Chapter Text
The rattle of the heavy front door slamming woke me with a start.
I sat up in bed and clutched the thin wool blanket to my chest. My chambers were as yet too new for me to find my bearings without light, and I rubbed my eyes in the dark. It was far too late for visitors, yet too early for the morning deliveries. Whoever would enter Solo Manor at this ungodly hour? I was new to my post, but surely this was not the normal manner of business. Dr. Solo was an esteemed physician and his good name was well-known in town.
Something did not feel right.
I pulled back the covers, the trembling of my hands not due to the cold alone as I lit a candlestick. My meager belongings were few and I had no robe to cover my thin nightdress, so I wrapped the wool blanket around my shoulders and crept to the door. Throwing my long braid over a shoulder, I pressed an ear to the wood to listen for any sounds from downstairs.
Nothing. No voices or boards creaking, so whoever it was did not make it past the first floor of the manor. My ears strained to hear any sound at all.
I may be a chambermaid, but I’m not a fool. Despite my many strengths of character, of which loyalty, resourcefulness, and honesty were counted, I also possessed a number of qualities considered weaknesses in a woman of my day. My curiosity, strength of will, and great stubbornness were labelled undesirable personality defects. Mr. Plutt said many times in the children’s home that those flaws would prove my downfall. He may very well have been correct, although may he rot in Hell, regardless.
So either by my fault of curiosity or willfulness, it was without hesitation that I unlatched my chamber door and stepped out into the hall with only a candlestick and blanket for protection. My bare feet tiptoed across the floorboards until I reached the banister to peer down into the open stairwell. I held my breath as I stared down into the velvet darkness of the main level and listened for any sounds. Heartbeat drumming in my chest, I blinked my eyes wider and waited.
There. A noise, perhaps a hoarse breath or sigh. There was someone downstairs after all, it was not my imagination.
I stood holding my candle feebly and peered down as if under a spell. A bottle was opened then the telltale clink of glass on glass. Suddenly, a harsh curse and a shatter of glass hitting stone, which startled me. I flinched and must’ve made a sound, because a pair of eyes emerged from the darkness and stared up at me. The moonlight hit them in such a way that they glowed a spooky yellow like fireflies in the night.
A patrician voice rumbled up to me laced with menace, “Like what you see, my little one?”
I jumped back from the railing, pulse throbbing in my neck. I turned and ran back to my room as soon as I heard the sound of heavy footfalls racing up the stairs behind me. Latching my door securely with trembling hands, I took a few stumbling steps backward and clutched my candlestick in a tight fist.
The heavy footsteps stopped directly in front of my door. The handle rattled and I backed up until the bed frame struck my thighs. I heard his coarse breath just on the other side of the door. The wood creaked as if a body was pressing it inwards.
The same deep voice said, “I can smell you. I know you’re there. Open the door.”
I placed a hand over my mouth to muffle a whimper of fear. My eyes darted around the room. I had only a small window and a closet, no means of escape if the door should not hold.
“I promise I won’t hurt you. I want to make friends. Let me inside.”
I stepped back around the edge of the bed until my back hit the wall, breath rasping and tears beading in my eyes.
The door creaked, and the stranger whispered, “I only want to play with you.”
A chill crawled up my spine. I closed my eyes as the first tears broke free from my lashes, praying for deliverance from whoever or whatever was on the other side. Where was Dr. Solo? Would he hear if I screamed? Would he save me?
The figure on the other side of the door laughed darkly as if he could hear my unspoken prayer. I felt his dark humor course through me like a shiver.
“Another night then, sweetness. Sleep well.”
I stood for several minutes panting until I was sure he was gone.
I blew out the candle and drew open my drapes so the pale moonlight poured into my room. Curling up in my bed in a tight ball, my eyes stayed open for hours until the first light of dawn crested the tower of London in the far distance. The inevitable animal pull of fatigue overcame my mortal fears and I fell into a restless sleep.