The Keepers

Chapter 9

Josie scrambled to her feet and straightened her dress. Even in the bitter cold, she could feel her cheeks warm with embarrassment.

"Pardon me. I hope my clumsiness didn't cause you any harm." She looked at the dashing stranger pushing himself up from his reclining position.

"It's quite all right. I'm tough as stone," he replied with a smile, reaching for his upended top hat. After placing it back on his wavy, blonde hair, he stood, brushed the dirt off his long coat, and offered the girl his hand. "Sam Mollick, at your service."

Josie giggled at his formality in light of the circumstances. "You certainly are, aren't you? . . . Wait. Did you say Mollick?" She wrinkled her brows upon recalling the unusual surname from earlier in the day.

Sam nodded.

"So, you and Ezra are—" She remembered Hyde and Donatella's conversation in the hallway; they had spoken in the plural.

"Indeed. We're brothers." He frowned, finishing her sentence.

Josie took a small step backwards. "I'm not supposed to be talking to you."

Sam tilted his head. "Is that what they've told you?"

The girl bit her lip.

"Ah, I see." He scratched his chin.

"Please don't tell on me!" Josie raised both her hands to her face, realizing her predicament.

Sam shook his head. "Of course not. I wasn't planning on it." His voice was calm and lacking deception.

"Really? Why not?" She pouted, slowly lowering her hands to her side.

"You ask me for a favor and in the same breath question my agreement?" The young man laughed.

"Forgive me. You're quite correct." Josie cleared her throat. "That was very rude. I'm grateful for your help."

Sam grinned, a faint dimple forming in his left cheek. "I'm just teasing you, Josie. And I'll keep your secret for the same reason I'll get you back in the house unnoticed."

Josie raised a questioning brow.

"There are more dangers out here than in there." He pointed toward the building.

"You mean like wild animals?" Josie unwittingly looked past Sam, toward the forest in the distance.

"Why would you ask that? Did you see something?" His demeanor suddenly shifted from casual banter to unexpected concern.

Josie hesitated and carefully studied the dirt at her feet before answering. "There was something . . . large and black." She looked up. "I thought it might have been a wolf."

The young man's eyes narrowed, but his words belied the reaction. "There haven't been wolves in these parts for many years."

Josie didn't believe him, but she had no alternative. "Then it was just a dog, then?" Her question was barely more than a whisper.

"Yes, that is very likely," Sam replied morosely. Forcing a smile – an action that completely lit up his handsome face – he motioned toward the girl before starting to walk away. "Now, come along, Josie. If we don't want anyone catching you outside, we'll have to get you back into your room at once."

Josie looked up toward her second story window. "But how? Surely they'll notice if we enter through the front door, and I certainly can't climb back in the way I came."

Already several feet away, Sam stopped and looked over his shoulder. "It's a good thing then there's a ladder here that leads to the roof."

A ladder? She didn't notice any ladders? Quickly catching up with the young man, Josie followed him to the far corner of the manor. Sure enough, a few steps around the adjacent wall, a rusty, metal contraption hung suspended from the building's side.

By the time she got to him, Sam had already put his hands on the rungs and started to climb. "It's a way to get up the widow's walk. Of course you can get there from inside, as well, but it's only half the fun."

In spite of being tethered to the wall, the ladder wobbled precariously as the young man ascended. Josie was sure someone would hear the echo of their steps on the metal rungs, but – having no other viable alternative – set off after him.

The trip up was definitely easier than her adventures down. Although perspiration ran down her forehead by the time they reached the roof, it was from the knowledge of their altitude and not due to the strains of the climb.

Luckily, Sam offered his hand again to assist her at the top. With her feet planted firmly on the flat walkway surrounding the perimeter, Josie grabbed the waist-high, ornate railing for support.

"Are you afraid of heights, Josie?" Her companion leaned against the pitched roof and crossed his arms.

The girl shook her head, causing a brown lock of hair to fall out of her braid. "No. I'm afraid of falling."

Sam laughed and tapped his nose with his forefinger. "Clever girl."

Scoffing at his playfulness even now, Josie began to walk toward a nearby door framed by an elaborately decorated dormer. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get inside—"

The young man quickly straightened up and held out a hand in warning. "Not that way, you won't." Walking to Josie, he gently grabbed her by the elbow and led her away from the door. "That'll take you directly through Donatella's private chambers, and there's no better way to make sure she sees you than to walk through her boudoir."

"Oh." Josie muttered, glancing over her shoulder toward the forbidden entrance. "How then . . . ?"

Stopping at the railing, Sam pointed down.

Josie's eyes widened with fright. "What?"

"You'll have to trust me." The young man whispered, looking straight into her eyes.

Her legs shook, but for some reason, Josie felt ready to do as he asked. Slowly nodding, she listened as Sam explained how he would lower her over the roof's edge and slip her through the still open window. And even when she had every reason to doubt his ability to safely deliver her inside the room, Josie couldn't help but put her faith in this complete stranger.

When the time came to follow through with the plan, she did everything as told. Squeezing her eyes shut to overcome her fears, Josie felt herself dangling by her wrists one moment and standing inside the room the next.

"Eat your soup before it gets cold, Josie," she heard Sam say from the roof before she closed the windows shut.

Turning around, she nearly knocked over the table that previously contained the teapot and cup. While those had disappeared, in their place sat a bowl of steaming tomato soup and a silver spoon.

How did he know? She looked toward the window again, but the smell of the warm food was too enticing to resist. Kicking off her shoes and grabbing the bowl, she sat in the chair nearest to the fireplace and ate.

The funny thing was, Josie never liked tomato soup before. The inexplicable combination of sweet and sour now, however, exploded in her mouth and invigorated her senses. Soon, she was not only warmed from outside by the fire, but also from the inside from the meal. After getting up briefly to put the bowl down and grab the story of Persephone from the mantle, she pulled her feet under her and began to read.

Just a few pages in, Josie's eyelids started to become heavy. After shutting them for just a moment, she opened her eyes and knew exactly what she needed to do next.