However, Katie wondered what would happen if Katherine Gail didn't show up to claim Winslow Hall? When Alain turned 21 it would revert to her. Would Alain expect Alden to take her in place of his missing betrothed? The thought bothered Katie more than she liked to admit, so she brushed it aside.
For the last few days before Katherine was expected to arrive, Alden was summoned almost every day for some pretense or another. Alain became impatient with the servants and the housemaids. She fired the cook three times and it took Alden, each time, to convince the cook that Alain wasn't serious in her threats.
The gown Katie had been working on was finished, and despite Alain's earlier complaints it looked quite stunning on her. She apologized to Katie and insisted that Katie should create her a whole new wardrobe. She promised she would allow Katie full control in the cut and fabrics to be used.
As a result of Alain’s change of attitude, Katie's job became more enjoyable, and she had finally gained the trust and respect she deserved from Alain.
Her free moments were usually spent with Chance, grooming the horse and riding her. She did wish, however, that Alden would seek her out now and then, or propose another ride together, but her wish was not fulfilled. She had not chanced a conversation with him since the day he gave her the horse, and she wondered if he was purposely avoiding her because he regretted his impulse to hold her close to him after their tumble from the horses.
Perhaps it was for the best that they maintained their distance, she thought, but now it was her turn to envy Alain all the attention Alden ended up giving her as they prepared for the homecoming of Katherine Gail Winslow.
Katie was in the stables, grooming Chance, when the carriage drove up. She did not mind the humble task of cleaning out Chance's stall or rubbing her down each day. She grew to love Chance as much as she had Shancy, and she rode her new horse every opportunity she got. So her attention was not on the noise that came from the drive until Chance started tossing her head and neighing as she caught the excitement created by the new arrivals. Katie became aware of people running about outside in the stable yard, along with dogs barking and other horses snorting, which caused her to stop what she was doing and go out to investigate.
She reached the door of the stable just in time to see a beautiful redheaded girl, about Katie's own age, step down from the coach. A man was helping her down and when he turned, his eyes met Katie's and Katie drew in her breath. The man also looked a little shocked at seeing her staring at him. Could it be that he recognized her as his daughter? Did she look as her mother once looked when she was young? His gaze only lasted a split second, but it seemed to Katie that it burned into her skin, and caused her face to flush. He had already turned his attention back to the lovely girl descending the steps of their vehicle. Katie had been jolted by the unexpected encounter, and she could feel her heart beating rapidly as she tried to gain her composure.
There was no doubt in Katie's mind who this man was. He still had that slightly arrogant look she remembered from the face that looked out from her mother’s locket. She was positive that he was James Langdon, brother of Lady Katherine Gail Winslow and seducer of Nancy Dow!
All Katie could feel was hatred towards this man, whom she believed to be her father, and she fled from his sight. She almost tripped over a bush as she ran around to the back of the house and into the garden. Tears were spilling down her cheeks, as she hurried to a weeping willow tree to find some solitude and seclusion behind the curtain of its leafy branches. She stumbled blindly as she pushed her way through the low hanging branches and fell unceremoniously in a whirl of billowing skirts and petticoats.
At first, she thought her toe had caught on one of the tree roots, but as she bent down to free her foot, she saw that it wasn't a root at all but a rusted ring held fast to the ground. She brushed the tears from her eyes to examine the ring more closely, pushing the leaves and grass away. As she did so, she discovered that the ring was connected to a trap door!
The secret passage! It had to be! In her excitement Katie forgot her tears and the pain that had welled up inside her chest at the sight of her father, whom she had never expected to see. She began to tug at the ring but the trap door wouldn't budge. It was clogged with dirt and the hinges were rusted. She found a stick and began to dig the dirt and grass away from the edges of the wooden planks. She tried again and this time the door lifted heavily with a resistant squeak at being disturbed from its years of obscurity.
The opening wasn't very large, only big enough for one person to pass through. She peered down into the black darkness that ate up the stone steps leading down into a damp cavity. A musty smell wafted up into Katie's face, and she shivered involuntarily as she remembered how Maggie had told her of the young wife who had used this very passage only to meet her death in the end. Katie wondered if her ghost really did roam there, and by opening the passage, was she allowing the ghost its freedom? Katie laughed lightly, half in excitement for finding the passage, and half in an attempt to rid herself of gloomy thoughts and fears concerning the passage.
She let the door fall back into place and quickly went back to the stables where she remembered seeing a lantern. The drive was empty now, leaving no trace of the new arrivals. Katie's mind wasn't on her father any longer, nor was it on the arrival of Katherine Gail Winslow. It was back at the willow tree where she had made her unexpected discovery. Maybe Old Maggie did know more than people gave her credit for. She decided she would pay more attention to Maggie's stories after this.
Katie found the lantern without any trouble, and lit it from the untended fire the fierier had left to die out. As she did so, she thought she heard a noise behind her and turned to see what it was. It sounded like footsteps receding away from out of the stable yard. She peered around the corner from the Ferrier’s stall, but could see no one. Shrugging, she retraced her steps to the willow tree, watching behind her to make sure that whoever she had heard walking away, was not there watching her enter the garden.
She had noticed that Alden's horse was in the stables when she returned for the lantern. Perhaps that was who she heard walking away. She didn't want him, of all people, to see her exploring into things that were really none of her concern and quite improper for a lady to be doing, as she was sure he would point out if he caught her in this adventure.
At last, feeling certain that no one was around, Katie slipped back under the willow tree and lifted the trap door once more. Almost timidly, she ventured one foot forward, and then before she could change her mind, hurried down into the darkness before her. As she descended the cold stone steps, she let the door down gently behind her, closing herself into a tomb like silence with nothing but the wavering flame of the lamp to bolster her confidence.
Again, Katie gave a slight shiver as the flame of her lantern wavered and threatened to go out. Sticky fingers of cobwebs reached out and grabbed at her face, causing her to catch her breath with a start. She pushed them aside with a shaky hand, and cautiously continued her exploration.
Was she being very wise in her desire to explore the passage, she wondered? This was not the carefree lark of a young boy discovering a new found cave. There was something sinister and foreboding about this dark corridor. What would Alden think of her expedition if he learned of it? The thought of Alden, only made her forge on stubbornly. Alden did not own her, she reminded herself sharply, why should I feel it necessary to answer to him for my actions? she asked herself. I was never told that I could not explore the grounds. I am certainly not guilty of trespassing, she reasoned. So in spite of the strange uneasy feeling that was starting to grip her and cause her heart to beat erratically, she stepped forward resolutely.
Following the dust laden stairway led her to an arched tunnel that was engulfed by the darkness before her. It also was draped in cobwebs from many years of disuse. Although she could not see the end of the corridor, somewhere in the distance she could hear the dripping of water. Katie took a few steps forward and the sound of her shoes scrappin
g against the stones echoed along the walls of the passageway. She wondered how wise she was being in her determination to satisfy her curiosity. However, it was that very curiosity that pulled her forward and would not allow her to turn back.
She had not gone very far down the tunnel when it began to ascend upward and she found herself climbing more stairs. It was so puzzling. Why was the passage built in the first place? Certainly not just so some unfaithful wife could visit her lover unobserved. She wondered if there could have been smugglers involved at Winslow Hall during some dark age of its past. Or maybe during the reformation this passage was used to transfer priests in hiding. It was exciting to think about, regardless of what the reasons had been to allow an escape or secret entrance to this house. The very thought of some long dead human having passed through this very passage, in some secret capacity, was intriguing to Katie, and she could almost feel their presence urging her on.
Katie continued to wind her way up the stairs. She was somewhat out of breath by the time she reached the top. The steps suddenly stopped and a solid wall stood before her. She pressed against it but could find no exit. She lifted her lantern above her head, scanning the wall with her eyes. Something glinted in the light from the lantern. A latch, corroded with age, was just within her reach.
Katie had to work with it awhile before she was finally able to free the age-old handle, and when she did, a block of wall pivoted freely on a center peg, opening into Katie's own room. Katie discovered the door had been behind the wardrobe which was attached to the wall and pivoted with it.
Katie was so intent on her unusual discovery she didn't notice that someone was coming towards her from the shadows of her room. Without warning, she felt strong hands grabbing her from behind, forcing her resisting body out onto the balcony. She tried to scream, but she was out of breath from the climb and her throat closed in terror allowing no sound to escape from her lips. Frantically she struggled to free herself, but she was so exhausted from her long assent up the stairs, that she had no strength left in her limbs.
In spite of her thrashing arms, and kicking legs, she could feel herself being lifted over the railing of the balcony. Her assailant held her so tightly, that she could not turn to see who was determined to do away with her! With sudden realization of her imminent danger, she gasped, and her screams found their way to the surface at the very moment she felt herself slipping over the side. In frantic desperation, she grabbed out blindly for the iron railing, but the cold metal slid from her clutching fingers. With a last frenzied effort she managed to seize upon the vertical iron bars. Her clammy hands slid slowly down the rod iron bars as she felt the weight of her body pulling against her rapidly weakening fingers.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion, and through it all, she was vaguely aware of footsteps echoing in her ears, as the person that pushed her over the railing departed. Was that the last sound she was ever going to hear? She took in her breath and once again she screamed in terror as the earth below her careened under her swaying limbs.
Whoever had forced her over the railing had disappeared, leaving her to parish. Katie sobbed, thinking there was no hope and it would be only a matter of minutes before she lost her grip on the bars and fell to her death, like the unfaithful wife before her.
Then, to her amazement, she heard running footsteps and shouting voices coming to her rescue. Her hands were wet and her fingers ached as she clutched agonizingly against the bars that seemed to be slipping from her grasping fists. Terrifyingly, she screamed again, more frantically than before. Her next realization was that someone was there lifting her up to safety. Their strong arms felt reassuring and she collapsed into them in a faint. She was vaguely conscious of being carried into her room and placed on the bed.
When her eyes weakly fluttered open, she saw Alden's concerned face looking down at her. Behind him was Alain, the lovely Katherine Gail Winslow, Katie’s own unfaithful hated father, and oddly enough, Maggie, along with the servant who had brought the trunk to her room, which Alden had sent. They were all peering over Alden's shoulder at her.
"I heard the girl screamin’ like the Devil was after her!" the servant was explaining. "When I got here the poor child was just hangin’ from the railing for dear life, she was! If I had been a moment later it would have been all over for the poor lass. It’s a good thing I was in the hall."
"Thank you Simon," Alden said. "You saved her life, that's for sure. We would have never got to her in time."
Simon looked pleased and gave Katie a big grin. "It was just luck," he said almost sheepishly. "’Twould be a shame if this pretty one had fallen. Shouldn't have been out on the balcony like that in the first place. If you don't mind my saying so, Miss. It’s a dangerous place, it is!" Then he turned with a shrug and left to be about his own business.
Katie realized that her shaking hands were clinging to Alden's arm. He removed them gently. "Good Lord, Katie, he exclaimed, "what happened? Did you slip and fall? How did you manage to get over the railing?"
"I did not slip!" Katie said in a firm, even tone, despite the trimmers of fear that coerced through her. "I was thrown over!”
"What? That's absurd! Who would want to drop you over the railing?" His brows were drawn, almost as though he was scolding her for even suggesting such a thing.
Katie didn't, or rather couldn't answer his question because she did not know the answer. She only stared back at him and then her eyes wandered over each one standing over her.
The silence was broken by Maggie who had moved away from Katie's bedside and was standing near the wardrobe peering at the open gap behind it.
"So you found it!" she said. All eyes turned to her. "Look at your dress! It’s all smudged, and you've brought a lantern to your room. Did you come up from the garden like she did that night? Have you let her ghost escape? I warned you about the ghost Katie! Now she will get revenge because you discovered her secret."
Alain was looking white, and quite shocked. "What on earth are you talking about, Maggie? What is all this talk of ghosts?"
Maggie only gave her strange cackle, shaking her bony finger at Katie. “No one ever believes Old Maggie. Now you see I was right about Katherine coming back, and I was right about the hidden passage. There will be a time for reckoning now!" She turned to the door. "Don't offend the ghosts, Katie," she warned, as she shuffled through the door.
"It wasn't a ghost!" Katie called after her as she sat up against Alden's protests. "Somebody actually drug me to the balcony and threw me over that railing, and it was a real person!"
"Oh, this is ridiculous," Alain said, but her voice shook, and there was a look of fear in her eyes. "Maggie has been filling your head with those silly stories of hers. It was most likely that unfaithful wife story she loves to tell so much." Her eyes wandered over to the opening of the passage a little worriedly. "There is a perfectly logical explanation for all this. You were probably frightened after coming up that gloomy passage, and remembering the story, you imagined someone was here to meet you. You merely panicked and rushed out on the balcony and tripped."
"I did not trip!" Katie almost screamed. "I'm telling you, someone not only grabbed me, but forced me out onto the balcony, lifting me up over the railing. I felt their hands! Whoever it was, tried to Kill me!" Her own words shocked her as much as the others.
"Now who would want to kill you, Katie?" Alden responded. The sound of his voice made it very plain that he did not believe what she was insisting.
"I don't know. Maybe they thought I was someone else, or perhaps the ridicules ghost. Only whoever it was, that person intended to throw me over the balcony." She covered her face with her hands at the thought of her narrow escape.
"You're being silly, Katie," Alain scolded, though her voice sounded a little shaken. "You can't kill a ghost, and if they thought you were one, they would be the one running and screaming. I think it is a very mean trick to play on us. All this talk of ghosts and someone trying to kill you is crazy and hy
sterical. You've upset the whole household with your crazy charade. I think you climbed over the banister yourself to get attention, which apparently worked!"
"Of course, Alain, I just risked my life for a little attention, which is absurd to even suggest! I'm sorry if I have upset you, by screaming for help before I fell to my death!" Katie said, trying to hold back her anger. Her life had been threatened and Alain was brushing it off as if her imagination had played tricks on her! "Don't worry about me. I'm sure I'll be just fine now. You can go back to whatever you were doing before I disturbed you all!"
Alain turned towards her guests. "I hope you will excuse this ridiculous display of dramatics, I assure you, Winslow Hall is not usually like this. Now perhaps we can go back downstairs and get better acquainted." Alain started towards the door. "Come along, Alden dear, I'm sure my sister and Uncle James are tired and would appreciate some refreshments."
Katie glanced at James Langdon. Their eyes met briefly, but he showed no signs of recognition. Then she looked back at Alden. He hesitated a moment and took Katie's hand in his.
"Are you sure you are alright?" he asked, sympathetically.
"Perfectly," Katie assured him. While inside, she wished that he could stay beside her until her pounding heart had quieted, and she felt secure again. What if whoever it was should come back and finish the job after every one had left? She tried not to think of the possibility.
"Don't worry," Alden assured her, as he followed Alain out, "we'll get to the bottom of this, somehow. I promise you, Katie."
"Thank you." Katie smiled weakly as he departed. Her head was spinning with questions that she couldn't answer. Alain was acting completely opposite to her earlier behavior. She seemed to have accepted Katherine Gail as her sister now, even though she had fought so vehemently against the idea before. She was so eager to brush aside Katie's accident as just that… a simple accident! Why would someone try to kill me? Katie wondered. That was what puzzled her the most. What reason would anyone have unless they mistook her for someone else?
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