“She fell down the well above the gazebo.”
Molly’s face registered shock. “Oh, poor lamb!”
“I’m thankful you’re here, Molly. You can be of great assistance.”
Together they carefully removed May-Jewel’s dirty and torn outer clothing. Puckered, ripped skin and blue discolorations, already turning black, quivered under the warmth of the moist cloth as Katherine bathed May-Jewel’s arms and legs. Having done all she could, Katherine dried her hands. Her eyes fell on the blue material that was to be May-Jewel’s new dress.
“She’ll be fine,” Katherine uttered, trying to convince herself, although her sister looked anything but fine.
“Aye that she will.” Molly replied, patting Katherine’s hand. “Dunna be worrin’ yourself. Do ye be knowin’ how she coom ta be in the well?”
Tearfully Katherine shook her head and crossed the room. She saw the pin cushion on the floor and picked it up. Something gnawed at her as she stared at the tiny pillow. Sticking through its multi-punctured side were three very large pins. She frowned. “These aren’t mine,” she whispered more to herself than Molly. “I don’t have pins that size.” As she extracted them from the cushion, she recalled May-Jewel pricking her finger just before she ran out of the room.
Katherine moved to study the pins in the daylight. Their shafts were tarnished a strange, deep brassy color. She compared them to several other pins, but these three alone were different. She moved to the bed and, examining her sister’s hand, she saw three festered eruptions on May-Jewel’s finger that she hadn’t noticed before.
Could she have gotten those wounds when she fell down the well, Katherine wondered. Or were they the result of being punctured by these pins?
In an instant, Katherine knew that May-Jewel had been drugged or poisoned! But by whom? One word formed in her mind… Selina! Katherine was sure then that the pins had been meant for her and not May-Jewel. But it was her sister who had fallen prey to the maleficent servant’s continued attempts to harm Katherine. Selina! But why? Why does she hate us so? And where is she that she has such access to the manor? Frustration and fear almost overwhelmed Katherine as she paced before the bed. She knew that she couldn’t just sit there any longer. She had to find this woman and put a stop to her murderous intentions.
“Molly, Vicar Hawes should be back soon with the doctor. You stay here. Don’t leave Mistress Belwood unguarded for one moment! Not one single moment!” Katherine started for the door. “And don’t let anyone come in except the doctor or David, I mean Vicar Hawes. Not even Brice! Understand?”
“Aye, but Mistress, I seen Brice goin’ inta the gallery when I were comin’ up the stairs.”
“What would he be doing in the gallery?”
“I dunna know, Mistress. The man’s gyte.” She touched her head. “He’s daft, if ye know what I mean.”
Katherine opened the door. “Remember, Molly, no one’s to come in except the doctor or the vicar.”
“Aye, Mistress. Dunna worry aboot me lockin’ the door. I’m afeared ta be here, I be tellin’ ye. And if the poor babe t’were na ailin’, I’d be back ta me home right now.”
With a slight smile and a nod of understanding, Katherine closed the door behind her and entered the dim hallway. She heard the bolt being thrown and knew she needn’t worry about May-Jewel and Molly now. A thin ray of the late afternoon sun filtered through the narrow window at the corridor’s end. The manor was deathly quiet. Fear crept into her thoughts. What was Brice doing in the manor without being summoned? What was he doing in the gallery? Did the stableman have anything to do with what was going on? She moved down the hall, her heart beating with urgency. Now she had to locate Brice and Selina. As she approached the top of the steps, a series of thumps, heavier than footsteps, echoed through the stillness. An icy sensation ran down her back. Her heart pounded to her throat, and she turned to look behind her but saw nothing.
“David?”
The only reply to her throaty whisper was the tinkling of the crystal droplets on the chandelier from a breeze that blew in through the open front door. Katherine swiftly descended the stairs and entered the gallery. Brice wasn’t there, but the narrow door to the wine cellar was ajar, moving to and fro with the drafty breath of the manor. She had no choice but to follow Brice’s flight. Taking an already lit candle from the sconce, she placed her trembling hand on the doorknob and, opening the door fully, she walked through it.
Halfway down the passage, a draft extinguished her flame. She paused, no longer sure of what she would find in the cellar. How foolish, she thought, to continue without a light or even a weapon of some kind. But it would be a precious waste of time to return to the upper level to secure either. Urgency struggled with common sense as her mind raced between returning to May-Jewel and continuing down to the wine cellar to find Brice. She had to find out what he was up to. Feeling her way along the damp wall, she continued down the corridor. Suddenly Katherine was aware of the familiar putrid odor. As before, it offended her nostrils and caught in her throat. She had reached the steps and saw lights flicker below her. She recalled that the steps were slick with dampness and advanced carefully. The door yawned open at the bottom. The light of several lanterns haphazardly placed across the cellar floor lit the entire chamber. The light did little to comfort Katherine. Before her were more freshly dug holes. They looked like small empty graves. All of a sudden, a form stepped forth from the shadows, and Katherine’s heart leapt to her throat.
“Alex!” she gasped.
He stood across
