The Critchfield Locket by Sheila M. Rogers

darkness as Kate slowly opened her eyes. She looked about the room, her eyes traveling from the candle burning on the nightstand to Margaret sleeping in a chair. She quietly rose out of bed and slipped out of the room through the secret passageway to the library. When she stepped out of the bookcase entrance, she had to stifle a surprised squeal as she bumped into Nicholas.
    “Oh, pardon me...”
    “No, no, it was my fault. You could not have known that I would be entering this way.”
    Nicholas could see the strain upon her face. He resisted the urge to touch her and instead, offered her a seat near the fireplace. His staff had informed him about her earlier breakdown so he decided to give her time to open up to him.
    Kate finally turned and looked him in the eyes. “Thank you for all that you have done.”
    “It’s been no trouble really…”
    Kate held up her hand. “Please let me finish.” He nodded in response. “You, your staff , and even some of your friends have gone out of their way to show me kindness, and I will always be grateful for it.” She paused to give herself a moment before continuing. “I remember what happened now. My brother James had been away from home for several months while he sorted out our father’s business. Our father had passed suddenly, and since it was so unexpected, he did not have his estate in order.”
    She took a sip of tea from the cup that Nicholas handed her. “Thank you. Anyway, James had to go east to Springport and in doing so, he left behind Sarah, the love of his life. He had been home with me in Cedarwood for a few days before we received an invitation. It seems that Sarah’s parents could not let her wait indefinitely for James to return and had coaxed her into accepting another man’s marriage proposal.”
    Kate rose from her chair and placed her cup on the tea service tray. “James was both outraged and brokenhearted at the news. The invitation had arrived late – perhaps Sarah was hesitant about sending it to us. Either way, James was insistent that he should leave at once and asked me to accompany him.”
    She sat back down in her chair, knowing the story would only get harder to tell. “We were behind schedule when we stopped in Loganville. It was as you said – the weather had been bad and we needed a fresh set of horses. The smart thing would have been to spend the night in Loganville, but James did not want to waste a moment. Once the horses were secured, we quickly boarded the carriage and were once again on our way.”
    Kate stared at the floor. She willed her tears to stop but still one slid down her cheek. She wiped at it absent mindedly before continuing. “Usually we had a coachman, but James needed to feel that he was in control, so he took it upon himself to drive the carriage. He was out of practice, the road was slick from the rain. He rounded a corner too quickly and before I knew what was happening, the carriage bounced hard, hit something, and then landed on its side.”
    The tears were now streaming freely down her face, but she forged on. “I managed to get the door open by standing on the edge of the seat. I climbed out and saw the carriage was just inches from a tree. I called out to James but heard no response. Then I saw him. He was lying in such a way that I knew, I knew it in my heart, but I didn’ t want to believe it. I lied to myself and thought that if I could just get a doctor to him, he would be fine in no time. I began to run. In my state, I had no sense of direction and ran the opposite way of Loganville. I ran until I could run no more and collapsed on the ground.”
    Nicholas was kneeling before her now, his eyes reflected the sorrow in hers. “It was then that my maid found you?”
    Kate shook her head affirmatively. “Though I do not know how long I was there.”
    He stood up and pulled her to him. “I am so sorry for your loss.”
    She briefly returned his embrace before pulling away. Her features turned very