Unholy Nights: A Twisted Christmas Anthology (41 page)

It was all Elizabeth could do to not roll her eyes. She would not let Anne’s antics ruffle her, at least outwardly. “What could have made that crash?”

“One of the Egyptian vases in the entry was knocked over and is now in about a thousand pieces.”  Edward shrugged his shoulders. “It was probably one of the house cats.”

“Drat those animals” Mr. Oxley wheezed, seemingly overtaxed with the exercise of crossing from one end of the manor to another.

“Better cats than rats, Oxley,” Sebastian chimed in cheerfully. He carefully untangled himself from Anne’s clutch and transferred her to Mariah. 

Elizabeth could not help but be pleased at the move. “I am sorry you had to run all the way over here, but thank you for coming to our rescue.”

“It was not a problem.” Edward said in a distracted manner as he searched his pockets for a handkerchief which he handed to Anne. She was still crying and he was obviously uncomfortable with her display.

Sebastian leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Seeing you in your dressing gown and plaited hair was entirely worth the effort.” 

His breath was warm against her neck and Elizabeth felt the heat of blush rising on her cheeks. She carefully stepped aside hoping that nobody had noticed. He really had no care for propriety. The last thing she needed was to fuel Anne’s animosity toward her. The girl clearly had an infatuation with him.

Elizabeth did not respond to his remark. “I think we should all return to our rooms, should we not? Miss Easterly, have you recovered from your fright?”

Anne looked as if she was disappointed that their middle of the night engagement was coming to an end, but nodded reluctantly. “Yes, yes, I think we shall manage.”

“I am happy to hear it.” Edward looked relieved her tears had stopped flowing. 

Goodnights were exchanged all around and Elizabeth stepped back into the safety of her room.  Sebastian’s words still clung in her mind. Was he playing with her or was there sincerity in his advances?  Who was she kidding? He was probably just looking for some sort of holiday dalliance, and who better to have it with than the unchaperoned widow. He couldn’t very well seduce one of the Easterly sisters and get away with it. She could not deny he did look very well in his unkempt state. Perhaps a fling would not be such a terrible thing. It’s not like she would ever find the kind of love she had shared with her husband.  The truth was that most people didn’t find it once let alone twice in a lifetime.

Elizabeth walked over to the windows, pushed aside the heavy curtains and peered out into the darkness. She had no idea what time it was, but the dawn hadn’t yet broken over the horizon. Moonlight illuminated the scraggly trees in orchard below, casting shadows that danced with each gust of wind. A form caught her eye, moving along on the stone pathway that ran around the garden they had visited earlier. She leaned down and blew out her candle to get a clearer view, but when she looked up the form was gone and only darkness remained. All this talk of ghosts and now here she was, for the second night in a row seeing things she could not explain. It was probably a farm hand up early.  Elizabeth yawned and pulled the curtains snuggly back together. Sleep was finally calling her and she was ready to oblige.

CHAPTER 5

By the time Lucy arrived the next morning with her chocolate, Elizabeth was already up writing a letter to her sisters. With their bit of excitement over the vase, she felt fatigued and the general feeling of homesickness was getting to her. She had never spent Christmas Eve without her immediate family.

“Good Morning Lady Elizabeth. Did you sleep well?” Lucy set the cup down on the desk.

Elizabeth picked up the cup and let it warm her hands. “Terribly; did you not hear the racket?”

“It is very well insulated upstairs so no, but I heard from one of the housemaids that one of those great vases fell over in the entryway in the middle of the night. It was quite a mess apparently.” She eyed Elizabeth critically, “I hope you did not go chasing after noises last night.”

“No, no, of course not. I hardly stepped out of my door, but I could not stay put with Miss Easterly shrieking at the top of her lungs and rambling on about ghosts.” Elizabeth had no interest in going over all the particulars of what had happened last night. It was all innocent enough.

“I told you this placed was haunted.” Lucy crossed herself, and put her hands on her hips. “Perhaps we should go home.”

“We are staying until the Twelfth Night Lucy.” Elizabeth replied firmly. Honestly she wanted nothing more than to run home, but it would just give her family another reason to order her about—and Lady Allen was so pleased to have her company.  Not to mention that she had promised to help the blonde maid.  No, running away was not a choice. “Have you spoken with a young housemaid called Mary?”

“No, I have not.” Lucy frowned. “There are a great many housemaids in this place.”

“I suppose so.” Elizabeth set down the cup and walked over to the wardrobe. She had to figure out how to keep her promise to the maid, but at the moment, she needed to get dressed and join the rest of the party downstairs. “I shall need my riding habit today.”

Lucy helped her into her clothing and styled her hair into a becoming twist.  She pinned in place her matching hat and observed herself in the mirror. The camel-colored jacket was cut very close and flattered her figure nicely. She did not have the curves of the Easterly sister, but she wasn’t skinny either. She could not help but wonder what sort of figure Captain Wolfe preferred before she forced herself to stop. His opinion was of little importance to her.

Elizabeth marched down toward the breakfast room eager to get on with the day. Groomsmen were hanging boughs of greenery about the main rooms of the house and the smell was delicious.  It was the powerful sappy aroma that seemed forever intertwined with Christmas. This time, the table was not so crowded. Edward sat with Captain Wolfe and Lord and Lady Allen sat pouring over their respective papers, but the Easterly sisters and Mr. Oxley were absent.

Edward looked up as she walked in. “Good morning Lady Elizabeth, I hope you slept well after all the commotion last night. You’ve just missed Miss Easterly and Miss Mariah. Oxley’s taken them into town.”

Elizabeth was relieved they’d gone. It had occurred to her that they might just invite themselves along for riding and the last thing she wanted was to be stuck alone with Captain Wolfe and Anne Easterly. “I am so sorry I’ve missed them.”

“You are nothing of the sort.” Sebastian jabbed at a piece of cold ham with his fork. “It is too early in the day for play acting. Now go pour yourself a cup of tea.”

She was speechless for a moment. Did this man ever stop being so ill-mannered? “It is too early in the day for your frightful manners, Captain Wolfe, so please try to keep your opinions of my statements private. Now I shall have a cup of tea but not because you command me to do so.”

“She certainly put you in your place Wolfe. Are you sure you want to venture out into the countryside alone with her?” Edward teased.

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll survive.” He said easily returning to his breakfast.

Elizabeth walked over to the sideboard still fuming. She reached for a cup and set it heavily on the worn wood surface. If she wasn’t so eager to get out of the house for a bit she might march right back to her room.  She looked back at the table. Sebastian sat there, handsome as ever, seemingly oblivious to the irritation he caused her. She turned back to her tea to find the blonde maid before her. She smiled warmly at Elizabeth and poured her tea before hurrying back through the door to the hall. That girl really was light on her feet. Elizabeth hadn’t even heard her walk up.

A tinge of guilt crept into her chest. She hadn’t spent a moment thinking about how she would help poor Mary have her meeting. The Twelfth Night was still a ways off, but she really needed to come up with a plan. Perhaps she could find out a little more about the Wassailing from Captain Wolfe on their ride. He seemed to be intimately involved in the scheme.

Edward rose and picked up his copy of
The Times
. “Well, I’ve got some correspondence to attend to. Try not to get lost out there Wolfe. I’d prefer not to lead up a search party on Christmas Eve.”

Sebastian looked over at Elizabeth and her pristine costume. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry Darling.  We may not make it past the gardens.”

Edward smiled and said nothing before turning to leave. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, but held her tongue. So he thought she was too meek to ride away from the grounds? She was an excellent horsewoman and used to spent hours riding back home with her older brothers. She would show Captain Wolfe just how wrong he was about her.

CHAPTER 6

Elizabeth held on tight as the groom lifted her up on to an attractive grey mare. She longed for her horse back home who knew her every signal, but she would just have to make the best of it. When she married John, her father had given her the horse knowing her affection for it, and she still rode him as often as she could. She settled in to the side saddle and smoothed out her skirts. She may not be able to gallop off into the forest like a man riding astride, but she would not meekly walk about the lawn either.

“You’ve been about the estate Captain Wolfe. Where shall we head?” Elizabeth picked up her reins.

He studied her for a moment and gestured toward the apple trees. “There’s a nice path through the orchard if you are up for it?”

She flashed her green eyes at him and tugged on her reins, sending her horse into a quick trot toward the path. The cool air stung her face and she could already feel her dark hair escaping Lucy’s neat twist.  Hopefully her hat would keep it mostly in place. She turned to see Captain Wolfe just a few lengths back, a smile breaking across his face. 

They reached the path which was rather wide, and he pulled up next to her. “You surprise me Lady Elizabeth.”

“Did you suppose that I would have you escort me in a circle around the lawn?” Elizabeth held up her chin and urged forward her horse. “Why is it that you always seem to assume the worst about me?”

“It is not that I assume the worst about you,” he paused, his brown eyes thoughtful, “but generally ladies of your breeding live up to certain expectations.”

He was so talented at delivering insults. “I am not a horse Captain Wolfe so don’t speak to me of breeding.”

Sebastian sighed, “Can we just walk in peace for a little while? You can be exhausting, you know.”

Elizabeth slowly exhaled. Was she being difficult? More than one person had accused her of ‘being difficult’ ever since she lost John—mostly her family. Perhaps she should just let his remarks go and see if she could learn something useful from him instead. “Do you know much about this Wassailing nonsense everyone is speaking of?”

“Ah yes, we shall get drunk on cider, wander the local orchards and scare away the evil spirits with our incantations and guns.” He turned to her. “What else?”

“But how does this mob decide where to go?” she tried to seem disinterested. “I mean, there are so many orchards in the area.”

“Well, there are only a few big estates close enough to the town to visit and its customary to stop at each, starting with old Hartwell’s place and ending at Ashbourn Abbey. Scarsbury is usually the third stop with a visit to the big old apple tree near the garden. Why are you so interested?” His look held a bit of a challenge. “Will you be joining the party?”

“I shall come to watch when the crowd arrives at Scarsbury.” She met his gaze directly. “Did you think I would miss it? Our very own Miss Easterly has told me all about it.”

“I had not slated you as the traipsing-through-the-orchard type and yes—Miss Easterly is quite a fan of the event.”

“So it appears.” Elizabeth lapsed into silence for a moment before broaching a new subject, “What do you think of the situation with the vase last night?  I can’t believe a poor house cat is really responsible.  It looked rather heavy.”

The trail narrowed a bit and he slowed to let her go ahead, “A servant I’d guess. Too much drink, that sort of thing. You don’t believe in ghosts do you?”

“Of course not.” Elizabeth paused thinking of Mary’s Tom, of her own John. “But I will allow for the occasional spirit.” The trail widened and Sebastian pulled up next to her once again. His expression softened as if he could see into her mind, “They are all around us I believe. I was very shocked when I heard of John’s passing. I had not seen him in years, but he was the one friend who always remained steadfast—and Edward of course.” 

“He was the best.” Elizabeth said simply.  Her eyes burned as tears welled up, a drop escaping down her cheek. She didn’t like to talk about him, it was still too painful, but somehow she felt an openness with Sebastian. “I still can’t see my future without him, but life marches on, does it not?”

“It does indeed.” He replied quietly. “I did not mean to upset you, Lady Elizabeth.”

“I am fine—a bit of dust is all.” She brushed away the tear and forced a smile, “We must hurry back as I’ve promised Lady Allen I’d help with the arrangements for the table and I would hate to disappoint her.”

“As you wish.” His eyes still held a curious look but he did not press her. “Shall we race?”

It did not take long to get back to the house and change out of her riding habit, but despite hurrying she was still last to arrive for tea.  A cool pair of dark eyes greeted Elizabeth when she walked into the parlor. Anne Easterly sat very close to Captain Wolfe on the sofa, pouring him a cup of tea. She dropped two lumps of sugar in his cup. “Just as you prefer it, Captain.”

The look of irritation on his face was plain. “Actually I prefer my tea without sugar, Miss Easterly.”

She handed him the sweetened cup unfazed by his rebuke. “Good afternoon Lady Elizabeth.” Anne surveyed her slowly, her eyebrows raised. “You look rather wind-blown.”

“I had a lovely ride and it quite invigorated me. It would be so wretched to always keep to the indoors for fear of exposure to the elements, would it not?” Elizabeth didn’t wait for a reply but sat opposite the pair next to Lady Allen and poured herself a cup of tea. Her dislike for Anne Easterly seemed to grow with each encounter. “Do tell me Lady Allen, can we still help with the centerpieces?”