Bittersweet Endeavors (38 page)
Read Bittersweet Endeavors Online
Authors: Tamara Ternie
“How?
”
she asked, and p
anic seized her
fair,
gentle face
.
Seth smile
d and
took her hands into his
and
calm
ed
her.
“First, I’ll
get
your sister
to safety, I promise you that. I’ll return to England and once she’s out of harm’s way, you’ll not have to endure another moment
of torment
with Frederickson.
Once the child’s born and it’s safe for you to travel, w
e’ll
both return and
explain to The King what Frederickson has done and ask him to sanction
an annulment.
”
Seth
thought he saw a glimpse of hope in
Myra
’s eyes. “I
’
ll have you back,
Myra
. By all that’s holy, I swear to you that.”
“
But you cannot.”
Her hands trembled
within his.
“
We need to find where she is, Seth. I don’t believe he has her at Brunnington. If you start making inquiries, he’ll slay you down to keep you silent
.”
But Seth
wasn’t going to be
deterred. “
Tis
already
settled
, Myra
. I’ll not change my mind. Your husband has already revealed your secret
to everyone
.
You risk losing your sister either way.
I’ll leave on the morrow
, and
not hear a
nother
word otherwise.” He
swept a kiss on her lips. “I
rather die trying to get you ba
ck than not
have you at all,
”
he whispered against her forehead as his lips pressed against her
skin
.
Anvil and Zachary’s voices echoed from inside the door
.
Seth turned
and saw
their s
had
ows grow larger as they made
their
way
to the
terrace door. Kneeling d
own, he brushed a chaste kiss
on her lips and ran his finger down her cheek
. He caught
a fresh
descending tear
. Seth
softly
pressed another kiss against
her lips
and
offered
an encouraging smile.
“If he ever raises his hand to you again
, I
shall
slay him down, I swear,”
he warned.
“
I’ll not let him
harm me.
Now m
ake haste,
Seth,” she called as she p
ushed him toward the door
.
“Please, be careful and promise me you’ll not directly confront my uncle. If you must do this, I need your
oath
you’ll not approach him. Just find my sister and
take her to safety
.”
He made no promises.
* * *
Myra
huddled in the corner of her
bedchamber
as Zachary’s fist
s pounded on her door.
“Open this door right now,
Myra;
e
lse I
’ll
tear it down from its hinges!”
Myra
cringed deeper within the s
hadow
of the dim lit room
of her bedchamber
. Determined thuds
from
Zachary’s fists pounded
on
the door
and
echoed in her ears. A creaking noise to her right sounded, and
Myra
jumped away from the wall. A hand reached through an open
ed
panel and grabbed her
by the
arm. She sw
allowed hard. Not knowing
the person’s identity
, she
realized
she didn
’
t care. It couldn’t be any worse than the fate that
a
waited
her
on the other side of her bedroom door. Blindly, she put her faith in
to
the hand that outstretched from the
secret panel within the
wall
.
She g
rasp
ed
tightly with her free hand,
and
let
the unexpected visitor
lead her into t
he darkened hole
.
“Lucia warned me of Frederickson’s intentions, milady.” She recognized
Thomas Witcliff’s
voice, out
to save her again.
He
was
becoming
her guardian angel in time
s
of t
roubles.
“Thank you,” she whisp
ered
and squeezed his hand
. “I owe you a debt that I’ll not e
ver
be able to
repay.”
Myra
felt the lining of
the
walls.
The open boards left only enough
room
for crawling.
Stale air flailed her senses. Thick layers of
wood
dust and cobwebs
were
felt
upon her skin
with each movement she made
, and s
he hel
d back a sneeze that fought
release.
“Where does this lead?” she whispered. Before
Thomas
answer
ed
, the earthshaking crash on the other side of the panel revealed that
Zachary
breached
her bedchamber
door
.
“Away from him,”
Thomas
whispered.
She grabbed
Thomas
’s arm and clung to him. “Do
es he know of these passages?” she asked in a
frightened whisper.
“
Nay
, I don’t believe so. I am told Mister Frederickson only recently acquired this house,” he said quietly. “I was sent to the cellars to load some shipments that came from the dock, t’was then I discove
red the hidden compartments
in the
house. I’m not aware of anyone
knowing
about
them, let alone Frederickson”
“This is only prolonging the inevitable
,”
Myra
sighed.
I cannot sneak in
side
here every time he attempts his advances.”
“Why not?”
Myra
smiled.
Aye
, indeed, why not?
She almost laughed aloud at the ironic image
of
her predicament
. She wondered how many other young brides wished for a secret compartment
for hiding
when their groomsmen c
a
me to consummate their vows.
“Stay here,” he directed. “I’m going to go back and find an excuse to get him away from the house and away from you. You’ll be safe for tonight, I promise.”
“Thank
you
, but
…
but why? Why would you risk your own life to help me? Not that I don’
t appreciate it,” she amended. “
But he’
ll
kill you for this interference.”
“Let’s just say tha
t we have a mutual friend who’ll appreciate that
I’ve
helped to keep
you safe.”
She heard a smile in his voice
.
“No matter the reason, I’m
grateful for your
kindness
.”
“
Until we shall meet again, milady
,
”
he said, and then he was gone.
She wondered who
Thomas
Witcliff wa
s and w
hat
mutual friend
they shared that he would
want to keep her safe
.
She wondered if it was
Seth
.
A clatter of furniture banged against the wall
and it shook the
panels
within her secret chamber. She heard
distinct
guttural
sound
s
of
displeasure as
Zachary seeth
ed
out his anger
. She held her breath w
hen
Thomas
interrupted
Zachary
.
“There’s trouble,
s
ir,” she heard
Thomas
say to
Zachary.
Amazed by his calmness, s
he admire
d
his bravery.
“Trouble?” Zachary shouted. “I need no more trouble!” The sound of another object tossed against
the wall
and hit
near
her hidden door
. It
startled her
, and s
h
e scooted
further
back
and fervently prayed that the secret d
oor
wouldn’t be
reveal
ed
.
“
‘Twould
seem that the Injuns
are breeching the boundaries in the east end of the estate.”
215
“
Bloody Hell
!
” Zachary yelled. “
Do those heathens not have a whit of sense? We could blow them all away with our muzzles and yet
they still make their way to be a nuisance to us
,” he said
,
disgust
ed
. “Take care of it, I have more pressing matters.”
“The problem is,
s
ir,”
Thomas
interrupted
.
“
They’
ve been spotted lurking about the alcove where you have
—
”
Thomas
hesitated a mome
nt but finally finished with, “S
upplies stocked.”
“What?” Zachary shouted. “How? T’was more than sufficiently hidden from view.”
Myra
wondered what Zachary
ha
d
concealed
in the alcove, but knew by Zachary’s reaction,
it was
n’t supposed to have been found.
Whatever it was, it
was
important enough
to draw
Zachary
away from the house
. She had
heard rumors that Zachary dealt with privateers and
had
partaken
in
s
ecret trading practice
s
, but she
didn’t know
w
hat to believe. If it
was
true, and if
T
he
K
ing
caught
word of it,
their marriage
matter
ed
naught
,
he’
d
pay
dearly
for his
acts of multiple
treachery
against The King
. The man truly
was a
fool.
“Rally some of the men together. We
shall
lie
in
wait for the Injuns and slay them all by morning!”
Myra
heard the distinct
ive
sound of Zachary’s pistol as he clicked back the cocking mechan
ism. A chill ran through her
after
she realized that
he
had
brought
the
firearm
when
he sought her out for
his marital pleasures.
She wondered what he intended. The thought left her sickened that he may have considered holding her at
gunpoint and force
d
her into submission
.
Myra
shivered. The man
was
a beast!
“Also send someone to check for my wife’s fool-maid to be sure she is still in residence! If she’s here, so
shalt
my wife be,” he growled. “When her maid is found,
lock her
in the cellars,” he sneered. “That shall certainly teach my wife a lesson. No better way to hurt my dear wife than to hurt another.”
“
Aye
,
s
ir,
”
Thomas
replied
.
The tension didn’t leave
Myra
until she heard
Zachary’s heavy boots stomp from her room and the door
close
d
behind him.
Despite his departure,
she didn’t feel
it was
safe enough to leave her sanctuary.
S
he
also
didn’t think
her legs
c
ould take her very far
after being cramped in the tight spot
.
She remained
a
few moments more
and wiggled
her toes to increase
the
circulation. When she felt safe enough to leave, she paused and looked down the corridor of darkness
and wondered if
Thomas
might return
, but a
ll
remained
quiet.
Tomorrow, she noted, she’
d
travel and memorize the tunnels
in case they prove
d
to be
beneficial while she remained in
Zachary
’s house. No doubt, she’
d
require
use of the hidden compartment
again
, but there was no time
then
to search them out. Sh
e needed to leave and find Lucia. As she expected, Zachary
used
her
friend against her.
Since Zachary’s
instable anger
increased
, t
hey’
d
need to take action soon
and leave Jamestown as Lucia suggested
, she surmised
.
Myra
crawled through the hidden door
and returned to
her room.
Zachary’s childish outburst
had
left
the
room in shambles.
A goblet smashed against the wall left s
hard
s
of glass lit
tered
on
the floor
. Her
blankets and sheets were strewed
across the room. Her desk
, which was
neatly
arranged with paper and ink
, was
now
flung onto the floor
. T
he ink
spilled and
stain
ed
the woodened boards.
She stretched her legs.
A knock on the door
alarmed
her and she cringed behind the chair of her de
sk.
Yet i
f
it was
Z
achary
returning
, surely
he
’d have
forc
ed himself through the door
, and that wouldn’t be difficult since
the
lock
was broken
from his latest outburst
.
Myra
crept to the door
and
cautiously opened it. A young, timid maid handed her a note and curtsied. “I was told to give this to you, mum.”
Myra
leaned out her door and
check
ed
the corridor. She read the note which
was
signed
by a simple
T
.
Thomas
,
she breathed out in relief. His note
warned of Lucia’s imprisonment and apol
ogized for being forced to carry out the deed
.
“Did you see them take my maid? Is she all right?”
“They’n taken her down below. Tis bad down there, milady.”
The girl’s already chalky
pallor paled considerably more.
The girl, no
older
than thirteen years
,
stepped
back
and her
eyes wide
ned
in
fear.
She took another
step back
an
d looked
as if
she might
dash down the hall
.
Myra
reached for her arm and he
ld her in place
and prevented
her
retreat.
“
Tis
all right,”
Myra
soothed. “I
need to know if she’s come to harm. Did my husband hurt her?”
“
Nay
ma’am, not yet, but it’ll
be them rats down th
ere that could do her some harm
.”
“Oh my, rats
—
”
Myra
repeated.
“Oh, not be’in the sort
of rats
you
be thinkin’ of,
m
um.” The girl’s innocent eyes
grew
wide and
she gasped
.
She obviously
said more than intended.
“What are you talking about?”
Myra
tightened her hands around the girl’s forearms a
nd slightly shook her.
The girl quiver
ed and pulled herself away
, but
Myra
held her firmly in place. “
You’ll tell me now,
”
Myra
demanded
.
“The men,” she breathed out. “The men who are below.”
“What men?”
The girl looked nervously down the hall and stepped forward
assuring
that only
Myra
heard her
. “But the master w
ill
kill me if he eve
n thought I knew.” Tears seeped from her dark b
rown eyes. “
I be
seech
you, m
ilady
, don’t make me tell more.”
Myra
wasted no more time. The frightened girl would
n’t
tell her
anything further than she
had
already
spoken
. She couldn’t blame her. She heard more th
an enough to know that Lucia
was
in grave danger.
Any time
wast
ed was costing Lucia God only kne
w what.
“
Fetch
Seth Preston and tell him I need his assistance
. Go, be
quiet about it,
”
Myra
ordered. “M
ake haste and tell him it’s an urgent matter.”
If the secret alcove
that held
supplies
and
the
rats
below
were connected
,
Myra
knew it was more than she
was able to h
andle alone.
Despite the dangers that lurked below,
s
he
wasn’t able to wait until
Seth
came and
help
ed
. Lucia required
her
assistance
without delay
.
Myra ran down the steps
and made
way to the main hallway. She knew t
he door beneath the steps led to the grounds below, but it’d
be difficult to navigate since she didn’t have any idea
what rooms laid
below
, b
ut
she didn’t let that deter her. S
he’
d
find her way somehow. She ha
d
to or else the
re may be
severe
consequences.
A foreboding sense of danger chilled her bones as she entered the cellar
door
into the darkness
.
“Please, come soon, Seth,” she whispered as she descended the steps.