Page 5 of Mistletoe and Kisses
“I think I know exactly where I left it. I swear I picked it up three times this morning, intending to put it in my bag,” he eventually said.
He raked his fingers through his hair, frustrated and a little more than angry with himself. He had set the book down when Mary had given him the Christmas gift. The book was still on top of a pile of marked exam papers in Professor Gray’s old rooms.
Once they reached St John’s College, Hugh jumped down from the coach. “I won’t be long. I shall say a brief, polite hello and goodbye again to Mary, then be back.”
He hurried across the grounds, through the cloisters, and with a quick knock on the door, took hold of the handle.
The handle did not budge. He rattled it several times, thinking it must be stuck. When it finally dawned on him that the door was indeed locked, he frowned. The Grays rarely, if ever, locked their door.
“Mary!” he called out. Where on earth could she have gone? He needed that book.
“Lord Radley?”
He turned and when he caught sight of one of the college groundskeepers, he could have cried.
“Please tell me you have your set of keys upon your person; I need to access Professor Gray’s rooms,” he said.
The groundskeeper scowled. No groundskeeper worth his salt would be wandering the university grounds without his master set of keys. “Of course, I have my keys. Though they are no longer Professor Gray’s rooms,” replied the man.
Hugh nodded. He was in too much of a hurry to discuss the passing of his old professor. In his mind, as long as Mary remained in residence, they would always be Professor Gray’s rooms.
The groundskeeper unlocked the door, then, after promising to come back and lock it again once Hugh was gone, he took his leave.
Hugh hurried into the room, sighing with relief as he spotted his book.
“Thank heavens for that,” he muttered, as he picked it up.
He paused for a moment; something in the room was different. He looked at the piles of books and papers. They were stacked and arranged neater than he had ever seen them. He had not noticed the changes when he had been here earlier with Mary, his interest focused on her. He slowly took in the rest of the room.
Papers which were normally haphazardly thrown together had been put into neat bundles and tied off with string. The bookshelves were now full. Mary had made mention of having been cleaning, but until this moment, Hugh had not thought to ask why. The professor had always liked the messy look of his rooms, and Mary had sworn to keep them exactly as he had left them for at least the first year after his passing.
He poked his head inside Professor Gray’s old study and was surprised to be greeted with the sight of a tidy room. Hugh had never seen the top of the professor’s desk before. The sight was disconcerting.
Now that is odd. What have you been doing, Mary?
He steeled himself as he opened Mary’s bedroom door. He was invading her privacy, but his concerns held his mind. As he saw the bedding which had been folded and put to one side, a rising sense of panic gripped him. The cupboard where her clothes should hang was empty.
“Calm down, Radley. She has just been getting things ship-shape before leaving to visit her mother’s family,” he told himself.
His words, however, were cold comfort. Not more than an hour ago, Mary had told him she had not had confirmation of her visit from her relatives. Yet she had clearly gone somewhere and taken all of her possessions with her.
Stepping back into the main room, he found the groundskeeper waiting. “Did you find what you were looking for, my lord?”
Hugh frowned. He barely noticed the book in his hand.
“Yes and no,” he replied.
“It’s a pity about the Professor and Miss Gray. They were always kind to the staff around here,” said the groundskeeper.
Hugh tightened his hold on the book. “What do you mean?”
“Not that it’s my place, but it would have been nice if Miss Gray could have stayed on at the university for a little while longer. But I suppose they needed the rooms for the new professor, and she had to go.” The groundskeeper nervously jangled the ring of keys he held in his hand. University staff were meant to be seen and not heard.
Cold, hard realization settled heavily on Hugh’s shoulders. Mary was not visiting relatives; she had left St John’s College for good. And she hadn’t told him.
Think. Think what to do.
He rallied his thoughts. “You wouldn’t by any chance know where Miss Gray has gone, would you?” he asked.
