Hunting for Silence by Robert Thier

A Lady Taking Charge

‘This is very kind of you, Mr…Karim, was it?’

‘Hrmph.’

‘What an interesting name. And an interesting hat. I’ve never met a coachman with a turban before.’

‘Hm.’

‘Or with that kind of accent. Where did you say you were from, again?’

‘Hrm.’

‘But, really, this isn’t necessary. I’m quite sure if someone supported me I could walk down the stairs on my own two feet quite easily. Just—’

Ella shifted, bringing it home to Karim all too clearly that he was carrying a female dressed only in her nightgown in his arms. The poor man. He looked about to expire. Maybe I should offer my sympathies?

Karim’s eyes found me and bored into me.

Well…maybe better not. Inconspicuously, I sidled out of the room. Outside, Edmund was waiting with the expression of a young man whose fiancée was currently in the clutches of an unknown seven-foot-tall bearded giant.

‘Um…Miss Linton?’

‘Yes?’

‘Do you think it was wise to ask the gentleman from the coach stable to…um…you know…’

‘Know what?’

Edmund gave up. ‘Is Ella all right?’

I patted his shoulder. ‘Perfectly all right. She’ll be down here in a minute.’

‘Err…In one piece?’

‘Probably. She might be a bit squashed, though.’

‘It’s absolutely scandalous!’ Maria exclaimed. ‘Touched by some kind of savage from God only knows where! It’s indecent, that’s what it is!’

‘Indecent?’ I gave her a bright smile. ‘Why, you should have said so before! Of course, if he’s indecent, you’re perfectly welcome to walk all the way to Bath instead of letting him drive you. Doesn’t that sound like fun?’

Maria opened her mouth—and shut it again.

It wasn’t long before Karim arrived downstairs with his precious load. With the care usually reserved for crown jewels, he deposited my little sister in the first of the carriages, and Edmund, Lisbeth, Gertrude and I climbed in after her. Edmund’s parents, meanwhile, who had been staring at me with a strange mix of puzzlement and awe ever since their son had dragged them out of the house to tell them about the free holiday they were about to get, went to keep Anne and Maria company in the other coach, so at least someone in there would behave like an adult.

With a click, the coach door closed behind us.

‘Am I dreaming?’ Ella whispered as she gazed out at the elegant coach drawn by four of the fastest horses in London. ‘Or is this really happening?’

I pinched her.

‘Ouch!’

‘The latter,’ I informed her jovially. ‘Sit down and relax. Would you like a piece of solid chocolate?’

‘Lil…how? Shaking her head, she stared at me as if she were seeing me for the very first time. And maybe, in a way, she was. ‘How is this possible?’

I glanced out of the window, back towards the house. Through the mist, beyond the second coach travelling behind us, I thought I could just about make out the dark outline of a tall man, staff in hand, top hat sitting atop his head. Another carriage rolled up beside him. With one swift move, he pulled open the door and swung himself inside.

I smiled.

‘Anything is possible, Ella. Anything.’

‘Where to?’ Karim called from outside.

I glanced down at the note clutched tightly in my hand.

‘Bath. Straight there. No stops.’

‘As you wish. Gee-up!’

The whip snapped, and the coach rolled forward.

*~*~**~*~*

‘You can’t be serious!’

Maria’s voice roused me from my slumber. It was only then I realized—we had stopped. Quickly, I glanced outside and saw that the sun was already setting. No wonder. Karim might have driven like the devil, but still, Bath was over a hundred miles away from London. Outside the coach stretched a beautiful park with slim, decorative trees, beds of fiery red roses, and gentlefolk in their finery walking, laughing and playing games. Beyond the park, the picturesque town stretched all the way to the horizon, bathed in the light of the fiery sunset.

I knew this view. I’d seen it once, in a book. But no. He couldn’t possibly own this place, could he? Not even he was that wealthy!

‘You have to be joking!’ That was Maria again. ‘You expect us to camp in the park? What kind of hair-brained scheme have you cooked up this time, Lilly?’

‘The other window, Maria,’ I said, not quite capable of believing it myself. ‘Look out of the other window.’

She did.

‘Oh my holy…!’

Nothing more. Nothing but awed silence.

‘What is it?’ Frowning, Edmund leaned across the coach to the other window and raised the blinds. He sucked in a breath.

‘You’re not serious!’

I smiled. So I had been right. ‘As an acquaintance of mine would say, I’m not in the habit of making jokes.’

Outside the window rose the biggest building any one of us had ever seen. Bigger than Empire House. Bigger than Buckingham Palace even. Over five-hundred feet long, it curved along the edge of a beautiful park in an effortless crescent, providing a perfect view of a small forest and the town beyond. Between tall columns, dozens of shiny white doors were set into the elegant Georgian façade at regular intervals. We were standing right before the central entrance, right in front of a door over which a sign proclaimed The Country Queen Hotel.

‘The Royal Crescent,’ Edmund whispered. ‘The bloody Royal Crescent!’

‘Dear me.’ One corner of my mouth twitched in amusement. ‘Swearing? I didn’t know you had it in you. Congratulations.’

He didn’t seem to be in a joking mood. Turning towards me, he looked at me seriously. ‘What is the meaning of this, Miss Linton? You can’t possibly afford this place! Heck, I doubt even your uncle could afford to stay here for more than a night or two, and he’d beggar himself in the process!’ He glanced at the pale, sleeping Ella in the corner, then looked back at me, accusation in his eyes. ‘Why did you drag us all the way to this place? We can’t stay here.’

The doorman standing in front of the fancy white door seemed to be of the same opinion. Stepping forward, he gave me a onceover, his eyes sliding haughtily over my worn dress and hastily thrown-over coat.

‘Do you have a reservation, Miss?’

He was answered by a heavy thud from behind him. When he turned, he found himself facing a barrel of a chest covered in beard as thick as a carpet.

‘She does not need a reservation,’ Karim said. ‘Have the staff take the luggage up to the Royal Suite.’

Recognition sparked in the doorman’s eyes. Not just recognition of Karim, but most importantly, recognition of whom he worked for. Hurriedly, he took a step back, bumping into the coach.

‘Y-yes. Of course. I’ll be right back, Miss, um, I mean My Lady. Please be so kind as to wait here. It won’t take a moment.’

And he dashed off into the hotel lobby.

Everyone stared. Everyone. Gertrude. Lisbeth. Edmund. Even Anne and Maria were hanging out of their coach’s windows to gawk, and several passers-by had stopped to gape at the exchange. At first, they stared at Karim. But then, after a moment or two, all the eyes turned inextricably towards someone else.

Me.

I waved.

‘Don’t worry.’ I told Edmund, patting him on the shoulder. ‘I have a feeling they’re going to be very hospitable to us.’

Karim opened the door for me, and I climbed out of the coach.

‘Hospitable’ turned out to be something of an understatement. As soon as the hotel manager spotted Karim, he knew which way the wind was blowing. I had the distinct pleasure to have, in front of all of my sisters, the keys to the royal suite handed to me on a literal silver platter. Maria was so green with envy she could have stepped out on the lawn and turned invisible. You could tell she was dying to ask why the heck the whole world suddenly treated me, her misfit misbegotten minx of a sister, as if I were the Queen of England, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Not in front of other people.

I might have enjoyed the colour of her face considerably more if Ella’s face hadn’t been a similar unhealthy shade, and most definitely not from jealousy.

‘A-are we h-here?’ my little sister murmured, blinking in the sudden light of the entrance hall. Karim was supporting her on one side, Edmund on the other.

‘Yes, Ella.’ Smiling, I stepped closer and squeezed her shoulder. ‘No more travelling. We’ve arrived.’

‘But where….’ Raising her eyes, she blinked up at the giant chandelier illuminating the hotel lobby. ‘Oh my goodness.’

‘Ladies and gentlemen?’

A bellhop appeared before us, bowing so low his nose nearly scratched the floor.

‘Your rooms are ready. If you would be so kind as to follow me?’

‘My sister isn’t feeling too well,’ I told him. ‘Please send someone for a doctor immediately. I’d like him to attend her first thing in the morning.’

‘Certainly, Miss. But, if I may ask, what if no doctors happen to be free tomorrow?’

‘They had better be free. Arrange it.’

The bellhop stared at me—until one of his colleagues leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Blanching, the young man bowed and retreated towards the steps. ‘Certainly, Miss! I will send a messenger off directly. If you will follow me, I’ll show you to your rooms so the young lady can rest. We have some beautiful, easily accessible rooms on the ground floor with a view of the park available.’

And he dashed off.

Once again, I felt all eyes upon me. Anne and Maria were staring at me as if they saw me for the very first time, and didn’t like what they saw.

‘Who are you?’ Anne demanded. ‘And what has happened to Lilly?’

I graced them with a smile. ‘The staff will show you to your rooms. Ask them to prepare something if you are hungry. I won’t be joining you. I’ll have to see to it that Ella is settled in.’

And I marched off. Behind me, the lobby exploded into whispered conversation.

With the help of several members of the staff, it didn’t take us long to reach Ella’s room. It was a delightful, airy space. A fire was crackling in the hearth, casting a warm glow on the beige wallpaper. Outside the windows, the lights of the town were shimmering in the distance.

‘Well?’ I asked, bending down far enough to look straight into Ella’s tired eyes. ‘What do you think?’

‘It’s wonderful,’ she whispered, managing a weak smile. ‘And I’m not just talking about the room. The way you handled those people downstairs…Lil, what’s happened to you? You’ve always been more confident than I could dream of, but this…it was amazing.’

‘Just you wait till tomorrow.’ Gently, I stroked her tangled hair, trying to force a smile onto my face. Nothing inside me wanted to smile right now. Not while she was looking this pale. But for her I would try. For my little sister I’d try anything. ‘I’m going to move mountains if that’s what it takes to get you well. We’re going to get you the best doctor in all of England.’

‘But you can’t possibly afford—’

‘I can. Trust me.’

She looked at me with eyes far more penetrating than an invalid was supposed to have. ‘What aren’t you telling me, Lil?’

‘Tomorrow.’ I squeezed her hand. ‘I’ll tell you tomorrow. After we get you the country’s best doctor, and the best medicine money can buy.’

‘That’s not n-necessary. I’m already feeling much b…bet…’

Her head drooped.

‘Ella? Ella! What is it?’

‘Lil…I…’

Before she could utter another word, Ella slumped forward, unconscious.