Page 64 of Fire Must Burn

‘She doesn’t want to see anyone at the moment,’ said Mrs Dorter. ‘She’ll be fine. I’ll take care of her. You and the gentlemen—’

There was something in her tone on that last word, thought Sparks. Something contemptuous.

‘—should go back to bed,’ continued Mrs Dorter. ‘You have a busy day tomorrow.’

‘But—’

‘Goodnight, Miss Sparks,’ said Mrs Dorter. ‘Please be so kind as to extinguish all the lights you turned on. You’re wasting the electricity.’

She passed by her, going through another door Sparks hadn’t noticed before. Then Sparks heard her steps ascending.

A separate stairway to the servants’ quarters, she guessed.

Her heart was still pounding, but she forced herself to retrace her path through the rooms to turn off the lights before she returned to the first-storey landing.

‘Kevin! Tony!’ she called. ‘She’s been found.’

Kevin appeared from the wing where she and Tony had been sleeping. Tony appeared a minute later, coming down from the second storey.

‘Where is she?’ he asked.

‘Mrs Dorter found her,’ said Sparks. ‘She’s taking care of her.’

‘Good old Dorty,’ said Kevin. ‘Sauce is in good hands. Right, I’m turning back in.’

‘Why does she need to be taken care of, Kevin?’ asked Sparks.

‘It’s been a long night, Sparks,’ said Kevin. ‘Let’s discuss things in the morning when we’re sober and less frantic.’

‘But—’

‘Come on, Sparks,’ said Tony, taking her hand. ‘There’s nothing more to do now.’

He pulled her hand. She resisted for a moment, then allowed him to take her across the landing.

‘Oh, Tony?’ called Kevin, watching them.

‘Yes?’ replied Tony, looking back over his shoulder.

‘I noticed your bedclothes were undisturbed when I checked your room,’ said Kevin.

‘Did you?’

‘Yes,’ said Kevin, smiling approvingly. ‘Good for you, lad.’

‘Get some sleep, Picky,’ said Tony.

Kevin disappeared. They returned to her room.

‘I don’t like this,’ said Sparks.

‘Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it in the morning,’ said Tony. ‘I’m going to finish the night in my assigned bed, Sparks. Appearances and all that.’

‘Appearances for whom?’ she asked.

He smiled sadly, then left her, closing the door behind him.

She woke the next morning with a splitting headache. It took her a minute to identify her surroundings, then the events of the night before came back to her. She dressed quickly, then headed downstairs in search of Mrs Dorter. She found her in the kitchen stirring a pot of porridge.