3 Chapter 3. An evening of surprises

The silence hung over the house like a blanket after Lady Annabelle's departure. Maria did not dislike being alone, it was often better than having to wait on a lady. She did, however, not like the dark, so she lit a lantern to carry with her to bed. She would be able to get a few hours of rest before the lady returned and wanted her help with her evening toilet. Maria checked that the doors were locked securely before she made her way up the stairs to her room, remembering with a shudder that quite a few homes lately had seen burglaries. Not in this part of town, of course, but it did make her uneasy to think of people who would be so brutish as to make their way into someone else's home. Surely she was safe here, though, with the heavy doors and the windows that sat high on the façade that faced the street. Banishing the thoughts of robberies and burglars, Maria slipped off her black dress and went to sleep in her undergarments. She would need to get up again soon in any case, and the lacing of her corset was too much trouble to do more than once.

She was awoken a while later by an unexpected sound. Dazed, and still not fully awake, Maria dressed quickly and opened the door to her small chamber. Lady Annabelle must be back! She hurried down the narrow staircase, trying to braid her hair at the same time. Not until she stood in the great hallway, ready to open the front doors did she realise that the sound didn't come from these doors. The incessant knocking came from the back. Maria frowned, puzzled. Who on earth would knock on the kitchen door in the middle of the night? Suddenly she really felt the loneliness weight down on her shoulders. What if someone was trying to break in? She brought a hand up to cover her mouth and noticed it shaking.

Silly girl, a voice inside her said, thieves wouldn't knock on the door now would they? Legs shaking Maria stepped into the hallway and peeked into the kitchen. The room lay dark, only a little moonlight seeping in from the small window over the washbasin. The knocking on the door stopped just as Maria looked towards it, and she relaxed a bit, thinking the person outside had given up.

Then a voice called out, causing her to jump with fright. "Anyone? Sorry to disturb your rest but your aid is needed!" The voice was that of a man, and he seemed earnest in his pleading. But could Maria really let in a stranger in the night like this, when she saw all alone? Fear made her tremble, and hot tears burned in her eyes. She summoned all of her courage and stepped closer to the door, however she made no move to open it. Instead she called out in a feeble voice.

"Sir I must beg you to leave, this is a respectable home of a Lady, and I cannot let people inside for it would endanger all of us inside!" She hoped the man would believe her ruse, that she was not alone after all. Oh, how she wished that to be true. A long pause followed, and she almost believed the man had gone away when his voice called again, softer this time.

"Your ladyship, I am deeply sorry to disturb you, and had I any other choice I would certainly go away at once and never bother you again. But, you see, I have dropped something very important to me, together with the keys to my home. The streetlights are not enough for me to see, and so I beg for the use of a lantern." Maria hesitated, but the man sounded so pleading and earnest that her heart ached for him. She grabbed the lantern she herself had used, put a new candle stump inside of it, and carefully opened the door.

The light from the now lit lantern fell on the man outside, and Maria saw a smiling, clean shaven face underneath a felt cap. He was dressed in black, in the manner of a coachman, and his clothes were clean and looked well- kept. He doesn't look like a burglar at least… Maria handed him the lantern with a curtsy, then started to close the door. The man's hand shot out to stop her, startling her so badly she let out a yelp of fear. He immediately looked abashed and withdrew his hand. "Sorry, I just wanted to thank you properly. My name is Ben Hampton, and you might very well have saved my life in aiding me tonight!"

He then walked away, rounding the corner of the building. Maria was at a loss. Should she wait for him to come back? She did close the door again, and, finally, she thought to look at the time. The floor clock in the hallway showed a quarter past midnight. Not for another hour at least would the lady be home. Anxiety churned within her, and she sat for several minutes not knowing what to do next. Before she'd had any real time to consider her predicament, a knock was again heard at the door. Opening it slowly and peeking out, Maria saw the man, mister Hampton, standing there with an even wider smile on his face.

"I found it! Blessed saints, I found it!" He held up a bundle of keys, as well as a box small enough to fit in one hand. "It'd fallen into the bushes, and I should never have found it were it not for you Miss! May I know your name so that I can include you in my prayers of thanks to our heavenly Lord?" He held out the lantern for her to take back, and took off his cap to hold it over his breast. His hair immediately fell out in a thick, curly mess of brown. Maria realised that he was probably younger than she had at first assumed, maybe only a few years older than herself. She took the lantern in a hand that still trembled slightly, and set it down beside her skirts.

"I am glad to have been able to aid you, kind sir." She was quite proud to say that her voice held mostly steady. "My name is Maria Graham." She bit her lip. Should I reprimand him for frightening me so? But he seems bashful already…

"Maria! A saintly name! Well, I will not disturb your night any further, but know that your kindness will not be forgotten!" Ben Hampton made a graceful bow, as if she were a lady and not merely a maid, and vanished into the night.

Not twenty minutes after Maria had closed the door behind him she heard a carriage pull up on the street side of the house. Annabelle was home, and she would probably want Maria's help in getting ready for bed. Putting the image of the young Ben Hampton out of her head, Maria went to welcome her Lady home.