WendyPan's Wonderland

Just One Kiss

K, folks, this is where things got screwed up and I haven't had the time to redo things to take the rest of the pictures.  Hopefully, within the next 2 months I can get to it.  Anyway.....

Chapter 11

After Collum made me over, I was left to figure out how I was going to uncover who exactly was Liam’s uncle’s spy.

I had to be careful that no one saw me, well, my face at least. I ventured out into the hall and walked along the walls, dipping my face every time someone approached.

No one gave me any notice however. I followed the sound of women chatting to the far room in the front corner of the castle. The door was very slightly cracked open with just enough room for me to peer in. The three women inside were folding laundry and making the beds in what I assumed was a servants’ room because there were several beds scattered about the room. I turned my head to hear them better. They weren’t speaking English was what I first noticed. But I could pick out Liam’s, Lady Juliet’s, and someone else by the name of Edmund in their conversation. They laughed a few times amid their talking. I wasn’t going to get anything out of this so I decided to move on.


I went to the next door along the hall. It was a room nearly exactly like the first one I found with the women in it but with the main difference of no one around. I counted eight beds in this room but I didn’t remember how many was in the first room. This made me start to wonder how many servants he had working and living in this castle. The third door on this same wall was also a servants’ room. Another eight beds filled the space. Sheesh, he had a lot of servants.

There was another door I noticed on this floor at the far end of the hall. I went over to the door and listened for any sounds as I had done at the other rooms. I heard nothing so I tested the handle, it was locked. Hmmm, I wondered what was so special about this room and what it contained that it needed to be locked. I knew Juliet’s room was at the other end of the hall so I wouldn’t be messing around with that door. I saw a few more doors and tried them only to find empty rooms that were different than the others. They were better decorated and only had one bed in them, leaving me to guess that these were guest bedrooms. I’d run out of searching options. It was time for me to venture downstairs where I was sure to find more people and lots more talking.

I found my way to the stairs and made my cautious way down to the main level. I looked about, remembering my brief walk in when I first arrived. The study or library or whatever it was, was off to my left. I saw through the open door a pretty blonde servant girl polishing a large wooden table that sat in the center of the room. She arranged the books and papers at the one end and continued to wipe the wooden surface. She was alone so without going to speak with her, I wasn’t going to get anything from her. I wondered where people would be at this time. I saw the giant grandfather clock in the sitting room ahead of me. It was a half an hour until noon. I knew where to look next; the kitchen. But where the kitchen exactly was, that I’d have to find out.

A servant carrying a large bucket of water passed by me and I decided to follow him to wherever he was going. My thought was that he’d lead me to the kitchen and I was right. I slipped in through the door behind him. There were servants everywhere, doing this and that, all preparing for the next meal, and they were all talking. No one noticed my entrance into the room and I quietly snuck off to the corner. I listened intently to what they were talking about and none of it was of any help to me or Liam. They mostly talked about their work and each other’s personal lives. I learned that Cheryl’s expecting her fourth child and everyone hoped that this one would survive. Thomas was sick with diphtheria and he wasn’t going to live much longer. Gloria was still nursing her injured hand but she’d be able to resume her jobs soon. No one mentioned Liam, Lady Juliet, or that Edmund guy. Yet another dead end for me.

I picked up a basket of bread and held it high by my face, hoping it would be enough cover as I made my exit from the kitchen. I set the basket down on the dining room table, wondering what I was going to do next. I had no new information to tell Liam, no idea who was helping his uncle, or where to go next. The delicious smell of the fresh bread called me to take a roll and I decided that I would head back up to Liam’s room to give my mission more thought. My stomach growled as I munched on the roll on the way to his room. I hoped that more food would be brought up soon cause I was pretty certain that this small piece of bread wasn’t going to hold me until dinner. I was feeling pretty unaccomplished.

Liam’s bedroom door was in my sight when a sound drew my attention away from my destination. I heard the distinct cry of a baby, no question, and it was coming from the vicinity of Lady Juliet’s room. My thoughts were instantly brought back to my messed up dream from the night before. I knew I heard the cry then but now, I would find out the truth. I soon found myself in front of Lady Juliet’s bedroom door. ‘K, what’s going on?’ I wondered. I put my ear to the door to get a better listen. A female’s voice spoke in a calming, pleasant tone, a plea to calm the child. This voice wasn’t the one I remembered hearing from Lady Juliet. It was younger sounding and not nearly as lyrical as I recalled. I guessed that it was her pretty, young redheaded servant girl. I listened intently, trying to gather some words of any kind.

“Shhhhh my lamb. Shhhhh. All will be well.” She began to hum a lovely tune and the cries began to die down. In no time, her melody was the only sound I heard. But the noise of footsteps approaching the door came from within the room; she was coming to the door. I flattened myself against the wall so that I was behind the open door when she opened it and hopefully, wouldn’t see me. I was right, it was the servant girl. She paid no attention to me as she headed to the stairs, forgetting to lock the door behind her. As soon as I was sure she was out of range, I opened the oak door and slipped inside the room, quietly shutting the door behind me.

There weren’t any bassinettes or cribs or whatever they used for babies to sleep in sight. I swear I wasn’t losing my mind, I knew I heard a baby cry but I was so confused as to where this little baby was hiding. Suddenly, I heard the sweet coo of a baby. The noise had come from around the other side of the bed. ‘Surely, she hadn’t left the baby on the floor’ I thought. I crept over to where the sound had come from and I found a large basket next to the bed and the sleeping child nestled in it. My mind raced back to when I watched the two women arrive yesterday and the servant girl carrying the large basket. They had smuggled this baby in and Liam had no idea. I wondered if the servant girl was hiding her baby because she was young and not married, most likely a big no-no in this time period. Poor girl. Poor baby. I’d imagined the baby wasn’t any older than a few weeks by the look of it. I got down on my knees before the child to have a better view of its sweet face. As if the baby knew, it opened its eyes. Large dove gray eyes looked at me with silent wonder. I couldn’t tell if the baby was a boy or a girl but it was very cute with its wispy brown hair and chubby little cheeks. The baby let out a big yawn as I continued to watch it. I gently touched the baby’s cheek as it drifted back off to sleep.

I knew I couldn’t stay any longer, its mother would be back soon or maybe even Lady Juliet could come in and find me here. I got up and quietly exited the room, closing the door as softly as I could behind me. I returned to Liam’s room to find a plate of food waiting for me. My lunch, or dinner as it was called, consisted of sliced meat, which looked like corned beef, a wedge of cheese, a large bread roll, and some stewed carrots. The metal cup was filled with the fresh creamy milk I had come to love. Could Liam have already figured out what I did and didn’t like? I used the knife to slice up the bread, cheese, and meat to make sandwiches. The carrots were ok, better than the cabbage, but still not my favorite.

With my meal quickly devoured, I began to think of where I could check next. Maybe the stables, I pondered. I had no idea what else was encompassed within the castle walls but I supposed I had time to find out. I decided to use the back way to exit the castle, the way Liam had told me about last night. On my way, I wondered what Liam was doing and who was seeing him smile. I was irrationally jealous of whoever got see his captivating grin. And then my mind wandered off to our kiss. Oh, good Lord, was he a good kisser. Way better than the kiss from when I woke him. What was I to think about that kiss though? He had said he wanted me but did that mean he wanted me as in for sex? I really hoped it didn’t, like there was more meaning to what he had said. Oh, what did it all matter when I would lose him soon enough anyway? I demanded that I focus on finding this covert troublemaker.

I made my way out to the stables. No one was really talking so I decided to explore the grounds. I found an orchard and I saw a small animal pen with chickens, cows, and pigs. It was really lovely and relaxing walking around outside of the castle. I found myself wondering when Liam would return. I shook the thought away. I was starting to get tired after finding no one socializing and talking about anything. So, I went back inside to go take a nap. After all, I had gotten up early. I crawled into Liam’s huge bed and sleep found me quickly.