Lord of Legends. Susan Krinard

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СКАЧАТЬ lights. Mariah took no offense.

      “I’m fine,” she said. She took a better look at the girl, wondering why she hadn’t really noticed her before. Nola must have been close to eighteen, with a round, rather plain face, vivid red hair tucked under her cap, light gray eyes, and a mouth that must smile frequently when she wasn’t in the presence of her supposed betters. “How are you, Nola?”

      The girl couldn’t have been more surprised. “I … I am very well, your ladyship.”

      As well as anyone could be in this mausoleum of a house, Mariah thought. But Nola’s reply gave her a sudden peculiar notion. If there was one thing she’d learned, both at home and at Donbridge, it was that the servants—from the steward to the lowliest scullery maid—always knew everything that went on in a household. If anyone at Donbridge had heard of a prisoner in the folly, they would have done so.

      But she had to be very careful not to frighten Nola. Mariah had few enough allies, and Nola, so easily ignored by everyone else, might be just the ticket. “Sit down, Nola,” she said.

      The maid looked about wildly as if someone had threatened to cut her throat. “I—I should go, your ladyship.”

      “I’d like to have a talk, if you don’t mind.”

      She realized how she sounded as soon as she spoke. Nola undoubtedly believed she was in for a scolding for being caught cleaning up, and that was the last thing Mariah wanted her to think.

      “You’re not in any trouble,” Mariah said. “I really only want to talk. I’m alone here, you see.”

      Comprehension flashed across the girl’s face. “You … you wish to talk to me, your ladyship?”

      “Yes. Please, sit down.”

      Nola returned to the fireplace, set down her scuttle and brushed off her skirts before venturing onto the carpet again. She sat gingerly in the chair next to the hearth, her back rigid.

      “Don’t be concerned, Nola,” Mariah said. “I’d like to ask you a few questions about the house, if you don’t mind.”

      “I … of course, your ladyship.”

      Mariah folded her hands in her lap, hoping she looked sufficiently unthreatening. “How long have you been here, Nola?”

      “Well … mmm … almost six months, your ladyship.”

      “You must observe a great deal of what goes on at Donbridge.”

      Nola blanched, and Mariah knew she’d moved too fast. “I realize you really don’t know me well, Nola,” she said. “If you don’t feel comfortable confiding in me …”

      “Oh, no, your ladyship! You’ve never been anything but kind to everyone.” She paused, evidently amazed by her own frankness. “It must be very different in America.”

      “In many ways it is.” Mariah leaned forward a little. “The former Lady Donnington hasn’t been kind, has she?”

      Nola glanced toward the door. “Why should she care about the likes of us?”

      That was close to downright rebellion. Mariah might have smiled if not for her more sober purpose. “I don’t believe she cares much about anyone but her son.”

      The girl dropped her gaze. “That’s not for me to say, your ladyship.”

      “Please don’t call me that, Nola. My name is Mariah.”

      A stubborn expression replaced the unease on Nola’s face. “It isn’t right, your ladyship.”

      The subject certainly wasn’t worth arguing over. “Very well. But this is very important, Nola. I believe you can help me with something that matters a great deal to me. Will you answer my questions honestly?”

      The armchair creaked as Nola shifted her weight. “Yes, your ladyship.”

      “Do you know if Lord Donnington has a relative … a cousin, perhaps … who looks very much like him?”

      Nola’s eyes widened. “A cousin, your ladyship?”

      “Anyone who might resemble him strongly, except for the color of his hair.”

      Mariah thought that Nola would have bolted from her chair and out the door if she’d thought she could get away with it. But the maid must have seen that Mariah was very serious indeed, for she gave up the battle.

      “There are rumors,” she whispered, her head still half-cocked toward the door. “Only rumors, your ladyship.”

      “What sort of rumors?”

      “Of someone … someone being kept at Donbridge.”

      “Kept against their will?”

      Nola shivered. “Yes, your ladyship.”

      This conversation was proving to be far more productive than Mariah could have hoped. “Do the rumors tell why?” she asked.

      The maid shook her head anxiously.

      “It’s all right, Nola. Do you know who is supposed to be guarding this prisoner?”

      She could almost feel the girl’s trembling. “There’s a strange man who lives in a cottage at the edge of the estate. They say he never speaks, and no one knows what he does. I heard—”

      CHAPTER TWO

      FOOTSTEPS SOUNDED IN the corridor outside, and Nola leaped from her seat.

      “Begging your pardon, your ladyship,” she gasped. “I must go!”

      She was out of the room before Mariah could rise from her own chair. She listened for a moment, hearing the rapid patter of Nola’s feet as she hurried toward the servants’ stairs. There would be no more questioning her today, that was certain.

      But she’d confirmed what Mariah had already surmised; the prisoner’s captivity was not a complete secret. Was it possible that she’d been too hasty in assuming that Vivian didn’t know about it?

      Could she have kept such a secret from her own daughter-in-law for the ten weeks since Mariah had arrived at Donbridge? A secret her son must share.

      Mariah shook her head. She was jumping to conclusions, which was a very dangerous habit. She had no evidence whatsoever, only the prisoner’s reaction to Donnington’s name. And confronting Vivian directly was unthinkable. Mariah could only hope that Nola wouldn’t go running directly to the dowager, though the tone of dislike in the maid’s voice when she’d spoken of her former mistress suggested she wouldn’t. Nevertheless, their conversation might very well be the talk of the house by noon.

      You’ve gone about this the wrong way, Mariah told herself. In her eagerness to discover the truth, she’d trusted a girl she knew nothing about. She’d made wild assumptions based upon one meeting with a man she didn’t know.

      But that man still needed her. From СКАЧАТЬ