FREED from yet another domestic tangle Percy took the spiral stairs two at a time; half eager to see her, half concerned about Marguerite's reaction. After all, he had said an hour. On reaching the viewing room he was prepared for a barrage of heated French thrown at his head; but all was silent.
He looked inside; she was not there. His gaze flicked around the roof tops, and he walked to the eastern corner to scan the further walkways. Was she playing some trick on him to pay him back for teasing her earlier? But there was nowhere to hide up here; all the walkways were empty.
She must have grown tired of waiting for him and decided to return to the house. He headed back down the stairs to find her, to apologise.
Disappointed, Marguerite found herself at the foot of the stairs with nowhere to go. The walls around her seemed impenetrable, and there was not enough light down here to look for a hidden door. Feeling deflated, she decided to make her way back up the stairs to the rooftop. She laughed to herself as she imagined Percy's reaction; he probably thought she was deliberately keeping him waiting.
As she drew nearer to the top her foot knocked against something which had been pushed to one side of the stairs: in her excitement to find out where the stairs led she had not noticed anything on the way down. She crouched on the step trying to distinguish a shape in the gloom of the stairwell. Her fumbling fingers finally came into contact with a small, flat metal box.
She picked it up and hurried up the remaining few stairs to discover more about her find in daylight. But as she did so her foot caught in her gown, which she had dropped as she sought for the box, and, as she missed a step, she felt her ankle give way beneath her. Struggling to maintain her hold on the mysterious box Marguerite found herself slipping down several stairs and jarring her whole frame against the hard stone wall.
His annoyance rising, Percy felt things were now beyond a joke: he had checked all the rooms she was likely to be in and even asked her maid where she was. He was still no closer to finding his wife. However upset she had been there was no need to leave the house in a miff.
Deciding he did not want witnesses to their likely quarrel he set out for the stables himself, to see if she had reverted to her original idea of taking a drive about the grounds.
Feeling slightly sick from the sudden pain Marguerite thought that trying to move would not be a wise idea and instead tried to occupy her mind by exploring the cause of the accident. Surprised to find that the box did not have a lock she lifted the lid to find bundles of letters neatly tied together with ribbon and a few small, but well-worn books.
She felt wary of invading someone's privacy by reading their letters, so instead turned to the books. Picking one at random she opened it to read on the flyleaf: Eleanor Brooke, Moorfield, 1759. Curiously, Marguerite turned the pages, her attention caught by one:
"My dearest Arthur has gone. My thoughts and prayers follow him across the ocean to North America. How I wish he had not his commission with the 15th. He has promised to write and give me all the details of the strange new places he visits - but I would much rather he were here by my side. He has never been posted so far away as he is now, he has always been able to visit even if only briefly. I shall miss him so much while he is on the other side of the world. At least I have the comfort that he bears me no ill-will for my decision. He is relishing the chance of being part of something, and laughed at my fears for him. Would that Mama was of the same mind, she has not constrained me to marry JW, but I can feel her disappointment. It lays heavily on my soul. I do not wish to be an undutiful daughter, but I cannot marry a man simply for worldly advantage - whether it be for myself or my brother."
Wondering, Marguerite looked through the other books and found they were all full of the same feminine handwriting. Each was inscribed with a date, although some only bore the initials EB interwoven rather than Miss Brooke's full name. Turning back to the first book, she flicked through the pages again to find a later entry:
"My heart was in my mouth today when I saw General W in the Assembly Rooms. I have not seen him for several months, and had thought myself inured to any chance meeting. I had just been introduced to a gentleman, and something of what I felt must have shown itself on my face, much to my mortification, as he asked me what was wrong. Perhaps I should have been more circumspect, but he had such an air of dependability about him that I confided I would rather not meet the man I had just seen entering the room. He was so delightful - he took me for some refreshment immediately. And later, when the General had me locked in conversation, he rescued me in the neatest way by claiming a prior engagement with me for the dance which was just about to start."
Marguerite's mind was in a whirl, who was Eleanor Brooke? And why were her journals and letters kept at Welbourne on a staircase? Finding it harder to read by the dim light in the stairwell and feeling that she had pried into Eleanor's life quite enough for now, Marguerite decided she would have to try to make her own way back to the rooftop and share her find with Percy.
A bell trilled out, just loud enough to be heard above the clatter of pots and hum of activity in the busy, bustling kitchen. It even caused a lull in the constant grumble of dissatisfaction coming from the chef - he was temperamental where his art was concerned and poor time-keeping which ruined his beautifully laid plans for dinner was a pet-hate.
This even extended to his employers. That bell undoubtedly meant the meal in that ridiculous rooftop room could finally be cleared, which didn't fit into his plans at all well. Throwing up his hands in a gesture of despair he turned back to survey his work, before continuing his muttering.
As the newest and youngest member of staff Mary was the one sent up the lengthy flights of stairs to find out why the bell had been rung. Nervously she scuttered along the chilly stone corridors, wondering anew at the maze-like layout of the house. It had taken her weeks to feel as though she knew her way around the vast Hall and she was still unsure of her place within the rigid structure of the servants. Her early nerves had returned full force when she had been told the master was coming here - she was terrified of doing the wrong thing and being dismissed: her family depended on the wages she was earning.
Marguerite had been so relieved when she had seen the bell pull in the viewing room. After her painful journey up the last few stairs and across the rooftop walkways she was in desperate need of a rest and some food.
She had forced herself to move up the last few steps and had then needed to negotiate the boxes which had been abandoned at the head of the staircase. Her swollen ankle could not bear her weight and her progress across the rooftop walkway had been slow and arduous.
She wondered where Percy was - she had no idea how long she had been stuck in the staircase but she could see from how far the sun had shifted across the sky that it was several hours since they had been due to meet for a cosy picnic. What if he had asked the servants to look for her when she was not at the appointed meeting place? Would they be whispering about her, wondering where she had gone? Wondering why she had not met her husband?
Hearing footsteps outside she assumed an aplomb she was far from feeling and tried to glance casually at the maid who was even then bobbing a curtsey in the doorway.
"Yes, m'm?"
"Could you ask Sir Percy to join me here, at his earliest convenience?"
Thus it was that Sir Percy, striding in from a fruitless search of the grounds, his annoyance now shot through with anxiety, was met with the news his wife would like to see him.
"As soon as would be convenient, sir," said the maid.
Mary nervously ducked another curtsey as she took in the expression on his face. She had been all over the house looking for Sir Percy and had finally had to pluck up the courage to ask Frank where he was. Thankfully, she had not needed to head towards the stables to find Sir Percy as she saw him crossing the great entrance hall just after she left his valet in Mr Cartwright's Room.
Percy noticed the girl's agitation and smiled at her, thanked her for the message, and sent her back to the lower regions of the Hall. He set off once more for the spiral staircase, the rooftop room and his wife.