Chapter 10
Siobhan was already gone, up the stairs to check on the twins. Mary could not even finish her thought, she didn't know what to think, to say. She felt completely numb. Siobhan and Robert had left her standing in front of the stairs.
Siobhan went up the stairs, straight away. Robert had turned and left the estate before she could finish her sentence. Mary turned and placed her foot on the bottom stair. She placed her hand along the railing, her fingertips barely touching the wood beneath them.
She began her way up the stairs very slowly, stopping to stand on each stair with both feet before proceeding to the next step. She couldn't wrap her mind around the thoughts swirling and colliding with each other deep within the confines of her sanity.
Her mind barely registered that she had reached the top step. She raised her foot to touch the next step that wasn't there; she stopped, frozen in that stance.
DING! It was though a sound had reverberated throughout the inside of her head. The things that she had been thinking about slowly formed into a more tangible thought. A solid thought. This thought was molding itself into an idea.
This was an idea that could very well end her tenure at this estate.
She had this thought, this idea, but should she let it continue its formation in her brain? Should she forget this thought process? Should she say anything to anyone? Was it possible? Could she have been so naïve? She tried to force away the image forming in her mind, unsuccessfully.
She began to tremble. The tips of her fingers were tingling. All of the ambient sounds around her started to get fuzzy. Black spots clouded her vision. She began to sink. She brought her hands out from her sides in attempt to steady herself. It was already too late. There was nothing she could do.
Mary felt the weightlessness of her body falling. In that instant she experienced complete exhilaration. She could feel air breezing through her fingers, cooling her palms that had been sticky with perspiration. The cool air wrapped itself like a silk scarf around her neck as she toppled down the stairs. Everything went black.
Robert turned and left the two women standing at the foot of the stairs. He stalked out of the house and headed towards the barn. He had told Mary he might not be home in time for supper, in truth; he wasn't sure when he would return to the estate. Too many odd things had happened at this estate over the last few years.
If he had any sense at all, when he left the estate he would leave for good. He would leave and never look back. He thought about his belongings in his small room, surely he could leave them and not think twice about them. He thought about how Mr. Clifford had always been a decent employer and had always done right by him, but he was sure to find other employers just as kind. He thought about Mary.
He may be able to leave all his worldly possessions behind but he knew he would not be able to leave Mary and not think about her every day until he died. He had found himself a companion in Mary. She was a few years younger than him. Neither of them had ever talked about forming something more than friendship. But over the years, his feelings had grown. His love for Mary was unconditional.
He couldn't help but wonder if she thought of him the way he sometimes thought of her. He wasn't sure what would become of their relationship if he stayed at the estate. He wondered is Mary would come with him. He knew her commitment to Clifford family had been longstanding. He knew that she had started when she was just over twelve years old at Marion's family's estate. She and Marion had essentially grown up together.
Mary had been a few years older than Marion, but Marion was always looking out for Mary. Before Marion and James had been married, Marion approached her father and asked if she might bring Mary along with her when she went to live at the Clifford estate.
Marion had asked Mary to come to the Clifford estate and be the head housekeeper after she and James had married. Mary whole-heartily agreed and left after giving Marion's parents proper notice. Mary was so grateful to Marion for the job. She and Marion acted more like friends than employer and employee.
He knew Mary would not leave the estate. He also knew that he wouldn't go while Mary remained. If he was honest with himself he would admit that he had loved Mary for years. He would tell her how he felt and he would ask for her hand in marriage. Then he would tell her he wanted them to start their own life and leave the Clifford estate. That would probably be the only way he would get her to ever leave them willingly.
Robert shook his head trying to turn his thoughts from Mary to what he was going to do. He looked around the barn and found Samuel talking to himself while brushing Miss Satta's horse.
Samuel looked over his shoulder and nearly jumped back from the horse. Robert hadn't meant to startle the boy. He hadn't realized he had been so quiet. He went over to the stall where his horse was and began saddling her for his ride.
"Are ya' goin' inta' town?" Samuel asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Robert nodded his head. He lead his horse form the stall and out of the barn. He mounted his horse and started for town.
He made his thoughts focus on the task at hand. He knew there had been many strange things happening over the last few years. He wondered to himself about why or what was causing these things. He wasn't sure what it was, but he had to know the truth. He had to know everything.
Siobhan had left Mary standing at the foot of the stairs. She made her way silently down the hall. She could hear the children's voices lowered and whispering to each other. She crept along the wall and stopped just in front of the door to the nursery.
"I am telling you the truth Jane. Why don't you believe me?" Alec hissed.
"Alec, the only thing you ever do is make a fool of yourself. Even if what you say is true, you had better not tell anyone about what you think you can do. They'll lock you in the asylum or worse!" Jane retorted.
"What about you? You told me about what you can do." Alec whined.
"That was different Alec" Jane sneered. "I can control it. You apparently didn't even know you were doing anything until now, if you truly did anything at all. You can't be sure you did what you say you did. I would have to see it for myself to actually believe you could do it."
"How was it any different than you?" Alec asked. "You are just cross with me because you think you should be the only one with powers! You are just mad that you couldn't get yours to work the other day! I should have known—"
"Hush your mouth for one minute, did you hear that?" Jane whispered.
Siobhan turned her head to see Mary appear the top of the stairs, looking white as a ghost. Siobhan took a step towards her, as Jane peeked around the door from the nursery. Alec burst through them and ran towards Mary as she fell backwards down the stairs. Alec dropped to his knees at the top of the stairs as Mary collided with the floor at the bottom of the stairs.