Page 5 of From the Ashes
"There's another medium here aside from yourself?"
I didn't tell him I was a necromancer, and that there was a difference. "Her name is Meredith. She's about my height and her hair is dark with tight curls. She likes to wear pink. You'll find her in the third bedchamber from the old kitchen."
"The servants quarters," he said absently. "I will fetch her, but she may not be a medium. She does not acknowledge me."
"She will if you talk to her directly. Tell her she must get the key from Mrs. Denk somehow and slip it under the door."
"And if she will not do it?"
"Tell her to fetch Alice. Alice has more courage. She'll do it." It begged the question, however—why hadn't she already tried to get the key and freed me? Or had she tried, and failed? "Thank you, Sir Geoffrey. I appreciate you coming here to help a damsel in distress." If a little flattery insured he did his best, then so be it.
"I can't spend much time convincing her," he warned me. "I must continue on my rounds. The perimeter must be secured, the battlements made ready. The French army lie in wait just beyond the trees and may attack today."
Oh dear. So he was mad after all. I supposed it was unlikely that a spirit could reside here for so long, alone, and not have lost part of his mind.
Chain mail rattled and then suddenly ceased. He'd vanished. I waited. And waited. It felt like hours. To take my mind off my hollow stomach and icy bones, I sang every song my adoptive mother had taught me as a child, and when I finished those, I began again, and again, getting louder each time.
"Cease this infernal noise!" shouted Sir Geoffrey finally.
"You're back!" I didn't tell him I'd almost given up. The hint of madness hadn't instilled much confidence in me. "Do you have news?"
"The French draw near."
"I meant news about my escape. Did you speak with Meredith?"
"I did. After she calmed and rallied her wits, I followed her to see the other maiden, Alice. Alas, Alice is asleep and cannot be woken."
"Asleep!" That explained why she hadn't come to assist me. "Did Meredith shake her?"
"She did, and shouted at her, and poured water over her feet." He sounded agitated, his concentration not on the conversation.
"Why her feet?"
"She didn't want to ruin the maiden's hair."
I rolled my eyes. "And then what happened?"
"Nothing. She slumbered on."
Poor Alice was in one of her deep sleeps again, tortured by dreams of the queen chasing her, I suspected.
The chain mail rattled, moving further away, then drew close again. He must be standing right in front of me. "Forgive me, Mistress Holloway, I must leave now. This is the safest place for you at present anyway."
"What are you talking about, Sir Geoffrey? What's happening?"
"The French will unlikely negotiate."
I clicked my tongue. If I could grab hold of a ghost, I would have strangled him. I was so close to freedom, and yet so far away. I needed his help. Without him or Meredith or Alice…
"Can you speak to Meredith again on my behalf," I said. "Urge her to come down here on her own. Tell her Mrs. Denk hasn't fed me in over a day."
"The head woman is busy. I don't like her, but she has more than your wellbeing on her mind at present."
"What could possibly be more important than my life?" I shouted.
"The French."
I groaned. It was hopeless.
