Untitled by Wendy Bayne

Author:Wendy Bayne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Published: 2020-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Shadows

I was tossing and turning with my dreams and in them I saw shadows coming out of the dark some of them were Miles, some were Randall and Julian Browne. But mostly they were just shadows. But I had the pervasive impression that there was someone standing just behind Miles in those shadows. The person was indistinct, all that I could envision was a beard as black as night with vivid white teeth that shone as he smiled just before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. I finally got out of bed. It was sometime just before dawn, so I lit a candle and sat down to sketch my vision of the man from the murkiness of my dreams. As I drew the dark man I had the distinct impression that he hadn’t been alone, but I couldn’t grasp the other image.

I returned to bed and slept soundly until Meg came into my room, slamming about in the wardrobe. Obviously, something was wrong, so I sat up just as she yanked back the curtains allowing sunshine to spill across the room pushing back the shadows. I watched her stomp about lighting the fire and getting down my riding habit. It appeared that someone had told her that I would be going out and apparently, we would not be taking the carriage. Finally, she left and brought me back a cup of chocolate, her face was pinched, and her eyes were red. “Whatever is the matter, Meg?” I looked at the chocolate dubiously, I preferred tea in the morning as Meg knew so something had put her off.

Meg huffed. “It’s the new maids, miss, the ones for Mrs Hughes and Mrs Spencer. Beth is taking them in her stride and being senior, it’s easier for her. But they mean to drive me crazy!”

I wrinkled my brow as I tried to figure out what it was she meant. “Meg, I’m confused. You were so happy that you and Beth wouldn’t have to do double duty any longer and now you’re unhappy?”

She stopped and crossed her arms and huffed. “Not exactly, miss. The extra hands are welcomed but if I hear ‘it’s not done like that in Paris’ one more time from that Gwen, I’ll scream the house down! That’s practically all she says, miss. And what kind of name is Gwen for a Frenchie anyway!”

I set my cup aside. “I can speak to Emilie to talk to her or to her sister Adele, she seems to be very nice.”

Meg sniffed and pushed a stray bit of hair behind her ear. “There’s nothing wrong with Adele, I suppose. Except Jacob and Michael might come to blows over her one day.”

I smiled as I came to understand what might be wrong. The new maids must be creating some unrest. “Is Robert paying too much attention to Gwen since she arrived?”

Meg stood there fighting back tears. “Not so that most would notice. But he seems to be around a lot when I’m showing her how Mrs Hughes likes things done and how we do them back home.

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