Warriors

CHAPTER 53

When she awoke next morning, things were somehow rather different at Nevermore Cottage.

The room was dim. Full of dark shadows. The heavy velvet drapes cloaking the seaside windows were still tightly drawn. The only specter of light seeped in through a half-opened door to the upstairs hallway. So hard to push sleep away. Her mouth was so dry. What she really wanted was a deep drink of water and then simply to close her eyes and return to slumber.

A noise — a whisper.

Lorelei. Sitting by her bedside holding her hand and gazing into her eyes. The lamp beside her bed was not lit, which was strange. Why would she come to her in the middle of the night? Was she ill? Had she cried out?

“Lorelei?” she said, not trusting her own eyes. Maybe this was a dream, too.

“You’re awake, Sabrina dear. How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been kicked in the head,” she said, trying unsuccessfully both to sit up and to stifle a massive yawn. “What was in that pill?”

“Lorazepam. A mild sedative. You’ve been asleep for a long time.”

“Feel like I could have slept a millennium.”

“You almost did.”

“What?”

“You’ve been asleep all day, darling. You must have really needed it.”

“You’re joking, right?” she said, sitting straight up and looking at her watch. “I never sleep all day!”

For some reason, her watch had stopped. It was a Timex she’d had for decades. Odd. It had never stopped once. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

“Listen,” she said. “Someone’s playing. How beautiful.”

She could hear the faint sound of a piano somewhere in the house. Lovely. Someone was playing Bach. The Well-Tempered Clavier. Prelude no. 1 in C Major. It was her favorite piece of music on earth. She often played it herself when she was feeling low and no one was about.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Almost five.”

“In the morning?”

“No, darling. In the evening.”

“I slept all day? No. That’s not possible. I never do that.”

She sat straight up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

“Oh! What happened to my nightgown?”

“What do you mean?”

“The buttons. Down the front. Look, they’re all ripped.”

“How very odd. You must have done it in your sleep, darling. A nightmare perhaps. I shouldn’t worry too much about it…”

Sabrina stretched her arms above her head and yawned loudly. “I never sleep all day, I tell you. Ever.”

“Well, you did this time. We’ve been checking on you every hour all day long. Each time we found you sleeping peacefully, even snoring a wee bit. I wanted to wake you; it was a lovely morning to go for our walk along the sea.”

“Oh! That was our plan. Why didn’t you?”

“Chyna insisted I just let you sleep. She thought you’d looked exhausted when you arrived and that what you needed most was a good rest. It’s not wise to argue with her when she’s in that mood.”

“I had a bad dream. She was… in it… I think. In the dream she was — she was — well, it wasn’t really a dream now that I think about it. More of a nightmare, to be honest, now that I think about it.”

“Tell me about it. I love dreams, the stories they tell.”

“Well, it was one of the those childhood dreams, the kind where something or someone is after you? You know what I mean? And you want desperately to get away but you can’t run? You’re frozen in place. Can’t even move. It was like my feet were bound and my hands, too. I tried to move, to get away from — but I couldn’t! I was terrified. I remember crying out for help. Calling your name, Lorelei. It was all so real… so… horrible. Chyna…”

“What about her?”

“She was… in my dream.”

“Don’t fret over it. Only a silly dream. Chyna told me she found you absolutely enchanting. Oh, poor baby… Don’t fret over a dream. Everything’s fine! Just a dream, that’s all.”

“Oh, never mind. I’m okay. It doesn’t matter. Just a silly dream, that’s all. Like you said. Let’s go find Chyna so I can apologize for being such a frightfully boring guest.” She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat fiddling with her torn buttons.

“Oh, but she left, darling. Earlier this afternoon.”

“But then, who is here now? Who is playing that piano downstairs?”

“Oh, that’s just Optimus.”

“Who? I’m sorry, did I meet him?”

“No. He drove down late last night. One of her menservants. Optimus is her butler, I suppose, but he does just about anything. He’s the caretaker here on weekends. She had to be back at Cambridge for a black-tie dinner at her college. She—”

“Dinner?” She looked at her watch. “Gosh! We have to go! Right this second! Come on, help me pack.”

“What’s wrong, Sabrina?”

“I have to get back! That’s what. I have a job, you know, and I need to get back to Hawkesmoor. I promised Pelham I’d be home for supper with Alexei tonight. Put him to bed. And now it’s… how long will it take us? The drive?”

“If I push it, you can be home by seven.”

“Push it.”

Ten minutes later they were loading up the Morris Minor. The evening skies along the coast were violet, shot through with the dying rays of sunlight. It was cold and blustery up on the cliff, a strong wind coming off the sea below. Sabrina tightened her coat against the chill.

“Nevermore,” she told herself, flicking off her flashlight and gazing one last time at the darkened cottage above the heaving black sea.

“All right, that’s all my stuff,” Sabrina said, slamming the boot and seeing Lorelei across the roof of the car, hurrying along the walkway, something cradled in her arms. She rushed across the rocky ground, slightly out of breath.

“Not quite all your stuff, darling. Look what you forgot!”

Lorelei strode toward her, carrying an object draped with a black velvet cloth.

“What is it?” Sabrina said.

“Lift the cover off, silly.”

She did.

“Oh! You cannot be serious.”

“Chyna said you’d admired it, and she’d given it to you as a gift, a memento of the weekend. She absolutely insisted you have it. She said it would make a charming nursery companion for your little charge. Keep Alexei entertained whenever you’re not with him… Go on, take it.”

As she held delicate cage in her hands, Lorelei placed a silver whistle on a chain round her neck. It was how you controlled it, Chyna Moon had said, the brilliant blackbird perched inside the golden pagoda.

A small black raven with bright, beady eyes and a razor-sharp beak.

After they’d been driving for an hour or so, Sabrina looked over at Lorelei and said, “So. I’ve been wondering.”

“Wondering what?”

“Wondering why you never mentioned the fact that you actually knew my employer. Lord Hawke. I find that distinctly odd.”

“Really? I don’t. I didn’t mention it because I thought it was so insignificant.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because I don’t know him, darling, not really. It was just to say hello. No more than a minute.”

“Oh. And where was this?”

“In Cambridge, actually. At the Hotel du Vin.”

“That’s where you met him? A hotel?”

“Yes. The garden patio after dinner. He was having a drink with someone I sort of know and I stopped to say hello. We were introduced and that was it.”

“Really. That’s interesting.”

“Not really, Sabrina. It’s not like I went to bed with him or anything. Christ. Get over it.”

“Really? Get over it?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Funny, isn’t it? I was just wondering the very same thing. What is wrong with me, Lorelei? Any idea?”

They drove on in silence for a few minutes more before Sabrina spoke.

“I believe I was drugged and abused by someone last night. I cannot prove it, but I do believe it.”

Silence.