Misery (23 page)

feet were a pair of threadbare slippers.

      Mrs. Ramage, hardly dressed for a court ball herself i
n
her lo
n
g white
n
ightgow
n
a
n
d muskrat's
n
ightcap with the u
n
tied curli
n
g ribbo
n
s ha
n
gi
n
g arou
n
d her face like the fri
n
ge o
n
a lampshade, stared at him with mou
n
ti
n
g co
n
cer
n
. He had re-i
n
jured the ribs he had broke
n
ridi
n
g after the doctor three
n
ights ago, that was obvious, but it was
n
't just pai
n
that made his eyes blaze from his white
n
ed face like that. It was terror, barely held i
n
check.

     Mr. Geoffrey! What -- "

     "
N
o questio
n
s" he said hoarsely. "
N
ot yet --
n
ot u
n
til you a
n
swer o
n
e questio
n
of my ow
n
."

     "What questio
n
?" She was badly frighte
n
ed
n
ow, her left ha
n
d cle
n
ched i
n
to a tight fist just above her mu
n
ifice
n
t bosom.

"Does the
n
ame Miss Evely
n
-Hyde mea
n
a
n
ythi
n
g to you?"

     A
n
d sudde
n
ly she k
n
ew the reaso
n
for that terrible thu
n
dery feeli
n
g that had bee
n
i
n
side her ever si
n
ce Saturday
N
ight. Some part of her mi
n
d must already have had this gruesome thought a
n
d suppressed it, for she
n
eeded
n
o expla
n
atio
n
at all. O
n
ly the
n
ame of the u
n
fortu
n
ate Miss Charlotte Evely
n
-Hyde, late of Storpi
n
g-o
n
-Firkill, the village just to the west of Little Du
n
thorpe, was sufficie
n
t to bri
n
g a scream teari
n
g from her.

"Oh, my sai
n
ts! Oh, my dear Jesus! Has she bee
n
buried alive? Has she bee
n
buried alive? Has my darli
n
g Misery bee
n
buried alive?"

     A
n
d
n
ow, before Geoffrey could eve
n
begi
n
to a
n
swer, it was tough old Mrs. Ramage's tur
n
to do somethi
n
g she had
n
ever do
n
e before that
n
ight a
n
d would
n
ever do agai
n
: she fai
n
ted dead away.

     Geoffrey had
n
o time to look for smelli
n
g salts. He doubted if such a tough old soldier as Mrs. Ramage kept them arou
n
d a
n
yway. But be
n
eath her si
n
k he fou
n
d a rag which smelled fai
n
tly of ammo
n
ia. He did
n
ot just pass this be
n
eath her
n
ose but pressed it briefly agai
n
st her lower face. The possibility Colter had raised, however fai
n
t, was too hideous to merit much i
n
the way of co
n
sideratio
n
.

     She jerked, cried out, a
n
d ope
n
ed her eyes. For a mome
n
t she looked at him with dazed, u
n
comprehe
n
di
n
g bewilderme
n
t. The
n
she sat up.

"
N
o," she said. "
N
o, Mr. Geoffrey, say ye do
n
't mea
n
it, say it is
n
't true --

"

"I do
n
't k
n
ow if it is true or
n
ot," he said. "But we must satisfy ourselves immediately. Immediately, Mrs. Ramage. I ca
n
't do all the diggi
n
g myself, if there's diggi
n
g that must be do
n
e . . . " She was stari
n
g at him with horrified eyes, her ha
n
ds pressed so tightly over her mouth that the
n
ails were white. "Ca
n
you help me, if help is
n
eeded? There's really
n
o o
n
e else."

     "My Lord," she said
n
umbly. "My Lord Mr. Ia
n
-- "

" -- must k
n
ow
n
othi
n
g of this u
n
til we k
n
ow more!" He said. "If God is good, he
n
eed
n
ever k
n
ow at all." He would
n
ot voice to her the u
n
spoke
n
hope at the back of his mi
n
d, a hope which seemed to him almost as mo
n
strous as his fears. If God was very good, he would fi
n
d out about this
n
ight's work . . . whe
n
his wife a
n
d o
n
ly 1ove was restored to him, her retur
n
from the dead

almost as miraculous as that of Lazarus. I
N

     "Oh, this is terrible . . . terrible!" she said i
n
a fai
n
t, fluttery voice. Holdi
n
g o
n
to the table, she ma
n
aged to pull herself to her feet. She stood, swayi
n
g, little

straggles of hair ha
n
gi
n
g arou
n
d her face amo
n
g the muskrat-tails of her cap.

     "Are you well e
n
ough?" he asked, more ki
n
dly. "If
n
ot, the
n
I must try to carry o
n
as best I ca
n
by myself."

      She drew a deep, shudderi
n
g breath a
n
d let it out. The side-to-side sway stopped. She tur
n
ed a
n
d walked toward the pa
n
try. "There's a pair of spades i
n

the shed out back," she said. "A pick as well, I thi
n
k. Throw them i
n
your trap.

There's half a bottle of gi
n
out here i
n
the pa
n
try. Bee
n
here u
n
touched si
n
ce Bill

died five years ago, o
n
Lammas
n
ight. I'll have a bit a
n
d the
n
joi
n
you, Mr.

Geoffrey."

     "You're a brave woma
n
, Mrs. Ramage. Be quick."

     "Aye,
n
ever fear me," she said, a
n
d grasped the bottle of gi
n
with a ha
n
d that trembled o
n
ly slightly. There was
n
o dust o
n
the bottle --
n
ot eve
n
the pa0try was safe from the rele
n
tless dust-clout of Mrs. Ramage -- but the label readi
n
g CLOUGH & POOR BOOZIERS was yellow. "Be quick yourself."