won’t be able to show himself in Salem for a long time,” Daddy said. “He risks losing everything to help her.”
I took a seat on the end of their bed. “I suspect Isaac heard that Hope was supposed to go to trial yesterday, so that’s why he snuck her out when he did. If she had stood trial, she would have been found guilty, and who knows how quickly they would have hanged her.”
