Among the Darkness Stirs

“But, yes! A lady’s maid today, tomorrow she might take up typing or take a secretarial class. French is the beginning. Oui?” he asked her.

Audrey smiled then. “Oui, doctor.”

“I must dash. Take care, Ms. Wakefield,” he said and left her alone in the courtyard.

Audrey thought on his words. French might well be something frivolous to teach the students, but it could open up doorways to something better for the girls and boys.

Out in the courtyard, the autumn air was brisk, and she saw the children playing, her sister among them. The sight of Frances playing hopscotch did her heart good. She wanted to know that the death of their father and their mother’s strange behavior didn’t upset her. She wanted Frances to have a happy childhood and be a young woman who could do what she wished in life.

“Miss.” A young boy came up to her and handed her a note. “This was delivered for you.”

She thanked the boy and recognized Henry’s handwriting. The note said simply, “Bring the diary to the house tonight.”

A sense of pleasure coursed through her at the thought of spending an evening with the Rylands and their delicious food.

Chapter Twenty

Frances and Theodocia played another card game while Audrey and Henry remained at the dining room table, papers scattered about.

“I managed to get the last four years of inmates,” he said as she pulled the diary from her purse.

“Excellent,” she said.

He pulled out several pieces of paper and suggested they transfer all the numbers and initials to it from the diary to make it easier to view. He quickly transposed the lists and then pulled the first volume of inmates to him. “I’ll take this one, you take the next.”

Audrey did as he bid. “What are we looking for?”

“The diary has the initials. Look in the inmate ledger for initials that match the ones in the diary. Write the full name next to it.”

“That could be a huge list!” she said.

Henry shrugged. “Could be. But that’s all we have now.”

She heaved a sigh. “It’s a starting point.”

They both took a ledger and began comparing the initials in the diary to the inmate names and writing them down. They worked quietly side by side until Theodocia joined them.

“I’m going to have Cook make some hot chocolate for Frances. Would either of you like some? Or coffee, tea?” Theodocia asked.

“Coffee, Mother. Thank you,” Henry said.

“You’ll spoil her, Thea,” Audrey said, using the nickname the older woman had told her to use.

“Nonsense, Audrey,” came the reply. “She’s sweet as pie and needs coddling.”

“Coffee for me as well. Thank you.”

Theodocia rang for the parlor maid, who listened to her instructions and turned away. Returning to her card game, she sat with Frances. The young girl looked at the couple engrossed in their work at the dining room table before turning back to Theodocia.

“He likes her very much, doesn’t he, Thea Dee?” she asked, calling her the nickname she had given Theodocia. “He’s always looking at her.”

Theodocia looked indulgently at the young girl. “He is always looking at her, isn’t he?”

“She likes him, too,” Frances remarked.

“Does she? How can you tell?” Theodocia asked.

The young girl shrugged. “She smiles a lot when he’s around. She seems happy.”