“Give me a boost up,” Daniel said, ignoring me. “I think I could climb it right here.”
“And if you can’t open the gate or get back over? You propose to spend the night on one side of the wall with me on the other?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll rouse someone in the main house.”
He started to climb the rough stone of the wall.
“Come on, give me a push.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I snapped. He laughed. I relented and pushed. It seemed strange to have my hands on a gentleman’s person, even if we were alone in the darkness. He heaved himself higher with a grunt then swung a leg over the top of the wall. A moment later he disappeared and I heard a yell.
“What happened? Are you all right?”
“Holly bush,” came the faint words. Then he appeared on the other side of the gate.
“Ah, I see!” he shouted. He bent to raise some kind of pin from the ground and miraculously the gate swung open with a loud groaning sound.
“Let’s just hope they don’t have watchdogs patrolling the grounds,” I said as Daniel retrieved our bags and helped me through.
“They’d have shown up by now. Besides, we are expected. They would have locked up the watchdogs.”
“Not exactly what I’d call putting out the welcome mat,” I said. “Who exactly was it who said we could stay here? One of the servants?”
“Alderman Hannan himself,” Daniel said. “It’s his house.”
“Alderman? I didn’t realize you hobnobbed with aldermen.”
“Ah. There’s still a lot you don’t know about me,” he replied with a hint of that typical Daniel Sullivan swagger that I had found in turn attractive and annoying.
We made our way cautiously up the gravel drive toward the dark looming shape of that castle. Not a single light was visible and I hesitated to go up the steps toward that imposing front door.
“You said we’re supposed to be in the guest cottage.” I grabbed Daniel’s arm and held him back. “Shouldn’t we try to locate it?”
“Amid acres of woodland?” Daniel replied and I could hear the tension rising in his voice. “We’re likely to blunder over the cliffs.”
“Then what do you propose we do?”
“This,” Daniel said. He went up the steps, lifted the knocker, and hammered insistently. We heard the sound echoing inside but there was no response.
“Now what?” I said. A thought struck me. “Are you sure we’ve got the right place? It wouldn’t be hard to take a wrong turning in all this darkness.”
“Yes I’m sure,” Daniel said, not actually sounding very sure. He stepped back from the door and peered up at the house. “Yes I’m sure this is it. I’ve seen pictures. I’ll try knocking again.”
“Someone must be with that child in the turret,” I said. “I suppose a nursemaid could have gone to sleep by now and the child wouldn’t realize that we wanted to get in.”
“We can’t stand on the doorstep all night,” Daniel said irritably. “Really, this is too bad of old Hannan.”
“Maybe he forgot to inform the servants,” I said.
Daniel started prowling around again, glancing first up at the house and then out into the blackness of the night. If anything it was raining even harder now—a solid sheet of rain bounced off the gravel of the driveway. Thunder still grumbled overhead.
“There has to be a coach house somewhere,” he said. “A place for their automobiles.”
He disappeared into the storm and then called to me. “Over here! There is a coach house. Let me see if…” I heard him rattle a door. “The stable appears to be open. Do you mind spending the night with the horses?”
“Anything is better than this.” I ran through the curtain of rain toward him, although I don’t know why I bothered to run as there was no way I could be any wetter. My skirts, now heavy and sodden, wrapped themselves around my legs as I tried to move and I almost stumbled. Daniel reached out to take my hand and then ushered me inside. There was a faint smell of horse but the stalls proved to be empty. No horses in residence. Rain drummed on the roof and thunder still growled, but farther off now.
“Ah, this will do nicely,” Daniel said. “Clean straw. What more do you want?”
“A hot meal, a bath, and a fire would be lovely,” I muttered through chattering teeth. “But anything is better than being out in that rain. I don’t ever remember feeling so drenched.”
It was pitch dark in the stable and we felt our way forward until we came to an empty stall lined with straw.