She nodded, her eyes growing rounder by the second. “Yes, ma’am,” she said, her voice so high, she practically squeaked the words.
My fingers gripped the book in nervous anticipation. “Will you please tell me what you know?”
She nodded again. “I’ve no proof, ma’am but sure as day she’s been spreading yer secrets.” Each word sounded a burden, and she had to stop to clear her throat.
I felt a sudden tightness in my own throat. “Who is it, Alice?”
“It’s not like ye think.” Alice glanced uneasily toward the door, then back at me. “This girl, she don’t mean ye no harm.”
Merciful saints! How long were we supposed to go on in this manner? “Stop beating about the bush and tell me what you know.”
She flinched from my words. “Well...I...I think she’s...”
Just then, Mary came into the room, making us both jump.
“Pardon, ma’am,” she said, curtsying in my direction. “Alice is needed in the kitchen.”
“Whatever for?” I asked, perturbed by the interruption.
“Mrs. Ryan wants a barrel of cider from the cellar. It’s too much for Evie and me to get up the stairs by ourselves. We tried and little Evie almost got a pounding.”
“Please tell Mrs. Ryan that Alice will be there shortly.”
Mary hesitated. “Beg yer pardon, ma’am, but with Karta gone to town, Mrs. Ryan’s in a fury to get the kitchen ready for morning meal. She insisted Alice come directly.”
“Oh, very well,” I huffed. “Alice, go help move the barrel and then come back.”
Alice bolted from the room without so much as a curtsy. Mary followed closely on her heels, leaving me alone once more. I glanced at the book in my lap, at the white tension in my knuckles. Releasing my grip, I flipped open the cover, in need of a diversion until Alice returned.
I had barely reached the end of the first paragraph when I yawned unexpectedly. Feeling a bit bleary-eyed, I gave my neck and back a good stretch to ward off the sudden fatigue. Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and I looked up to see Mary coming back into the room.
“Is the barrel moved then?” I asked.
Mary stopped near the hearth. “Yes, ma’am, it’s all ready for the morrow.”
“Where is Alice? I expected her back immediately.”
“Mrs. Ryan sent her to fetch some wood for the stove.”
I yawned again and rubbed my eyes, trying not to begrudge Mrs. Ryan the extra help. Surely a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.
“It’s getting awfully dark outside,” Mary said. “Would ye like more candles lit?”
Quite without warning, I was seized by an intense dizzy spell. I tried to focus on Mary, but my eyes had come unhinged and refused to work properly. When two Marys appeared near the hearth, I squeezed my eyelids shut, hoping to dispel the bout of double vision. Peeking through my lashes, I found both Marys remaining, though somewhat askew as the floor had bent upwards beneath their feet. Or maybe it was the walls that had moved. Whichever the reason, the Marys appeared to be standing at a significant slant in defiance to everything Sir Isaac Newton had ever written about gravity. Alarmed by the sight, I shook my head in an attempt to return the room and Mary to their proper order. It worked at first, but after a few seconds the maid divided back into two as the floor began to move again.
Mary watched me curiously. “Would ye like more candles lit?” she asked, repeating her previous question.
“Yes, please,” I mumbled and glanced back at my book. Not that this was any better. The words squirmed like insects on the page, moving in and out of focus. I blinked several times and then looked again. But the black type wouldn’t hold still no matter how hard I concentrated. Giving up, I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the sofa.
“Are you feeling unwell, ma’am?” I heard Mary ask. She seemed to be standing just above me, though her voice sounded like she spoke from the far end of a tunnel.
My tongue had grown too thick for speech and my eyelids felt like lead curtains. Nearby, I heard the tinkling of breaking glass.
Someone else had joined us and was talking to Mary. A man, I thought from the tenor of his voice, though it sounded like he, too, spoke through a tunnel. He wanted something moved and asked for her help.
I really needed to look up and see who it was, but my body had become a dead weight, completely useless to my commands. The book slid from my lap, landing on the floor with a thud. A faint warning echoed deep inside my head, only to be silenced as sleep moved closer, pushing me further into the darkness.
I just needed to rest for a moment. Then I would send for Henry.
*
The sound of knocking coaxed me slowly from sleep. Forcing my eyes to open, I took in the familiar surroundings of my bedchamber. The canopy blurred in and out of focus above me, confirming that I was lying on the bed.
“Go away, Mary,” a man said irritably from my far right. “There is nothing more for you to do here.”
“Ye promised not to hurt her!” Mary cried, her voice muffled by the closed door.