Страница 20 из 44
‘I’m A
‘A
A
‘Do you mean you’ve lost your memory?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh-how odd-’
A
‘It must be. Would you like some tea?’ Her tone was brightly matter-of-fact.
And then quite suddenly there came a knocking on the front door. Every scrap of colour left A
The hope of darkness… The words came into A
The girl went past her out of the room. The knocking on the front door came again.
A quiet came upon A
Something in her mind refused to accept this as a possible happening. It didn’t even frighten her very much. Perhaps that was because she was past being frightened either much or little. She waited, listening with all her ears-with more than her ears-with the whole of her, body and soul.
The tapping on the door came again.
This time it was followed by the sound of a window upstairs being thrown open. A sleepy voice called out, ‘Is that you, Aunt Hester?’
‘Well, no-’ It was a man’s voice. It was his voice.
‘Oh! What is it? What do you want?’
‘I just wanted to enquire, have you seen or heard anything of my ward? She is missing.’
‘Your ward?’
‘Yes. She’s been ill. She’s not fit to be out alone. If she’s with you-’
‘And what would make you think she was with me? If you’ve lost someone, go and look for her! Don’t come here, wakening me up and frightening me to death!’
The voice from the other side of the door became softer.
‘I do apologise-I really do. If my niece is there-’
‘Your niece is not here! How many more times do you want me to say that?’
‘She isn’t there?’
‘No, she isn’t!’ The window above shut with a bang.
The man on the other side of the front door put his hand on the knocker. A
A
She opened her eyes. She didn’t know what a desperate appeal they held. She couldn’t do any more than she had done. Her eyes said, ‘Help me-help me.’
The little plump girl patted her shoulder.
‘Drink this up and you’ll feel better.’
It was cocoa, warm and sweet. She drank it up. It seemed strange at first, but as she went on it was comfortable and warm. Her eyes were open and she was dazedly conscious of the room and the girl.
When she had finished the cup it was taken from her, and the girl said, ‘It was a good thing you locked the door when you came in. I had left it open-I’m awful about doing that. But the thing is, my aunt was coming back. She had been up to town for the day, and then when she rang up to say she’d met a friend and been persuaded to stay the night, I put off locking the door until I went to bed, and I sat down to read and went to sleep. And when I woke up I thought she’d come after all. It’s an awful warning, isn’t it?’
A
‘I suppose it is. But if you hadn’t left the door, I wouldn’t have got in.’ She shuddered suddenly, violently.
The girl had a little painted tray in her hand. She scooped up the cup that had had the cocoa in it and laughed.
‘I shan’t tell Aunt Hester, or she’ll preach like mad. She’s all right, but she does hold forth.’ She put down the tray and the cup and said briskly, ‘Now the thing is, what am I going to do with you. Have you got any ideas?’
A
She was just going to speak when the girl said, ‘It’s half-past one. I think we had better go to bed. I’ll lend you a nightgown. It’ll be rather short, but that doesn’t matter. I always sleep with my feet tucked up. You can too. Then in the morning we can think about what we’re going to do. My aunt won’t be back till lunch-time, if then.’
A
‘I’m Prissy-Prissy Knox. Come along up! You look as if you wanted a good sleep.’
All at once A
CHAPTER 23
When she looked back on it she could just remember going up the stairs, and that they seemed very steep. After that there was a candle-flame that worried her. It kept getting in her eyes. Her clothes seemed to be coming off. Prissy’s little plump hands were undoing hooks and buttons and putting on a nightgown. And then-and then-the candle was being taken away and the room was dark about her. Prissy said something, she thought it was good-night, and the door shut. She sank into sleep like a stone sinking into water and there was nothing else at all.
At first her sleep was quite dreamless. She was too tired for thought. And then, as it drew near to morning and the dazed fatigue passed from her, the dreams came. She was ru
She opened her eyes and saw the strange room before she remembered anything. It frightened her. She started up in the grey, cold dawn and saw it. She had no memory of how she had come there, and for a moment everything was adrift. Then with a rush memory came back. She sat up in bed and saw herself coming downstairs in the other house, listening to the man as he talked to Lilian. She was back in the dark, her eyes wide, her heart thudding as she listened to them talking in the next room. She remembered it all. She could have repeated every word as she had heard, and every word said to her.