Ella, The Slayer

by A. W. Exley

  From the few moments I glimpsed, I think Charlotte had caught a suitor or two and was keeping that knowledge close to her chest. Or was she thinking about Hubert, her pen-pal? It didn't matter that Louise was fixated on Seth, Louise didn't want her sister to have a man of her own. She would ruin Charlotte's chance at happiness just because she could, like the scorpion that couldn't help but sting the frog helping it across the flooded river.

  "He just couldn't bear to be parted from me. All night he held my arm, as though he feared I would slip through his grasp like an ethereal goddess." She fanned herself and arched an eyebrow, waiting for us to draw the obvious conclusion.

  Laughter bubbled in my throat at Louise's interpretation of the evening and I had to hold it down. I saw him hiding in the maze, trying to escape from the predators. There was no ethereal goddess, only a snake trying to devour a mouse. I coughed and turned my head to hide my laughter. Poor Seth, Louise was the drowning woman desperately clinging to him like he were a life vest. He thought he would have to amputate his arm to escape her clutches.

  She droned on and on, thankfully allowing me to work without insulting or slapping me. Soon they were both tucked up in their beds, and I flicked the last light off on my way from the bedroom. Alice emerged from across the hall and shot me a glance. She grabbed my arm and pulled me close.

  "Kitchen, now, and spill everything." She dragged me toward the stairs.

  My feet ached, and we had to be awake and about our chores in a few all too short hours. "It's after midnight, I just want to crawl into bed."

  "Don't be hideous. You were the only one there and I can tell something happened."

  Oh, something had happened all right. I touched a hand to my lips. Could she tell that he had embraced me in the maze? That I tasted his lips and my tongue danced with his? Heat flared up my neck. Luckily, Alice still tugged on my hand. One glance backward and I would have given myself away.

  I followed her down the back stairs and we pushed into the darkened room. Magda, Stewart, and Henry all sat around the kitchen table. In the middle, a small frosted cake illustrated a brilliant yellow daisy smiling from a deep blue sky. A candle stood in the middle of the flower, a tiny flame dancing to an unseen drift of air. Mother loved daisies, and I used to pick bunches of them to place in the vase next to her side of the bed. I froze. Smiles lit their faces.

  "Happy birthday," Alice whispered from next to me.

  "I thought no one remembered." Moisture dampened my eyes. I would not cry. I would not.

  Alice squeezed my hand. "Of course we remembered, we just had to wait until they were abed."

  Gruff old Stewart folded me in a brief hug. "Happy birthday, love. It's not every day a girl turns eighteen."

  Magda hugged me tight and kissed my cheek. "Happy birthday, Ella. Your mother would have been ever so proud of the woman you have become." She ruffled my hair as only someone who has known you since you wandered around in a nappy can do. Then she set the kettle on the range.

  Henry rose and wrapped his arms around me. I closed my eyes and rested my cheek against his shirt. He smelt like the stables, his clothing infused with warm horse and wood smoke. I breathed deep of it until he pulled back. The tiniest smile flicked over his mouth, and he nodded. He had given me the greatest gift, to see him in the moment with us, the glimmer of the boy he once was poking out from deep in his serious gaze.

  All right, I might cry just a little.

  Henry pulled out a chair and pushed me toward my seat.

  "Make a wish," Alice said as she pushed the cake closer.

  I looked around at my family. A wish was easy, for there was one empty chair amongst us that I wished to see filled. I wished father would wholly return. I held those words in my heart as I blew out the candle. Everyone clapped, and then Stewart cut cake while Magda poured tea. When her back was turned, Henry winked and tipped a small measure from a hip flask into each cup. The fellow really was creeping out of his shell-shocked state this evening.

  Alice elbowed me. "So, what happened this evening? Did you see him?"

  I broke off a piece of icing and popped it into my mouth. "I may possibly have found him hiding in the maze trying to escape Louise's clutches."

  Laughter burst from everyone around the table. Alice's eyes danced with mischief. "Don't tell Louise that, she fancies her chances as the next duchess. She might choke on her own tongue if she thought you would beat her to it."

  My heart stuttered at the thought. Then I looked around. This was where I belonged, in a cosy kitchen, drinking tea laced with brandy with my fellow servants.

  "I don't know what you and Frank are planning, but please leave it Alice. He is a wonderful man and he deserves to find happiness. Don't draw him into any game, you will just hurt both of us."

  Alice reached over, took my hand, and shook it. "No games, honest. Just keep an open mind. Sometimes people don't recognise their match when they see them, and they need a good prodding."

  I laughed at that. The duke and the kitchen maid. Alice had read one too many romantic novels.

  We chatted for another half hour and then said our goodnights to each seek our beds. We had only a couple of hours before we had to rise and begin the day all over again. I contemplated falling to my bed fully dressed because it would save valuable minutes of sleep.

  "Nightgown," Alice growled, pointing at the linen garment lying on my pillow before continuing with her bedtime routine.

  I heaved a hard done by sigh and stripped off my gown in exchange for the cotton shift. At least there was less to remove tonight. I climbed between cool sheets, and Alice blew out our lantern. We had no electricity up here. That was only reserved for where our betters lived.

  "What happened, Ella? When you sat with him in the maze?" she whispered. We were so close in our room, like two small mice in a snug hole. There was no need for a loud tone. A small shaft of moonlight found our sliver of a window and danced over the rafters.

  "He held me in his arms and he kissed me." I couldn't help it, I sighed as the words broke free.

  "So he likes you, then?" a soft chuckle came from the other bed.

  "He called my eyes breath-stealing beautiful and compared them to a masterpiece stained glass in a great cathedral." I will admit, she probably thought it sounded a bit daft, but at the time it made my stomach plummet and my toes curl.

  "Oh," she whispered.

  Well, maybe it didn't sound daft to her either. I curled my toes again as the moment replayed in my mind, the way he said that just before he drew me close and my lips touched his. I may just be a serving girl, but this evening it was as though a magic wand brushed our ceiling, turning it to liquid silver, and I floated above the world.

  Chapter Twelve

  Somehow, Alice managed to cajole me into a skirt. Again. Although I did put up only token resistance, and if I admitted it deep down, I didn't really mind.

  Seth had said he would look for me. I desperately wanted to see him, if I could do so without triggering Louise's predatory suspicions. The notion of it was like a mission behind enemy lines, with a high probability of being executed if captured. Well, Seth wouldn't execute me, but he could hold me prisoner.

  Alice punched my shoulder. "Stop daydreaming, you great lump of pudding, and let's go."

  We headed down the stairs. The katana lay across my back, and I found its weight a comfort. I imagined it like father's hand, guiding me.

  Louise spied us as we passed the parlour door. She reclined on the chaise, a magazine open in her lap. "What great event are you two abandoning us for? Tea at Buckingham Palace, or lunch with the Tsar?"

  Charlotte giggled, then cast her gaze downward at the letter she was writing. It was a beautiful day outside, and I couldn't believe how they could remain shut indoors. They really were hot-house flowers, kept in a controlled environment. Even if they didn't want to hobnob with the locals, they could still get some fresh air. Maybe Charlotte could check on the sheep in the back field for me, though
that was expecting far too much.

  Alice paused at the doorway. "We are going to the village fete, miss."

  Louise snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yokels. It will be games of guess the weight of the piglet, and who has the biggest marrow."

  I couldn't resist that opening. Peering over Alice's shoulder, the words left my mouth before I realised what they were — a torpedo shot directly at my hopeful battleship. "I hear the duke will be showing his marrow, and it is rumoured to be quite the specimen."

  Louise fell off her chaise, and Alice started laughing so hard she choked. Charlotte scrambled to her feet and tripped over Louise, who was trying to stand up.

  "I need to change," Louise screamed from her place on the floor as the two sisters disentangled themselves.

  "It's our afternoon off," I said, as I patted Alice's back, hoping she would breathe inward before she turned blue. "I'm sure you'll do just fine on your own."

  Louise's gaze narrowed. "You will assist me to change so I can go to this wretched fete. I'm sure Lord Leithfield will find the whole event equally repugnant, and will require sophisticated conversation to make it bearable."

  "Afternoon off, sorry," Alice managed to gasp and we ran down the hall.

  Yelling and shouting erupted behind us as they screamed for their mother and assistance from anyone left in the house, which I think was only poor old Stewart. Alice regained enough breath to keep laughing and tugged my hand as we raced out through the kitchen.

  In the yard, the horse and cart were waiting to take us to the fete. Cossimo stood in harness with Henry holding the reins. Magda waited on the seat behind. We burst from the house, laughing, and climbed up next to Magda.

  "Quick, go!" Alice said to a startled Henry. "Let us make our escape."

  He frowned, but gave the cob the command to trot on. Magda glanced between us. "What on earth did you two do?"

  "Louise asked where we were going, I said the fete. Then she made a rude comment about marrows." Alice's fit of giggles returned, and she got no further.

  I placed my hands in my lap and tried ever so hard to look serious. "I pointed out that the Duke of Leithfield was going to display his marrow, at which point things deteriorated."

  I swear Henry snorted and his shoulders heaved in silent laughter.

  Madga remained composed. "So they now want to attend some horrible country affair?"

  "Yes." I nodded. "Apparently the lure of seeing the duke's marrow is quite the motivator."

  Absolutely not, couldn't do it. I dissolved into laughter right next to Alice. Magda had tears of joy rolling down her cheeks. What really gladdened my heart was to hear the whisper of soft laughter coming from Henry. I knew we would break through to him; who knew all it would take was a marrow innuendo?

  I watched our grey stone house disappear behind a curve in the road. While I loved my home, ever since Elizabeth had sunk her claws into the property, it seemed a dark cloud hung over the once happy residence. I laboured under her, but never for her. She turned my every act into one of resistance, as though I sought to overthrow her; which I did. If I could remove the chains and shackles she bound us in, I would. Once we had been a close knit family. My father didn't distinguish between servants and peers. He judged a person on the merits of their actions, not their place of birth. We all worked toward a common goal, to keep the estate running.

  She had changed all that. She opened our arteries and bled us dry. Every spare penny went to buy fripperies for her and my step-sisters, while the roof needed mending and we needed to introduce a new blood line to our small herd of cattle. I saw the looks she cast at father, wondering how long he would last and what caveats he had placed on the estate. Stewart muttered about letters she sent to London and her lawyers. Was she trying to find a way to defeat the entailment?

  A shudder ran through my body as though the ghost of my mother cried out. What would Elizabeth be capable of, if she no longer needed my father? Or more horrifying, what would she do if she thought he would recover his senses and ask what had happened in his absence? In my darkest moments, as I wielded the sword, I saw her face. If I could gather all the evil she inflicted on us and fling it back at her, I would.

  We trotted around the lanes to the edge of the village. Henry halted the horse and cart, and we climbed out the back. He touched his cap and gestured over his shoulder, meaning he would take care of the animal first and find us later. Magda waved us away and joined a group of her friends, off to look at the spinning and yarns on offer.

  It was the first fete the village had held for years. Our lives had been on hold for the previous five years, when we all tightened our belts and growing oversized vegetables seemed irrelevant to the war effort. Then when our men returned, the pandemic struck, and the general mood plummeted as we double-locked our doors and slept with a weapon handy. With the reduced number of vermin sightings, hope returned with the summer heat. Rumours flew that London was now completely vermin free, with no sightings for at least two weeks. Although I knew that was not the case in the countryside.

  In the bright sun, the green looked picturesque. Ancient trees lined the edge and spread their shade. Today the mown lawn was alive with chatter, laughter, and brightly coloured tents. A band played in the rotunda, and their happy music wafted and swirled on the air, bringing many a person to tap their toe as they stood to listen.

  I remembered months earlier, when this was the dominion of death. A brown tent held the dead as the pandemic swept the countryside. The only noise was the wind through the skeletal trees and the sobs of families. Brittle, dried leaves blew over the ground as the grass was ground into mud beneath our feet. Bodies were sewn into unbleached shrouds and bagged, ready for either mass burial or collection, if the deceased had someone to fetch them and supervise the funeral. Most of us were too tired, worn down by the constant weight of death.

  Alice shook my arm. "Penny for your thoughts?"

  I smiled. "Nothing. Just wondering if Louise got her shoes on the right feet unassisted." It was too lovely a day to ruin with my maudlin thoughts.

  Alice and I wandered the stalls, played toss-the-rings, and watched Henry smash the strength tester and win a prize. Who knew Henry had it in him? He picked a turquoise silk scarf as his prize, and presented it to me with a flourish. Happy Birthday, he mouthed. I kissed his cheek and wrapped the delicate scarf around my neck.

  People smiled, chatted, and laughed. Children dodged around legs playing tag. The village came together, and I earned a few stray looks for being the only one carrying a weapon. Call me paranoid, but I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

  A whisper shot through the crowd that the vegetable judging was under way and winners would be announced soon. We made our way to the heavy canvas marquee. By the mass of people inside, it looked like most of the village had turned out to gawk at our new duke. Alice and I stood on our tiptoes at the back, trying to see.

  Rows of tables were draped in white linen cloths. Carefully arranged with military precision, and probably the use of rulers, rows of vegetables were proudly displayed on them. The growers stood behind their produce, chests puffed out and taunts thrown to the competition.

  "Call that a carrot, Percy? No wonder your wife looks disappointed all the time."

  Every variety of vegetable was on display, from the standard carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes, to the more exotic globe artichokes, brought back from Italy. The children entered their best efforts in the vegetable construction class and had made fantastical beasts and animals.

  Frank materialised at Alice's side and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. "His grace has made it, though the anaconda may yet devour him alive."

  I thought we were here to laugh at marrows, not reptiles. Then the crowd parted and I understood. Seth looked his usual dashing self in buff trousers, crisp cotton shirt, and a fitted waistcoat. And at his side, glaring at any women within a ten foot range, was Louise.

  "She obviously managed
to change clothes on her own," I whispered. My heart plummeted to my boots. Only two nights ago he had folded me in his arms and kissed me breathless. Now he stood with Louise as if she were his duchess already. Her breeding showed in her calm demeanour. Her nose lifted as she stayed aloof from the hoi polloi, yet she graced us with her presence at this event. She wore a pale linen walking suit that looked brand new. At this rate, we would be selling the silverware to pay the Harrods' bill when it arrived.

  She stopped to say something as they examined the contenders. The height difference required him to lean down. There was an intimacy to the gesture that gripped my heart and squeezed.

  "The marrows really are quite impressive," Alice whispered. "Which do you think will win?"

  "The green and yellow striped one, second from the left," Frank said.

  Alice and I stared at the vegetable in question. It didn't look that remarkable to me, but then my gaze kept drifting upward to the tanned and dark haired man running a strong hand over the mottled skin.

  "Really? But it's not straight, it has a bend?" Alice's comment made me flush, and I had no idea why.

  Frank pulled his sweetheart a little closer to his side, brushing her hair aside to whisper in her ear. "But it's the biggest one."

  "Boys," Alice giggled and then hushed herself as the people in the crowd turned to stare at her, ruining the pivotal moment.

  "Ella?" A voice called my name from somewhere near the back. "Is Ella here?"

  I glanced around as bodies parted. Reverend Morton stood at the tent entrance. He wore a crumpled tweed suit, but at least he had attempted to shave. Badly, but he had shaved. He clutched a straw boater in his hands, but he clenched the item so hard he would never get the dents out. His gaze found mine. "We need your help."

  Ice shot through my veins. I looked to Frank. "Keep Alice safe."