The Grey Dawn

by Stacey DeMichael

  Daniella kissed and hugged Christopher in her delight, and the footmen and Simmons were delighted simply with Daniella’s delight. It was only then that Ellalee realized how protected and favored her sister had become in the other servants’ eyes. It was more than just good cooking. It was Daniella’s sweet disposition that had won them over so completely. Ellalee pulled back from the throng in the kitchen to lean against the far kitchen wall to better take in the warm scene and smiled. Resting a hand over her heart, she wondered what the chances were that here in this cursed castle, Daniella had found, not just peace, but friends?

  Like a cold wind that stole the warmth and joy in a fell breath, the earl entered the kitchen. The servants froze, and faces frowned. The earl drew his eyes around the room before coming to rest on Christopher.

  “I see you have your chair. You must work if you want to continue to eat. Your sister will make sure that while you cannot move your leg, that your hands stay busy. Make sure that he does not move or strain that leg.” The earl walked past the staff towards Christopher and continued in a menacing tone, “You have been costly enough to me, boy, and I mean to get the full measure of work out of you.”

  Then from Ellalee’s vantage she saw what no one else but Christopher did, the shiver of a wink. Without thinking she drew in a breath and covered her mouth with her hands drawing the earl’s eye to her.

  “Lounging in the kitchen? Have you nothing better to do?”

  From Ellalee’s great store of ill-fated luck, Irwin chose that moment to appear through the kitchen door. “Miss Ellalee, I found three that’ll do the job.” With that, he thrust a basket toward her, only then spotting the earl with his arms crossed, glaring between the two of them.

  Ellalee sighed and crossed the room. No reason for Irwin to get into trouble for her ideas. “Thank you, Irwin, for seeing to my request.”

  She took the basket from him, as Irwin ducked his head and left in a bit more of a hurry than he came.

  The footmen, like fall leaves, scattered with Simmons leading the charge. Daniella looked positively alarmed, no doubt anticipating yet another row.

  What was new? Ellalee thought. Christopher craned his head to see the contents of the basket, and Gladlia was stuffing a kitchen towel in her mouth to choke down her laughter as three little kitten heads popped up.

  “No! Absolutely not! Get those things out of here. Uh! I hate cats,” Lord Valen’s face turned red.

  “I’ll not live with rats. I hear them scrabbling in the walls behind my wardrobe,” Ellalee replied, putting one hand on her hip. “I swear one has been in my room more nights than one, and the first day I arrived there was an obese rat that waddled past me with a look of indignant arrogance. It is filth, pure and simple.”

  “What did you say?” The earl suddenly seemed distracted.

  “It is filth, pure and simple,” Ellalee said feeling like somehow the argument had gone her way.

  “No, before that,” he replied, but before she could respond, he was off.

  Gladlia had held in her laugh so long that she snorted and wiped her eyes. “Oh, I had rather hoped I’d be here when he saw the cats for the first time. He really does hate them, you know. He had a right mean one when he was a kid. It used to pop out and impale itself into his legs. His dog was killed, his horse died, but that cat lived to a ripe old age and hated him with a passion.” She chuckled again. “It really was almost comical except for little Lord Valen’s bloody legs.”

  Daniella got Christopher settled under the large kitchen table and put two large bowls. One filled with potatoes and one empty. “Start peeling, brother. Get those hands moving,” Daniella said with a smile.

  “Gladly, but can I hold a kitten first?”

  Ellalee pulled back the a rag covering the top and let Christopher pet a black cat with a white chest and chin and then let it go in the kitchen where it was immediately on the prowl for anything that moved. “Don’t feed it. It needs to earn its keep too,” Ellalee admonished, but Christopher only smiled.

  Ellalee took another black one with white socks upstairs to the servant’s hall, and it, too, scampered off to explore. The third she took the last up to the main hall and put him down, but the brown tabby with little white feet simply followed her. She picked it up, gave it a snuggle, and put it down again. It took an interest in her for a moment, batting the hem of her skirts, but then took off heading directly for earl’s study. Irwin wasn’t the only one who knew how to beat a hasty retreat, but before she had made it to the stairs, she heard the earl’s roar.

  “Miss Ellalee, come retrieve this varmint!”

  Ellalee just laughed and ran back down the stairs. The earl appeared at the top of the stairs frowning furiously down at her as the cat wound between his legs, but she looked at him and smiled with all her heart. He wasn’t nearly as beastly as he appeared. Her smile flummoxed him, and before he could verbally regroup, she stifled another giggle and fled back towards the kitchen. She heard him growl behind her, and she laughed out loud once more as she rounded the corner because the earl sounded more resigned than his usual grumbling. She hoped her laughter hadn’t carried, but she was sure it had and wondered what the earl would make of it.

  The rest of the day passed quickly without anything more exciting than the kitchen cat’s successful hunt, and Ellalee finally enjoying meals with the staff. After dinner, Christopher would once more sleep in the men’s hall downstairs with the footmen who saw to helping him from his chair into the bed. Ellalee, being relieved of dungeon duty, went to her bedroom arm and arm with Daniella for the first time since they’d been at the manor. The manor seemed far less spooky with Daniella than it had so many late nights as she trudged through these halls after everyone else had turned in. As they came up the stairs to the women’s hall, they saw Elise looking very pale. The young maid jumped at the sight of the sisters, then laughed nervously.

  “Are you well, Elise?” Daniella asked.

  “I’m well,” Elise said and went to her room rather quickly shutting the door behind her.

  “That seemed odd, didn’t it?” Ellalee murmured to Daniella who nodded and replied, “Yes, but what doesn’t here?”

  The next two days passed quickly and uneventfully except for Mistress Murray popping up while Ellalee was cleaning to point out imperfections or some overlooked cranny, and when she couldn’t find anything to complain about, she complained about how long Ellalee was taking on any particular task. Ellalee had completed her scouring of the main floor and was working on the rooms on third floor which surely hadn’t even been entered in years. Her eyes were weepy from the dust in the air as she beat furniture and tapestries and window coverings.

  Winslow stopped by every now and then, looking pleased with her progress and overall considerably less dour than he had when she’d first arrived. The only other thing that concerned Ellalee was that Elise continued to look pale and withdrawn. She was worried the girl wasn’t feeling well, but when Ellalee approached the young maid, Elise assured her that she was fine. Ellalee assumed that whenever Mistress Murray wasn’t hassling her, she must have been after Elise, and perhaps Elise wasn’t able to ignore the housekeeper’s continuous barrage of barbs.

  The kittens had proven ferociously successful, and Christopher was enjoying the kitchen, not only the company but working and sampling as often as he could. Unsurprisingly, the kitchen cat had bonded with the boy, and Ellalee had a sneaking suspicion it would soon be more pet than mouser as it was starting to look righteously plump.

  Daniella and Ellalee had drawn closer together in the last couple of weeks than they had in the last year. They chatted and giggled into the evenings. Ellalee pondered the change after Daniella had fallen asleep. Somehow becoming a bond servant had taken away their most crushing needs of food and shelter. The work was manageable, and as she thought about it more, rewarding even. Daniella was well-praised for her cooking, and while she wasn’t praised for her cleaning, she could see the results of her labor. She w
as proud of how the manor looked. It was funny, but she thought Winslow was pleased as well. His face looked somehow less spectral these days.

  She supposed that she should be grieved at having lost the status that she’d had before she lost her father, but having been laid so low before they were brought to Avium, on the verge of losing parts of her body, likely her life, and surely her family, this seemed more like a home than she’d expected to have again. Winter was nearly upon them, and if they hadn’t been here, they would be starving and freezing instead of warm and clothed and fed. The thoughts gave her pause, and tears of gratefulness popped into her eyes. There was even more to be grateful for than mere survival.

  Ellalee was grateful for the smiles and laughter between herself and her siblings. There was a gleam in Christopher’s eyes, and Daniella’s cheeks were rosy and bright. As she continued to think on their situation as a whole, she remembered her prayers as she fell into the Wasenwater, and realized God had heard her. She could not see the path forward, but she could certainly see God’s handiwork looking back. Wasn’t faith so much more about trust? And it wasn’t really blind trust so much as it was trusting in the promises that God had already made.

  Chapter Fifteen: The Whipping Post

  Ellalee awoke the next morning feeling chipper. She was determined to see if she could find a few minutes to wheel Christopher out to the barn to see the horses. He’d be so pleased to see the animals again, even from his chair. She felt confident that Irwin would be kind to her brother given their mutual love of animals.

  Finally in the late that afternoon she found an opportune moment. Ellalee had underestimated the difficulty of pushing the wheels of Christopher’s chair through the thick tufted grass, but the task was worth the sore arms as he chatted with enthusiasm about seeing Raptim, his name for the earl’s horse. As they entered into the dim light of the barn, Ellalee’s arms were relieved when the chair rolled easier on the stone floor. At the sound of their voices, Irwin appeared from around the corner and looked pleased to see Ellalee.

  “Are you okay, Miss Ellalee? I was worried after last time I saw you,” Irwin asked doffing his grey knit cap so that his wiry brown hair looked all the more wild, standing on end as it now did. His eyes strayed to hers for a moment but quickly fled just over her left shoulder.

  “I’m fine,” Ellalee smiled warmly. Irwin might be a simple man, but Ellalee was once again struck by his kind nature.

  “And the kittens?” Irwin said, now twisting the cap in his hands.

  Ellalee’s smile warmed. “They are as good as you promised. Everyone has been mightily pleased. Except you might talk to Christopher here about not feeding the kitchen cat scraps.”

  “Now little sir, you shouldn’t go feeding that cat if you want it to be a good mouser,” Irwin said seriously, stuffing his hat back on his head. He seemed to find it a bit easier to look at Christopher outright.

  “Max is my best friend, Mr. Irwin, sir. He stays right with me. Last night he even slept in my bed and purred so loud, I could hardly hear Charlie snoring,” Christopher said proudly. Obvious to Ellalee, there were no words that could have better garnered an immediate kinship between her brother and the groomsman.

  Irwin took great delight in showing Christopher all the barn animals, and Christopher gave each one mighty praise which only endeared Christopher more into Irwin’s good graces. Ellalee was willing to bet that Irwin hadn’t been more expressive in the last ten years as he was in the last ten minutes. The only aspect of the visit that disappointed Christopher was that Raptim was not there. Irwin said that his lordship was out investigating something or other and had ridden out on the great black destrier.

  “Mr. Irwin, could you do me a favor?” Christopher peered up at the groom.

  “Well, I’d sure try,” Irwin responded seriously.

  “Well, Gladlia said that I could use a pair of crutches next week so long as I didn’t touch my leg to the ground. She says the bone’s knit up but not solid yet. Do you think you could make me a pair of crutches?”

  “I think I could,” Irwin replied. The groomsman went about finding a piece of string and measured the length from Christopher’s foot to hip and then from hip to just under his arm and promised to try to have a set done next week around his usual chores.

  “Then I could come help you when my sister doesn’t need me in the kitchen,” Christopher added.

  “When you’re healed up, you come on down. ‘Til then, I wouldn’t want an accident to undo your leg. Accidents happen in barns, a bit more frequently than elsewhere,” Irwin said.

  Irwin frowned at the boy’s suddenly pained expression. Ellalee would explain later, but for now she just touched Irwin’s arm and smiled softly and shook her head to let him know that no harm was caused by his comments.

  Out front, Ellalee heard the hoof beats of an approaching rider, and Irwin headed out to receive the horse. Ellalee pushed Christopher’s chair off to the side as Irwin came back into the barn leading Raptim with the earl striding behind him pulling back his hood and peeling off his gloves.

  “You may leave me with this exasperating bit of overgrown dog meat. I have told you to train him, and you continue to fail me.”

  Ellalee’s mouth opened as she realized that there was once again no place to hide. Maybe she could have ducked behind a bale of hay, but there was no hiding Christopher’s chair. Certainly, no one would believe he managed all this way by himself. Ellalee closed her eyes anyway, wishing for a moment that she could be anywhere but the barn. No doubt, she’d be in trouble with the irascible earl once more.

  Indeed, the earl came up short as he caught sight of them. “What on earth are you two doing here? You should be in the kitchen where you were assigned,” he said harshly to Christopher and then turned his attention to Ellalee. “You are most exasperating. I will speak to Miss Murray to increase your workload so that I can be assured that you do not have time to go gadding across the countryside. Though perhaps a ball and chain would be more effective. I’ve no doubt that Winslow can have that arranged.”

  Ellalee shook her head and looked down at her shoes trying to hide her utter frustration.

  “Irwin, take the boy and the maid back to the manor. I will see to this miserable excuse of a horse,” the earl grumbled.

  Ellalee tried hard to keep her eyes downcast as she was sure that any look she might give would surely reduce the earl to a mere grease spot. Whatever had put Lord Valen in this foul mood, he had no excuse to take it out on his staff, and certainly not his horse. Irwin apparently thought along similar lines, at least about the horse.

  “Sir, if you will just let me see to the horse,” Irwin began, making a placating motion with his hands.

  “Go now, Irwin. And close the barn door on your way out.” With that, Valen snatched the reins from Irwin’s hands. The quick movement startled the horse who flattened his ears, jerked his head backwards, and shimmied several steps. Irwin looked pained.

  Ellalee pushed Christopher’s chair out of the barn as Irwin closed the door behind them. It was only when Irwin turned to face them that Ellalee realized that Irwin was deeply troubled. The groom vacillated, turning back and forth between the manor and the barn, muttering under his breath. Ellalee reached out a hand to touch Irwin’s arm, but he jerked away. Then she heard the reason for Irwin’s anguish.

  Irwin loved animals, understood them, lived in the barn with them. Animals were his comfort level, and people, with their casual cruelty, made him uncomfortable and right now, more than uncomfortable. Irwin didn’t trust Lord Valen, and it was soon clear why. The sounds of the earl’s whip brought panic to the groom, and tears to Christopher’s eyes. Raptim’s long scar flashed in Ellalee’s mind.

  “It is all my fault,” Irwin moaned, his fists clenching and unclenching. “I can’t stand that he hits that poor dumb beast.” Irwin began pushing Christopher’s chair towards the manor with such vigor that Christopher was jolted, bouncing erratically in his chair. “He uses that
poor horse as a whipping post for his hateful moods.”

  Christopher clung to the chair white-faced and white-knuckled, and Ellalee saw all the healing that had taken place in serious jeopardy. Who would Christopher be if he was bounced out of that chair and his leg twisted once more? What would his heart look like if he was deprived of all hope, not once, but twice? Nearly anything can be gone through once, but the second time, the knowing is the sure desolation of any naive optimism. She grabbed for Irwin’s arm which was as ineffectual as a child trying to stop a warhorse by gripping its tail.

  Ellalee flung herself in front of the chair putting both hands out to stabilize her brother, taking a severe bruising on her shin and thigh as Irwin rammed the chair into her without seeming to see her until the chair stopped. She blinked back tears of pain and only mewed a gasp at the impact. Irwin let go of the chair and began to shake.

  Ellalee stared back at the barn. In the distance, for a moment, she thought she saw out of the corner of her eye, a grey cloaked figure very nearly blending into the grey mist and the shadows of the trees. As she turned her direct attention to the spot, the figure was nothing more than mist, a trick of the light. All the same, the nape of her neck prickled. In her mind, she knew it wasn’t a ghost or the personification of a curse, it was this stupid manor wrenching its unhappiness into her subconscious. This manor always seemed a cold, dreary grave. Here, the sun gave no warmth, and the frigid wind blowing through the trees was bitterness.