CHAPTER 5

I felt a little guilty even after I wrapped the towel around John. He looked soaked through, and the two towels I brought felt completely inadequate.

I walked around to his side where the water hadn't spoiled the grass and sat down.

"What's so special about this ball?" John asked.

"I found it hidden away in the forbidden room."

"Forbidden room? There are rooms in the manor you don't use?" John asked.

"Ridiculous, isn't it? Families in town have eight in a tiny house with two rooms. We have over twenty rooms and use two. Mother doesn't mind me going in and out of most of the rooms—she tells me that they are for when guests come, except we never really have guests unless it's a ball."

"Sounds wasteful."

"It is. One room though, I'm not meant to go in, only the housekeeper is allowed in there—even the maids are forbidden."

"How did you get in, then? Walk through walls?" he smiled as he spoke before tugging on the towel to pull it closer to his body.

"Almost. I used the servant corridors—these little passages the maids can use without being seen. I found that if I snuck into the one in my room, I could follow the passage straight down the hall to the end. That's where the forbidden room is."

"And did your mother have a skeleton in there? Candles and spell books?" he asked

I smiled. Cruel as it sounded, I sometimes thought Mother better belonged in a gothic romance. Only she'd be the villain rather than the damsel. "Not that I have uncovered. The room isn't anything to do with her. She inherited the manor and titles when my uncle died. Very sad story. She once told me her brother and his wife were heading back to the manor, having spent a couple of years in France. They never made it. I don't think Mother really wanted to stay so far north since Father hadn't long passed, but she'd promised my uncle he could rest there before continuing here to Frogmere."

"I still don't get why the room would be forbidden."

"Truth is, neither do I. Perhaps that's why I would venture in there to look. I found this ball on the dresser, it's engraved. I took it and planned to return it, but Mother found out I'd been in the room. Now the door in the passageway is boarded over. Only the housekeeper possesses the key to the door. If Mother hadn't walked into my room yesterday, I would have hidden the ball away like always. As it stood, I didn't have time for that and so into the little pocket of my dress it went."

"What does the writing say?" he asked.

Using the hem of my dress, I wiped over the surface of the ball. Once dry, I held it out to him. He looked away at the water.

"You tell me."

My thumb rubbed over the words.

"Thomas Nicholson and Rebekah Covington. Two people, one love, shared heart." Two interlocking hearts were engraved at the end and there was a vine that circled the entire ball with tiny flowers on it.

"Sweet."

"Sounds like they cared very much for each other. So young, though. The carriage slipped in wet weather and overturned. One of the horses broke free, but none survived. I wasn't even a year old at the time."

"It's not as heavy as you'd think it should be."

I raised my head just as John turned his.

"What do you mean?"

"If it was solid gold, it would be heavier."

The ball sat on my hand. I'd never noticed that, but he wasn't wrong. On the grand piano neither of us could play, Mother displayed a small gold statue of a dancer. It was about the same size as the ball, but it was considerably heavier.

"Maybe it is hollow inside?" I suggested.

"I didn't feel any joins."

My fingers passed over the ball. I must have held it a hundred times, but apart from the message, I hadn't looked at it more closely. With it balanced in my hand, I turned it slowly with the other.

"Stop. Right there." John leaned forward and pointed his finger at a thin indentation.

"That's just the vine."

"Can I look?"

I placed it in his hand. He traced his finger over the vine. "That's a join of some kind, the vine part."

His fingers brushed over the letters and paused on the heart. He moved his thumb to the hearts covering them entirely. His thumb turned slightly white as he pressed down. The click couldn't be mistaken. Perhaps the frog was also intrigued as it jumped onto John's knee and sat with its head turned up towards the ball.

"Does it come apart?" I leaned forward and felt his hair brushing against my forehead.

John used his fingers to separate the ball into two pieces. In one half, a ring with an emerald and diamonds set into the band. A piece of tightly folded paper sat inside the gold band. Not a ring for a lady, but a man.

I reached over and plucked the paper from the circle. Careful not to tear it, I unfolded it and held it towards the moonlight to attempt to read it.

"A gift for our son when of age," I read. "That can't be correct."

"What?"

"They didn't have any children. If they did, the child would have inherited the manor."

"Maybe the child died in the carriage?"

I shook my head. "No, someone would have mentioned it. After all, Mother said she was required to identify the bodies. Besides, only two are on the headstone."

"Kind of horrible to think, but maybe the baby hadn't been born yet?"

"Perhaps." I admired the ring a moment more before placing it back in the hemisphere and sealing it inside the ball.

"Won't you be missed being out this late?" John asked.

"Usually, Mother would check I was in bed and not reading. I don't think the housekeeper will venture out. At least, not unless she thought we were sneaking up to rob the manor of all its silver."

"Still, you probably should head back. It wouldn't be good for you if you got seen with a mill worker."

"Honestly, it's been nice to talk to someone. The maids don't chat, and Mother's conversation skills with me are next to nothing. I spend days with only myself for company or characters in the books I read—like the Grimm brothers, though I loathed learning German."

"The Frog Prince." He pointed to the green frog that sat listening to our conversation. "I didn't read it, but the fishmonger's wife sometimes reads aloud when we go to markets."

"You're welcome to come and fish here in the river and lake. The gamekeeper is forever complaining to Mother about some fish that should not apparently be in there."

"Invite one from town and next thing you know, you'll have every man and his dog here. I reckon Lady Catherine would prefer the unwanted fish to unwanted people." He smiled. "Come on, let's get you back to the manor."

I stood and brushed my hand against the fabric of my skirt. It was just a simple cotton dress, not unlike the fabrics that were probably made in the mill he worked at. Mother didn't approve of my lack of interest in the mill industry, though her knowledge relied heavily on the manager of the mill.

As John stood, the frog appeared to decide it had spent enough time in the company of humans for the evening and plopped into the river with a single leap.

"My arm's still wet, so probably best you don't spoil your dress, but I'll walk you back."

John held my hand as I stood. Truly, I don't think I would have minded my dress becoming a little wet. The warmth that ran from his hand to mine as he held it travelled in waves through my body.

"That little bridge certainly helped me come and go today. It is far easier than the boat."

"How did you explain the boat?" John asked.

I glanced back toward the pier. It sat bobbing on the water, unable to escape as the rope held it firmly in place.

"I got up early, though, when the sun was up, and retrieved it." I looked over, hoping to see a shocked expression, but received only a smile.

"You did say you could swim, right?"

"I was far better prepared. Besides you and me, only my maid has suspicions of my late-night swim. Mother didn't even notice me missing until I redressed and returned to the ball. I think they were all a bit too far gone with the spirits."

"And with the ball back in your hands, no one will ever know."

He was right. Only he knew the truth about last night. Truth. I looked down at my hand. I couldn't see the ball itself, but my mind started to repeat the words. By that time, we stood at the little makeshift bridge.

"Except while this has been solved, I now have the mystery of the note and ring."

"I'm sure you can find the answer."

"Walk me across?" I asked, hopeful he would agree. "There's a slippery patch near the other side and I would hate to need to be rescued again."

He nodded and held out a hand from beneath the towel. I took it and stepped onto the bridge. The roughness of the bark would no doubt be evident on the soles of the shoes when next inspected.

With some reluctance, I moved off the makeshift bridge without any disaster occurring.

"I'll wait until you're back at the manor," John said.

My hand still sat in his. While dancing, I often held a man's hand, but there was something about John that made it feel unique. As I stood watching him, a thought raced through my mind: If he asked me to run away and marry him that very moment, I'd do it. Such an improper thought. A reckless proposition. And yet…

"Thank you," I said.

"I guess I won't be seeing you around anymore."

My heart sank. "Unless I fall in the lake and need rescuing once more. I should return."

He gave a slight nod.

"Thank you, John. I really do mean that."

He smiled. "I guess thanks for trusting me not to steal it."

"I don't believe you are capable of such things."

My feet wouldn't move. I felt his grip loosen on my hand.

"Goodbye, Miss Hannah."

"Goodbye, John."

I turned to hurry away in case I made good on the thoughts in my head.

"Miss Hannah?"

"Yes?"

He stood there, with his hands in the pockets of his pants, the towel still around his shoulders.

"If you're ever in town, don't be a stranger. I live with me Ma on Millwork road."

A smile crept across my face.

"I shall."

I turned to run back to the manor. My heart happy with how we parted and eager to make good on the promise. Even as I closed the servant door behind me, I left like a giddy girl. Perhaps I looked like one too as Kitty laughed as she crossed the kitchen with a thick shawl to wrap around my shoulders.

"Next time, Miss, let me know if you be meeting someone. I almost locked you out."

"Our secret?"

"Of course, Miss. Most excitement I've seen since I came to work here."