Free The Passage by Irina Shapiro Page A

Hiddleston.”  Clarence gave me a stiff bow and averted his eyes in embarrassment.  Clearly, he thought he had walked into some kind of romantic tryst.  Judging by the boy’s shock, they weren’t a regular occurrence.
    “Where’s your mother, Clarence?” Hugo asked irritably.  “Is she still abed?”
    “You know she is,” Clarence answered sullenly and gave Hugo a look of such disdain that it nearly made me laugh.  Seems teenagers were much the same in any age.  “She rarely stirs before noon.  Shall I get her?”
    “Yes, tell her we have a guest, and be quick about it.”  Clarence threw Hugo a defiant look and left the room, walking slowly in hopes of provoking his uncle.  I turned away from Hugo to hide my smile. 
    “Are you hungry?  Should I call for some refreshment?” Hugo asked solicitously, suddenly realizing how compromising we looked with me lying down and him leaning over me.  He didn’t wait for me to answer as he pulled a cord to summon a servant.  A young girl of about fourteen appeared a few moments later.  She seemed intimidated by her master, but he was perfectly courteous to her.
    “Please ask Cook to send up some refreshments.  We have a guest.”
    “Right away, your lordship,” the girl stammered. 
    “And more brandy, Harriet,” he called after her as she scampered from the room.
    I looked at the departing girl and decided that it was probably time to make my escape.  I’d gotten what I came for, and although I had no idea what would eventually happen to Hugo, I wasn’t about to find out.  I needed to get back to the church and to my own time since I was feeling worse by the minute.  I was lying to this man, pretending to be someone I wasn’t, and taking advantage of his hospitality.  It felt all wrong, and I was ashamed of myself.  I could tell that he was brimming with questions about how I came to be on his property and why I was alone and on foot.  He was too polite to interrogate me, especially since he thought I was the relative of an earl, but sooner or later he would ask, and no answer I could give him would make sense.  I needed to leave.  I made to sit up, but a wave of dizziness brought me right back down, reminding me that I recently hit my head.  My ankle was also throbbing in a most alarming way, and I let out a little yelp as I tried to move it.
    “Where are you going?” Hugo was instantly by my side.  “You just turned white as a sheet.  Please, Mistress Ashley, lie back down and rest.  Shall I summon a physician? It might take a few hours though since the nearest medical man is at Blackney.”
    “No, please don’t trouble yourself.  I’ll be all right.  I just need to rest a bit longer.”
    “You need to rest for several days.  I will make sure you’re comfortable and my sister will act as chaperone, so you mustn’t worry about any damage to your reputation.”  I might be concussed, but at least my virtue would be safe , I thought with an inward giggle.  Chivalry was alive and well. 
    “Ah, here’s Jane,” Hugo announced with some relief as a woman appeared in the doorway.  She was some years younger than Hugo, which placed her at around thirty, and was dressed in a sober gown of charcoal gray.  Her hair was pulled back from her face with only a few curls on either side to cover the ears, but she was without question the woman I’d seen in my dream.  She was older now, the bloom long gone from her cheeks and her hair sprinkled with silver, but there was no mistaking the doe-like dark eyes and the full mouth that was once quite sensuous, and so like her brother’s. 
    “My sister was recently widowed,” Hugo said as he introduced us.  “Her husband is greatly missed.”
    “I’m sorry for your loss,” and I was.  She looked bereaved, and I briefly wondered if she ever got to marry her lover.
    “Thank you.  You are very kind,” Jane replied.  She took the seat that Hugo vacated a few minutes ago and folded