Read Online Ether & Elephants by Cindy Spencer Pape - Free Book Online
Authors: Cindy Spencer Pape
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to sleep if I’m by myself.”
During this good-natured chatter, Tom pulled back away from the main group, leaning alone against a bookshelf on the far wall. Always able to sense his feelings to some degree, Nell wanted to weep for his heartbreak. All their friends were happily, blissfully even, married, with oodles of toddlers and babies on the way. Tom had a wife, one he’d married in good faith, but he didn’t even know if she lived, let alone have the kind of relationship Wink or any of the MacKay siblings had. And not knowing if he had a child… It was no wonder he’d become so withdrawn in the past few years.
Roger squeezed her hand. “If we’re going to be back on the hunt in the morning, we should probably get some sleep.”
Nell looked over at Tom, who waved her off. “Go on. I’ll fill them in and see if anyone has any ideas.” A fair amount of Order talent was gathered right in this room. It would be stupid to waste it. But suddenly the weight of the whole situation crashed in on Nell and she wanted to curl up in a ball and whimper.
“I am tired.” She withdrew her hand from Roger’s. “Come on. I imagine Mrs. Ritchie has left someone to point us to our rooms.”
In fact, the housekeeper herself waited by the stairs, along with a footman. “We’re a little tight for space, Mr. Braithwaite, so I have you sharing with Sir Tom, if that’s all right?”
“That’s fine,” Roger said. “Last I knew, I didn’t snore.” He followed the footman up the stairs and to the left.
Nell couldn’t say anything. Tom’s secrets weren’t hers to share, not with Roger or Victor’s staff, though since they’d been revealed here three years earlier, Nell was surprised Mrs. Ritchie didn’t already know that Nell had once harbored hopes of marrying Tom. Or maybe she did and simply didn’t see any awkwardness in throwing the two men together. Either way, there was nothing to be done. Nell followed Mrs. Ritchie to one of the smallest guestrooms, close to the nursery on the third floor, and refused the offer of a maid to help her undress. Schoolteachers didn’t have ladies’ maids, so all Nell’s current clothing was designed with that in mind. She indulged in the softest, most sumptuous fabrics she could manage, but of course everything she wore was in the school’s preferred colors of dark blue, brown or gray. What would Roger think if he saw her in her favorite coral evening gown? She smiled as she smoothed down her nightgown and crawled into the single bed. A warm fire crackled softly, and mounds of quilts enfolded her, warming her chilled hands and feet. Mrs. Ritchie was too good a housekeeper to forget that Nell was always cold.
“Mama, sometimes I wish you were here,” she whispered into the empty room. For years, the ghost of her birth mother had stayed by her side, helping Nell and her half brother Piers survive. Once the Hadrians had adopted them, Fanny Jenkins had passed through the veil, or been promoted, or whatever happened to ghosts once their unfinished business was done. Nell had missed her, but never quite as much as now, when they had so little to go on to find Charlie. Nell couldn’t explain why this one student had touched her so deeply that she’d given up her position to find him, but she simply knew, in her heart, that this was something she had to do.
Maybe, she told herself, it was Mama’s ghost guiding her. Or maybe it was just something she needed to do for Tom, before she’d truly be free to find happiness somewhere else. She slept deeply, but restlessly, her dreams filled with Tom’s sad eyes and a small boy’s voice crying out for help.
* * *
Tom buttoned his trousers then quietly picked up his coat and shoes, just as dawn tinted the sky. Better to be out of the room before Braithwaite awoke. The mathematics teacher seemed like a nice enough chap. It wasn’t his fault that Tom continually wanted to eviscerate him. He had property and an income. Most
During this good-natured chatter, Tom pulled back away from the main group, leaning alone against a bookshelf on the far wall. Always able to sense his feelings to some degree, Nell wanted to weep for his heartbreak. All their friends were happily, blissfully even, married, with oodles of toddlers and babies on the way. Tom had a wife, one he’d married in good faith, but he didn’t even know if she lived, let alone have the kind of relationship Wink or any of the MacKay siblings had. And not knowing if he had a child… It was no wonder he’d become so withdrawn in the past few years.
Roger squeezed her hand. “If we’re going to be back on the hunt in the morning, we should probably get some sleep.”
Nell looked over at Tom, who waved her off. “Go on. I’ll fill them in and see if anyone has any ideas.” A fair amount of Order talent was gathered right in this room. It would be stupid to waste it. But suddenly the weight of the whole situation crashed in on Nell and she wanted to curl up in a ball and whimper.
“I am tired.” She withdrew her hand from Roger’s. “Come on. I imagine Mrs. Ritchie has left someone to point us to our rooms.”
In fact, the housekeeper herself waited by the stairs, along with a footman. “We’re a little tight for space, Mr. Braithwaite, so I have you sharing with Sir Tom, if that’s all right?”
“That’s fine,” Roger said. “Last I knew, I didn’t snore.” He followed the footman up the stairs and to the left.
Nell couldn’t say anything. Tom’s secrets weren’t hers to share, not with Roger or Victor’s staff, though since they’d been revealed here three years earlier, Nell was surprised Mrs. Ritchie didn’t already know that Nell had once harbored hopes of marrying Tom. Or maybe she did and simply didn’t see any awkwardness in throwing the two men together. Either way, there was nothing to be done. Nell followed Mrs. Ritchie to one of the smallest guestrooms, close to the nursery on the third floor, and refused the offer of a maid to help her undress. Schoolteachers didn’t have ladies’ maids, so all Nell’s current clothing was designed with that in mind. She indulged in the softest, most sumptuous fabrics she could manage, but of course everything she wore was in the school’s preferred colors of dark blue, brown or gray. What would Roger think if he saw her in her favorite coral evening gown? She smiled as she smoothed down her nightgown and crawled into the single bed. A warm fire crackled softly, and mounds of quilts enfolded her, warming her chilled hands and feet. Mrs. Ritchie was too good a housekeeper to forget that Nell was always cold.
“Mama, sometimes I wish you were here,” she whispered into the empty room. For years, the ghost of her birth mother had stayed by her side, helping Nell and her half brother Piers survive. Once the Hadrians had adopted them, Fanny Jenkins had passed through the veil, or been promoted, or whatever happened to ghosts once their unfinished business was done. Nell had missed her, but never quite as much as now, when they had so little to go on to find Charlie. Nell couldn’t explain why this one student had touched her so deeply that she’d given up her position to find him, but she simply knew, in her heart, that this was something she had to do.
Maybe, she told herself, it was Mama’s ghost guiding her. Or maybe it was just something she needed to do for Tom, before she’d truly be free to find happiness somewhere else. She slept deeply, but restlessly, her dreams filled with Tom’s sad eyes and a small boy’s voice crying out for help.
* * *
Tom buttoned his trousers then quietly picked up his coat and shoes, just as dawn tinted the sky. Better to be out of the room before Braithwaite awoke. The mathematics teacher seemed like a nice enough chap. It wasn’t his fault that Tom continually wanted to eviscerate him. He had property and an income. Most
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