On her mistress’s instructions she had no doubt waited for me to return to my room after supper and turned the key in the lock, probably with jubilation that I had got my come-uppance. I paced up and down, then tried to open the door again in the event that I had made a mistake. But to no avail, the door was locked fast. My only hope was Alice, I pounded my hands against the door as hard as I could, hurting my knuckles in the process but there was no response. After a while I gave up and looked out of the window, watching as the sun fell farther in the sky, casting a pink glow on the still lake. Even as I looked I could see a man walking on the path, I could tell by his clothes that it was Thomas which brought to mind the day’s events. What a horrid day this had been and it was by no means over yet. I saw Thomas step into the summer pavilion and then I lost sight of him. Had he a tryst with someone I wondered and certainly wouldn’t put it past him.
