Sanditon: A Sisterhood Forms

47

Georgiana had stopped breathing. The dentil mouldings, which had only moments ago been at her feet, pressed painfully into her lower back. She was splayed across the balcony floor in the precise spot where she had landed, one foot still hooked over the edge where she had leapt. She shifted, attempting to catch Arthur's eye before realising that it was too dark to even make him out. The only thing that assured her of his presence, tucked in the shadows, was the soft, piping wheeze that emerged from the far corner.

The wall opposite them was lit by the glow of a single candle. The orb of light moved with its carrier to the far wall, and hovered near the window, still open. A breeze wafted through it, causing the orb to dance about the wall as the candle flickered.

"Mrs Higgins," said the voice, "what time did they leave?"

"They left hours ago, Ma'am. After the tour had finished."

"The Denhams... I don't believe it for a second," she said through gritted teeth, "And how, might I ask, would they have known where the study was located?"

"We... passed it on the way to the fountain court. Perhaps they viewed it from afar."

The light moved again, rotating into the centre of the room, and Georgiana caught a glimpse of Eliza Campion, her face lit as if it were aflame.

"And to think - were my arrival some hours earlier, I might have greeted them, myself." Georgiana heard shuffling as the candlelight paused near the desk.

"At the very least, they do appear to have gone, Ma'am, and should be of no danger to you, now."

"Oh, Mrs Higgins," Eliza laughed, "they were never a danger - not to me. But, one must learn not to meddle in my affairs, and if that is a lesson I must teach, it will be a harsh one."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"The fire is still lit a fraction, Mrs Higgins. They won't be far."

Arthur shifted in his place as the light moved again - this time toward the study door. Georgiana made an attempt to signal to him in the silence, her eyes flashing wide as the light paused.

The stillness became a deafening roar as she waited, motionless.

"And what of the footman?"

"James, Ma'am?"

"Has he made any appearances?"

"No, not since we wrote you."

Georgiana looked in Arthur's direction instinctively, feeling his presence.

"I see," she said, lifting the light higher, and Georgiana saw it. The skirt beneath her pelisse had pooled about her on the balcony floor. The silk travelled like water, collecting in places, flowing outward from its source, shimmering in the light as it fell over the balcony's edge, and swayed like an aubergine bunting caught in the breeze.

The room fell into silence as the light shone higher, closer to revealing them both. Georgiana reached instinctively for the pocket in her pelisse, her hand poised over it, ready to grab the last form of self-defence she may have left. And then, the light moved, lowering, casting them both in shadow once again.

"Mrs Higgins," said Eliza, quietly, "come along."

"Y-yes, Ma'am." Her voice shook as she said the words.

Seconds later, the door clicked open and they did not hear it close again.

They waited. Breath hitched. Adrenaline rising as the worst possibilities formed in their minds. And they were met with nothing but silence.