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Authors: Victoria Holt
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would not be apprehensive in such circumstances?
The door opened and Cousin Mary came in.
“Goodnight,” she said brusquely. “Go to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Cousin Mary.”
She gave just a nod of the head. She was not unwelcoming, but she was not warm either. I was not sure yet of Cousin Mary. I sat down on the bed and resisted the impulse to cry weakly. I was longing for my familiar room, with Olivia seated at the dressing table plaiting her hair.
There was a knock on the door and Miss Bell came in.
“Well,” she said. “Here we are.”
“Is it how you thought it would be, Miss Bell?”
“Life is rarely what one thinks it will be—so therefore I make no pre-judgments.”
I felt myself smiling in spite of everything.
Oh, how I was going to miss my precise Miss Bell!
She sensed my emotion and went on: “We are both exhausted, you know. Much more tired than we realize. What we need to do is rest. Goodnight, my dear.” She came to me and kissed me. She had never done that before and it aroused a sudden emotion in me. I put my arms round her and hugged her.
“You’ll be all right,” she said, patting me brusquely, ashamed now of her own emotion. “You’ll always be all right, Caroline!”
Comforting words!
“Goodnight, my child.”
Then she was gone.
I lay in bed. Sleep eluded me at first. Pictures crowded into my mind, shutting out my tiredness. The men on the train, the great fortress which was their home, Joe driving the trap, the man with the bees … and finally Cousin Mary who was like my father and yet … quite different.
In time I should know more of them. But now … I was very tired and even my apprehension could not keep sleep at bay.
I was awakened by Miss Bell sitting on my bed, ready for her journey.
“Are you going … already?”
“It’s time,” she said. “You were in a deep sleep. I wondered whether to wake you, but I thought you would not want me to go without saying goodbye.”
“Oh, Miss Bell, you’re going. When shall I see you again?”
“Very soon. It’s just a holiday, you know. I shall be there when you come back.”
“I don’t think it is going to be quite like that.”
“You’ll see. I’ll have to go. The trap is down there. I must not miss that train. Good luck, Caroline. You’re going to have an interesting time here and you won’t want to come back to us.”
“Oh, I shall. I shall.”
“Goodbye, my dear.”
For the second time she kissed me, and then she hurried from the room.
I lay wondering, as I had so many times before, what life was going to be like.
There was a knock on my door and Betty, the maid I had seen on the previous evening, came in with hot water.
“Miss Tressidor said not to disturb you if you be sleeping, but the lady what brought you be gone and I reckoned her’d come and say goodbye, wouldn’t her?”
“She did, and I am awake and glad to have the hot water.”
“I’ll take away last night’s,” she said. “And Miss Tressidor says that if you’re up you can have breakfast with her at half-past eight.”
“What’s the time now?”
“Eight o’clock, Miss.”
“I’ll be ready then. Where will she be?”
“I’m to be here to take you down to her. You can get lost in this house till you know it.”
“I’m sure you can.”
“Anything you want, Miss. Just ring the bell.”
“Thank you.”
She went on. My homesickness was being replaced by a desire for discovery.
Precisely at eight-thirty Betty appeared.
“This be the bedrooms up here, Miss,” she told me, “and there’s another floor above, too. We’ve got plenty of bedrooms. Then above them is the attics … servants’ quarters as they say. Then there’s the long gallery and the solarium … then there’s the rooms on the ground floor.”
“I can see I have a lot to learn if I am to find my way about.”
We came down the staircase.
“This be the dining room.” She paused, then she knocked.
“Miss
The door opened and Cousin Mary came in.
“Goodnight,” she said brusquely. “Go to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Cousin Mary.”
She gave just a nod of the head. She was not unwelcoming, but she was not warm either. I was not sure yet of Cousin Mary. I sat down on the bed and resisted the impulse to cry weakly. I was longing for my familiar room, with Olivia seated at the dressing table plaiting her hair.
There was a knock on the door and Miss Bell came in.
“Well,” she said. “Here we are.”
“Is it how you thought it would be, Miss Bell?”
“Life is rarely what one thinks it will be—so therefore I make no pre-judgments.”
I felt myself smiling in spite of everything.
Oh, how I was going to miss my precise Miss Bell!
She sensed my emotion and went on: “We are both exhausted, you know. Much more tired than we realize. What we need to do is rest. Goodnight, my dear.” She came to me and kissed me. She had never done that before and it aroused a sudden emotion in me. I put my arms round her and hugged her.
“You’ll be all right,” she said, patting me brusquely, ashamed now of her own emotion. “You’ll always be all right, Caroline!”
Comforting words!
“Goodnight, my child.”
Then she was gone.
I lay in bed. Sleep eluded me at first. Pictures crowded into my mind, shutting out my tiredness. The men on the train, the great fortress which was their home, Joe driving the trap, the man with the bees … and finally Cousin Mary who was like my father and yet … quite different.
In time I should know more of them. But now … I was very tired and even my apprehension could not keep sleep at bay.
I was awakened by Miss Bell sitting on my bed, ready for her journey.
“Are you going … already?”
“It’s time,” she said. “You were in a deep sleep. I wondered whether to wake you, but I thought you would not want me to go without saying goodbye.”
“Oh, Miss Bell, you’re going. When shall I see you again?”
“Very soon. It’s just a holiday, you know. I shall be there when you come back.”
“I don’t think it is going to be quite like that.”
“You’ll see. I’ll have to go. The trap is down there. I must not miss that train. Good luck, Caroline. You’re going to have an interesting time here and you won’t want to come back to us.”
“Oh, I shall. I shall.”
“Goodbye, my dear.”
For the second time she kissed me, and then she hurried from the room.
I lay wondering, as I had so many times before, what life was going to be like.
There was a knock on my door and Betty, the maid I had seen on the previous evening, came in with hot water.
“Miss Tressidor said not to disturb you if you be sleeping, but the lady what brought you be gone and I reckoned her’d come and say goodbye, wouldn’t her?”
“She did, and I am awake and glad to have the hot water.”
“I’ll take away last night’s,” she said. “And Miss Tressidor says that if you’re up you can have breakfast with her at half-past eight.”
“What’s the time now?”
“Eight o’clock, Miss.”
“I’ll be ready then. Where will she be?”
“I’m to be here to take you down to her. You can get lost in this house till you know it.”
“I’m sure you can.”
“Anything you want, Miss. Just ring the bell.”
“Thank you.”
She went on. My homesickness was being replaced by a desire for discovery.
Precisely at eight-thirty Betty appeared.
“This be the bedrooms up here, Miss,” she told me, “and there’s another floor above, too. We’ve got plenty of bedrooms. Then above them is the attics … servants’ quarters as they say. Then there’s the long gallery and the solarium … then there’s the rooms on the ground floor.”
“I can see I have a lot to learn if I am to find my way about.”
We came down the staircase.
“This be the dining room.” She paused, then she knocked.
“Miss
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