When The Rain Falls

Chapter Thirty-Three

I read the letter several times just to confirm that I had read it correctly and that my eyes weren't just playing tricks on me. They weren't.

Abacus the horse belonged to Mr Marlow.

Rebecca had said that Abacus had belonged to her father, but that could only mean one thing. Mr Marlow had only ever had one daughter by blood with his first wife and none with his second wife. That daughter was Lily. Except Rebecca couldn't have been Lily Marlow. I would have recognised her the moment I saw her. Not only that, but she would have told us, even if it did sound ludicrous. Rebecca couldn't be Lily. Could she?

I dropped the letter onto my bed and dived under my pillow to grab the pendant. Just having a letter from a servant wouldn't be enough for anyone to believe me. I needed actual proof. Father wasn't going to believe any of it unless I could categorically prove that Rebecca and Lily Marlow were the same person. That would be far easier said than done. Lily Marlow was supposed to be dead. We had attended her funeral several years before. No one would believe she had been alive all of this time. Even I struggled to believe it.

Except it somehow made sense. No one had seen Lily before she died. We had all just taken Mrs Marlow's word for it. It wouldn't have been difficult for her to pay off the undertaker, and passing Lily off as a servant would have been a lot easier after all the other servants had been replaced. If it were to be believed, it would explain Rebecca's reaction to the Marlow's name. The pieces of the puzzle slowly started to slow into place. I just had to prove it to Father.

Stuffing the pendant into my pocket, I threw open my bedroom door and raced down the stairs. Doctor Merrick had yet to arrive, and I took it as a sign that I had time to gather the proof I needed just as long as I had help. The servants darted out of my way as I hurried down the servants' staircase. I burst into the kitchen where Mrs Lucas stood over a tea tray, no doubt preparing for the impending visit.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Master Nate?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Is George around?" I asked.

"He left for the village over an hour ago. I thought he told you that."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Right. Do you know when he'll be back?"

"I don't know, not for a while, I expect. I can send him up to you when he returns."

"That would be great, thank you."

I turned and ran back up the stairs, annoyed at myself for not remembering what George had told me only an hour before. He was unlikely to return in time, so I had to find the evidence myself, even if it landed me in more trouble with Father. I would take whatever punishment he had to offer if it meant that I could prove Rebecca and Lily Marlow were the same person. It would be worth it in the end.

"Nate? What are you doing?" Alice said behind me. I twisted my body to watch her slowly descend the staircase.

"Looking for George, but he's not here."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"No." I looked away from her and headed towards the front door, pausing before I opened it. "Actually, there is. I need you to keep Miss Edwards and Mrs Ramone from leaving until I get back."

"What? Where are you going?"

"I'll explain everything later. Just don't let them leave."

"What about the storm? It looks like it's about to start raining."

"I won't be long."

"Nate!"

Before she could stop me, I wrenched the front door open and ran across the grounds to the stables. The wind had picked up, transforming from a light breeze into gusts that shook the trees and sent leaves and sticks hurtling to the ground. The weather was not that dissimilar from the day Joseph and I had found Rebecca in the woods. I prayed it wasn't a bad sign.