Emmeline's Exile by Josephine Blake

Author:Josephine Blake [Blake, Josephine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-04T16:00:00+00:00

There were only fifteen students on Emmeline’s list. A handful of them came from the same households. They moved strategically through the neighborhoods, and Emmeline introduced herself after knocking on each door. It took a good long while, and night had truly fallen by the time they had moved to the last family on the list.

“Brittler,” Lawson read aloud. She had conceded defeat and allowed him to read the names off to her by the light of the windows they passed. “We’ll need a lantern,” he suggested, and he pointed again to the house on the hill above them. Emmeline could just make out the twinkle of lights above them on the dark hillside. “But the last several on your list should be up there, at the manor.”

“These aren’t all Brittler names,” Emmeline said. She had grabbed the list from Lawson and pretended to read it by the light of the next window. Really, she had memorized as much as she could the last time Lawson had read it aloud to her. Lawson came up beside her and ran a finger down the parchment.

“Margaret and Jeremy Black, those are Noelle Brittler’s children. The daughters all have different names except the eldest one, but most of the town calls them by their father’s name. Dianna and Shiye—that’s the one who married the Indian man—they’re the only ones that are really called Brittler. Their girls are Rose and Lavender. The next one is Sarah… Her name is—” he squinted down at the list. “Williamson, I think. He’s some fancy hotel owner over in New York and a few other places. They live here though. Sometimes he heads back that direction to manage things. Their kids are Marie, Thomas and Fredrick.” Lawson paused to peer over Emmeline’s shoulder and he jabbed his finger at the next set of names. “Evangeline Drexel. I think that’s Charlotte’s kid… and… I think that’s all of them.”

Emmeline glanced around, but her surroundings were made almost completely indistinguishable by the darkness. “They all live in that one house together?”

Lawson shook his head and bent close to her ear, pointing in the direction of his gaze. “See the outbuildings?” Emmeline nodded, although she couldn’t see a thing. “Those are all houses Thomas and the other Brittler men built together. Should be four of them.” He counted softly, pointing at what, Emmeline could only guess. “Yeah. There’s four. They all have dinner together in the big house every night though,” he finished. “If we hurry, we might only have to make one trip.”

They stopped by Lawson’s home on the way to pick up a lantern and the wedding dress Noelle had lent her, then together, they headed up the winding track to the manor house where the Brittlers lived.

Emmeline found herself growing more and more nervous as they neared the front garden. She had never been so close to such a grand house before, and she’d never knocked on the door of one to interrupt the occupants at dinner before either.

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