“It’s time to go upstairs,” Major Strelitz said.
Maria looked at him but his face showed no expression whatsoever. “Can’t she sleep a little longer,” she asked.
The major’s eyes flickered over to the couch by the fire where Clara lay, fast asleep.
“I’m afraid not,” he answered. “I only brought you in here so that you could rest while my men got your … your room ready for you.” He hesitated, “You, yourself, are not a prisoner, you understand,” he added. “Lord Jezail made that quite plain. You can come and go as you please but given the circumstances, I think it’s better that you spend most of your time with the girl. If you need anything, you only have to ask. I’ll have a sentry outside your door all the time.”
His voice woke Clara, who sat up sleepily and glanced round the unfamiliar room. Then she remembered where she was and smiled at the major. Really, she thought, he had been very kind. Rather than have them wait in the cold hall of the castle, he’d taken them to his own quarters and given them an excellent lunch.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
The major didn’t answer and Maria broke in hurriedly. “Our room is finished now, Clara,” she said, hurrying over to help the girl to her feet. “The major’s men have been getting it ready for us. They’re … they’re not used to having ladies, you see.”
“I’ve had your cases taken up,” the major said briefly, “and I’ve added a few things that you might be able to make use of. Furs and the like …”
“Furs?” Maria shot him a shrewd glance.
“I’ve done the best I could for you,” he said abruptly, “and you mustn’t worry about meals. I’ll make sure you’re well fed.”
It was then that Maria realized that the major, for all he tried not to show it, was extremely upset. Her heart sank. What on earth was their new prison going to be like?
He took them up to the tower room himself. It was years since he’d ventured to the top but he wanted to make sure that the beds and bedding were sufficient. His soldiers had been toiling up and down the spiral staircase for the best part of the day and the language that had floated down to him when the thin single beds had stuck in the steep curves of the stairwell had been colourful to say the least.
Clara was exhausted by the time she was only half way to the top. “I’ve got a stitch in my side,” she complained as she leant against the wall, panting for breath. “Is it far to go?”
“Not much further, I hope,” the major muttered. He, too, was breathing heavily. Glancing casually out of one of the slit windows, he blenched at the sheer drop to the valley below and, for the first time that day, appreciated the effort his men had made to lug all of the cases and bits of furniture up the stairs. He only hoped it had been enough to make the tower room habitable.
With effort they continued up the winding stone spiral. It seemed to go on and on forever and, when they reached the shabby wooden door at the top, it actually came as a surprise that they had, at last, arrived.
The major turned the huge key in the ancient lock and pushed the door open. The wind, however, almost slammed it in his face again. Once more he pushed it open and standing with his back against it, ushered them inside.
The wind whirled round them, blowing their cloaks and tangling Clara’s long hair.
White with shock, Maria rounded on the major, who, himself, seemed horrified. “You can’t keep us here,” she pleaded desperately, “you can’t! It’s not a room … why, we may as well be out on the battlements!” Her eyes darted round the deep slit windows that curved all the way round the room. “There’s no shelter,” she whispered, “no shelter at all! And what if it rains?”
“We’ll get soaked!” Clara said, answering her question. Her brown eyes turned to the major. “How can you leave us in a place like this?” she demanded scornfully.
A shadow of shame crossed the major’s face. “These were my master’s orders,” he answered in a flat voice. “You … you must understand that I daren’t disobey them. He will use his crystal to see that I have done as he commanded.”
Tears sprang to Clara’s eyes as she realized what her days were going to be like in this awful room.
Maria, however, noted the thick carpet on the floor, the fur covers on the bed and two screens that lay folded on the floor. They would give them a little shelter. And he had promised them food. The major, she reckoned, had, indeed, done his best for them.
She put her arms round Clara, whose face was wet with tears, and hugged her close. “I appreciate all the extra things you’ve put in the room,” she said, looking at Major Strelitz gratefully. “You’ve done your best for us and we … well, we’ll just have to do the best we can.”
The major saluted and eased himself out of the room so that the door didn’t slam in the wind. They heard the key turn in the lock and, seconds later, the sound of his footsteps clattering down the stairs.
They were alone. It was then that they turned and looked at one another. How were they going to survive in this nightmare of a room?
“Just you help me with these screens, Clara,” Maria said in a business-like tone of voice as the wind blew her hair in all directions. “If we open them up,” she said, shoving one against a couple of windows, “then at least we’ll have a bit of shelter.” The screen, however, only remained standing for the space of a couple of seconds before the wind sent it crashing to the floor.
“If we prop the beds against the screens then maybe the wind won’t be able to knock them over,” Clara said, hauling a bed over the carpet.
It took some time to adjust the beds and the screens but by the time they’d finished, there was a small area of the room where the wind didn’t blow with such force. Maria unpacked the winter clothes she’d bought in Stara Zargana. Rough, country clothes made from heavy wool; much warmer than the cotton jeans and tops that Clara had insisted on wearing for the journey.
“They’re not fashionable,” she apologized, holding up a knitted hat, a pair of black woollen tights and a bright scarlet dress that was so thick and heavy that it almost stood up on its own. “The winters here are really cold.”
Clara grabbed at the clothes and shivering in the cold air, swopped her jeans for the black tights and hurriedly pulled the red dress over her head. It had long sleeves and reached well past her knees. She probably looked an absolute fright, she thought, but she didn’t care. She was deliciously warm and that was all that mattered.
“The hat,” Maria said, handing it to her. “You must keep it on all the time, even when you’re sleeping. Yes, I know it sounds crazy,” she added, seeing Clara’s face, “but body heat escapes through the head, surely you know that?”
“I do, actually,” Clara nodded. “It’s why people in olden days wore nightcaps. There was no central heating to keep the bedrooms warm.”
“Anyway,” Maria said comfortingly as she sorted out some of the clothes for herself, “there’s only me to see you!”
Clara nodded and, propping up the pillows, turned back the furs that covered the bed and slipped between the sheets. Looking round the curve of slit windows she could see dark billowing clouds. She’d been worried about rain but these clouds looked as though they might hold snow.
She sighed. What were they going to do all day? They were alone in this dreadful tower with only the wind and the weather for company.