The Hands of Time (7 page)

“Is it possible to see them?”  I’ve always had a thing for ruins
,
and was curious to see the old
m
onastery.

“If you like
,
I can take you there when I get back from Plymouth.  It
is
too far to walk, so Robbie can find you a horse to ride.  A
lec and I used to play there when we were children
all the time.  We fought some epic battles in front of the Abbey,
” he
smiled at the
memory
and led me down to the river.
 
There were several boats moored on the river today
,
and I could see the small fishing village from our vantage point.  One of the
fishermen
called out a greeting to Finlay
,
and he waved back, shielding his eyes
against
the bright sun reflecting
off
the muddy waters of the river. 
I looked at the spot where only yesterday I sat in the café
by
the harbor and shielded my eyes as well, but
mostly
to hide the tears.

Chapter
9

Finlay escorted Mistress Crane back to the castle and walked across the yard lost in thought.  The stables smelled of hay,
horseflesh
and the tang of manure
,
and Robbie, who was s
u
pposed to be mucking out the
stalls,
was nowhere to be seen
;
doubtless in the kitchen trying to sweet
-
talk Cook into giving him some freshly baked buns.  He saddled Dante himself and led him out into the sunshine,
pulling his hat lower over his face to shield his eyes
against the light after the dim confines of the stable
s
.  Finlay always did his best thinking on horseback
, so
he decided to take a ride into Compton Village to go visit Caleb
Black
. 

Caleb was the most skilled blacksmith for miles
,
and Finlay fancied getting a new dagger made on account of losing his own in a card game last week.  He had loved that dagger
,
and only
overindulgence
in drink could have induced him to risk it in a bet.  As it was, he lost the dagger and a whole lot more
,
and went back to his room at the
i
nn furious and ashamed of himself.  His father had given him that dagger
,
and he would
rather
die than tell Alec that he lost it to some Irish captain.  He would just have another one
made;
the exact replica
,
and no one would be the wiser. 

Finn vaulted into the saddle and trotted through the gates on his way to Compton, his thoughts turning back to Mistress Crane.  Alec would be expecting to hear his
opinion on the matter, but he had to work it out for himself first.  He was genuinely puzzled.  Seeing her fear in the dining room
,
he had assumed that his brother was correct and the girl was just running away from something, most likely an abusive husband, but that theory was very quickly disproved.  She went out for a walk with him willingly enough
,
and failed all his clever tests.  She looked him full in the face when he spoke to her, which was not something a fearful woman did
,
and conversed easily and intelligently, not just
responding
to his questions
and
looking away in fright.  He tried walking closer to her than was appropriate, but she
did not
seem to notice
,
and when he raised his hand suddenly to point something out to her, she didn’t draw back or cringe.  A woman who had been beaten or raped would have run a mile from him.  She didn’t reveal anything about where she came from
,
or who her people were, but Finlay would bet his dagger, if he still had it that is, that this woman had not been abused physically or mentally.  She was not afraid of a person, but of her circumstances, whatever they were. 

The idea that she was a Protestant sent to spy on them crossed his mind, but he dismissed it immediately.   There was absolutely no reaction when he had mentioned the Dissolution of the Monasteries
,
and unless she was a very skilled actress
,
she seemed to be completely ignorant of the history of violence between the Catholics and Protestants during the turbulent years of Tudor reign.  Anyway, who would want to spy on them and why?  They said their prayers and not much else.  There
had not
been a Catholic priest around Yealm
C
astle for years
,
and the only time they had to seek one out
,
was
when
funeral services
needed to be
performed
.  Father Paul had lived with them when they were children, posing as a footman for company, but he was long gone, as was his mother
,
who was the Jesuit’s benefactress. 

Finlay thought of Mistress Crane’s violet
-
colored eyes and sweet smile.  He would encourage Alec to let her stay.  What was the harm?  They certainly had the room
,
and there hadn’t been a woman at the castle
for
far too long.  They could both use a little female companionship, especially Alec, who unlike Finlay
,
would not stoop to paying for it.

Chapter
10

Alec and Finn left
for Plymouth
the following afternoon
,
and were gone for several days.
I didn
’
t have a clear idea of what they did, but I knew it had something to do with cargo that was coming into port
and needed to be unloaded and disposed of
. 
Alec gave strict
instructions
to the overseer
, Mr. Dobbs,
not to admit anyone who wasn’t expected
,
and not to reveal my presence at the castle.  I was to stay inside and not venture outside the wall
s
, my walks restricted to the walled garden behind the castle
.  I appreciated his
efforts to protect me, but knew very well that no one would come searching for me.  No one in this time and place knew that I existed
,
besides the inhabitants of Yealm Castle. 

Once the brothers were gone
and Betty finished her chores upstairs and went down to launder
, I set out on my search.  It stood to reason that if the clock was found in the village at the bottom of the hill, it might have come from the castle.  I thought the clock had been
made in France
,
and Finlay had mentioned that their grandfather had fought the French under Henry VIII.  Granted, Boulogne was in Italy, but maybe he had fought in France before or after the
Siege
and acquired the clock as a souvenir
.  I started with the rooms downstairs
,
hoping that none of them would be locked.  The first floor held the dining room, library, drawing room, a very large hall
,
and Alec’s study, but I
found no trace of the clock in any of
them
. 
Discouraged
, I made my way upstairs. 

There were several bedrooms on this floor, including my own, but they didn’t look as if they
’
d been used recently.  The rooms looked like something in a hotel, beautiful, but impersonal.  There were no clothes or other personal objects to be seen
lying around left by their owners
, n
o hair brushes on the dresser or bottles of perfume
, n
o dressing gown carelessly thrown across the bed. 
The trunks at the foot of the bed were locked
,
but
I highly doubted that a valuable clock would be there in any case.  The corner bedroom on the opposite side of the hall had obviously been a child’s room.  There was a wooden rocking horse and
several other toys lying dusty and forgotten in the corner.  It must have been a boy’s room, since there were no dolls
, just carved wooden animals and swords
.  I wondered if this room belonged to Alec or Finn when they were younger, but I didn’t think so. 

I walked up the spiral staircase to the third floor and continued my search with less hope.  There were only a few more rooms
,
and I doubted that the clock would possibly be in one of the servant
s
’ chambers
on the top floor
.  The third floor held several bedrooms as well, but only two of them seemed to be occupied.  They obviously belonged to the brothers and I couldn
’
t imagine
either
one of them having a cupid clock in their room.  The bedrooms were masculine and
sparse
,
with furniture made of dark wood and hangings and coverlets in somber colors.  There were a few personal items lying around, but not much was out of place since Betty had already cleaned the rooms that morning.  The rest of the rooms were empty and
depressingly
clock
-
less. 

I felt a crushing
disappointment
as I went back down the stairs.  I hadn’t really expected to find the clock, but I
’
d hoped that I might.  There was nowhere else to search
,
and no other plan sprang to mind.  The idea of being stuck in this place for the rest of my days made me feel sick to my stomach
,
so
I decided to seek out some company to distract myself from the wave of panic rising in my chest.  There was no
one around upstairs, so I went down to the ground floor.  I hadn’t been there yet
,
and I walked carefully down the narro
w
staircase that led down to the kitchen. 

The kitchen was
a
cavernous
space
built of gr
a
y stone
with a low vaulted ceiling
,
and a scrubbed oak table in the middle.  Pots and pans of various sizes
and
polished
to a shine
,
hung from the hooks screwed into the walls
,
and I felt my face break out in a sheen of sweat from the heat of the large wood-burning oven set into the wall.  Cook turned around at the sound of my footsteps and beamed a welcome.  She was of middle years, plump and gr
a
y-haired, with a few missing teeth and
slanted blue eyes twinkling with good humor.  It was hard to guess at her age since she could have been anywhere between thirty-five and sixty.  These times were hard on women and they aged quickly
,
with no benefits of proper nutrition, medical care or beauty products.  I knew that Finn had assumed I was around twenty, when in fact I was twenty-six, two years older th
a
n him. 
He told me that Alec was twenty-eight, but I
’
d initially thought that he was in his early thirties given the lines etched around his mouth and a few grey hairs silvering his temples. 

“Y
e
must be Mistress Crane.  I am Cook, but
ye would
have figured that one out already,” she said with a deep laugh and invited me to sit down at the table.  “Would y
e
like a hot cross bun and a cup of ale, m
e
dear?
  I just took
‘
em out of the oven.”  Truthfully, I would have killed for a cup of Starbucks non-fat latte, but I asked for tea instead.  I didn’t like ale and tried to avoid drinking it
when possible
.  Cook hung the kettle on an iron arm extending from the
hearth
and pushed it toward the flames to boil
,
while taking some loose tea out of a tin.  She selected several buns and arranged them on a plate, setting this in front of me with great ceremony. 

“I don’t mean to be rude, but what is your name?”  I couldn’t just call the woman Cook.

“Everyone just calls me Cook, love, but m
e
name is Mary.  Mary Dobbs.  I am married to John, the overseer.
”
  Mrs. Dobbs made the tea and sat down across from me at the table taking a
mug
for
herself
as well.  I could see she was eager for a chat
,
and I had some questions to ask. 
I started from afar
.