The sound of footfalls from the opposite direction ushered her toward the stairs. Melody took them two at a time, holding her dress up as she went, then ducked into an alcove at the top of the landing. Someone passed through the foyer, but she couldn’t see who. Once the sun went down, the whole manor was just too dimly lit.
No wonder why everyone goes to bed so early, she thought. This place is gloomy at night.
She took the opposite hallway from the one where their own rooms were located. It was as good a place to start as any. The first two doors were locked, but the third opened into a small bedchamber with three separate beds pushed into the corners. Two of them were covered in mosquito netting.
Melody stepped inside. Instantly her nose wrinkled from some kind of sour, acrid smell.
“It smells like sweat and old socks,” she whispered to herself. It was an old trick she’d used as a child; talking to herself to calm her nerves. “The air practically tastes like it!”
She searched the room quickly and efficiently, being careful not to touch the bedding itself. The linens were dirty, and stained with colors that made her look away. The drawers of the single dresser had nothing in them. The chamberpot was also thankfully empty.
Creeping quietly, she made her way to the next room. And the next after that. The third room had an unlocked trunk that provided a few moments of excitement for her. Inside however, she found only clothes and belts and shoes. All period. All worn down and well-used, almost to the point of failure.
Eventually she heard noises from downstairs. Dinner was breaking up. Eric would sneak up here and join her when he could, and that would help things along. But for now…
For now she had to be careful.
The fourth bedroom had no beds. Inside, Melody found a fantastic spinning wheel and a single chair. She was still examining the worn piece of history when she heard voices, then footsteps coming down the hall.
Hide!
The only problem was there was no place to hide. For lack of anything else, she crouched down behind the spinning wheel. It concealed her miserably. Even a child could find her like this.
Lady Neveux, her mind registered. If you want to find the egg, you need to find her! The rest of these rooms are bullshit.
Melody sat quietly for a few minutes, just listening, running her hand admiringly over the smooth surface of the wheel. Eventually the noises stopped. The hallway went silent again.
You have to—
The door to the room opened. Her heart caught in her throat…
17
Melody sat frozen, only half-concealed, watching as a lone pair of man’s boots stepped into the room. The door closed behind him, and for a moment he just stood there, staring straight ahead. Not moving. Not seeing…
Lurch!
She stopped breathing altogether. The huge man was motionless, his extraordinarily long arms dangling down near his knees. For a minute she was afraid to look at his face, to see his expression, as if that one little act would cause him to glance at her. But instead of seeing her, which he certainly should have, Lurch instead turned his attention to the other side of the room.
He walked with slow, heavy footsteps over to the room’s small fireplace. There he stopped, knelt down, and drew a match from a wall-mounted match safe.
He tried lighting the match. It didn’t catch.
I’ve got to get out of here…
The man’s back was to her now. Melody considered crossing the room, both silently and quickly. She could pull one off for sure, but the problem was she didn’t think she could do both.
Just go now. Before he sees you!
For some reason she didn’t move. She sat watching the man continue lighting matches — or rather, not lighting matches — in an attempt to get the fire going. The fear drained away. It was replaced by curiosity.
Has he ever even done this before?
Match after match, the fire refused to light. Lurch couldn’t even get a flame going. And then she saw why.
You should help him.
The thought made her gasp. Physically, actually gasp. Melody clamped a hand over her own mouth as Lurch’s ears pricked up. He cocked his head slightly, but still didn’t turn around.