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THE DUCHESS AND HER NEW LIFE
Part Four * * * Katherine returned an hour later with several bags. She'd brought clothing, money and a red leather bag with papers from the Duchess' rooms. Sadly, the Duchess had decided to leave her book collections behind. If too much disappeared, then a thief would be suspected. The Duchess read the last letter from her mother again and decided that she knew where they were to go.
Edwald helped arrange the belongings on the two horses while the Duchess and Katherine said their final goodbyes.
"Oh, I nearly forgot," said Katherine sheepishly, holding out the Duchess' necklace. The Duchess touched Katherine's cheek once more in farewell and then joined Edwald by the horses. Edwald disturbed Sherlock from the stallion's saddle and helped the Duchess to mount. Edwald mounted the mare, Sherlock settled on his shoulder again and they set off down the road. Katherine waved and watched them until they were out of sight around the corner. Then she hiked up her skirts and ran back to the manor to spread the tragic news that both the Duke and the Duchess had been killed. * * * The Duchess led the way to the coast, never giving a precise answer when Edwald asked about their destination. Instead she clung tightly to the red leather bag. Whenever they stopped for the night, whether at an inn or in the woods, she kept the bag by her side.
"Where are we going, your Grace?" asked Edwald one night, when neither of them could sleep by their campfire.
The Duchess looked surprised and took the letter back.
"She was not alone, your Grace?" asked Edwald. The next morning, they entered the next county and the Duchess' confidence seemed to wane. Every time their road came to a fork, she would pull out her mother's letter and consult it with a great deal of concentration. Several times they started down a road only to backtrack later. The closer they got to the coast, the more nervous the Duchess became.
"Where are we going, your Grace?" asked Edwald, for the fifth time, as they approached a harbour town. She tied the stallion to a tree and began to climb over the rocks. Edwald tied the mare up and followed her. He tried not to look when the Duchess' skirts snagged or blew in an unfortunate direction. In truth, the Duchess was probably so preoccupied that she would not have noticed if he had been less than a gentleman.
She reached a crevice and began to work her way down into the darkness. Sighing, Edwald wormed his way down into the crevice. The rock walls were smooth but on an angle so that there was a surface to push against. The further down Edwald went, the closer the two walls became. He was just beginning to worry about becoming stuck when his feet touched level ground. There was very little light but he could see that the crevice had opened into a small underground cavern. At first, the cavern seemed empty and dusty. Then his eyes adjusted to the light and he could make out the Duchess on the other side of the cavern. He walked towards her, trying to see what had caught her attention. Set against the wall of the cavern was a giant trunk of wood. Following the Duchess' gaze, he looked up to the top of the trunk. The top half of the wood was carved into the flowing features of a woman's head and torso. Her hair was streaming out behind her in an unreal breeze until it encircled the wooden trunk behind her. Flowers and seashells were plaited in amongst the mass of hair. The giant face was about two feet wide and it looked down at them with a gentle yet triumphant smile. It was high enough that the head very nearly brushed the ceiling of the cavern. Her hands were flung out behind her, the outstretched fingers playing in the same ethereal wind that drew out the hair. The carving's waist disappeared in a weaving of grooves into the solid trunk.
"It's like the figurehead of a great ship," said Edwald. "Its magnificent, your Grace."
"It is magnificent from the outside, isn't it," agreed the Duchess, looking up at the wooden woman in wonder. She took a step towards the bare trunk in front of her, feeling it with her fingers. She found a small groove with her fingers and smiled in satisfaction. She took the necklace from around her neck and slid the flat sheet of metal into the groove. Cracks suddenly appeared across the wooden trunk and Edwald jumped back. He was about to entreat the Duchess to flee when he realised that the cracks were not random. They were long, clear cracks that formed an upright rectangle taller than Edwald's head but not quite reaching up to disturb the wooden woman. It was a door.
The Duchess pushed and the door swung inwards, leading into the statue and the rock face. She paused on the threshold and looked back at Edwald. Edwald considered her for a moment. He thought about his brother, probably in jail or dead by now. He thought about the life he had once led, as a proud servant of a Lord in southern England. There was a joy and contentment that came from being needed, from being useful and from being indispensable to people you respected. "I know you have released me from my obligation, your Grace," said Edwald. "But if you do not know how long this journey will take, then you will need somebody to watch out for you. If nothing else, you will need the company that only another person can bring. Please do not send me away."
"If you come with me, Edwald," she said cautiously. "I cannot guarantee your safety or what we might encounter." THE END |
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Disclaimer : The Doctor Who universe belongs to the BBC, and the various hard-working writers, actors and crews who created it. I don't make any profit from using it. I'm just borrowing them, having a bit of fun and then returning them more or less unharmed. |