the door,” he added when Hannah glared at him.
“There’s talk enough already,” she snapped. “Off with you. I’ll stay with her for a while.”
“What sort of talk?” Jocelyn asked once Ben had been shooed from the room.
“Just the usual kind,” Hannah said as she settled at the foot of the bed. “Young woman, two unmarried men. You know the sort of thing people say.”
“I haven’t—” Jocelyn began.
“I know you haven’t done anything wrong. But people will talk.” Hannah sighed. “It’s high time the boys were married. I worry about them, Alice. Ben lost his intended a year ago, and Derek fancies Lydia Blackwell, Lord knows why. I think she might have her sights set on someone who can offer her more than the life of a farmer’s wife. Got ambition, that one. Why, I wager she’d gladly marry that homely Lieutenant Reynolds if he’d have her. I hear he comes from money and will inherit a sizable estate in Hertfordshire, or Oxfordshire, or some such once his father is gone. I don’t want to see Derek hurt. Or Ben.” Hannah sighed, giving Jocelyn a meaningful look. “Well, if you’re all right, I’ll go to my bed now,” she said, rising to her feet. “I don’t mean to burden you with my problems. You’ve got your own to contend with. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Jocelyn muttered, glad to be left alone.
The room was plunged into darkness once again, leaving Jocelyn to reconstruct the dream that had terrified her. She gingerly touched the healing bruise on her head. She could still feel the blinding pain and the sheer terror of hurtling overboard into the nearly black waters of the roiling sea, but there had been something else, something before that. She couldn’t conjure up the details or the context, only the terror that had left her shaking and helpless.
She was running, her footsteps unbearably loud in the eerie silence of the night. Someone was after her, someone who terrified her. She could almost taste her panic and fear and feel the erratic beating of her heart. She couldn’t see him, but knew he was gaining on her, the thudding of his boots getting closer. There was no getting away, and nowhere to hide. A hand closed over her arm, yanking her back forcibly and dragging her back the way she’d come. All is lost, her mind screamed. No one could help her now. Tomorrow she would hang.
Jocelyn wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth in her distress. Her mouth was dry, her heart racing as if she were still trapped in the dream, running for her life. Had it been a random dream or a memory of something that had happened before she’d boarded the ship? Had her mind dredged up a terrifying reality from the murky depths of her damaged memory?
Jocelyn rested her forehead on her knees, wrapped her arms around her legs, and screwed her eyes tightly shut, but the images raced across her mind, the panic making her breath come in choking gasps. The fear was real, and it was raw, and she instinctively knew that the threat was still out there, only, for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what it was.
Chapter 26
The bright light of day brought new clarity. The storm had passed, and so had Jocelyn’s resolve to steer clear of Derek. Even if he meant her no harm, he clearly possessed vital information that would help her identify the threat against her. She needed to discover what he knew and how he’d come by the knowledge. Jocelyn washed and dressed and presented herself downstairs, her heart racing. Would Derek acknowledge last night’s visit? Would he tell her what she needed to know?
“Good morning, Alice. How are you feeling today?” Hannah asked solicitously when Jocelyn walked into the kitchen. Hannah was setting the table for breakfast.
“I’m well. Thank you,” she said demurely. “Can I help?”
“You can slice the bread.” Hannah gave Jocelyn an inquiring look as she set the dish of butter on the table. “Ben says you went down to the beach yesterday,” she said nonchalantly. “He saw you running toward the water.”
It wasn’t really a question, but Jocelyn felt an answer was expected. Hannah and Ben were clearly worried about her.
“I thought looking at a stormy sea might help me remember,” Jocelyn explained.
“And did it? Is that what brought the nightmares on?” Hannah asked, her eyes filled with sympathy.
“Yes, I think so,” Jocelyn replied. She had no wish to tell Hannah about her dream.
Hannah