Among the Darkness Stirs

He eyed her. “Very well, my dear. I’ll see you at supper.”

She watched him leave the classroom and felt herself grow cold. The morbid sheets of paper that the doctor had seen on her desk, the names of the dead as he had told her, was the list of initials and names she and Henry had worked on the night before.

Audrey didn’t want to barge into the Ryland house like a poor relation. In the end, she sent Henry a note asking him to come see her that evening if possible. When she heard the cottage gate creak open, she was relieved that he had finally arrived. When she opened the door, it wasn’t Henry but Joseph on her doorstep.

“Hello, countess,” Joseph said in greeting.

“Joseph,” she said, breathless and surprised.

He gestured to the door. “May I come in?”

“Of course.” She glanced around, looking past him for Henry, but he was alone.

He followed her gaze. “Are you expecting someone?”

She licked her lips. “I am, but please, come in.”

Joseph entered the drawing room off the foyer. He was dressed simply in trousers, a vest, and a coat. His hair was disheveled.

“Can I get you some tea?” she asked.

“No. I’m fine.” He removed his cap and held it lightly in his hands.

She waited to see what had brought him to her cottage. He had never done so before. “Is there something wrong? Something you need to tell me?”

Joseph was quiet for a moment and then spoke. “I wanted to make sure you were all right. Your mother as well. I know things have been difficult for you.”

Audrey felt a surge of gratitude. “That’s kind of you. It has been difficult, but I hope things

will be better in time.”

He glanced around. “Do you like the cottage? I painted it myself,” he told her proudly.

That surprised her. “Did you? You never said.”

He shrugged. “I heard your mother saying some wild things that night at the concert. She was talking about a man. A shadow man. What do you think she meant by that?”

“I have no idea. I thought she might be losing her faculties,” she admitted honestly.

He studied her closely in a way that made her squirm a little. “It could be she’s imagining things.”

Audrey shrugged. “That might be it.”

“Well, I shouldn’t take up any more of your time. I merely wanted to check on you,” he said kindly.

“Thank you, Joseph. I appreciate it.”

“Good night then,” he said, leaving the cottage.

Audrey was biting on her thumbnail when another knock fell upon the door. She opened it to admit Henry dressed in a dark suit and coat. He placed his Derby hat on the foyer table.

“Did I see Joseph Caldwell leaving your cottage?” he asked, frowning.

“Yes. I opened the door thinking it was you and found him on my doorstep,” she told him.

“Why was he here?” he asked her.

“He seemed to be concerned about me and my mother.”