Page 11 of A Stormy Season

Jane drew in a quick breath and froze, then took a small step back away from the window. She didn’t think they could see her, as there was no light behind her, but they seemed to be staring at her window—definitely at the house. As she continued to stare down at them, she realized one of the men was the man with the pointed beard from the park, Lenoir.

The men did not seem alarmed, so she was fairly certain they didn’t see her in the window. Then they both started toward the house and disappeared below, out of her line of vision.

What were they doing? Were they breaking into the house as Mr. Watley’s intruder had done?

Jane kept a heavy iron candlestick by her bed, and part of her wanted to defend herself with it, but she felt it was wiser to go and inform her brother.

She ran in her bare feet from her room to her brother’s room and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” his voice called out.

“Jane,” she said, trying not to speak too loudly, as she didn’t want to wake her sister-in-law Penelope or their sleeping baby, Lilith.

A few moments later Henry came out, shutting the door behind him, and finished donning his robe.

“I saw Lenoir and another man on the street staring up at the house,” Jane said in a loud whisper. “Then they came toward the house and I lost sight of them.”

“Come with me.” Henry hurried down the hall. His hand was in the pocket of his robe, and when he pulled his hand out he was holding a pistol.

At the head of the stairs they found the new footman sitting in a chair propped against the wall, asleep.

“Get up,” Henry said, nudging the man’s shoulder.

The man awoke with a sharp intake of breath, shooting out of the chair to his feet.

“Go check the back door. If you see anything suspicious, call the other servants to arm themselves. But if you don’t see anything, come back to Miss Gilchrist’s room.”

“Yes, sir.” The man hurried down the stairs, looking wide awake.

They headed back to Jane’s room. Just as they opened the door, Jane heard the sound of breaking glass. A man was in the window, his hand coming through to unlock and open it.

Henry used his arm to push Jane behind him. He was pointing his gun at the man but didn’t say a word, as if waiting to see what he would do.

The man yanked the window open and tumbled into the room.

Henry raced across the room and struck him in the head with the butt of his pistol. The man fell over and lay unmoving on the floor.

Just behind him, a second man appeared in the window, but he stopped, as if standing on a ladder. He seemed to be peering into the room, but Jane couldn’t tell because all the light was behind him, keeping his face dark.

Henry struck the man in the face with his fist. The man threw his hands forward, trying to catch onto something to stop his backward fall.

Henry grabbed him by the arm and hauled him into the room, throwing him face down before stomping on the back of the man’s neck.

“I have a gun trained on your head. I will shoot you.” Henry’s voice was barely recognizable, so cold and gruff as it was.

The next thing Jane knew, the two men were scrambling on the floor, then a gunshot rang out—so loud it seemed to make Jane go deaf.

She ran forward to help Henry, but it was the man on the floor who was moaning and making distressed noises in his throat.

“Fetch a candle,” Henry said, now holding two guns, both trained on the men.

Jane hurried out of the room just before hearing several voices calling out, including servants from downstairs and Penelope’s from down the hall.

Jane called, a bubble of excitement in her chest, “Your master has caught two intruders.” She hurried into Penelope’s room, which she shared—scandalously—with Henry. “May I have the lantern from Lilith’s room?” Jane knew Penelope kept a lantern in the small adjoining room where the baby slept.

“Of course.” Penelope was already out of bed and in her robe as she hurried with Jane into Lilith’s room. She quickly turned up the flame and handed it to Jane, who ran to her own room.

The lantern illuminated her brother, still standing over the two men on the floor. Both of the men were moaning now, with a dark blood stain on the shoulder of one of them.