The Lady and the Lake (17 page)

‘I
wish
to
know
your
thoughts
about
Gladys.’
At
her
words
I
thought
of
Clara.

‘To
be
honest
I
have
no
idea,
except
that
a
woman
in
the
village
suggested
it
was
Antony
Kershaw.’
I
said
innocently.

‘Antony,
but
that
is
rubbish!’
As
Alice
spoke
she
stood
up
pacing
the
floor
quite
distraught.
I
hadn’t
expected
my
words
to
cause
such
a
reaction.

‘I’m
sorry
if
I’ve
upset
you,
that
is
the
last
thing
I
wanted
to
do,’
I
uttered,
hoping
my
words
would
calm
her
and
realising
that
Alice
was
a
volatile
person.

‘Antony
Kershaw
is
a
good
man,
he’s
been
very
kind
to
me
and
he
adores
Emily,’
she
defended
him.

‘And
what
of
his
wife?
Did
she
die
in
suspicious
circumstances?’
I
asked.

‘Certainly
not.
It
was
a
tragic
accident.
Apparently
Pheobe
walked
around
the
lake
each
evening
before
she
retired
for
the
night.
This
particular
day
there
had
been
a
lot
of
rain
and
she
slipped
on
the
mud
and
fell
into
the water.
It
is
a
very
deep
lake
and
Pheobe
could
not
swim.
By
the
time
the
alarm
was
raised
it
was
too
late.’
Alice
recounted
the
tale
with
some
emphasis
on
the
word
accident.

‘Who
told
you
this?’
I
asked
tentatively.

‘Mr
Kershaw
himself
on
the
day
I
arrived
to
take
up
my
position
as
governess
to
Emily.
He
wished
to
put
the
record
straight
for
he
knows
there
are
many
in
the
village
who
point
an
accusing
finger
at
him.
This
angers
me.’

She
indeed
looked
angry
I
thought
and
had
the
feeling
that
this
was
a
true
account
of
Pheobe’s
demise.
But
it
didn’t
explain
the
deaths
of
Annie
and
Gladys.
I’d
not
given
it
a
lot
of
thought,
but
thinking
about
it
now
someone
must
have
lured
them
to
Kerslake
Hall
with
some
false
promise.

There
were
only
two
men
at
the
Hall
now,
Mr
Kershaw
and
Thomas.
Lord
forbid
it
was
him!
Then
came
the
thought
that
Thomas
had
not
been
here
when
Annie
died,
so
unless
it
was
a member
of
staff
like
the
gardener
or
handyman
the
finger
did
point
to
Antony
Kershaw.

He
always
did
seem
like
a
man
with
something
on
his
mind,
time
would
tell
and
I
prayed
it
would
be
soon,
for
no
female
was
safe
until
the
culprit
was
apprehended.

Placing
my
blue
dress
back
in
the
wardrobe
after
Alice
had
left,
and
ensuring
the
skirt
of
it
was
straight
so
it
didn’t
crease,
I
spied
an
envelope
in
the
bottom
of
the
wardrobe.
Swiftly
I
bent
to
pick
it
up
and
sitting
on
the
bed
I
looked
at
it.

There
was
no
name
on
the
front
cover
so
I
opened
and
read
the
words
on
the
sheet
of
paper
inside,
and
this
is
what
it
read:

Whoever sleeps in this room and reads this
,
I want you to know that I too
,
have heard the steps on the stairs and the scuffling behind the bed
.
The worse thing is the piercing scream that comes some nights
.
I am so fearful as to who it is that I can no longer stay
,
but
wish you well
.
This is a strange household and I shall be glad to leave it
.
Maybe you should go also before some harm befalls you
.

Martha
.

As
I
looked
down
at
the
words,
I
realised
Martha
had
been
more
frightened
than
I
and
was
she
right?
Should
I
leave
now?
But
then
there
was
Thomas.

I
tucked
the
letter
in
a
drawer
of
the
dressing
table
and
tried
to
forget
it.
I
was
so
tired
after
my
eventful
day,
in
fact
each
of
my
days
had
been
eventful,
but
I
fell
into
a
restful
sleep
before
one
o’clock,
but
was
awoken,
not
by
a
scream,
but
by
a
scuffling
sound
in
the
tower,
almost
as
though
someone
was
moving
furniture.
I
listened
for
some
time
but
the
sound
ceased
and
all
was
quiet.

I
drifted
again
into
a
peaceful
slumber,
thinking
of
Martha’s
note,
and
then
dreaming
of
Thomas
and
his
lips
on
mine.
How
I
wished
that
soon
it
would
be
reality.

6

Saturday
dawned
and
I
could
see
by
the
sky
that
it
was
going
to
be
a
glorious
day.
I
decided
to
wear
the
mauve
skirt
and
jacket
I’d
worn
on
the
day
of
my
arrival
as
I
felt
no
other
dress
would
be
suitable
for
the
occasion.

With
breakfast
over,
I
took
Maggie
to
one
side.
‘Should
anyone
ask
for
me,’
I
confided,
‘I
am
spending
the
day
at
Whitby.
No-one
else
knows.’

‘Well
I
hope
you
have
a
nice
time,’
said
Maggie,
eyes
like
saucers,
‘are
you
going
alone,
Miss?’
she
asked
as
an
afterthought.

‘No,
I
am
spending
the
day
with
Thomas
Craddock,
only
please
tell
no-one,’
I
implored
her.

‘I
promise,
Miss,’
pledged
Maggie,
and
I
knew
I
could
trust
her.

As
I
left
the
kitchen
I
had
the
misfortune
to
encounter
Mrs
Grafton, who
completely
spoilt
the
moment.

‘Ah,
Miss
Sinclair,
the
Mistress
wishes
you
to
read
to
her
this
afternoon
in
her
sitting-room
at
two
o’clock,’
she
informed
me.

‘I’ll
be
there.’
I
said,
knowing
full-well
I
would
not
be
back,
but
I
was
willing
to
suffer
Henrietta
Kershaw’s
wrath
for
a
day
with
her
nephew,
and
although
I
wasn’t
used
to
lying
I
felt
I
had
no
choice
as
I
didn’t
want
Mrs
Grafton
to
know
I
was
going
out.

But
I
wasn’t
to
get
away
so
lightly.
‘You
are
dressed
up,’
she
said,
looking
me
up
and
down
suspiciously.

‘I
thought
to
walk
to
the
village
this
morning
for
a
breath
of
air,’
I
lied
admirably.

‘Well,
be
back
in
time,
the
Mistress
demands
punctuality,’
the
housekeeper
warned
me.

It
was
nearly
nine,
I
managed
to
escape
from
Mrs
Grafton,
but
felt
she
was
suspicious
of
my
intentions.
Quickly
I
slipped
out
of
the
servants’
entrance
and
walked
across
the
front
of the
house
and
on
to
the
short
drive.
Glancing
back
at
the
house
I
could
see
someone
watching
me
from
a
side
window
of
the
main
door.
I
was
sure
it
was
Mrs
Grafton,
this
caused
me
to
quicken
my
steps
for
I
would
not
be
thwarted.

Hastily,
I
undid
the
gate
and
closed
it
behind
me,
the
latch
clanging
as
I
secured
it.
Thomas
was
waiting
in
the
pony
and
trap,
I
ran
to
him
and
instructed
him
to
move
off
quickly
as
I’d
been
seen.

‘Calm
yourself,
pretty
lady,’
he
said
urging
the
pony
forward,
‘it
will
be
all
right.’
He
tried
to
reassure
me,
but
it
was
futile.
I
knew
what
I
was
doing
was
underhanded
and
I
knew
that
without
a
doubt
I
would
be
dismissed
from
my
position.
But
if
this
were
the
case
I
may
as
well
enjoy
the
day.

I
really
didn’t
know
what
had
happened
to
me,
but
if
it
were
love
then
it
had
certainly
caused
me
to
behave
out
of
character.

***

The
pony
and
trap
bowled
along
through
the
village
of
Beckmoor,
and
as
we
passed
Clara’s
cottage
I
thought
that
I
had
quite
forgotten
to
speak
with
Antony
Kershaw
about
her
attending
Emily’s
party.
So
taken
was
I
with
my
desire
to
be
with
Thomas
all
other
thoughts
had
flown
from
my
head.

‘A
penny
for
your
thoughts,
sweetheart,’
said
Thomas
clasping
one
of
my
hands
in
his.

‘I’ve
done
a
silly
thing,’
I
answered
him.

‘And
what
would
that
be
other
than
falling
in
love
with
me?’
he
teased.
Could
he
never
be
serious,
and
strangely
I
felt
quite
irritated.

‘I
invited
Clara
White,
Gladys’
sister,
to
Emily’s
party
next
Thursday
and
I
realised
I
had
no
right
to
do
such
a
thing.’
These
words
caused
Thomas
to
pull
the
pony
to
a
halt.

‘Gladys
White’s
sister
at
the
Hall?’
He
mocked,
‘Aunt
Henry
will
never stand
for
it,
you
little
fool.’

‘How
dare
you
call
me
a
fool!’
I
lashed
back
at
him,
quite
incensed.
‘Your
aunt
may
not
like
the
idea,
but
Emily’s
father
might.
I
have
yet
to
broach
the
matter
with
him.’

‘I
wish
you
luck.’
Thomas
chuckled,
urging
the
pony
forward
once
more.