Addie rubbed her tired eyes. All she wanted was to fall into bed, though she’d required the assistance of a chambermaid to find the way back to her room after dinner.
“Here you be, Miss,” Sally said. She appeared to be about Addie’s age. Combs held her wispy blonde hair to her head under the white cap.
“Thank you, Sally. This place is so big and intimidating. So are the people. Have you enjoyed working for the Eaton family? I’m not sure what to expect.”
Sally ducked her head. “They be nice enough. Generous too.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Two years, Miss.”
“Do you have time off? I’m not sure how much to request. This is my first employment experience.”
“Thursdays be my day off. So you’ll be a servant, Miss? Not a guest?”
“I’m Edward’s new governess.”
“A working woman like you, you should come to the suffrage meeting next week!” Sally smiled as she warmed to her subject. “We be so close to getting the vote!”
Addie hadn’t heard much of political issues at the lighthouse. “I might do that.” Lieutenant North’s penetrating gaze seared her memory. “Do you see much of Lieutenant North?”
Sally shook her head. “He be gone most of the time on his ship.” A smile played at her lips, “Lawdy, he be handsome. Those eyes.” She sighed. “But don’t be setting your cap for him, Miss. Mr. Eaton discourages mingling between the family and the likes of us.”
Addie nodded, but her mind churned. Maybe when her real identity came out, her father would look kindly on a match. If the handsome lieutenant would deign to notice her.
Addie worked to feel more at home in the first two days. The meals still baffled her, but Edward was a delightful boy, inquisitive and energetic, though a trifle spoiled. He responded well to correction and had a quick mind. They hadn’t started lessons, as she wanted to assess his needs. The real problem was his father. Addie admitted to herself that she was more intrigued with getting to know her employer than with her real reason for coming here. She needed to focus on the goal.
And yet, Mr. Driscoll had told her his Pinkerton agent was on the case. They’d soon have proof enough to tell the family of her true identity. Addie longed to see her father’s reaction to her reappearance, but she had to remind herself that patience was a virtue God was cultivating in her.
After lunch Wednesday, while the nurse took charge of Edward for his nap, Addie grabbed a book from her room, then slipped outside with Gideon. The mighty coastal redwoods towered over the impressive mansion. She picked up her skirts and ran for their cool serenity behind the manor. Moss clung to the rocks along the path that led into the dimness of the forest, and she breathed in the moist freshness.
She paused where a shaft of sunlight slanted through the canopy of giant trees. A faint impression in the moss and vegetation led her along, and she began to hear the sound of running water. She followed it and came to a waterfall. This must be the Mercy Falls that the town was named for. The falls towered a hundred feet over her head, then thundered into the clear pool. Breathtaking. Gideon immediately plunged into the water.
A flat rock called to her, and she sank onto its gray surface. Prayer would calm her. She let the beauty of the waterfall and forest surround her and lifted her spirit to the Lord. She murmured the words to the Twenty-third Psalm, and peace reigned over the chaos she’d been feeling.
Her calm restored, she flipped open her book of Elizabeth Barrett Browning poetry. The pages fell open to “A Man’s Requirements.” Though she’d read it many times, this time she understood the words. She pondered the first stanza.
Love me Sweet, with all thou art,
Feeling, thinking, seeing;
Love me in the lightest part,
Love me in full being.
It explained exactly how she’d felt the moment she saw John North. Every innermost thought of her heart had been ready to spill from her soul into his ears. Every moment of the past two days that she’d spent in his presence had deepened her fascination with him. She found herself watching for him every moment and waiting for him to arrive home when he was gone. When his dark eyes turned her way, heat enveloped her.
Her head ached, and she took the combs from her hair and shook it loose to her shoulders. She uncapped her fountain pen and jotted some thoughts in the margin. They were the silly thoughts of a romantic girl, but she couldn’t help her mooning over him.
“There you are.”
She peered through the gloom to see Lieutenant North walking toward her. Her book fell into the ferns as she scrambled to her feet, smoothing her dress. She grabbed for her hair combs, but there was no time to make herself more presentable. “Is Edward awake already, sir?”
He stopped three feet from her. “He’s napping. You can easily become lost in this forest. Every tree looks alike, and the lighting is poor.”
She felt through the ferns for her book, and her hair fell forward to obscure her face. “I don’t have a very good sense of direction, but I have Gideon.”
“Lost something?”
“My book.” Her cheeks burned when he reached into the ferns and retrieved it.
“Browning?” He flipped it open.
She caught her breath. If he saw what she’d written . . . She held out her hand for the book.
He shut it and handed it back to her. “I haven’t read her since I was in school.”
Her fingers closed around the book, and she clutched it to her chest. Now he’d think her a hopeless romantic and even less capable of caring for his son.
“I also came to discuss Edward’s education with you. How is he doing?”
“Quite well. He’s very bright.”
“Are you going to have the time to devote to him and also see to Clara’s new dress?”
She caught a whiff of his cologne. Something spicy. “Edward is my first priority.”
“Unless Clara begins to demand more of your time.”
Before she could think how to answer his concerns, she heard a scream from the direction of the house. Lieutenant North turned and sprinted back toward the manor, and Addie followed him. The terror in the shriek gave wings to her feet, and she had no trouble keeping up with the man.
A branch from a shrub slapped her in the face, and she shoved it out of the way, but it slowed her down. Lieutenant North disappeared ahead of her. She put on an extra burst of speed but still saw no sign of his back. The scream came again, and the sound galvanized her even more.
She leaped over a rock in her way, but instead of landing on her feet on the other end, something hard hit her back. Her breath whooshed out of her. Her arms pinwheeled out, but the heavy weight bore her to the ground. Her head plowed into the ferns, then her face pressed into moist moss. The fecund scent of the forest filled her head, and she struggled against the weight squeezing the breath from her lungs. A burlap sack smelling of oranges came around her head, and the suffocating darkness gave her new reason to fight. She flailed until someone grabbed her arms.
“Don’t move,” a voice hissed in her ear.
A cold blade touched her throat, and she froze. She didn’t recognize the voice behind the threatening tone. It was a man, but that was all she knew. Calloused hands roped her wrists together behind her back, then the pressure atop her was gone. She heard steps swish through the vegetation. The normal sounds of the forest resumed—birds chirping in the trees and insects humming. She rolled to her back, then sat up. With her hands tied, she had to make two attempts before she gained her feet. The burlap sack was still over her head. She stumbled to a tree, then moved her head against the rough bark until she managed to rub off the offending burlap.
The scent of the forest washed the orange aroma from her nose. She would need help getting the rope off. And what about the scream she’d heard? Gathering her strength, she ran for the house.
The rope chafed her wrists, and Addie was near tears by the time she emerged from the shadows of the redwoods. She stood blinking in the brilliant wash of light until her eyes adjusted, then she started toward the back door of the house. She hurried in case her attacker was still watching. Was someone else hurt? The scream she’d heard reverberated in her head.
“Lieutenant North?” she called.
The backyard appeared empty, but she called again. She longed to have her hands free again and to feel safe. A woodpecker’s rat-a-tattat echoed in the open yard. The sound unnerved her, and she broke into a run. Perspiration moistened her forehead as she rounded the side yard and saw Mr. Driscoll lying on the ground. Mrs. Eaton stood nearby, wringing her hands. Lieutenant North knelt beside Driscoll on his right, and Mr. Eaton was on his knees on Driscoll’s other side. Several servants with pale faces clustered on the porch.
“Lieutenant North?” she said in a faltering voice. “What’s happened?”
Lieutenant North glanced up. “There has been a vicious attack on Walter,” he said. “Someone struck him in the head, then vanished.”
“Will he be all right?”
“The doctor is on his way.”
She drew nearer. “I was also attacked.”
“You are unharmed?”
“Yes, though my hands are tied.” She turned around so he could see her bonds, then faced him again.
Lieutenant North had her turn around, and he struggled with the knot at her wrists. His hands were cool and dry, but her skin tingled where he touched her. Her gaze lingered on Driscoll. The poor man lay motionless and pale on his side. His eyes were closed. She saw no blood, so perhaps the blow was only enough to render him unconscious. Moments later, the rope fell to the ground by Addie’s feet.
“Thank you,” Addie said. She rubbed her wrists and turned back toward the group huddled around Mr. Driscoll. “How badly is he hurt?”
“He hasn’t moved,” Mr. Eaton said.
She inspected Driscoll’s pale face. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Not unless you hold a medical degree,” Lieutenant North said.
“I’ve often tended to shipwreck victims until the doctor arrived,” she said. “I’m quite competent.”
He moved back. “Very well, then.”
She pushed past him and knelt beside the older man. When she touched his face, she found it cold. “He needs a blanket,” she said.
“I’ll get it,” Mrs. Eaton said, rushing for the door as if eager to flee the scene.
She felt along Mr. Driscoll’s head. “There is a lump here,” she said, probing the spot. “He’s bleeding.” She wiped the blood on her fingers onto the grass.
Mr. Driscoll stirred, and she realized he likely felt the pain of having the wound depressed. He moaned and tried to push himself erect.
“Please lie still, sir,” she said.
Mrs. Eaton returned with a quilt in her arms. She tucked it around her brother, then backed away. “Oh dear, where is the doctor?” she muttered.
A horse neighed, and Addie saw a carriage come rushing up the drive. “Is that the doctor?”
“Yes.” Lieutenant North waved to the white-haired man holding the reins. “Here, Dr. Lambertson.”
The man leaped from the seat with a black bag in his hand before the buggy had fully stopped. He wore black pants and a white shirt under a vest. His bowler was askew as if he’d grabbed it and jammed it on his head without looking. “Mr. Driscoll was attacked?”
“He’s unconscious. We didn’t move him.”
The doctor’s expression grew more sober as he knelt beside his patient. “A good decision, but I’m going to have to roll him over to tend to his injury. I shall require your assistance. Slide your hands under his buttocks, and I’ll do the same with his shoulders.”
Lieutenant North complied, and the men gently rolled Mr. Driscoll onto his stomach. The large lump on the back of his head oozed blood, and his hair was matted with it. She heard a sigh and and turned to see Mrs. Eaton crumple.
Addie sprang forward but was too late to catch her aunt. “Bring me a wet handkerchief,” she called to Molly. The maid nodded and rushed for the house.
Addie pulled Mrs. Eaton’s head onto her lap. “Mrs. Eaton?” she whispered, stroking her hair. Poor woman. Molly returned with the wet hankie, and Addie dampened the prostrate woman’s pale face with it.
Mrs. Eaton’s eyelids fluttered, then she opened them. “My brother,” she murmured. “Is he dead?”
“No, no. The doctor is tending to him.” Addie stroked the wet cloth across Mrs. Eaton’s forehead again. The doctor worked at staunching her uncle’s blood.
Maybe she shouldn’t have come. She already cared about her new family, and the last thing she wanted was to thrust them all into danger. Someone wanted to keep her away, and it appeared that person was dangerous.