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“M iss Paget? Are you all right?”

Miss Johnson’s panicked voice rang through the stillness.

Before answering, Tabitha wanted to wait until the room stopped spinning, but it wasn’t happening any time soon.

The tips of her fingers dug into something hard and the pain was almost unbearable, but she refused to let go.

At least she hadn’t fallen. That was a good thing.

She breathed deeply, praying her mind would become clear again.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and gathered her wits.

She was still on the steps, thank goodness.

Her limbs shook, but she couldn’t tell if she was losing her strength or if it was her nerves causing the problem.

Either way, she must ignore it. She must keep moving.

“Miss Paget,” Miss Johnson’s voice strained with panic. “Please answer me!”

“I’m all right. I’m just a little dizzy.”

“Whatever it is that Miss Talbot adds to her tea, it has a lingering effect. It’s just awful, I tell you.”

“Be that as it may, I cannot allow it to stop me.”

Tabitha pushed herself until she teetered on the top step. She didn’t want to give into her sigh of victory—not yet. Things were definitely not over. This was just one small obstacle she had to hurtle over, she was certain.

Moving her hands up the wall, she felt for the door opening.

The large piece of wood jiggled slightly, but it was obvious that there was a hooked lock on the other side.

Straining her eyes, she followed the seam between the trap door and the wall until she saw the exact point where the hook was located.

If she had something thin enough to slide between the seam in order to unhook the latch, perhaps she could open this door after all. But what could she use?

Immediately, her fuzzy mind knew. For the luncheon that her aunt had, Tabitha had tried to make herself lovely by fixing her hair differently. She’d used several pins to hold the coil together.

Excitement rushed through her as she fished through her hair to locate the pins.

One by one, she pulled them out until her hair tumbled down her shoulders.

She clutched the hair-pins tightly and looked back at the seam again.

Now, she had to stand. Oh, heavens. This would be difficult, only because she was still very dizzy.

Using all of her strength, she leaned against the wall as her legs pushed her up.

While one hand clutched the hair-pins, the other assisted in balancing her against the wall as she made an upward climb.

When she was finally standing, her legs shook terribly.

Staying against the wall, she slid one of the pins through the seam.

Her hand trembled, making it hard to focus.

When the pin reached the hook located on the other side of the wall, she pushed with all her might to get the object to move.

Tension from the other side resisted her efforts, which made it difficult to wiggle the hair-pin.

She gripped harder, hoping it would steady her hand better.

But the pin slipped from her fingers and fell to the other room.

Groaning softly, she took another hair-pin and tried again.

Just as she connected with the hook, the pin slid from her fingers and fell just like the one before it had.

Frustration filled her, but she couldn’t give up. She still had two more hair-pins left. She must keep trying!

Taking a deep breath and repeating in her mind I can do this, she took hold of another pin and pushed it through the seam. Trying to keep her hand steady, she wiggled the pin against the hook. Something moved on the other side, but yet the door remained locked.

Hope sprang inside her. Maybe, just maybe she was getting closer to removing the obstacle. She tried it again, but the pin bumped against something hard and flipped out of her fingers. As she tried to grab it, the last pin fell from her hand as well.

Her hopes fell to the ground along with the hair-pins, and her heart shattered.

“No!” Tears burned beneath her eyelids. She knocked her forehead against the door as she pounded her fists against the wood. How could she have lost all of the pins? If she had only tried harder. Things would have worked. Why couldn’t her hands be steadier?

“What’s wrong, Miss Paget?”

Defeat overwhelmed Tabitha and she sank to her knees. “I cannot open the door,” she told the other woman in a choked-up voice.

Miss Johnson’s heartfelt sobs rang through the room. The tears Tabitha had been holding back slid from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.

Their future looked grim.

*

The closer Nic walked to the abandoned house, the more anxious he became. Something told him this was where he’d find answers.

What could he say to Miss Talbot when he finally found her?

He could demand she tell him where she was keeping Tabitha, but then if Miss Talbot were truly innocent, she would be put off by his rude behavior.

But making small talk with her was out of the question.

Tabitha needed to be found, and quickly.

Yet, if Miss Talbot was responsible, then he needed to somehow get on that topic.

As he neared the front door, he scanned the perimeter and slowed his steps.

If this place was supposed to be abandoned, then why did he feel as if eyes were watching him?

The chills running up and down his spine testified to the fact that something was sinister about this place.

Surprisingly, he hadn’t felt that way when he met Tabitha here for lunch.

So perhaps it was only lately that this house had turned very disturbing.

Just as he placed his foot on the front porch step, the rustling of bushes sounded from the corner of the house.

He froze, keeping his gaze fastened to that spot.

Miss Talbot bustled from around the corner, brushing off her gardening gloves.

Her focus was on her gloves and she didn’t see him.

Quickly, he stepped away from the porch and stood still, waiting for her to notice his presence.

When she finally looked up and saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her mouth dropped open.

“Mr. Woodland? What….are you doing here?”

He could ask her the same question, which he would after he figured out a reason for being here.

“Well, you see, I was at home studying the Bible, and I had a strong impression that I needed to come to this house.” Not bad, if he had to say so himself, especially since a little of it was true.

“What are you doing here?” He glanced from her dirt-smudged gown, down to her mud-crusted shoes, then up to her gardening gloves.

“Oh, well…I have been tidying up the yard lately.” She shrugged. “It gives me something to do, and I’m helping Mr. Lancaster take care of his property while he’s away.”

“I haven’t seen Mr. Lancaster around for several months. Do you know where he went?”

“I believe he’s living with his brother now. Mr. Lancaster was getting on in years and could not afford to take care of the house, nor did he have the strength to care for himself.”

“Yes, I suppose, but…” Nic scratched his chin and narrowed his gaze toward the house. “I’m still wondering why I received such a strong impression to come here. It was as if the Lord was trying to tell me something.”

“Oh, dear.”

Miss Talbot had said it so softly, he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. “What did you say?”

“Uh, well…I just don’t know why you were prompted to come here.” She shook her head. “It’s just me, and I’m fine. Unless—” She batted her eyes as if she were a young flirtatious girl once again, and moved closer. “Perhaps you came to help me.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Help you do what? Tidy up the yard?”

She chuckled and flipped her hand in the air. “Heavens, no. I’m doing well enough by myself. However, I would love some company. If you’d come inside,” she motioned her head toward the house, “I will fix you some tea.”

He was about ready to ask her where they’d sit since the last time he was here, there was not a stitch of furniture in the house, but then he quickly decided against saying that.

He didn’t need her asking questions as to why he was in the house.

“Well, I suppose. But I cannot stay long. I’m preparing Sunday’s sermon. ”

“Oh, how nice. Perhaps you can tell me all about it over tea.”

She walked past him and up the porch steps. When she turned the knob and opened the front door, he wondered how she was able to accomplish that since the door had been locked a few weeks ago. Unless, she had taken over the inside of the house as well as the outside.

Hesitantly, he followed her in…and halted in shock. Two couches and one small table stood in the room. Curtains even hung on the windows. Where had all of this come from?

“Mr. Woodland, please come in the kitchen with me. It’s cozier in here. I haven’t been able to keep the sitting room clean.”

Cautiously, he stepped into the kitchen, and once again, surprise washed over him. There was a table and two chairs, and even some pots and a kettle on the stove. A scent of roast beef hinted the air. Food? She was cooking food? Here instead of her own house? Definitely, something was afoot here.

She went to the cupboard and withdrew two teacups before moving to the stove. Suspicious, Nic narrowed his gaze. What was going on? None of this was in the house when he and Tabitha had walked through a few weeks ago.

“So, Miss Talbot,” he began, hoping he’d know the right words to say to get her talking about Tabitha. “I noticed you with Miss Paget yesterday afternoon down by the beach.”

Her body stiffened as she stood in front of the stove. “You did?”

“Yes. She’s a lovely woman, don’t you agree? So kind and caring. Did you know she and her maid have been assisting Mr. Jacobs and his daughter?”