Part 14

     “Avery! Come away from there – it's not safe!” I almost laugh at the absurdity of Cora's words, but... she's just fled her burning home, I can forgive her for a lack of logic just now.
     Avery lingers a moment longer, staring at the tower. I wonder what he's thinking? It seems he knows that's where his father is, is he watching for a sign Mr. Mason is still in there? Hoping he'll escape, or - and it's a horrible thought, but I think understandable – hoping he won't escape?
     “Avery! Oh, Avery, come away, please!” This time it's Evelyn who pleads, and this time, Avery turns and moves toward the two women. All three stand and watch the flames for a long moment, frozen by the unreality of it all, their strong solid home, that has been the center of their world for so long, crumbling before their eyes. Something inside gives way, and there's a long, low crashing sound, a large burst of flame flying from a window on the second floor. Evelyn cries out, and Avery puts his arms around her, turning her to face away from the house.
     “Don't watch any more, Ev... it won't help anything, and will only wound you to see. We should go.”
     “But... Avery, there wasn't anyone left inside, was there?”
     He shakes his head, still with an arm around her, guiding her slowly, gently, away from the house. “I looked all through the house, and there was no-one. I don't know why Father sent the servants away after supper tonight, but, I am quite glad that he did so, though his rage as he did so seemed so misplaced.”
     “Avery... what about Father?” I can barely make out the words, she says them so low, her voice quavering. Whether she is nervous from fear or hope, I can't guess.
     He shakes his head again. “I didn't see him, but the tower doors were all locked, as they usually are.”
     Cora strides briskly over to them, shifting the baby in her arms slightly. “Your father was in the library – I saw him lock the study door behind him myself, as I was making the rounds of the house before going to bed. He couldn't have left without one of us seeing, and so---” She breaks off here, and buries her face in the bundle at her breast. For all his coldness and cruelty, he was her husband... he can't have been all bad, or she would never have agreed to share a home with him in the first place.
     Evelyn gasps softly at this, and Avery tightens his arms around her. “Ev, don't think on it. We should go – it's a long walk to town.”
     Cora snaps her head sharply toward him. “A long walk! What of the carriage?”
     Avery shakes his head. “The horses are gone. When I woke, I looked out the window, and saw them running off near the edge of the property.”
     “What! Who would have--- That Joseph, why, I---”
     “I don't know, but does it matter? Don't blame the servants, Mother, they had long been gone for the night, and none would have done it. They must have been spooked by the fire, and bolted of their own accord. Come now. You'll catch a chill out in this air, walking will keep you warm.”
     He's such a calm, collected young man. I can hardly believe he's only, what, nineteen or so? I can't think of a single college freshman who would be this responsible and cool in such a situation.
     “Mother... why do you have Molly's baby with you?”
     Cora pauses a fraction of a second, but covers the silence by adjusting the blanket around the baby. “She was colicky this evening, and Molly was at her wit's end what to do with her. She left her with me when your father dismissed her.”
     Evelyn seems to buy this, at least for the moment, but I don't. I wonder... did the newspapers just assume the baby was Cora's? Or did Cora say it was? Something... just seems odd about the whole thing. I don't trust her, and I don't know why. She seemed such a sweet, gentle person, that first day that I saw her, but everything I've heard since then has warped that image in my mind.
     The family is starting to move away now – not toward the main gate I'm standing at, but around the side of the house opposite the tower. There must be another exit on that side, probably near the carriage house. I'm pretty sure the direction they're headed will lead them more directly to town.
     A loud sound makes all of us whip our gazes around to the house. The roof – the roof of the tower section, over the library, is collapsing. A spray of sparks, and a roar as the flames escape into the open spaces of the night air, and clattering and thumps as the brick walls give way against the sudden pressure and collapsing interior walls. Scarlet and gold... like the drapes in the library, that gorgeous library... I can hardly believe it's now gone.
     Now gone? It's over a hundred years gone. And my trips back aren't always in order, the next time I'm here, it may well be back again, with its lofty ceilings and endless unreadable titles, gold leaf on leather and fabric bindings...
     Finally, Avery brings us all back from the hypnotic image of the flames. “We need to go now. It's too dangerous, standing so close. And you'll both need somewhere quiet, to recover yourselves after all of this. Come along now.”
     He moves to stand beside his mother, and reaches out his free hand to hold Evelyn's. But Evelyn draws her hand back, looking from the house back to her brother. “Go on – I'll be right behind you. I promise!”
     Avery gives her a wary look, but then nods. “Don't be more than a minute, little sister. The smoke will harm you if you breathe much more of it.”
     Cora, holding the unknown baby, and Avery continue along the path toward the carriage house. Avery shifts takes his bundle to rest against his side, and takes the bag from his mother, carrying it for her. “You took the things from the safe, Mother?”
     “Yes, they're in the bag, along with some other things. Do handle it carefully, we mustn't let it out of our sight. There is money enough in the bank, but until the estate is properly settled, it may be difficult to obtain.”
     Her voice is so strangely cool. While Avery's is calm, clearly trying to “be a man” and take charge of the situation, Cora's voice has a sharper edge to it. I don't know her well enough to know what emotion it is that she's so determined to cover, but she's doing the best she can to keep everyone's perceptions at bay.
     But they're soon out of hearing range, and I turn my attention to Evelyn, who stands silently beside an apple tree in the front yard, staring at the house, her fingers curled into tight fists as they hold her skirts off the ground. She's in an actual dress, not a nightgown, but is not nearly as put-together as her mother looked – clearly, she threw it on haphazardly, there are buttons left undone, and it sits unevenly across her shoulders. Her hair is undone, and falls much longer than I would have expected, the curls fallen into loose waves, looking even more red in the garish glow from the fire.
     She takes a step closer to the tower, then another, and I can feel how hard her gaze is searching that section of the house. She pauses, and looks to see Avery and Cora at some distance, not paying her any heed. She runs quickly off toward the tower, keeping a fair distance from it, but circling around to the side of the house, where I can no longer see her. I look over at Avery and Cora again, and then bolt around the house after Evelyn.