trouble.”
“The problem was finding the information; I never have any difficulty memorizing,” she said simply.
“How long did you hope to be away?”
“Three or four weeks. I don’t think Mama could bear to be away from Papa any longer than that.”
“Very well, Trelenny, you may tell your mother that I would be pleased to escort the two of you to Bath.”
Instead of the delight he had expected, she stared at her hands. “That’s very kind of you, Cranford, but it was wrong of me to scheme so; and I would have to tell Mama what I had done, and she would not approve.” She drew a line on the lake bank with the toe of her boot. “But if I don’t scheme, if I sit around and wait for something to happen, I’ll be here all my life.”
“You don’t have to be,” he said meaningfully.
Her chin came up and she met his eyes defiantly. “Out of the frying pan into the fire? No, thank you. I’m not that grateful for a better sidesaddle.”
“We’re not talking about the sidesaddle!” Sparks of anger glinted in his eyes. “We are talking about your having a chance to see more of the world than this little backwater.”
“No, Cranford, we are talking about my freedom or captivity. Let’s not talk of it anymore. I’ll show you a cave you may not have seen before. I only discovered it myself a few months ago.” Without looking to see whether he followed, she skirted the lake and took a rough path through the wood until she came to a second fall of water.
As she crossed the stream, hopping from boulder to boulder, he said from behind her, “You’ll get your habit wet.”
“Oh, who cares? If you’re concerned for your precious Hessians you need not come.”
By the time he had crossed the stream, his boots were indeed soaked, as hers must have been, but neither of them commented on any discomfort. Trelenny continued on up the rise on the other side, pushing the shrubbery out of her way as she went and staying close to the water, which sprinkled on her from time to time as it cascaded over the rocks. The climb was steep and no evidence of the cave could be seen from below, but when Trelenny pushed aside some tangled vines, Cranford found himself at the entrance to a deep, well-defined space with jagged rock walls and ceiling.
“How did you find it?”
“There was a rock slide after a storm in July. Enough rocks came away from the entrance that I could see there was a cave, and I removed the rest. It took a few days, but isn’t it wonderful? Much bigger than Greene Cave and there are some drawings on the wall that might interest you. I wish I’d thought to bring a lanthorn.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it before?”
“Well, they’re not Roman drawings, Cranford, or anything really old. Possibly from the time of the Abbey, but they have no distinctly religious flavor—no crosses or anything. Didn’t the Abbey give sanctuary? Maybe they were drawn by some desperate fugitive who sought safety in the grounds. A hunted man who had ruthlessly murdered his employer or a jealous lover who had throttled his mistress to death.”
Cranford cast his eyes heavenward. “Or some child caught out in a storm who whiled away the hours scratching pictures of his favorite puppy on the rock.”
“You have no imagination, Cranford,” Trelenny said dolefully. “You can’t see them very well in this light. I made copies by lanthorn-light in my sketchbook. I’ll show them to you.” She attempted, unsuccessfully, to quell a sneeze.
“Not today, young lady. I’m taking you home so you can change into some dry clothing.”
----
Chapter 5
Cousin Filkins arrived promptly on schedule, and Mr. Storwood indeed found it necessary to reimburse the post boys. “Temporary embarrassment,” Cousin Filkins murmured as he descended in a lavender coat, red and white striped waistcoat, and green pantaloons. Trelenny tried to catch her mother’s eye, but Mrs. Storwood would not look in her direction. “Dashed
“The problem was finding the information; I never have any difficulty memorizing,” she said simply.
“How long did you hope to be away?”
“Three or four weeks. I don’t think Mama could bear to be away from Papa any longer than that.”
“Very well, Trelenny, you may tell your mother that I would be pleased to escort the two of you to Bath.”
Instead of the delight he had expected, she stared at her hands. “That’s very kind of you, Cranford, but it was wrong of me to scheme so; and I would have to tell Mama what I had done, and she would not approve.” She drew a line on the lake bank with the toe of her boot. “But if I don’t scheme, if I sit around and wait for something to happen, I’ll be here all my life.”
“You don’t have to be,” he said meaningfully.
Her chin came up and she met his eyes defiantly. “Out of the frying pan into the fire? No, thank you. I’m not that grateful for a better sidesaddle.”
“We’re not talking about the sidesaddle!” Sparks of anger glinted in his eyes. “We are talking about your having a chance to see more of the world than this little backwater.”
“No, Cranford, we are talking about my freedom or captivity. Let’s not talk of it anymore. I’ll show you a cave you may not have seen before. I only discovered it myself a few months ago.” Without looking to see whether he followed, she skirted the lake and took a rough path through the wood until she came to a second fall of water.
As she crossed the stream, hopping from boulder to boulder, he said from behind her, “You’ll get your habit wet.”
“Oh, who cares? If you’re concerned for your precious Hessians you need not come.”
By the time he had crossed the stream, his boots were indeed soaked, as hers must have been, but neither of them commented on any discomfort. Trelenny continued on up the rise on the other side, pushing the shrubbery out of her way as she went and staying close to the water, which sprinkled on her from time to time as it cascaded over the rocks. The climb was steep and no evidence of the cave could be seen from below, but when Trelenny pushed aside some tangled vines, Cranford found himself at the entrance to a deep, well-defined space with jagged rock walls and ceiling.
“How did you find it?”
“There was a rock slide after a storm in July. Enough rocks came away from the entrance that I could see there was a cave, and I removed the rest. It took a few days, but isn’t it wonderful? Much bigger than Greene Cave and there are some drawings on the wall that might interest you. I wish I’d thought to bring a lanthorn.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it before?”
“Well, they’re not Roman drawings, Cranford, or anything really old. Possibly from the time of the Abbey, but they have no distinctly religious flavor—no crosses or anything. Didn’t the Abbey give sanctuary? Maybe they were drawn by some desperate fugitive who sought safety in the grounds. A hunted man who had ruthlessly murdered his employer or a jealous lover who had throttled his mistress to death.”
Cranford cast his eyes heavenward. “Or some child caught out in a storm who whiled away the hours scratching pictures of his favorite puppy on the rock.”
“You have no imagination, Cranford,” Trelenny said dolefully. “You can’t see them very well in this light. I made copies by lanthorn-light in my sketchbook. I’ll show them to you.” She attempted, unsuccessfully, to quell a sneeze.
“Not today, young lady. I’m taking you home so you can change into some dry clothing.”
----
Chapter 5
Cousin Filkins arrived promptly on schedule, and Mr. Storwood indeed found it necessary to reimburse the post boys. “Temporary embarrassment,” Cousin Filkins murmured as he descended in a lavender coat, red and white striped waistcoat, and green pantaloons. Trelenny tried to catch her mother’s eye, but Mrs. Storwood would not look in her direction. “Dashed
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