Authors: Saralynn Hoyt
"Mama." Alice’s weak voice brought both women to
her side. "I’m thirsty."
"Hello, Alice, darling," Cassie said, handing the
water to Sabrina. "Madame Lou asked me to come see you."
"I want to meet her," Alice said between sips of
water. "I want to tell her about Mrs. Northcliffe."
"Oh, she knows," Cassie reassured the little girl,
stroking her forehead. "But maybe when you’re feeling better, your mama
will bring you by the tearoom."
"Can we, Mama, please?"
"Of course, dear heart," Sabrina said, gently
brushing Alice’s hair away from her face. "I suppose I’m going to have to
start believing in ghosts if I want to be friends with you two."
"They prefer to be called spirits," Cassie
corrected her. "And they exist whether anyone accepts it or not."
Sabrina didn’t know how to respond to that. Obviously Miss
Blakemore took this mystical thing quite seriously. She was saved from
commenting when Missy reentered the room with a tray of tiny cakes, tea and
delicate sandwiches.
"You must be ravenous," Cassie said, filling her
own plate with treats. "What about you, Miss Alice? Has your appetite
returned yet?"
"I would like a cake, please," the little girl
said hopefully.
"Praise be, the child wants food. Although I don’t
think sugar is what she needs to build back her strength, it will do for now."
Cassie put a lemon cake on a plate and began feeding small bites to Alice.
Sabrina was grateful for the respite. She sat back on a cushion
and allowed Miss Blakemore to take control for a while. She tried to listen to
the two of them talking about the spirits of Mrs. Northcliffe and Edward, but
her mind kept drifting back to that kiss. She must have fallen asleep and
somehow managed to lie down on top of Ford. It surprised her at how perfectly
she fit into his arms and how their legs entangled so comfortably. She had been
only half asleep when she felt his lips touch hers. A delicious shudder coursed
through her body as she remembered how that first contact had rocked her to her
toes. She couldn’t remember ever having felt such fire when Edward had been making
love to her. No, there hadn’t been any thoughts of Edward to interrupt the
passion that overcame her when Ford tasted her mouth. His hands touched her so
gently at first then with a firm resolve to give her as much pleasure as she
was obviously giving him. The proof of that had been pressing into her soft
flesh, which she had struggled not to caress. Sabrina hadn’t wanted the kiss to
end, and yet when Ford pulled away from her, she wondered if he had even known
what he was doing at the time. He’d looked surprised and confused, and very,
very aroused. Luckily, Alice woke up and called out to her allowing both of
them to have something else to focus on. Being interrupted couldn’t have been more
timely. Another minute longer and Ford would have had her blouse off and there
was no telling how far they would have gone. Still, Sabrina couldn’t help
wishing that she might find herself in such a predicament again. Of course,
that was impossible. She was the employee and he was paying her a salary. That
in itself made the situation completely impractical. But it had been nice, more
than nice, exquisite actually.
Sighing, Sabrina shook off the reverie and tried to listen
to Cassie and Alice’s conversation. At least they had stopped talking about
ghosts. As a matter of fact, they seemed to be discussing her.
"I think Mama will make a pretty bride." Alice was
saying, making Sabrina wish she had been paying attention.
"Yes, I see her in something with a square neckline and
fresh flowers in her hair," Cassie added, munching on a sandwich while
feeding Alice more cake simultaneously.
"What would make you two come up with such nonsense,"
Sabrina asked, looking at them with a frown.
"Oh, it’s not us," Alice said, yawning. "Papa
and Mrs. Northcliffe told me that you are going to marry—"
"Okay, I think we’ve had enough visiting and cake for
one day." Sabrina put an end to the conversation knowing where this was
leading. Ghosts and matchmaking, indeed. "You, young lady are exhausted
and I’m sure Miss Blakemore has other clients she needs to attend to."
"Your mother is quite right," Cassie said with a
wink to little Alice. "Get some rest so you can come visit me and Madame
Lou very soon."
"Okay," Alice yawned again. She waved and then
closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.
"I hope I didn’t wear her out," Cassie said
apologetically. "But she did seem to enjoy the diversion."
"Yes, I’m very grateful for your friendship, Cassie. We
both are."
The two women went into the sitting room, carrying the tea
and food trays with them. Cassie poured herself a fresh cup of the tea and
added both cream and sugar.
"You do realize that Mr. Northcliffe probably saved
Alice’s life, don’t you?"
"More than that," Sabrina said, sipping her tea. "He
discovered a cure for influenza. He’s an amazing scientist and doctor."
"But?" Cassie asked, indicating she had noticed
Sabrina’s hesitation.
"But he’ll never get the recognition he deserves."
Sabrina sighed, putting down her cup and burying her face in her hands. "He’s
such a good man, and no one will ever know how much he can offer the world."
"Ahh, but you know. And Alice knows. And all the staff
here and probably a few of his friends." Cassie reached over and took Sabrina’s
hand. "We know, and that’s all that really matters. Don’t you think?"
Sabrina sniffled, keeping her tears somewhat in check. She
was very emotional after the last few days of stress. "It will have to do,"
she replied. "I just wish there was some way I could repay him for saving
Alice’s life. And for being so steady and brave, really keeping me from going
mad and probably developing a nervous condition."
"Oh, don’t you worry about that," Cassie said with
supreme confidence. "He’ll get everything he deserves."
Sabrina looked at Cassie as the young woman stood to go.
That was an odd comment to make, she thought. But of course Miss Blakemore was
full of oddities, including her penchant for psychics and a little girl’s
imaginings.
"I’ll check back in to see how Alice is doing in a few
days, with your permission, of course."
"Please do," Sabrina said. "Can you see your
own way out? I don’t want to leave her."
"I wouldn’t have it any other way." Cassie gave
Sabrina a quick hug, and then was gone.
For the next three days, Sabrina watched over Alice, who
grew stronger by the hour, and waited for Ford to make an appearance. By the
evening of the third day, Sabrina was beginning to wonder if he was
deliberately avoiding her.
"Have you seen Mr. Northcliffe recently?" she
asked first Roland, then Mrs. Dixon.
"He hasn’t eaten a bite of the food I’ve been sending
to him," Delores confided.
"I believe he’s working on something very important,"
Roland added. "He hasn’t left the laboratory since Miss Alice recovered. I
think he’s writing it all down in his diary."
"Well, someone needs to check on him." Sabrina
looked between the butler and the cook and realized that neither was going to
volunteer. "Where is Freddy McMurtry?"
"Mr. Northcliffe’s valet?" Roland seemed surprised
that she would ask for the lad. "He’s probably upstairs, waiting for the
master to show up. The silly boy sits there for hours waiting for the man. And
when Mr. Northcliffe doesn’t show, Freddy either falls asleep or wanders off to
the stables."
"Will you check for me?" Sabrina begged Roland.
She had found over the last few days that the butler couldn’t seem to resist
her when she batted her eyes at him and played helpless.
"Of course, my lady—I mean Mrs. Tremaine."
Sabrina wasn’t the only one who noticed the butler’s slip of
the tongue. Delores couldn’t meet her eye as she put a tray together for
Alice’s supper.
"I realize that my position here is a bit confusing,"
she said, looking for the right words to fill the awkward silence.
"Now don’t you be worrying about such things."
Delores assured her. "We all think of you as the lady of the house here,
and maybe someday, you will be for real. But in the meantime, a few of us can’t
help but naturally think of you that way. And Miss Alice says it’s to be so,
eventually. Besides the two of you just look so right together."
Sabrina was speechless. How did one counter such a
statement? Especially when one’s own child had deemed it to be so. Thankfully
Mrs. Dixon didn’t allow her to get a word in anyway.
"I’ll take this up to the girl," she said, adding
a slice of Alice’s favorite cake to the tray. "Her appetite has come back
voraciously today. Makes an old woman happy to serve, it does."
Sabrina almost laughed. Alice was feeling much better and
she expected the little girl would be out of bed in another day. With all the
servants at her beck and call, she had no worries for the her child’s safety or
entertainment. Cassie had come to visit again this afternoon, and she promised
to come at least every other day to keep Alice company. Sabrina was eternally
grateful for all her new friends and how close everyone had become. The only
snag in her fabric of happiness, was that Ford had disappeared and hadn’t made
any contact with her in days. She was beginning to wonder if she had mistaken
his response to their kiss and he had actually been repelled by it. But that
made no sense, she thought recalling his obvious arousal. He had enjoyed their
stolen moment as much, maybe even more, than she had. So where was he, and why
hadn’t he tried to seek her out for a private word? Either to apologize or to
continue their flirtation, she didn’t care. Sabrina just wanted to see the man.
She wanted to look upon his handsome face and remember how sweet his mouth
tasted, how strong and warm his hands felt on her tender flesh, and to remember
how much she wanted to continue with their intimate explorations.
Freddy appeared in the kitchen a few moments later, ready to
do her bidding.
"I need you to check on Mr. Northcliffe. Roland seems
to think he’s in his laboratory." Sabrina didn’t want to appear overly
eager to find Ford, otherwise she would have sought him out herself. "Just
see that he eats something and is getting his rest."
The valet shuffled his feet and refused to look her in the
eye, "I’m not going down there."
"Why ever not?" Sabrina asked, trying to hang onto
her temper with the young man.
"Me sister read that ‘orrible penny dreadful to me and
me brothers," Freddy said with a visible shudder.
"What book are you talking about?" Sabrina was
utterly confused by this turn of conversation, but she felt it must be
important or the lad wouldn’t have mentioned it.
"You know, the one that lady wrote."
Exasperated, Sabrina shook her head. "I’m afraid I
don’t know—unless, you don’t mean
Frankenstein
or
The
Modern Prometheus
, do you?"
"That’s the one!"
"Freddy, Mr. Northcliffe is not Doctor Frankenstein.
His laboratory is perfectly harmless. Really," she tried again to reassure
the valet even as he stubbornly stood his ground. "I’ve been down there
myself. A few mice and some plants, I promise, that is all there is."
"No, ma’am," Freddy said, backing toward the alley
door. "If it’s so safe, then maybe you ought to go down there yourself,
then."
He was gone before Sabrina could come up with a reason that
she couldn’t seek out Ford in his laboratory. But unfortunately, she couldn’t
tell the staff that she was embarrassed to face the man. Well, bollocks! It
looked as though she would have to go find him anyway. Gathering her dignity,
Sabrina made her way down the small flight of stairs to what must have once
been the dungeon, but now served as Ford’s scientific study. No wonder Freddy
was terrified.
"Mr. Northcliffe," she called under her breath.
She didn’t think she should call him Ford again unless he asked her to. "Are
you planning on coming out of there soon? The staff is concerned about your
well-being."
When she finally reached the entrance to the room, she
discovered that Ford was busy writing at his desk. She approached quietly, not
wanting to disturb him at work. After a minute or two he finally looked up and
saw her standing there. He looked startled, as if he hadn’t even heard her
approach. With one hand he removed his spectacles and with the other he
massaged the bridge of his nose. It was an endearing gesture and Sabrina longed
to kiss the crease from his brow and to soothe the strain she saw in his light amber
eyes.
"Sabrina." He said her name like a sigh, and then
gave her a weak smile. "I didn’t want to forget anything. If only I could
get other scientists to see what I’ve done here, maybe we could find cures for
many diseases. I’ve been trying to find a way to explain in a scientific way,
how Chinese herbology works. But the right words continue to evade me."
"You’re exhausted." Sabrina said taking in the
dark circles under his eyes and the slight tremor of his hands. "Mrs.
Dixon says you haven’t eaten in days. I assume you haven’t slept either? And
you look pale, Ford. Please come upstairs and go to bed." Sabrina felt the
blush engulf her after she realized the implications of what she had just said.
"I mean, you need to get some rest."
"You called me Ford," he said with that little boy
smile that melted her insides. "Does that mean you forgive me for taking
advantage of you before?"
"Really, Mr. Northcliffe," Sabrina replied, trying
to cover up her growing embarrassment. "You don’t know what you’re saying.
Let me have Freddy run you a bath, and Mrs. Dixon can send a tray up to your
room. You must keep up your strength if you intend to convince others of your
success."
Ford let out a sigh. "I see we’re back to formalities,
then. Well, you are right, Mrs. Tremaine, I feel like I could sleep for a week."