Clemmie smiled weakly. It seemed even the American and the rude Italian was going to join, and a number of local men who were meeting outside the hotel. There would be a proper search party. For this, she was infinitely grateful, but still felt useless sitting there and waiting.
Chapter 9
CLEMMIE PACED. A MAN she’d never seen before had replaced Mr. Weber on the desk, who had obviously joined the search party. The weather was average, but not terrible. It wasn’t a brilliantly sunny day, which would help, but the search party went ahead anyway.
Hopefully they would return and this would be the end of it. Oliver would probably be injured, but she hoped it would be light and easily healed. Being this far from home with an injury wasn’t good, but they would have to manage. The warmth and sun of the Mediterranean was ideal for convalescing people, she had heard.
Intermittently, she tried to sit down and drink more of her cooling tea, but she barely tasted it. Her nerves were getting the better of her. For now, she couldn’t bear being back in her room, unable to see if anyone was approaching. It felt better being in the lobby so she could be there if they brought Oliver in. When, she corrected herself, and nerves of anguish assaulted her at the mistake she’d just made, as if acknowledging the possibility of him not being found made it possible.
A ways over, the nursery maid from the countess' party walked into the lobby, but she walked backward with her fingers to her lips. She looked around with large eyes, seeking another person, then she looked back into the hallway leading to the rooms of the hotel as if waiting for something. Clemmie listened too, but it was completely silent.
“Did you hear that?” the nursery maid asked in German.
“I heard nothing,” Clemmie said and stood up. With quick steps she walked over to the young woman, who was intently looking down the hallway. It was entirely empty. Lamps were lit and they cast circular pools of light along the hallway. There was nothing there.
“I heard…” the girl started. “It sounded like someone was walking in a suit of armor.”
“It must have been someone walking with equipment. Maybe mountaineering equipment?”
“Did you see anyone?” the woman asked.
“No.” No one had come out of the hallway that she’d noticed.
Maybe it was Oliver. Had he found his way back after trying and trying? Clemmie rushed into the hallway, her eyes searching. Quickly, she took the stairs and made her way to her rooms, but was met with complete silence when she got there. Nothing had changed, no one was there.
But no one had left or come in. If someone had been moving equipment around, they had done so from one room to another. It must have been the maids, carrying something noisy. It was hard to think what they could be carrying that sounded like someone walking in armor, which she knew had a very distinct sound. She’d seen a re-enactment of a joust once. Armor was noisy.
No, the girl must have been mistaken. It must have been some other noise.
With deep disappointment, Clemmie decided to return to the lobby. It felt as if she would miss something important if she stayed away.
Silent steps carried her towards the staircase down to the floor which led back to the lobby, but she heard a squeak, the distinctive squeak of metal against metal, of jangling metal. Words carried as if on shifting wind. The direction was impossible to tell, but the words didn’t spark recognition in her. It was more the sound of them she heard, rather than the meaning. Curt, direct words, coming from far away. She tried to listen, but it dissipated.
In a rush, she took the stairs down, thinking they had returned from their search. Returning this early meant they had to have found him. From the hallway, she could see Miss Juno still standing in the lobby looking back at her. Her light red hair curled as it escaped her braids. Her eyes were still large and searching.
“I heard it again,” Miss Juno said when Clemmie reached her.
“Someone was simply walking.”
“Did you see anyone?” Miss Juno asked. “Because I didn’t hear you walking when you came. You were silent.”
The carpet running along the corridor had kept her footsteps silent.
“Someone must be shifting things between rooms,” Clemmie said. “The halls must echo.”
Miss Juno’s head nodded slightly, as if she took the words on board. “It sounded very odd.” It had sounded odd. “I swear it sounded like armor.”
“Did you hear talking?”
“No,” the woman said and turned to her. “You heard talking? There must have been more than one. Yet we saw no one.”
“As I said, they were probably just shifting things between rooms. Or down into the basement. There will be servants’ entrances.” Of course, why hadn’t she thought of that.
Miss Juno seemed to shudder. “I don’t like empty hallways. I don’t like this place. After Miss Marnier had her episode, I don’t feel so comfortable here.”
“Is she better?”
“She’s still very frightened,” Miss Juno said quietly and then looked around to see if they were observed. “I’m worried, because Miss Marnier is not prone to fright. She’s the most sensible person I know. The countess too. They are not people who indulge in fantasy. She stares out the window incessantly as if she’s trying to see them, the men that intended on hurting her. She’s terrified, and we cannot leave because our carriage has been severely damaged. A rock toppled down the mountain and destroyed one of the wheels, bent the whole substructure. That happens, apparently, boulders just fall off the mountain. We were lucky we weren’t in it at
