“Eloise,” Kellen said from just behind me, making me jump.
When I turned to scowl at her, I caught the lingering hint of amusement.
“Are you here to startle me, or do you have a purpose?”
“A purpose. The first guest of the day has arrived. Would you like to go for a walk?”
In the three days since Maeve had entered our lives, Kellen and I had settled into an awkward routine. The awkwardness was due to our struggle to contrive tasks to keep ourselves occupied. Reading aloud without Mother there to listen seemed pointless and sad. The same with playing the piano. So Kellen and I found small things to do. I took care of the animals, which required very little of my time. And, Kellen organized the attic. When those tasks grew wearisome, we visited Mother’s grave.
“A walk sounds nice,” I said, dusting my hands off on my apron.
We gave the house wide berth and slipped into the trees. My thoughts went to the man in the woods, and I briefly considered sharing the story with Kellen. However, given the reason behind this second walk, I decided to save the tale for later.
“Who is the first visitor?” I asked instead.
“I’m not certain. I slipped out through the kitchen and avoided the introductions. Some Lady or someone from a House of something or other.”
“Probably here for the lemon tarts,” I said. Judith made the best sweets. My mouth watered just thinking of the pastries that waited in cold storage
“Judith was counting the pastries this morning.”
I grinned. Kellen knew I’d snuck down there yesterday to snitch one.
“Did she say anything?”
“Only that you were going to get fat.”
I laughed.
My humor faded, however, when we reached the clearing, and I saw Mother’s grave. Since her death, there were moments where I’d forget that Kellen and I were alone in the world. Then, some jarring reminder would shatter that fragile peace. It felt like the grieving would never end.
Kellen and I sat on the wooden bench that Hugh had placed there for us.
As I stared at the mound of dirt, I wished Mother was still with us. That Father was away on a normal business trip. And that Maeve, no matter how kind she was, wasn’t living with us. In essence, I wanted the safety and ignorance of my old life to return.
The birdsong in the trees grew louder, and I thought of Mother’s message to me. I tried to remind myself she was still with us in spirit, but it was too hard to hold such an unproven belief.
“It seems like it grew two inches overnight,” Kellen said, jarring me from my thoughts.
“What has?”
Even as I asked, my gaze went to the pear tree. It remained nothing more than a single twig jutting from the ground, but Kellen was right. It did appear taller. I got up to look at the sapling closer and noted the buds were bigger as well.
“I’m glad it seems to be growing. It’s like a piece of Father is here to watch over her, don’t you think?”
I turned in time to catch Kellen’s angry expression before she closed herself off again.
“There’s no purpose in holding your anger,” I said. “He’s gone, and so is she. We cannot change how things are; we can only choose to accept them and move on.”
“Move on,” she said. “For what? A marriage to a man who will leave us just as readily as Father did?”
I returned to Kellen and set my head on her shoulder.
“Who said anything about us marrying some soddy men? We can make our own futures, can we not? Perhaps we should travel? We can pose as spinsters and see what lies to the north.”
Kellen snorted, amused by my daydream. She set her head against mine.
“Let me hold my anger for a little while,” she said. “I do so on Mother’s behalf for she was never angry with Father a day in her life. And she should have been. At least twice.”
“Twice?”
“The day he missed our birth and the day he missed her death. It’s warranted.”
My chest tightened, and my throat closed for a moment as I struggled with my own pain. When I finally spoke, my voice was soft.
“It’s a fair request. However, you’ve already carried your anger for seven days. I think that’s sufficient. It’s time to let it go.”
She sighed.
“If I let it go, I have nothing left to do with myself. I miss her terribly.”
“Me, too. Perhaps it’s time we decided on new hobbies. Or we could always attend a gathering or two. Become renowned gossips. Think of all the cakes we could eat.”
Kellen snorted again.
“Tomorrow I’ll go to town and see what new books I can find.”
The bookstore was a safe distance from the market, which meant it was a haven for Kellen.
“Books instead of cakes?” I said. “It’s like I don’t even know you, sister.”
“You know me better than anyone. Would you like me to find a book for you, or will you come with me?”
“I’ll be at your side, of course. Those boorish boys in the market aren’t to be trusted, and my aim is far better than yours.”
She chuckled then quieted. We sat like that for a long time, both lost in our own thoughts, before hunger drove us back to the house. Judith had a simple midday meal prepared for us when we arrived.
While we ate, Judith and Anne worked quietly. Their lack of conversation made it painfully obvious someone still remained in the sitting room with Maeve. I wondered if it was the same person who had arrived earlier but didn’t ask. It didn’t matter who was here, only why they were here.
After lunch, Kellen and I went upstairs. Kellen entered Father’s room to look over his collection of books to see if there was anything that might interest her. She’d never intruded on his space before. That she did so now could only mean she thought he wasn’t coming back.
Leaving her to her quiet, I lay on my bed and pondered her questions of what was next for us. For all of my silly play about traveling, I wasn’t yet ready to leave Towdown. There were questions that needed answers. Questions I’d tried to ignore but knew I couldn’t. I needed to find the person responsible for robbing us of our family. I needed to know who had sent the necklace.
But not yet. First, I needed Kellen to choose her path in life. I needed to know she would be safe from any repercussions. Then, I could choose my own way and damn the consequences.
Sitting up, I checked the hall then carefully closed the door before kneeling at the end of my bed. I folded back the rug and pried up the floor board. It was a space I’d discovered many years ago. It had never held anything of importance because everything I had, I willingly shared with Kellen and Mother.
However, it had been the perfect place to keep the necklace. A safe place so no one would touch it and suffer the same fate as Mother.
Carefully reaching in, I unfolded the soft leather in which I’d wrapped the pendant.
The necklace was gone.
Chapter Five
I knelt there and stared at the hidey-hole in confusion. How could the necklace be missing?
Grabbing the empty piece of leather, I replaced the board and righted the rug. The necklace didn’t disappear on its own. I left the room and found Kellen still in Father’s bedroom, looking at his meager collection of fictional stories amidst his accounting books.