to look behind me, but despite my breathing becoming increasingly rapid I did my best not to show my alarm. It could be nothing more than a noisy village child curious about ‘them from the big hoose’.
Had I done the right thing in not telling Rory or Bertram about the letter? Bertram would have wanted to open it, but my conscience could not allow that. We were not directly employees of Fitzroy and no one had yet suggested to me that prying into the guests’ private affairs was why I was present at the Lodge. The letter did smell highly of men’s cologne, and I had been inclined to think it was a billet-doux even if the gentleman who handed it to me was most unprepossessing. I knew the world well enough to know if he was rich there would be some women who would happily respond to his advances.
A twig snapped behind me. What if I had got this all entirely wrong and the letter was some secret government missive that I had been entrusted with? What if it contained … here my imagination faltered. It was not a large letter. Surely the diagrams for new armaments would take up more space than this? I had never seen any, but I imagined them to be quite complex.
Naturally, considering armaments led me quickly down the path of what people do with such things and I began to wonder if I was in serious danger. The skin down both of my arms prickled. It became harder and harder to curb my impulse to bolt. Somehow I knew if I ran I would be chased. The stark beauty of the countryside around me took on a sinister turn. I could no longer hear the birds calling. No cattle lowed nearby. I scanned the horizon. I could see no sign of the village. I could also see no one else on the path or even working in the field. Of course, at this time of year there was little to do with the frost-covered ground. But it suddenly seemed as if the silence was unnatural. As if everyone had felt the same foreboding and fled.
Time stretched into eternity. I knew each step took me closer to my doom. Another twig snapped behind me and I gave a little involuntary cry. I darted behind a tree and attempted to hide. The ridiculousness was not lost on me. Tree trunks are round and I had no idea on which side my enemy waited. I pressed my back against the tree and began to slowly skirt its circumference. Fields, scattered forest and scrubby hills met my eyes. A patch of low-lying foliage to my far left moved slightly. I held my breath. A rabbit, I told myself, maybe two. There was no dangerous wildlife here. Only humans, the most dangerous creatures of all. As I watched some leaves parted and I caught sight of an ugly misshapen claw bigger than my hand.
However good my imagination it could not have conjured that. I gave a full-throated scream and bolted. Heavy footsteps thudded behind me. I did not spare the time to look back. I ran on and on. My only hope was to reach the village. My heart thudded in my chest and perspiration ran in rivulets down my back. My feet thudded against the solid compacted earth until the soles were red and sore, but I did not stop. I fled for my life. The pins from my hair scattered and I didn’t stop to pick them up. Sobs welled up in my chest. I thought of Rory. I thought of Bertram. I cursed Fitzroy. I arrived in the village looking like a madwoman.
A common well signified the beginning of the village. A few young women were loitering beside it chattering. As one they fell silent.
‘A m-m-monster,’ I stammered. ‘A creature in the forest that has no right to be. An abomination.’
‘I’ve heard Old Wifie Campbell called many things, but that’s a new one on me,’ laughed one young woman with a scarlet scarf covering her hair.
I sank down on the well steps. ‘I’m serious,’ I panted, ‘there is something out there.’
The three girls regarded me with a mixture of amusement and pity. ‘You be from the Lodge? One of them Londoners?’ asked another. She had the dark rich red hair natural to the Scotch and violet
Had I done the right thing in not telling Rory or Bertram about the letter? Bertram would have wanted to open it, but my conscience could not allow that. We were not directly employees of Fitzroy and no one had yet suggested to me that prying into the guests’ private affairs was why I was present at the Lodge. The letter did smell highly of men’s cologne, and I had been inclined to think it was a billet-doux even if the gentleman who handed it to me was most unprepossessing. I knew the world well enough to know if he was rich there would be some women who would happily respond to his advances.
A twig snapped behind me. What if I had got this all entirely wrong and the letter was some secret government missive that I had been entrusted with? What if it contained … here my imagination faltered. It was not a large letter. Surely the diagrams for new armaments would take up more space than this? I had never seen any, but I imagined them to be quite complex.
Naturally, considering armaments led me quickly down the path of what people do with such things and I began to wonder if I was in serious danger. The skin down both of my arms prickled. It became harder and harder to curb my impulse to bolt. Somehow I knew if I ran I would be chased. The stark beauty of the countryside around me took on a sinister turn. I could no longer hear the birds calling. No cattle lowed nearby. I scanned the horizon. I could see no sign of the village. I could also see no one else on the path or even working in the field. Of course, at this time of year there was little to do with the frost-covered ground. But it suddenly seemed as if the silence was unnatural. As if everyone had felt the same foreboding and fled.
Time stretched into eternity. I knew each step took me closer to my doom. Another twig snapped behind me and I gave a little involuntary cry. I darted behind a tree and attempted to hide. The ridiculousness was not lost on me. Tree trunks are round and I had no idea on which side my enemy waited. I pressed my back against the tree and began to slowly skirt its circumference. Fields, scattered forest and scrubby hills met my eyes. A patch of low-lying foliage to my far left moved slightly. I held my breath. A rabbit, I told myself, maybe two. There was no dangerous wildlife here. Only humans, the most dangerous creatures of all. As I watched some leaves parted and I caught sight of an ugly misshapen claw bigger than my hand.
However good my imagination it could not have conjured that. I gave a full-throated scream and bolted. Heavy footsteps thudded behind me. I did not spare the time to look back. I ran on and on. My only hope was to reach the village. My heart thudded in my chest and perspiration ran in rivulets down my back. My feet thudded against the solid compacted earth until the soles were red and sore, but I did not stop. I fled for my life. The pins from my hair scattered and I didn’t stop to pick them up. Sobs welled up in my chest. I thought of Rory. I thought of Bertram. I cursed Fitzroy. I arrived in the village looking like a madwoman.
A common well signified the beginning of the village. A few young women were loitering beside it chattering. As one they fell silent.
‘A m-m-monster,’ I stammered. ‘A creature in the forest that has no right to be. An abomination.’
‘I’ve heard Old Wifie Campbell called many things, but that’s a new one on me,’ laughed one young woman with a scarlet scarf covering her hair.
I sank down on the well steps. ‘I’m serious,’ I panted, ‘there is something out there.’
The three girls regarded me with a mixture of amusement and pity. ‘You be from the Lodge? One of them Londoners?’ asked another. She had the dark rich red hair natural to the Scotch and violet
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