Page 37 of The Journal of a Thousand Years
“Now open your eyes.”
She sat back and opened her eyes. “I feel better now. Thank you, Miss Ashe.”
“You did very well.” I continued with my gentle tone to keep her calm. “Using the same breathing technique, cast your mind back to when you arrived at the house this morning.”
She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “I arrived at five, as I usually do, letting myself in through the service door with my key. I collected my broom and went upstairs to sweep out the entry hall, but as I stood there, I saw a man. It was still dark, but he held a lantern, so I saw him clear enough. He was a big brute of a fellow. I heard his footsteps, but also heard a second set, up ahead on the stairs. I gasped. The brute stopped and looked my way. He must have seen me because he put a finger to his lips then drew it across his throat.” She showed me the gesture using her own finger, then began crying again. “He means to cut me up if I don’t keep quiet, Miss Ashe.”
I put my arm around her shoulders. “Did you carry a lamp or candle?”
She shook her head. “No need. I know my way around every inch of this place.”
“Then he can’t have seen you. You said yourself it was still dark. He also held a lantern, which means the light was in his eyes. He heard your gasp and realized someone was there, and that’s why he made the threatening motion, but he didn’t seeyou. He won’t come for you, because he doesn’t know who saw him.”
She sniffed. “But he knows I work here.”
“But he doesn’t know which member of this household you are.”
“I suppose.”
It was curious that the man didn’t attack when he heard her gasp. He must have been confident his threat would work.
I tightened my grip around her shoulders. “Well done, Sally. You’ve been marvelous so far. Now, can you describe him?”
“Yes! Yes, I remember!” She gave me a tentative smile. Her confidence and her memory had returned now that she didn’t feel as though she was in danger. “He was a large man with a thick neck and broad chest. There was nothing particular about his face, it was just ordinary, but his hair was something I remember. He was bald on the top of his head with stringy blond hair reaching past his collar. He could have plaited it, it was that long.”
It was a distinctive feature, but I knew no one fitting the description. None of Thurlow’s men had hair like that. “You said there was another fellow.”
“He was already up the stairs when I arrived. I never saw him but I heard his footsteps. After the first man threatened me, I retreated downstairs to the kitchen and stayed there until the Bristows came.”
“Did you hear any other sounds?”
“No. Not even their footsteps. The basement is a long way below Mr. Glass’s bedchamber”
“Will you speak to the police artist now? He’ll draw your description of the man, which the police will then use to help identify him.”
“All right.”
I stood, but Sally caught my arm.
“I thought they were burglars,” she said. “I thought they’d take some valuables and leave. I didn’t know they were kidnapping Mr. Glass.” Her face crumpled. “I didn’t find out until Mr. Bailey and Miss Willie came into the kitchen, looking for him. I’m real sorry, Miss Ashe. I hope the police find him.”
“They will, Sally. They will.” I repeated myself for my own benefit rather than hers.
I opened the door that led to the kitchen to see Willie and Alex standing with the servants. Alex embraced me, but Willie crossed her arms and glared. She didn’t need to speak for me to know she blamed me. She spoke anyway. Indeed, it was more of a shout.
“This is your fault!” She lunged toward me, her finger pointed at my face.
Alex caught her before she got too close. “Calm down. This is not Sylvia’s fault. It’s Thurlow’s.”
“It’shersand her low-down cur of a father’s. If she hadn’t brought Hendry into Gabe’s life, none of this would have happened.”
“Why would Melville kidnap Gabe?” I asked.
“Because he’s mad!”
Alex had clearly heard this argument before. He simply rolled his eyes. “Stop carrying on, Willie. Hysteria won’t get Gabe back.”
Willie’s nostrils flared and the muscles in her jaw hardened. If I hadn’t seen the tears in her eyes before she turned away, I would have thought she was too angry to snap back at him. But I suspected her sudden silence was due to her attempt at containing her rampant emotions. She wouldn’t want to cry in front of others.
