The Song of the Siren

“This is the general dining room, I believe. And I am about to go.”

“You understand my discomfiture when I discovered that others were close by my sick friend.”

“Others? You mean when you discovered I was.”

He leaned his elbows on the table and studied me intently. I saw the admiration in his eyes and I had to admit that I was gratified.

“You are a very beautiful young lady,” he said. “I am surprised that you are allowed to travel alone.”

“This is hardly to the point,” I said coldly, then feeling it might be unwise to let him think I was alone added: “I am not travelling alone. I have grooms with me.

They, alas, have had to find accommodation elsewhere. I make this journey frequently, but this is the first time something unfortunate like this has happened.”

“Please do not think of it as unfortunate. I was angry, I admit. Now I rejoice that I have been given this opportunity to make your acquaintance. May I know your name?”

I hesitated. I could understand his annoyance and he was clearly a quick-tempered man. He was doing his best to apologise now and I did not want to appear ungracious.

“It is Carlotta Main. What is yours?”

I saw that he was surprised. He repeated: “Carlotta Main. You belong to the Eversleigh family.”

“You know my family?”

“I know of them. Lord Eversleigh is your ...”

”He is my grandmother’s son by her first marriage.”

“I see. And Leigh.”

“He is my stepfather. We are a rather complicated family.”

“And a military one. I believe the great General Tolworthy was a connection.”

“That’s so. It seems that I am no stranger to you. I wonder if I have heard of your family. What is your name?”

“It is ... John Field.”

“No. I have never heard of any Fields.”

“Unexplored pastures,” he said with a hint of humour. “I wish we had met in happier circumstances.”

“And I wish that you get your friend safely to London.”

“Thank you. He needs skilled attention quickly. It is a great anxiety “

I realized that he was apologising again and I stood up. I felt I should retire.

There was something too bold and disturbing in his looks. He studied me too intently, and having had some experience of such matters I was well aware that he was assessing me and for what purpose. He was too like Beau for my comfort, and Beau had taught me so much about the ways of men.

The more I was close to this one, the more uneasy I became.

He stood up with me. He bowed and I went out of the dining room. I took a candle from the table in the hall and started up.

I met the innkeeper’s wife on the stairs with the serving maid. They were carrying food up the landing. It was evidently being served in one of those four rooms. So this John Field had come into the dining room just to apologise to me.

I went into my room and was relieved to see that there was a key. I turned it in the lock and felt safe.

It was stiflingly hot in the little cupboard so I went to the window and found to my delight that I could open it, and when a little air came in the atmosphere was more bearable.

I sat down on my stool. It must be nearly ten o’clock. We should leave early in the morning. There was not a great deal of time to be spent here, and how glad I should be when the dawn came.

Then suddenly a gust from the open window doused my candle. I sighed but did not attempt for a while to relight it. There was a half-moon and it was a clear night, so as my eyes grew accustomed to the gloom I could see well enough.

It was then that I became aware of the crack of light in the wall. Perplexed, I stared at it; then I got up to examine it.

Good heavens, I thought. There must have been a door there at one time. It has been boarded up.

Yes, that was it. Boarded up and not too expertly done. This cupboard room of mine must at one time have led from the room next to it-perhaps it was a kind of dressing room-and there had obviously been a small communicating door between the two rooms.

Someone must have decided to shut it off completely to make a maid’s room of it.

There was this slight crack at the side which would hardly have been visible if I had not been in the dark and there was light in the room behind the partition. And as I was examining it, I heard the mumble of voices. At first I thought they came from the corridor. Then I realized that they were coming through the crack in the wall.

John Field and his friends were in urgent discussion. I shrugged my shoulders. I imagined them sitting down to the sucking pig, which had been brought up by the innkeeper’s wife and her serving woman.

Then suddenly I heard my name and I was alert. I put my ear to the crack.

I recognised the voice of John Field. “Carlotta Main . .. the heiress ... one of the Eversleighs ... That she should be here this night.”

A mumble of voices.

“I could murder that innkeeper. I said clearly that we were not to be disturbed....”

“It’s only a girl “

“Yes ... but one of the Eversleigh family....”

“You spoke to her?”

“A real beauty.” I heard him chuckle. “A young lady with a high opinion of herself.”