When The Rain Falls

Chapter Seven

The cold had seeped into every part of me, even though I hadn't been outside for a great length of time. My fingers shook and my teeth chattered as I worked to peel my shirt and trousers off, dropping them into the wash basket for the staff to deal with in the morning. I could scarcely undo the buttons on my dinner jacket with my trembling fingers. By the time I had managed to remove my clothing and pull on my nightshirt, I felt a lot better.

One of the servants appeared in my room with a bowl of soup prepared by Mrs Lucas and to stoke the fire in my room. I sat at my writing desk wrapped in a blanket. Andrew perched on the edge of my bed and ate the soup as the flames crackled in the fireplace. The fire warmed the room quickly, and it didn't take too long for the cold to disappear from my body.

I had planned to visit Rebecca and Alice before retiring for the night. I wanted to make sure that she was alright before I did anything else, but the warmth made me feel heavy and lethargic. Even if I wanted to leave my room, I didn't have the strength left to do so. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep until the morning, listening to the sound of the wind and rain on my window.

Andrew borrowed one of my nightshirts and a servant arranged a spot for him out of blankets and pillows on my bedroom floor. Usually, Mother would not think of housing someone of such status on the floor, but we had little choice. Rebecca had taken a room to herself and left Andrew without one. The two of us settled into bed without so much of a word between us and I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

That night, my sleep was plagued with flashes of Rebecca and what may have happened to her had Joseph and I not found her. She could have been injured by a falling branch, killed by a flash of lightning, or left for dead in the wind and the rain. If I had listened to Father and forgotten about her, her death would have lived on my conscience. Betraying Father was the best decision I could have made.

When I woke the next morning, I didn't feel half as refreshed as I should have, but I was no longer cold. The storm appeared to have blown itself out during the night, and the roaring wind and rain had been replaced with sunshine and a light breeze. Someone had extinguished the fire, leaving my window propped up to allow the breeze to spread through the room.

I pushed the blankets off my body and sat up. Andrew lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, having abandoned his own blankets in the middle of the night.

"Did last night really happen?" he asked, rolling his head to look at me. "Did you really go running out into the storm and find a strange girl?"

"I did."

"Well, at least she wasn't a ghost. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't."

"You would be." I rolled my eyes. "We should dress before George summons us for breakfast."

"Food sounds good. Your escapades meant I only managed a forkful of the turbot."

"Then you should be glad I did what I did."

Andrew snorted. "Not a chance; I was looking forward to it."

I shook my head and swung my legs over the side of my bed. The two of us took turns heading into the washroom to change, Andrew taking a little longer than me, as he had to squeeze into one of my shirts. All I could think about was Rebecca and how she had fared throughout the night. I hadn't seen her since Father had instructed me to my bedroom the night before and I needed to make sure she was safe.

Now that the storm had blown away, I knew it would take a little more convincing for Father to allow her to stay. He had allowed her to stay the night because of the storm, that much I knew, but beyond that, I did not think he would let her take up another room. With the storm all but gone, he could contact the Constable and have her placed in his custody until they find out where she came from. Something told me she did not want to go back there.