The Burning (10 page)

“Does Father know we are having a picnic in the woods?” he asked Julia.

“I wanted to tell him,” she replied, brushing a white burr from the front of her long gingham skirt. “But he was upstairs in Mother's room. She was having another one of her spells, I am afraid.”

“Mother and her spells,” Hannah said, rolling her eyes.

“Here is a nice clearing,” Robert said happily. A circle of tall grass appeared like an oasis among the trees. “Can we have our lunch here?”

“Very well,” Julia agreed brightly. “This shall do fine.”

“Freedom!” Robert cried, setting the basket down, then stretching his arms.

Julia and Hannah spread a red wool blanket over the grass. Fluff immediately leapt onto the blanket, tracking dirt and leaves over it. Hannah brushed the little dog away. Julia opened the lid of the basket and began to pull items from it and set them down on the blanket.

“Look! Is that a deer?” Robert cried.

“Where?” Joseph spun around wildly, searching all directions at once.

“Follow me,” Robert instructed his brothers. “But keep silent. Let's track him!”

The boys headed off at a run toward the trees. “Do not go far!” Julia called after them. “It is almost lunchtime!”

“Mmmmm. Those little pies look good,” Hannah told her sister, dropping to her knees on the blanket. “I am suddenly starving.”

“Fresh air makes me hungry, too,” Julia replied. “Let's see … Lucy packed a little meat pie for each of us. And there are raisin cookies and a jug of fresh lemon water.” She handed a meat pie to her sister. “Let's eat. We need not wait for the boys.”

Hannah raised the small doughy pie to her mouth and was about to take a bite when Fluff leapt into her lap. “Oh!” she cried out, startled.

The dog raised himself on his hind legs and sniffed the pie in Hannah's hand noisily.

“You little beggar!” Hannah cried, laughing. “Down, down! Get off me, and I shall give you a taste!”

Ignoring her, Fluff leapt high, trying to get his teeth on the meat pie.

“Here. Here is a piece for you,” Hannah said, using one hand to shove the dog off her lap. She broke off a tiny wedge of pie and held it out to Fluff.

The dog yipped and slurped it up eagerly, licking Hannah's hand clean. “Stop! Stop! You're
tickling
me!” she cried, laughing. “What a scratchy tongue you have, doggy!”

“You
do
spoil that dog,” Julia grumbled good-naturedly.

Hannah gave Fluff another piece of the pie.

“Where are the boys?” Julia asked. She climbed to her feet, shielding her eyes with one hand, and searched the woods for them.

“I hope they have not wandered far,” Hannah
said, following her sister's gaze. “Robert has no sense of direction at all. He can get lost inside the house!”

Hearing a strange sound, Hannah turned back to Fluff.

To her surprise, the dog was whimpering loudly, his head lowered, his tail tucked tightly between his legs.

As Hannah watched in alarm, the dog's entire body began to convulse. Fluff coughed, then his stomach heaved, and he began to vomit, his legs trembling, his entire body quivering.

Then all at once the dog crumpled to the blanket, dropped onto his side, and was still.

“Fluff!” Hannah cried. “Fluff! Fluff! Oh, Julia—what has happened?”

H
annah carefully lifted the dog from a puddle of dark vomit and held him tightly against the front of her dress. “He's dead,” she muttered.

“No!” Julia cried in horror. “Hannah, he
cannot
be! He—” Tears formed in the corners of Julia's gray eyes.

“Poor Fluff. Poor Fluff. Poor Fluff,” Hannah repeated quietly, still hugging the dead animal to her.

“No. I do not believe it!” Julia cried, shaking her head. “The dog was perfectly fine until—until—”

Both girls had the idea at the same time.

“The meat pies!” Hannah cried. Her eyes widened in horror, and she gaped at her sister. “Julia, did you—?”

Julia lowered her eyes to the pie beside her on the blanket. “No. I did not touch mine. You?”

Hannah shook her head. “Only Fluff. He was the only one to eat. And now the poor dog is dead.”

“Poisoned,” Julia muttered.

Hannah gasped.
“What
did you say, sister?”

“Poisoned,”
Julia repeated the word as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Lucy. She poisoned the pies. She
had
to.”

“No!” Hannah cried, lowering the dog to the blanket, her features set in horror. “You don't think—”

“Lucy,” her sister repeated, shaking her head. “She almost murdered us all.”

Hannah swallowed hard, her heart thudding wildly against her chest. She climbed quickly to her feet, her expression frightened. “Where are the boys?” she asked, searching the woods. “Julia, go fetch the boys and bring them home. I shall run to tell Father. He must know what Lucy has done—at once!”

As Hannah ran through the woods toward the house, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Poor Fluff, she thought. That poor, innocent dog. He looked so frightened, so confused.

Poisoned.

Poisoned by that villainous maid.

If only Hannah had told her father her suspicions about Lucy after finding the shard of glass in her shoe. Then Fluff would still be alive.

I'll tell Father everything now, Hannah told
herself. And the maid will be gone before—before she can kill again.

The back of the rambling Fear mansion came into view. Hannah slowed a little as she passed the burial plot. A closed pine coffin had been set down at the edge of the fresh grave.

Jenkins must be inside it, Hannah realized. The funeral will be held in a few moments.

Thinking of Fluff, a loud sob escaped her throat. Hannah turned away from the narrow coffin and ran the rest of the way to the house.

She burst through the door to the back pantry. “Father! Father! Are you downstairs?” she called breathlessly.

No reply.

In the kitchen bright sunlight streamed across the floor from the back window.

“Father? Father?”

No one there.

Frantically, Hannah started toward the hallway.

But a black-uniformed figure moved quickly to block her path.

“Lucy!”

T
he sunlight washed over Lucy as she stepped toward Hannah. Her orange hair was secured tightly in a bun. Her eyes locked on Hannah's.

“Lucy—why did you
poison
us?” Hannah blurted out, panting for breath. “Why?”

“What?” Lucy's mouth dropped open.

“Do not play innocent!” Hannah cried angrily. “Why did you poison our lunch?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, miss,” Lucy replied, turning up her sharp nose.

“You murdered my dog!”
Hannah shrieked.

“What is all the noise in here?” Mrs. MacKenzie bustled in from the hallway. “Hannah, what is the matter?” the housekeeper asked with concern.

“Lucy tried to poison us!” Hannah cried, pointing at the maid, who took another step back. “She poisoned the meat pies!”

“What?” Mrs. MacKenzie narrowed her eyes at Hannah. “What are you saying about meat pies? The meat pies for your picnic?”

“Yes,” Hannah cried. “They were poisoned! Lucy has been trying to harm us since she arrived. And today—”

“No!” Lucy screamed, interrupting. “No! You are telling lies, miss!”

Ignoring her protests, Hannah turned to Mrs. MacKenzie. “I must get my father. He must know at once. Lucy poisoned the pies!”

“No, she did not,” Mrs. MacKenzie said firmly, placing her hands on the sides of her long apron.

“What?” Hannah had started to the door but stopped short.

“As I am a witness, Lucy did
not
poison the pies,” Mrs. MacKenzie repeated, frowning, her round cheeks a bright pink. “Lucy had nothing to do with your lunch, Miss Hannah. Your sister Julia prepared the lunch.”

Hannah felt dazed. The room suddenly tilted. The bright sunlight washing over her made everything go white. “Julia?”

“Miss Julia made the pies,” Mrs. MacKenzie insisted. “Lucy asked if Julia needed help. But Miss Julia ordered Lucy to stay out of the kitchen.”

“Julia?” Hannah gasped weakly. “No. Please. Not Julia. Not Julia.”

“Miss Hannah, are you feeling ill?” Mrs. MacKenzie demanded, tugging on the sides of her apron. “Perhaps I should summon your father?”

But Hannah was already running through the back pantry and out the door.

Her heart pounding, her head spinning from what she had just learned, she ran past the flower garden and across the lawn. She saw her brothers first, coming out of the woods. Their faces were drawn. Julia must have told them about Fluff. The boys nodded solemnly at Hannah, then continued on in silence toward the house.

Julia appeared next. As she stepped out of the woods, she stopped a few yards from Jenkins's coffin.

She was carrying the picnic basket, but set it down when she saw Hannah hurrying toward her. “Hannah, did you find Father? Did you tell him about Lucy?”

Panting hard, struggling to catch her breath, Hannah stared intently at her sister, studying her face, searching for the truth in Julia's small gray eyes.

“Julia—it was
you!”
Hannah finally managed to choke out.

As she stared back at Hannah, Julia's eyes turned cold. She nodded.

“You
tried to poison me,” Hannah accused, her voice just above a whisper.

Julia didn't deny it. She stared back, emotionless, her expression a blank.

“Why, Julia?” Hannah demanded. “Why?”

“I hate you, Hannah,” Julia replied quietly, calmly. “I want you to die.”

“But why? Why? Why?” Hannah shrieked. She realized she was more horrified by Julia's coldness than by her action.

“Why should
you
be the hostess?” Julia demanded, her black curls falling forward. She made no attempt to push them back. “Why should I not be the pretty one? The charming one? Why should
I
not be Father's favorite? Why should I not take Mother's place? I am the oldest—and the smartest. And—and—”

Her normally pale face was scarlet now. Her eyes burned into Hannah's. Her shoulders trembled. Julia's hands were balled into tight, angry fists at her sides.

Hannah shrank back, suddenly frightened. “Julia, you—
you
put the snake in my bed!
You
put the glass in my shoe.
You—”
Hannah's terrified voice caught in her throat.

Julia didn't deny it. “I wanted you to be scared. I wanted you to bleed. I want you to
die!”

With a furious cry Julia attacked Hannah, leaping onto her, wrapping her hands around Hannah's throat.

Startled, caught completely off guard, Hannah stumbled and fell backward. She landed hard on her elbows and cried out from the pain.

Julia landed on top of her, her hands still at Hannah's throat.

Crying and groaning, the two girls wrestled on the ground—until Hannah broke free, climbed to her feet, and started to run.

But Julia was faster and tackled her sister hard from behind.

Hannah landed on her stomach on top of the pine coffin. She groaned and tried to pull herself up.

But Julia was on top of her again, pressing her down onto the hard coffin. And again Julia's hands wrapped around Hannah's throat.

“Die! Die! Die!” Julia shrieked at the top of her lungs as her hands tightened viciously around Hannah's throat.

Hannah struggled to roll free, to get off the coffin.

But Julia held tight as she choked off Hannah's air.