She turned towards her own room and, once inside, leaned against the door. Then she did something she had never done in her entire life. She turned the lock on the door so no one could enter while she was sleeping.
The next morning, Dr. Engle sent a nurse to pick Augusta up. Augusta seemed to have anticipated it and had a small bag packed for the trip. She looked briefly at her eldest daughter and left without a word.
Audrey explained to Frances that their mother was to be looked at by a very nice doctor who would make her better. The young girl did not seem worried, as she trusted Audrey completely. They hurried to the classroom for the day’s events, and everything was fine until they went for their midday meal.
Normally, she sat with the other staff while she ate. She would sit with Joseph and Levi and listen to their gossip. When Frances came to live with her, she and her sister would sit away from the other staff and eat alone. Today, as they joined the staff and took their seats at the end of the table, a hush fell upon everyone.
She looked down the long table and saw the same people she always saw. Matron looking very stern and serious while Master read the Bible between bites. The chaplain stared at her from over his spectacles as if he were condemning her, and the quirky doctor looked in her direction. She saw Levi and Joseph at the end of the table speaking and glancing in her direction.
She had the sense that she had something to do with the hush that had fallen over the staff.
She looked across at Frances, but she was oblivious. She had already begun to eat her cooked meat and potatoes. Audrey picked at her own food and then blanched. Had someone at the concert seen her with Henry? Had they seen their exchange in the dark hallway? She blushed lightly, turning her head away. She could still feel his arms encircling her as his mouth touched hers. She felt dizzy even thinking about it now.
She watched as Matron finished everything on her plate and then pushed it away from her and stood up. She looked once at Audrey, narrowed her eyes, and then left the dining hall. The chaplain, who she rarely interacted with, came near her and rested his hand on her shoulder.
“I shall pray for you,” he said before leavi
ng.
Dear God! Someone had seen her and Henry in the hallway, and now she was the gossip on all their tongues. She felt sick.
“I’m going to go in the yard and play,” Frances told her, and she watched her sister leave.
A minute later Joseph joined her. “Countess,” he said as he sat across from her.
“Hello, Joseph.”
“The mood is not so light here,” he told her.
“Am I who everyone is talking about?” she asked, and he shrugged. Audrey glanced at those remaining and found herself growing angry. What right did they have to gossip about her and Henry? It was a kiss, nothing more.
“I won’t lie and sugar coat it,” he told her. “I’m sorry for you. Truly.”
“Sorry for me? Why are you sorry for me?” she said indignantly.
He shook his head. “I was there. I saw it firsthand. It wasn’t good.”
Audrey’s heart dropped. “You saw it? You were there?”
“Yes. I was in the audience. I thought you saw me.”
“I did.”
“She made quite the scene. I felt bad for old Ryland. She kept her wits about her, but your mother was—”
“My mother?” Audrey asked and then it came to her. Everyone wasn’t talking about a kiss. Joseph had witnessed the scene with her mother and blabbed about it to everyone. “Did you need to tell everyone, Joseph? That’s not a good friend.”
He was quiet for a moment and then sat back. “I didn’t tell anyone, Audrey. Most of the staff were there. Everyone saw her outburst.”
“The staff was there?” she whispered, horrified.
“I think everyone was there.”
“I’m sorry. Sorry for thinking you had told everyone about it.”
She was relieved that she and Henry were not the subject everyone was talking about. But the more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. It must have been much worse than Frances had told her. After all, a young girl probably thought the scene with her mother had been silly and odd. To everyone else, it had been an older woman making a scene over some phantom while Theodocia had to calm her down.
“Was… was it very bad?” Audrey asked him, afraid of the answer.