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“Thank you, Helen. Should I be worried that I cannot find Lady Amy?” Matilda asked, feeling her cheeks begin to heat a little again. “I mean, is this something she does often?”
For just a moment, Helen looked reluctant. Then she sucked in a deep breath and sighed deeply before she responded, “I do not think it is anything to worry about at all. Lady Amy likes to take herself off to be alone from time to time.”
The way that she said the words suggested to Matilda that it happened more than just time to time, especially when she thought of all the letters she had written on the subject, but she decided it was best to give the personal maid the benefit of the doubt. She also decided to take the reassurance on board, trying to calm herself a little further.
As if she saw the anxiety on Matilda’s face, Helen stepped forward and placed a gentle and comforting hand upon her shoulder. “Honestly, do not worry. Though I will give you a little advice. Try her bedroom, and if she is not there, she will most likely be somewhere in the garden, possibly the orchard at the end of the south garden. She often likes to read there.”
Matilda had to admit that what she was describing sounded magical to her and she could not blame Lady Amy for wanting to read beneath the orchard trees in the dappled sunlight rather than spending her morning in a stuffy drawing-room learning mathematics or how to sew. It gave her an idea.
Perhaps I shall take our time together outside wherever possible,she thought. Feeling a little relieved now that she had somewhere to properly begin looking for Amy, she said to Helen, “Thank you for the advice. It is greatly appreciated.”
Helen gave her one last squeeze on the shoulder before stepping back and offering a curtsy. “I wish you all the best in finding the little rascal,” she said, and Matilda saw the way her cheeks started to blush as if she had not actually meant to say the last part out loud. Matilda could not help but smile in response, feeling just as Helen did, that it was all too easy to speak in each other’s presence.
“Thank you,” Matilda said again, bowing her head before she turned and began to make her way back toward the main staircase and the chambers above. Even as she walked away, she could not help but think,Miss Stuart may just be the only friend I will find here.
As Helen had advised, Matilda checked Lady Amy’s bed chambers. Though she doubted it, and felt stupid for doing it, she even checked in all of the wardrobes and behind furniture, half expecting for the ten-year-old to be physically hiding from her. After all she had learned so far, she was not about to put anything past the young lady.
By the time she had checked the bedchambers high and low, she was adamant that the girl was not there. Still, she said aloud, “Lady Amy, if you are here, I would very much like to get to know you better. Perhaps we could walk down to the orchard?”
She paused in the centre of the room, listening intently for several moments in the hopes that she might get some kind of response. When there was none, she sighed deeply and shook her head. Exiting the room, she stopped at the door, and glanced around one final time for any clue as to where Lady Amy might possibly be. Everything was neatly in order as one would expect of a young lady’s room.
Looks like it is time for a walk to the orchard,Matilda thought with a deep sigh. The way that Helen had suggested the south garden slightly alarmed her. It was an indicator that there were several gardens she had to check, and she was concerned it might take her the entire day to find the young lady. She could only hope that she would do so before the Duke returned from whatever business had taken him away from the house.
She would not have stowed away on his carriage, would she?Matilda asked herself even as she closed the door and headed down the hall. The thought was almost too concerning to bear, and she quickly pushed it away. Of course, a young lady would never do that. Besides, there were not exactly many places to stow away on a carriage.
Matilda could not imagine that even a trouble-making young girl like Lady Amy would have the strength in body or mind to slip beneath a carriage and hold on for dear life as some highwayman might do to await the perfect time for an ambush on the road.
With a flinch at the thoughts rushing through her mind, she quickened her step and took to the staircase once more. Her footfalls sounded all too loud, echoing through the large open stairwell and entryway as she went, and she imagined that some servant somewhere was likely hearing and laughing at the alarm in her step.
Hold it together, Matilda,she snapped at herself, gripping the skirts of her dress to stop herself from tripping, and forcing herself to slow her pace a little.The first day is always the hardest.
Pausing at the bottom of the stairs to catch her breath, she closed her eyes and sucked in a deep inhale. Dropping her skirts and smoothing them down, she turned and began to head back down the hall where she had met Helen, having seen a wide-open glass door that appeared to lead out to the gardens at the back of the house.
To her relief, she had been right, and the door was unlocked. Gripping the handle, it turned easily, and she pushed the door open to step out onto the terrace at the back of the house.
For just a moment, the garden she looked out upon took her breath away. It was split into sections by terrace, leading to an open area of lawns cut through with shingle paths and a fountain at its centre. On either side of the lawns were hedges that appeared to lead to separate gardens and maybe even a maze.
Then at the bottom there was a brick wall covered with climbing flowers. Even from a distance, Matilda could tell from their bright pale pink and deep purple colours that they were not roses but clematises of some kind. The flowers brought a smile to her as they were by far her favourite flowers.
Beyond the wall, she could just see the lush green tops of the trees and guessed that she had located the orchard.Should I check the rest of the orchard first?Matilda asked herself. Then she decided against it, remembering what Helen had told her. If Helen was right, and Matilda guessed that as she was the personal maid she most likely would be, then it would be a waste of her time to check everywhere else.
Steeling herself with a deep breath, Matilda prepared herself for whatever she might find in the orchard, then she started to march down the terrace steps.You can do this, Matilda,she told herself overly firmly as she walked with purpose down the main path, around the fountain and on still to the archway gate that led through to the orchard.You can handle whatever she throws at you!
At the gate, she stopped to adjust the ribbon holding back her hair, giving herself one final thought of encouragement before she reached for the latch of the gate.Here we go.
Deciding it was best not to startle the girl or maybe even not alert her to her presence at all until she was sure of where she was, Matilda opened the gate carefully and closed it behind her. Walking slowly and quietly, she began to walk through the orchard, trying not to get distracted by the beauty of the place.
The sweet scent of apple trees filled her nostrils and when she glanced down, she found several had fallen from the branches to lie in the dappled light at the trunks of the tree, some of them having rolled onto the path.
Knowing that the fallen fruit would be no good, Matilda paused only to glance up and find a couple of sweet looking apples hanging above her head. Reaching up, having to push herself right onto her tiptoes to reach them, she carefully pulled two from the branch above her head and placed one in the pocket of her apron while rubbing the second on the material of her dress before taking a bite.
Just as she had suspected, the apple was extremely sweet though it had quite a sharp and sour aftertaste that only made Matilda’s mouth water for another bite.
Continuing onward, keeping her footfalls as quiet as possible, she realised that she could hear page flipping coming from up ahead. To anyone else’s ears it might have been missed entirely but to hers the sound was well known, and she was quickly able to locate the young lady sitting with her back to a trunk, almost entirely hidden by the tree’s large roots. Matilda could just see a small part of the girl’s head, her brown hair falling free around her shoulders and not a bonnet in sight.
I cannot exactly protest at that,Matilda thought, realising that in her haste to find the girl she had entirely forgotten her own bonnet to protect herself from the sun. Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, Matilda prepared to approach.
Whether the girl heard her or not, she made no sign that she had when Matilda slipped around the tree and moved to stand over her.
