Drop of the Dice (51 page)

I was startled by what appeared to be an apparition, for at the head of the stairs a figure had appeared. It was a woman, and in her hand was a candelabrum which she held high, striking a pose like a figure in some stage drama. In the flickering candlelight she looked amazingly handsome. She was tall, plump, but shapely and about her neck glittered what could be diamonds. They also glistened at her wrists and on her fingers—so many of them that I could see them even as she stood there in only the light from the candles.

She moved down the staircase in a stately fashion.

She wore a wig of luxuriant curls, very fair—golden, in fact—with one curl hanging over her left shoulder. Her hooped skirt stood out round her like a bell and it was of plum-colored velvet, cut away in the front to show the very ornate petticoat of bluish mauve with white flowers embroidered on it. She was clearly a very grand lady and I could not imagine what her position in the house could be. As she came nearer I saw that the dazzling complexion had been applied rather too heavily to be natural and she wore a small black patch just beneath her large, rather protruding, blue eyes and another one beside her heavily rouged mouth.

I said: “I am Zipporah Ransome. Lord Eversleigh was eager that I should come to see him. He knew I was to arrive today. We are a little late, I know. One of the horses had to be shod.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed; she looked puzzled and I went on hastily: “Surely I am expected.”

“I knew nothing of this,” said the woman. Her accent was overgenteel and but for her clothes I would have thought she must be a housekeeper.

“I don’t think I’ve heard who you are,” I said. “Could you… ?”

“I am Mistress Stirling. They call me Mistress Jessie. I have been looking after Lord Eversleigh for the past two years.”

“Looking after him… ?”

She smiled almost deprecatingly. “You might call me a sort of housekeeper.”

“Oh, I see. And did he not tell you that he had invited me to come?”

“I never knew it.” Her voice had lost a little of its assumed refinement. She was clearly annoyed at the omission and perhaps a little suspicious too.

“Well,” I said, “this must be rather awkward. Perhaps I could see him.”

She was thinking quickly. “You say you are Mistress Ransome?”

“Yes, I gather I am his nearest of kin… or at least my mother is. Lord Eversleigh is the son of my great-great-grandmother. I think that’s right. It goes back rather a long way.”

“And you say he wrote to you?”

“Yes… several letters. He asked me to come and see him. He was so insistent. So I promised and I was expected today. Could you take me to him?”

She said: “I’ve settled him down for the night. He is a very old man, you know.”

“Yes, I do know that. But as he is expecting me he will be wondering why I am not here.”

She shook her head. “You must be prepared. He has probably forgotten he invited you, as he told me nothing of it. He is not always very clear in his head, do you understand me?”

“Well, I did know that he was very old. Oh dear… perhaps I should not have come.”

She laid her hand on my arm, familiarly, almost as a friend might do—certainly not as a housekeeper would; but it was beginning to dawn on me that she was implying she was no ordinary housekeeper.

“Now don’t say that,” she said almost archly. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll get a bed aired for you and I daresay you would like something to eat.”

“Yes,” I said. “I would indeed. And so would the grooms. There are six of them, no, seven including one with the saddlebags.”

“My word. Quite a retinue, eh?”

She had relaxed. She gave the impression of one who has come face to face with a difficult situation and has decided how to deal with it.

“Well, I’ll give orders, eh?… and we’ll get you settled and in the morning you can see his lordship.”

“But shouldn’t he be told that I have arrived?”

“I reckon he’s sleeping like a baby now. I’ll tell you what. I’ll go and see… I’ll peep in, shall I?… and if he’s awake I’ll tell him. If he’s sleeping, you wouldn’t want me to wake him, I’m sure. He takes a bit of time to get off sometimes.”

Her manner had completely changed; shocked surprise had been replaced by a familiar air which was almost patronizing. She was behaving as though she were mistress of the house but at the same time as no well-bred mistress would dream of behaving. I was aware of a slight sound, and turning sharply, thought I saw something move at the top of the staircase. It was not easy to see, for the candles gave only the dimmest of lights. We were being watched. I wondered by whom. Since I had stepped into this house I was prepared for anything.

“Now first of all it’s food, eh,” said the woman. “They’ll be clearing away in the kitchens. You should have been here when supper was served. We could have treated you proud then. Well, they’ll find something and I’ll have them get a room ready for you. Now you come in here and give me just a minute or two and I’ll have you and them grooms of yours all fed and bedded down in next to no time. How’s that?”

I said: “Thank you. I’ll go out and tell the grooms to go to the stables, shall I?”

“No, you’d better stay here. I’ll see to it.” She started to shout: “Jenny! Moll! Where are you? Come here at once, you lazy young sluts.”

She smiled at me. “I have to keep my eyes on ’em,” she explained. “There’d be nothing done if I don’t. Place would be going to rack and ruin like it was when I come here.”

She was speaking easily, naturally, now, in the manner, I expected, to which she was accustomed.

Two girls came running in.

“Now, you two,” she said, “… I want a room got ready for this lady here. She’s come visiting his lordship… who didn’t see fit to tell us… doubtless he forgot it, poor old pet. Now, Moll, out to the stables.… Call Jethro… tell him to take in the horses and arrange for the men to be given somewhere to sleep and a bite to eat. We can sort all this out in the morning. Now, Mistress… what did you say your name was?”

“Mistress Ransome,” I said.

“Now, Mistress Ransome, if you’ll step into this winter parlor I’ll have something sent in for you to eat while they get your room ready. Dear, dear, what a to-do, and all he had to do was tell me.”

I was taken into a room which I remembered we used for meals when there were a few of us. Yes, they had called it the winter parlor.

I sat down uneasily. It was all so different from what I had expected.

Of course, I told myself, it would all have been so different if that horse had not cast a shoe and we had arrived at a reasonable time. Then Lord Eversleigh would not have gone to bed. He would have given me the welcome I was expecting. After all, it had been his idea that I should come. Delays on the road were frequent—any little mishap could mean delay. I guessed he had thought we would arrive tomorrow. It was odd, though, that, he had had no preparations made for our stay.

I sat down and one of the maids came in to light the candelabrum.

I said to her: “Have you been here long?”

“About two years, my lady.”

“The same as Mistress… Stirling.”

“Yes, soon after her. We were most of us new then.”

She looked at me apologetically and hurried out. All new when Mistress Stirling came. This was becoming a rather strange situation.

A maid, accompanied by Mistress Stirling, came in bringing a tray on which were cold venison and a piece of pie.

Mistress Stirling, whom I had begun to think of as Jessie, laid the tray on the table; I was very hungry but ever more curious. When the maid had gone Jessie sat opposite me and, leaning her arms on the table, stared at me while I ate.

“When did his lordship write to you?” she asked.

“Some weeks ago. It was to my mother that he wrote, as a matter of fact.”

“To your mother… asking for you to visit.” She gave rather a nervous giggle. “Did he say what for?”

“Oh well… we are of the same family. I suppose he felt it was a pity we did not meet more often.”

A man put his head round the door.

“You’m wanting me, Mistress Jessie.”

“Oh, Jethro,” she said. “This lady’s come a visiting his lordship. One of his relations, she says.”

“I am one of his closest living relations,” I said. “My name is Zipporah Ransome… Clavering, that was.”

“Why, bless me,” said the old man, “if it’s not Miss Zipporah. I remember you well when you used to come to Eversleigh. Christmas, wasn’t it?… and sometime there be summer holidays and winter ones too. I can remember you, miss, as a little ’un. Good little thing you was.”

I was more relieved. The situation was becoming more natural. I remembered him now. He was Jethro, who had been in charge of the horses—head groom, I suppose one would call him. He had always been a favorite of mine because I had loved horses.

“Why, Jethro,” I cried, standing up, and we clasped hands.

“Ah, ’tis good to see you here, Miss Zipporah. It must be years… And you a married lady now. Well, time do fly… and no mistake. And you’ve come to see his lordship?”

“Jethro,” said Jessie. “I think you should go and make sure those grooms are settled. Have you given them something to eat?”

“Well, there’s naught but bread and cheese and ale at this time of night. But they’m having some of that in the kitchen.”

“And you can find somewhere for them to sleep.”

Jethro nodded.

“I’ll see ’ee tomorrow, perhaps, Mistress Zipporah.”

He was looking at me earnestly and I, because of the strangeness of my reception, had the notion that he wanted to tell me something.

He went out.

“Gives himself airs because he’s been here so long,” said Jessie. “Some of them old codgers do. They fancy you can’t do without them. Well, his lordship for some reason thinks a powerful lot of Jethro.”

“We all did… I remember. So much is coming back to me now I’m here.”

“Well, get a good night’s rest, eh. I popped in to see his lordship but he’s sleeping like a baby. Once he wakes he’d never get to sleep again and then we’d have a fidgety old man the next day, I can promise you.”

“Is he… very much of an… invalid?”

“Lord bless you, no. Just feeble. Needs someone always at his elbow. That’s where I come in. Is that pie good? It should be eaten straight from the oven, you know.”

I said it was very good.

“I always like my victuals,” confided Jessie. “And when you’ve finished… I’ll have some hot water sent up and you can snuggle down, eh. You must be just about worn out.”

I admitted that I should be pleased to have a night’s rest.

“So you shall.” She was smiling at me benignly and somehow such benignity sat ill on her features, for there was a sharp glint in her eyes which I found rather disconcerting. I should be glad when morning came, for I thought then I should be able to throw some light on the meaning of this strange reception.

Jessie herself took me up to my room. Memories of the house came back to me. I could vaguely remember the days of its grandeur. I had a feeling that it was rather different now.

Jessie threw open a door.

“Oh, here we are. They’ve made up the bed.” She went to it and drew back the coverlet. “The warming pan’s in. I have to watch them girls. My goodness me, they’d lead us a nice dance if I didn’t. I’ve got an eye like a hawk. His lordship says to me: ‘I don’t know what we’d do without you, Jess.’ I will say he’s not a man to take things for granted. He knows what I do and he wants me to know he does… if you get my meaning.” She was growing more and more familiar and was developing a habit of putting out a hand and giving me a gentle little push as she spoke. I found it repulsive and wanted to tell her to get out, while on the other hand I wanted to keep her there for more unusual revelations which I felt sure were to come.

The room was well furnished with a four-poster bed, court cupboard, a dressing table on which was a looking glass.

“There’s the hot water. No need to send it down when you’ve finished. They’ll take it in the morning.”

“Thank you.”

“Right you are. See you in the morning. Sleep well.”

“Thank you.”

She gave me another of those gentle little pushes and was gone.

Alone in the room, the strangeness of everything occupied my thoughts. I went to the door at once and the fact that there was no key in the lock dismayed me. I wondered how I should sleep in this strange atmosphere. I had come to the conclusion that I must be prepared for anything, however unusual.

Why did Lord Eversleigh employ such a woman as Jessie? Moreover, she seemed to have such power. The manner in which she behaved suggested that she might be the mistress of the house. And surely he should have given instructions that I was to arrive.

I was physically exhausted but my mind was so ill at ease that I knew I should find it difficult to sleep.

I went to the window. I could see nothing. It was so dark outside. I longed for sunrise. Whatever was happening would surely seem more reasonable then.

I saw that my bags had been brought up, and I hoped the grooms were feeling more comfortable than I was.

I unpacked one of the bags and took out my night things. What I must do was get to bed and to sleep, for there was nothing more I could do till morning.

I washed and undressed. I removed the warming pan and got into bed. I sunk into the luxury of feathers and felt almost drowsy in spite of everything, but just as I was dozing I would wake startled and sit up in bed listening. I realized that I was going to have a bad night. Well, I was prepared for that.

It must have been about an hour later when I heard a light footstep outside my room. I turned my eyes toward the door. I was sure someone was standing outside. It was a little lighter in the room now. The clouds had cleared and my eyes had accustomed to the darkness and as they turned to the door I saw the handle slowly turning.

“Come in,” I called.

The handle no longer moved. There was silence. I sat up in bed, my heart beating so fast that I could hear it. Then I thought I detected the sound of retreating footsteps. I opened the door and looked out but I could see nothing.