The House of Secrets. Terry Lynn Thomas

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       Chapter Two

      My scream pierced the silence. When my eyes adjusted to the light, I recognized Mr Collins as he scurried crablike to the corner of my bedroom. He squatted there, shielding his face with his hands, rocking back and forth.

      A nurse stood in my bedroom doorway, the light from the hallway forming a halo behind her. She took one look at Mr Collins and at me and called out. ‘Staff, please.’ When no one responded she said, ‘Now.’

      Soon another nurse with mousy brown hair joined us.

      ‘Miss Joffey, please see if you can get him settled down.’

      The nurse who arrived first stood aside to let the woman into the room. She motioned for the two orderlies who stood in the corridor to wait outside. When she turned on the lamp, I saw her red hair, the smattering of freckles across the nose. The nametag on her chest said Eunice Martin. She grabbed my robe from the chair where I had thrown it the previous night and wrapped it around my shoulders. Miss Joffey knelt next to Mr Collins. She spoke to him in a soothing voice until his breathing quieted and the rocking motion stopped. Mr Collins took his hands away from his face and gazed at us, a befuddled look on his face.

      ‘What’s going on?’ Bethany hurried into the room. She had wrapped a flannel dressing gown over her pyjamas. In her haste, she hadn’t noticed that the dressing gown was inside out.

      ‘It’s Mr Collins,’ Eunice Martin said. ‘He’s been wandering again.’

      ‘Mr Collins, you need to go back to your room now.’ Bethany spoke with a sure authority. ‘Let Nurse Martin and Nurse Joffey take you back to bed. It’s time to go back to sleep.’

      Mr Collins allowed the nurses to help him to his feet.

      ‘You know it’s not polite to go into anyone else’s bedroom without permission.’ Bethany spoke in the same tone she would use to speak to a child.

      ‘I’m sorry, Miss Bethany. I just wanted to touch the fire in her hair.’

      ‘Mr Collins, you mustn’t sneak into other people’s rooms, no matter the reason. You owe Miss Bennett an apology.’

      ‘I’m sorry, but the light—’

      ‘That’s all right, Mr Collins. But I would prefer if you would knock before you enter my room.’

      He grabbed Eunice’s arm and pointed to me. ‘Can you see the light?’

      ‘You may take him,’ Bethany said.

      ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Miss Joffey put her arm around Mr Collins and led him away.

      He followed like an obedient puppy.

      ‘Sarah, are you okay to go back to sleep? I can give you something, if you need it,’ Bethany said.

      ‘No thank you.’

      ‘I’m sorry if you were frightened. Mr Collins should not have entered your room. He’s never done anything like that before. I can’t imagine what has got into him.’

      ‘I’ll be fine. Thank you.’

      ‘Good night then.’

      ‘Good night,’ I said.

      After Bethany shut the door behind her, I opened the window. I took the chair from the writing desk and dragged it over to the door, where I wedged it underneath the knob. Only then, secure in the knowledge that no one else could get in, was I able to sleep.

      * * *

      When I awoke the next morning, a shroud of fog had settled over the city. The wind blew against my windows, rattling them like a witch’s curse, causing the grey mist to swirl like waves. I dressed and headed downstairs, anxious to begin my day. In the foyer, two maids swept the marble floor. Chloe, the young woman who answered the door for me yesterday, had her head bent over some sort of ledger, copying numbers from a pile of receipts. She nodded at me as I passed her desk.

      Once again, I followed the smell of coffee and cinnamon to the kitchen, where Alice laboured over something that smelled like heaven. She rolled out dough onto the section of the chopping block that had been covered in flour. Mrs McDougal stood near her, arms across her chest, supervising the girl’s СКАЧАТЬ