“Emma?” I was startled to hear my mother’s first name.
“Yes, Miss Emma. I never met her, but I heard she was quite beautiful.” Tara looked at me strangely.
I felt lightheaded when I heard my mother’s name; discovering this secret part of her life really threw me. Tara didn’t notice as she pulled out a long pink dress with a light blue trim from the dresser in the corner. She also pulled out some smaller items that were clearly undergarments.
“Will this suit you?”
“Sure,” I said, even though I couldn’t imagine wearing a dress like that. But I had to admit it would be cool to wear something that had belonged to my mother.
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Charlotte, or shall I let you finish your bath?” Tara asked, placing a towel next to the tub.
“I have everything I need.”
After a few more minutes, I finally pulled myself out of the bath and dried off. Luckily, the room felt warm; I noticed there was a small fire burning in the fireplace. I got dressed hesitantly, hoping I didn’t look absolutely ridiculous. After a few minutes of struggling, I realized that I had absolutely no idea how to secure the back of the dress.
There was a light knock, and Tara reappeared. “Oh, Miss Charlotte, I would have helped you into that!” She walked over to me quickly.
“Tara?” I asked lightly.
“Yes, Miss?”
“Could you please just call me Charlotte? I know you seem to think you have to call me ‘miss,’ but I would feel so much better if you just called me by my name.”
“As you wish Miss—I mean, Charlotte.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. Tara timidly returned the smile, then helped me finish dressing.
Tara walked out of the room and returned several minutes later pushing a cart with a platter of pastries and a small tea set. I had only seen a similar set as a child’s toy before. Seeing the tea set reminded me of my mom; she always drank tea.
“I thought you might be hungry,” Tara said, as she poured a cup of tea. It was really strange having someone serve me, but it seemed obvious that Tara was uncomfortable with me questioning it.
“Yes, thank you, Tara!” I said with enthusiasm, as I selected a piece. I took a bite, then I noticed that Tara wasn’t eating.
“Don’t you want anything?” I asked.
“Oh, no, this is yours,” Tara said, surprise in her eyes.
“Don’t be silly,” I told her. “There is far too much here for me. I insist,” I added, when I noticed that Tara still hadn’t reached for one. Tara tentatively grabbed a small pastry from the plate. I gestured that she should have some tea as well, and she gave in easier with that.
We sat at a small table drinking our tea, and I couldn’t help but laugh to myself about how it must look. How could this be real? When I was done with the tea, I asked the question I had been terrified to ask. “Where do you, you know, use the bathroom?”
“Oh!” Tara said quickly. “You know, very little has changed around here over the years, but Miss Emma sometimes liked to push things. She actually had them install an indoor toilet. It is unlike anything I have seen, but I was told it would be what you expected.” Tara gestured to the far wall. I leaned sideways in my chair and could see a small enclosure and the edge of a toilet.
“Wonderful!” Although my mom hadn’t had me in mind when she had it installed, I was certainly grateful.
After tea, Tara apologized and told me that I needed to stay in my room for the afternoon. Blake had made it clear that I was not to wander around until the evening. I was fine with that, feeling much safer in my closed off room; besides, another sleepless night had left me exhausted
“Would you like to rest?” Tara pointed to the bed. I nodded.
Tara closed one set of drapes, significantly darkening the room. She told me to ring a bell if I needed anything else. I thanked her and went to lie down on the large bed. I had so many thoughts going through my head that I didn’t know which ones to think about first. Here I was lying in what was likely my mother’s old room wearing one of her old dresses. It was almost too hard to believe. My mother had rarely talked about her childhood, and when she had, it was just to tell me stories about the trouble she and Monty had gotten into. At the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder how near Calvin was right at that moment. With thoughts of Calvin, I fell asleep.
Chapter Fourteen
Kevin
“So you seriously expect me to believe that you and Mom were some sort of weird royalty in a secret world?” I asked skeptically.
“No, I don’t expect you to believe it, but yes, it’s true,” Monty said calmly, then added, “Whether you choose to believe me or not, Charlotte may be in serious danger.”
“And you know this because of the cat?”
“That is no ordinary cat Kevin; she has human eyes. I’ll explain it all later.” He rushed upstairs.
I followed and asked, “Okay, so then what do we do?” I watched him search my grandfather’s old study on the third floor. Liam, probably still trying to figure out if Monty had completely lost his mind, had followed us. The more time that passed, the more upset Monty looked. Without warning, Monty ran into Charlotte’s room. He rummaged through her desk drawers until he pulled out an old jewelry box. He emptied the contents on her bed and let out a few curse words. I got the chills looking at her empty room; I didn’t leave the hallway.
“She found the key. She must have gone in.”
We followed Monty back downstairs to his own study, where he reached under his desk and pulled out a small crystal key. “In case she locked it behind her,” he said, holding up the key.
“What are we going to do, Monty?” I repeated. I had no idea what he was talking about.
“First we pack, then we go after her,” Monty said firmly.
In the kitchen, Liam and I watched as he packed a knapsack with food, water, and flashlights. Nothing about it surprised me until he went to his study and returned with an unsheathed sword. He turned it around to look at it from every angle. The blade looked like it was made of the same material as the key.
“Dude, Monty, where did you get a sword like that?” I asked, amazed by the blade.
“You wouldn’t believe me.” Monty placed it back in the sheath.
Monty picked up his cell phone and left a message at the school telling them we would be out of town and he would need some personal days. He told Liam that if he planned to join us, he needed to call his mom. Liam calmly left his mom a voicemail telling her that Monty was taking us all skiing.