Page 59 of Winterset
“Yes, sir. It shall be ready by seven.”
“See that it is.” I stood. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must finish blocking the entrances and exits to the passageways and priest hides, and then, I think I will walk in the walled garden.”
Kate
A cool breeze woke mefrom my garden nap. White puffy clouds dotted the sky, and the sun was high overhead.
Oh no!
I sat up with a start. If the sun was that high in the sky, I’d stayed longer than I should have.Muchlonger. Mr. Jennings would be returning from church any moment, if he was not already home.
I grabbed my art supplies and rushed to the gate. I wished I could linger a little longer in the garden, but sadly, I didn’t have a single second to spare. It would be another week before I could safely return. Sneaking inside the manor this late in the day was already risky.
I locked the gate behind me and started through the hedgerow maze.
Should I go through the main entrance or the servants’ entrance? I wasn’t sure whether Mr. Jennings had returned from church yet, but if he had, he might be sitting in his study or lounging in the library. But I could not enter through the servants’ entrance either. His manservant could be sitting in the kitchen with Mrs. Owensby. Apparently, he was an aspiring poet and enjoyed sharing his work with her while she cooked.
What was I to do?
I was entering the last row of the maze when I heard a sound and stopped short.
There, entering the maze, was Mr. Jennings.
Thankfully, he was looking down at the ground, or else he would have seen me.
I turned on my heel to retreat, and a twig snapped beneath my feet.
“Is someone there?” Mr. Jennings said.
He’d heard me but hadn’t yet seen me, so I dashed away down the row.
“Hello!” he called.
If I could navigate a few more rows, I would reach the edge of the maze that bordered the courtyard. If I made it there, I could wedge myself through the plants to freedom.
But Mr. Jennings’s footfalls sounded such a short distance away. Only one row over, from the sound of crunching leaves and snapping sticks. If I slowed even a fraction, he would catch me.
Fear propelled my legs faster.
Only one row stood between me and safety.
I sprinted down the last row toward a dead end. The hedges were planted so closely together and their branches so tightly woven that the plants looked like a green wall. Glancing at the ground, I found a small space between bases and turned sideways to squeeze through. Sharp sticks scratched my uncovered skin as I slid through the hedge, but I hardly noticed the sting as I exited to safety.
Mr. Jennings would not be able to wedge himself through the hedgerow, nor could he climb over it as he had the front gate; the little limbs would not support his weight. He would have to retrace the path to the exit, and by that time, I would be safely inside the manor.
I’d not run more than half a dozen steps across the courtyard toward the house when I heard a thud and an ungentlemanly curse.
He must have run headlong into the hedge when he’d turned the corner at full speed.
I ran to the house’s main entrance. A glance confirmed no one was in the entrance hall, so I went unnoticed up the grand staircase and through the attic door.
My heart pounded as I climbed the attic stairs to safety. I hurried into the first decoy priest hide and closed the door, sighing with relief, then sucked in a sharp breath.
The second door to the real priest hide was slightly ajar.
I did not remember leaving it open; I was always careful to close it behind me, but I had been excited for a day of freedom. Perhaps I’d forgotten to check that it was securely closed. Or possibly, Mrs. Owensby had come up to check on me and left it ajar by accident?
I slowly pushed it open and peeked inside.
