Page 21 of A Midwinter Wager

Chapter 13

Mrs. Blakeley was notunpleasant company, nor was her younger sister, Miss Carlton, but all the same, Cesca would have preferred sitting next to Fitz. But he was outside, trudging through the snow while she and the other ladies traveled in comfort to the Oddfellows Inn. Alicia was oddly silent. Now Captain Brandt was no longer with them, her light was shuttered.

Next time she looked up, it was to find Alicia staring at her with a look of cold calculation. The look vanished instantly but awoke in Cesca a strong sense of unease.

Mrs. Blakeley broke the tension. "Well, we'll have to hope our brave officers know how to vanquish ghosts."

"Why would that be?" enquired Alicia, frowning.

"Because the Oddfellows has a haunted room."

Alicia laughed, and Miss Carlton shook her head in disbelief. Cesca, on the other hand, could not be so dismissive. "Do you know the story?" she inquired, fascinated.

"It's a grim tale," replied Mrs. Blakeley. "And perhaps not one for a frozen Midwinter's Eve."

So why had she brought it up? But Mrs. Blakeley was only making sure of her audience. "It is said that a traveler once became enamored of a maid who worked at the inn. A lowly wench, who mostly cleaned the place and emptied out the slops. The gentleman found her pretty, however, and made improper advances. But she'd have none of him."

"What kind of gentleman was he?" asked Alicia. "Was he wealthy?"

"A veteran of King Charles's army, turned to robbery on the road. So, he had wealth, yes, but ill-gotten."

"Maybe she'd found this out, which was why she rejected him," suggested Cesca. "For who'd want to ally themselves to a high toby?"

"I don't know what was in her mind. This story is so old that it may have changed in the telling. But the long and the short of it is, that when the local constable paid his regular visit to the inn, the highwayman blamed the maid for alerting him."

"And had she?" asked Miss Carlton, sitting forward in her seat.

"Who knows? That fact is obscured by the mists of time. Anyway, the highwayman was in the room which is now thought haunted, and he had captured the maid and locked them both inside. His reason was vile."

A shudder wracked Cesca's body, and she drew the cloak more tightly around her neck, wondering what could be coming next. After a dramatic pause, Mrs. Blakeley went on. "He built up the fire in that room, then smashed the window so he could leap out. The constable, who heard the girl's screams, pounded upon the door until it broke. At which point, the villain thrust the girl into the fire to divert the constable, while he sprang through the window."

Shocked gasps greeted this.

"I have to assume she died," said Cesca unsteadily. Death by fire? Why couldn't this particular ghost have been drowned instead? Or frozen to death? Anything but burned.

"Her clothes caught fire, and though she lived on a little while, the agony broke her spirit, and she succumbed. Now, guests at the inn believe they can hear her wailing."

"That could be the wind," said Alicia.

"And some have seen a ghostly figure by the fireplace, or forming in the smoke," Mrs. Blakeley finished dramatically.

"Then I hope that horrible room is already occupied when we get there," said Miss Carlton, looking genuinely concerned. "For I wouldn't sleep there for all the gold in England."

"Perhaps we could ask the officers to share that room," said Cesca. "And the ladies can sleep in pairs in whatever other accommodation is available."

Alicia was looking at Cesca with that speculative expression again, no doubt thinking how little she wanted to spend her evening sharing a room with her older stepsister. Well, if that were the case, the feeling was mutual.

Mrs. Blakeley's gruesome myth and the discussion it engendered had entertained them for much of the journey. Soon they were being helped down from the carriage and escorted into the inn.

While Fitz's coachman negotiated prices and accommodation with the landlord, a sleepy maid ushered the ladies into a parlor where a fire still glowed gently. It was swiftly stoked to a blaze. Shortly after, mulled wine was offered to them, and the serving maid sent on a mission to heat some ale and look out some spirits in expectation of the gentlemen's arrival.

Cesca was lurking anxiously in the passageway when the inn door opened, and Fitz entered, bringing with him a flurry of snow. His face lit up as soon as he saw her, and she drank in the sight of him. His cheeks were ruddy from the cold, and his dark blond hair clung damply to his forehead, but his eyes were brightly alert, and she thought she'd never seen him looking more handsome.

Captain Brandt was right behind him, so after a brief word of greeting, she scurried back to the parlor. She'd no wish to expose her feelings for Fitz in front of a man she barely knew and couldn’t bring herself to trust.

When the gentlemen came to join the ladies, they were accompanied by the steely smell of snow, as well as the breath of cold that still clung to their bodies. Fitz gave orders that all the horses be stabled appropriately and cared for, with blankets and a portion of warm mash each. As she lingered by the doorway, she heard him discussing with the innkeeper how many beds were available and working out how best to allocate the rooms between the current company. When he finally entered the parlor, every head turned in his direction.

"You'll be glad to hear there are enough rooms to accommodate us all," he declared. "I've asked for fires to be lit in each, but I advise that we remain down here while the chambers warm up."