"Well, why don't we ever see Master George around anymore? You used to be quite taken with him."
Agatha sighed and pushed away her plate. "I don't know, mother. I have tried to visit him, myself, but no one has seen much of him lately."
"That's Sir Drake's son, isn't it?" Lord Dalton cut in. "I thought I heard a rumor somewhere that one of his boys got caught in a rack of gambling debts."
"There, you see mother?"
"Now, Agatha, be reasonable! We only want to see you settled in a good home!"
“And I want to be sure of a happy one!” Agatha retorted. “Who cares what sort of connections he might have, if he is not someone I can trust?”
Thomas huffed loudly and tossed his napkin into his plate, signaling Charlie to come and clear it. "I'm tired of all this suitor talk!" He whined. "Can't we please go out and get something decent to eat?"
Lord and Lady Dalton exchanged a glance, but neither looked in much of a mood to respond. Agatha dropped her napkin on the table. "Never mind, I'm not very hungry anyway," she declared. "I'm going to sit in the library."
"Very well, dear," Lady Dalton murmured after her.
The rain clattered against the windows as Agatha entered the room and turned up the lamps. The warm light and the shelves full of books soothed her anxious stomach. She sank onto the window seat and pulled the blanket close around her. Her eyes wandered over the shadowy, stormy world outside. A lone person walked up the lane beside the house. Agatha squinted hard to peer at the familiar shape. A moment later, she gave a gasp and dashed toward the front hall for a coat, umbrella, and galoshes. She grabbed a ring of keys as well.
The storm pelted heavily as she slogged through the grass, but Agatha clung to the handle of the umbrella as she made straight for the gate into the side yard. It took a solid minute of fumbling in her numb and trembling hands, but at last she found the key and unlocked the gate. The poor soul was only a few paces away as she ran out into the road.
"Mollie! Mollie!" Agatha cried, reaching for the shivering, soaking girl and pulling her under cover of the umbrella.
"K-k-k-k!" the kitchen maid stammered, shaking so hard as Agatha clung to her that she nearly sent them both tumbling into the yard.
Agatha made sure to close and lock the gate again as they went into the yard, and she led Mollie toward the front door.
Mason arrived just as she wrestled the umbrella closed.
"Miss Agatha!" he cried, a bit taken aback. His astonishment grew when he saw who accompanied her. "Good heavens--Mollie!"
"Had to go," Mollie muttered through chattering teeth. "Had to... had to c-catch 'em myself... Nowhere is s-s-safe."
Pearl and Charlie had arrived, and her parents also emerged from the dining room to see what the fuss was about.
"Gracious!" Lady Dalton screamed, and Pearl broke away, returning moments later with an old, dry blanket to throw around Mollie's shoulders.
"Poor thing is so chilled and agitated, she's practically delirious," Agatha said. "Take her downstairs and let her sleep where it's warm and dry."
"No!" Mollie barked, staring around with wide, horrified eyes. She shrank away from all attempts to touch her, cowering against the wall. "Had to get revenge, don't you see? Don't let 'em touch me no more!"
"Mollie, it's all right," Pearl said softly, even as tears ran down her cheeks. "Come with me, we'll let you lay down."
"Down, down it goes..." Mollie echoed, rubbing the corners of the blanket over her cheeks. "Down to the harbor, down in the robber's den... With a kitchen--in the kitchen with a knife!" She bared her teeth and hissed the last word, eyes blinking madly. "A knife--I killed them!" Her head snapped back and forth as Mason and Charlie came forward and took her elbows on either side. "Revenge--I killed those men!" She was still screaming and fuming, but she complied as Pearl took Mason's place and led her away.
"Mason," Lord Dalton beckoned the butler to him with a sober face. "Ring DI Tenney on the phone. Tell him what has happened, and ask him to check and see whether a murder has taken place."
"Oh, Parker!" Lady Dalton shrieked, covering her face with her hands. Agatha moved to her mother's side, supporting her. She looked at her father.
"But Mollie..." she stammered. "There was no blood, she didn't even have a knife!"
Lord Dalton shook his head. "There's no telling what she's done, or where she's been--it seems she's been unaccounted for all this time, and no one was the wiser." He wagged a finger at his daughter and at Thomas, who loitered in the doorway of the dining room, amused at all the fuss. "Let that be a lesson to you two. The curfew and restrictions are in place to keep you two safe."
Lady Dalton clutched her daughter's hand. "Take me to bed, Agatha," she whispered. "Please, I cannot bear this awful night!"
Agatha helped her mother up the stairs, and took her leave to depart for her own bedroom. Her thoughts wandered to Madi and the strange man she had seen. Perhaps if the weather cleared by tomorrow, she would seek the young girl out. The innocent companionship was just the thing she needed after the harrowing events of today!
Chapter 8
Madi Grove opened her eyes. Everything was still, and the sun was just peeking into her window. She let out a long and happy sigh. The storm yesterday had been fierce, rattling the windows and making the walls creak unbearably. She had been cooped up in the little cottage for an entire day. Madi rolled to face the door, where she could just barely see across the hall a sliver of the doorway into the room where Celian slept. At least she had gotten to spend the day with
