The Silent Companions - Chapter 4

[Music] hello and welcome back to micah reads we are continuing uh the silent companions we are on chapter four back at the bridge which is the house that she moves into 1865. elsie jerked up right at a knock on the door bemused by her surroundings the gray afternoon had deepened into the charcoal of an autumn evening the fire burned low in the great only a single candle flickered on the dressing table a winding sheet of hard wax down its side memory lurched back she was stuck in the country and rupert was dead the knot came again she reached for her lace gloves and pulled them on enter she croaked her mouth tasted stale how long had she been asleep the door cracked open metal clattered against crockery and a short young woman perhaps about 18 years of age edged across the threshold carrying a tray mem she placed the tray on the dressing table fired up the gas lamp and lit it using the candle elsie blinked surely it was a trick of the eyes was this really her housemaid she was filthy from the kitchen soot streaking her coarse apron her face was not altogether plain she had long lashes and thick rosy lips that would have been pleasing were they not quirked in an impertinent expression she wore no cap her dark hair was parted down the middle in a severe fashion then looped behind her ears into a nod at the back of her head did such a creature pass for a house made in this part of the country if elsie had known this she would not have worried about her own appearance earlier ma'am the girl said again belatedly she bobbed an awkward curtsy the tray rattled mr livingston said she might be hungry oh she could not say if that were true the combination of smells arising from the tray left her ravenous and nauseated in equal measure yes that's very kind of him i'll take the tray here she propped a bolster behind her back the girl came forwards she did not have the careful gate of servants in london her bold stride jogged the bowl and sent soup trickling over the rim depositing the tray on elsie's legs with a thunk she stepped back and bent her knees in another curtsy elsie didn't know whether to be offended or amused the girl was clearly a bumpkin and you are mabel cousins the maid said she had an odd voice a blend between cockney twang and country drawl ma'am it occurred to elsie that perhaps mabel was not usually permitted above stairs they may have grown desperate for a pair of hands and sent anyone from the way she eyed the pile of elsie's clothes on the floor and the lace collar of her nightgown he would think she had never seen anything so costly in her life are you the housemate the kitchen mate mabel shrugged just a mate me and helen taint no others well then that makes you the maid of all work if you say so ma'am elsie judd adjusted the tray on her lap steam rose from the surface of the yellow brown soup flecked with herbs next to it sat a dish of boiled beef a cream-colored lumpy substance that looked like chicken fricassee she was hungry but the idea of food touch turned her stomach grimacing she picked up a spoon and plunged into the soup she was surprised to see mabel still standing there what on earth was she waiting for you may go mabel i don't require anything else ow at least she had the grace to blush wiping her hands on her apron she gave another hopeless curtsy sorry ma'am the bridge ain't no mistress for nyon food he is we ain't used to it elsie lowered her spoon and let the soup slide back into the bowl really that long how very strange i wonder why there were a bunch of servants what died i think in the old days put the family off living here i heard talk in the village something about a skeleton they dug up in king george's time a skeleton in the garden imagine that really there was so much dead in that garden it did not come as much of a surprise indeed you grew up in a village of fayford i suppose mabel's crack of laughter made her jump the maid threw her head back like a common woman at a music theater this would not do it would not do it all uh do i muse you mabel she snapped lord bless you ma'am mabel wiped an eye with another rebrand no one from the village works here and why might that be scared of the place gives him the moles weight settled around her neck superstition premonition whatever it was she did not want mabel to see it well that seems very foolish it was only a skeleton there's nothing to be afraid of is there mabel shrugged that'll be all mabel very good mom without a curtsy she turned extinguished the lamp and strode out the door she didn't bother to close it behind her [Applause] mabel elsie called you turned the light off by mistake i cannot see too but she could already hear me hear mabel's flat feet thudding down the stairs nobody came to close the door or remove the food despairing elsie placed her untouched dinner tray on the floor and dropped back against the pillows when she awoke the room was black as a weeping veil the fire had expired leaving her leaving the air chill the taint of that damn soup still stung in the air her stomach writhe how could the maid just leave it there to fester and grow foul she would have to speak with a housekeeper in the morning it was then that she heard it a low rasp like a saw against the wood she went rigid and she really heard that the senses could play tricks on the dark but then again yes she did not want to deal with another problem tonight surely if she kept wrapped up with her eyes shut the noise would go away yes a rhythmic abrasive sound his hiss what was it she pulled the cover up over her ear until it muffled the noise at last it stopped her hair drooped with the weight of exhaustion there's probably some foolish nonsense animals in the woods she would not recognize their sounds she had always slept in a town it was silent now and she could go back to sleep his sis she started up every inch of her electrified hiss teeth gritting against wood scraping blindly she groped under the pillow for her matchbox it was not there of course it was not there she hadn't unpacked yet her hand felt empty vulnerable without the box she had to be careful she mustn't spiral into panic half falling from the bed she fumbled in the dark for a gas lever a tinderbox anything her fingers only met hard poles of wax pools of wax where the candles had melted yes the darkness was absolute her eyes refused to adjust it wasn't like london there were no street lamps outside she was forced to inch along feeling her way forwards the leg of the dressing table around springy shape a hoop of her crinoline she maneuvered around it ears tensed for the sound the very stillness very felt heavy charged as if it were waiting she placed her hand down and felt it sink into something she recoiled and cried out there was a crash and liquid seeped through her nightgown the odors of chicken and beef announced she had crawled straight into her dinner tray yes elsie flung herself away from the tray black nothing but before her eyes no sorry black nothing but black before her eyes how could she get out of this room finally she made out a shade of grey she crawled towards it and felt a solid surface the door struggling to her feet she groped for the handle and pulled the door open it was brighter in the corridor she took a few steps out her feet sinking into the dusty carpet little clouds floated up as she moved there's nothing to suggest what had made the noise everything was still moonlight fell through the lantern tower in silver bars and the marble busts glowed yes elsie headed in the direction of the sound she had to stop it she would never sleep with that racket yes yes it came faster frantic her feet matched its pace as they turned past the gallery towards the stairs she was certain it was coming from above the steps led to a narrow landing on the whitewashed walls the top floor of the house traditionally the domain of servants she followed the sound down a corridor past the lantern tower until the beacon of moonlight faded to a muted glow soft flooring gave way to cold hard tiles underfoot she shivered wishing she had brought a wrap or a blanket with her she felt small exposed in cotton and lace she stopped to rest and get her bearings up ahead a faint yellow circle stained the wall yes the noise was close she put one foot forwards and felt something brush her leg damn it she cried out she reeled nearly losing the balance damn damn tiny clicks sounded on the tiles she did not dare to look down and see what made them the rasping sawing noise was everywhere around her like the voice of god and just below it a steady beat footsteps a yellow orb floated into the darkness drifting towards her elsie braced herself hardly knowing what she expected the orb was coming closer the figure of a woman loomed up behind it her shadows stretched along the tiles at her neat heels she saw elsie gasped and they were plunged into darkness once more his hiss again something sleek and warm swept against her calf this time elsie screamed mrs bainbridge there is a sound like fabric ripping then a flare of a match a woman's face appeared in flickering halo she was well past middle age with wrinkles puckering her skin bless me is that you mrs bainbridge up at this hour you gave me a fright i blew my candle right out elsie's lips flapped trying to find purchase i can't the sound as she spoke she started up again that terrible hiss hiss the woman nodded her eyes oh sorry as she spoke it started up again the terrible hiss hiss the woman nodded her eyes were liquid and jaundiced in the candlelight as if her irises were swimming in honey i'll show you the problem madam follow me she turned taking the candle with her the gloom was all the more fearsome after a moment of illumination in her tired fancy elsie managed a second pair of footsteps patting behind her by the way i'm pretty sure cat i'm pretty sure that the sound uh or the the click click click was the sound of like cat claws or dog claws on the tile and i'm pretty sure the warm thing against her leg was either a cat or a dog like rubbing against her i'm the housekeeper here i'm the housekeeper here mrs mrs bainbridge my name is edna holt i'd hope to meet you under more traditional circumstances but it can't be helped her voice was gentle and respectful without awful drawl of mabel's speech elsie followed the sound of it a rope tethering her to a world of reality and servants rather than phantasmal goria that raged inside her imagination i trust you a little better now madam i heard you end well yes all i needed was sleep but then the rasping noise cut her off it hissed and scratched as mrs holt stopped at the end of the corridor beside the case of wooden stairs what could it be the circular saw on the factory made a sound vaguely similar but it was rapid more staccat rapid more staccato this was drawn out like a slow rip something guided over her feet tickling her legs as it passed she gasped a small dark shape moved up the steps ahead mrs holt sorry mrs hult did you not see it two growing slits of green materialized beneath the beside the door at the top of the stairs elsie's breath locked in her throat god have mercy i know mrs holt said kindly but she was not looking at elsie her eyes were fixed on the door i know jasper came down shapes fell into place elsie saw a little black cat loping behind back down the stairs to mrs holt's side a cat she'd never felt so foolish yeah you should feel foolish obviously it was a cat i knew it was cat from words i think it'd be rats madam or possibly squirrels something with gnawing teeth they drive poor jasper here distracted the cat paste a protective circle around them muttering in the depths of his throat his coat and tail swished against her their skirts well elsie said regaining the use of her voice we must get a man up there to look a nest is soon cleared out ah madam but that's the problem with her spare hand mrs holt pulled a bunch of keys from her belt and held them up the gate was closed up years ago before my time here none of these fit the lock me to tell me there's no way of gaining access the housekeeper shook her head then some someone must have an axe to the door i cannot allow these creatures to nest unmolested they think they might do to the fact think what they might do to the fabric of the building but the whole place could fall down around our ears the candle danced beneath her breath she could not make out mrs holt's expression don't upset yourself ma'am they can't have wreaked much havoc i've only heard them in the past few weeks only really since the master came down they both grew still elsie was suddenly aware of the body three fours below maybe beneath the very spot where her feet arched away from the cold tiles she hugged herself and what did miss bainbridge or what did mr bainbridge say about the matter much the same as you ma'am he was going to write to chorlberry st jude for a man i don't know if he ever did all the unsent letters the unspoken words it was as if rupert had left the party in the middle of a dance she ached with the need for him to come and make everything simple to remove the burden from her shoulders well mrs holt i will check the library in the morning and see what i find if i have no luck i will write myself the housekeeper paused when our voice came it was infinitely softer a verbal caress very good ma'am now i had better be lighting you back to bed tomorrow be a long and weary day heaven knows elsie wondered for a moment what she meant then realization burst upon her they'd only been waiting for her arrival tomorrow they would bury rupert her knees sagged mrs holt's spare hand quick came quickly under her elbow easy ma'am all at once she was aware of her nightgown damp with soup and sauce against her legs and the cat's little tongue licking it clean revolting she thought of the mess she had made in her bedroom than the mess she had made with joylin or jollian her eyelids grew unbearably heavy i think you're right mrs holt i'd better get back to bed the sky was a cold hard blue devoid of clouds brisk wind kept the trees constantly in motion a confetti of green yellow and brown leaves lay strewn over the paths crunching as the carriage wheels plowed through them elsie was astonished just how far into the distance she could see even submerged beneath her weeping veil there were no soot flecks in the air no pawl of coal smoke dimmed the light it unnerved her yes is the right oh sorry hold on did i just miss that we went to a whole new day yeah i did yep that was yep that's all me we are in the next day yes this is the right day for rupert suicide busy and bright just like him her long horsey face looked worse than yesterday washed out and baggy-eyed after she had sat up all night with rupert's body elsie regretted not keeping herself keeping watch herself in the great hall right at the bottom of the house she would not have been troubled by the scratching noise sarah made no mention of having heard it and rupert deserved the last vigil she had not intended to slight him but with the baby in her belly she had grown selfish for her own comfort sleep fire and an easy chair had become the vital things in her life she lent her hand against the window the land looked better in sunshine she had made out larch an elm growing between the chestnut trees and a squirrel loping across their path it paused on its hind legs watching the funeral procession pass then shot up the near nearest trunk the featherman went first a tray of black plumes balanced upon his head next came the mute with his staff his hat trailed a weeper below his waist you have put on a good show for him elsie reached out and joined and squeezed jollian's hand keen to remove the tension between them i'm grateful it is no more than he deserved rupert's coffin gleamed from the hearse poor rupert trapped forever in this dismal place overlooked for eternity by that abysmal church with only half a steeple when they married elsie had never doubted they would spend eternity buried side by side she might have to review that plan as the carriages ground to a halt she was relieved to see that none of the villagers had ventured to their windows although it did surprise her at home a funeral was a spectacle here it seemed like no remarkable occurrence jolyon picked up his cane it is time his black coke swished as he climbed down the steps and offered his hand first to elsie and then to sarah she felt fragile once she touched the ground as light as one of the twigs blowing about the churchyard she didn't know how to behave mod been hysterical when paw died remembering her shuddering sobs elsie felt an instant failure as a wife she could not cry she spent her days holding the knowledge of rupert's death at a distance like a dagger against her throat afraid to let it plunge in and bring with it understanding her only sensations were numbness and nausea blasted sarah started crying the moment she was installed on julian's other arm the sight of her tears filled elsie with an anger she could not justify mr livingston mrs bainbridge miss bainbridge my sincere condolences elsie curtsied before the vicar through the net of her weeping veil she made out a young man with dirty blonde hair he had a long nose and a large chin that suggested good breeding but his stole was grimy off-white i've only had the pleasure of meeting mr livingston before my name is underwood richard underwood a genteel voice each letter enunciated what was such a man doing with the dire living of fayford surely his connections could do better for him as he folded his hands over a prayer book and held it against his stomach elsie noticed holes in the sleeves of his cossack now i must ask you ladies before we begin if you are sure you feel equal to the service there is no shame in resting at home sarah unleashed a fresh burst of tears there there miss uh there there miss bainbridge said julian all you would you it is as mr underwood says would you rather stay in the carriage he looked over at elsie for help she nearly smirked he wanted a sister with a keener sensibilities did he mr underwood stepped in my dear miss bainbridge take comfort here's my arm he detached her from jallian with such delicacy that elsie was convinced he must be a gentleman slowly oh gentlemen sorry it was separated by a line that's why i said gentleman it doesn't matter slowly he guided sarah away you may sit in the vicarage until you are restored my maid will fetch you some tea salts do you have salts sarah made a rasping reply that elsie did not match very good look just here his house was one of the unsavory hovels encroaching on the burial ground hardly a home befitting a victor vicar she was almost worried about sarah sitting in there for the length of the service it looked as if oh it looked as if you could catch typhoid from the place athol fetch a stool you are wit you want to watch over this lady for me make a sweet tea a bony hag with missing teeth appeared in the doorway but it's the last of i'm aware of that ethel he said sharply now do as i ask crumbling the old woman ushered sarah inside and closed the door mr underwood returned to them seemingly unfazed that was that was very kind of you sir thank you charlie and said no trouble at all mrs bainbridge are we quite safe with you i would answer for her nerves with my life challenge replied underwood appraised her with interest his eyes were wide but strangely hooded they peered rather than looked very good now mrs bainbridge i will go to the door of the church and meet the coffin that will go in first then the mourners will follow she nodded it was all she could do the pallbearers heaved the coffin onto their shoulders and shuffled forward wind crept beneath the black velvet pawl flapping it in time with their steps the bainbridge crest waved in flashes blue gold blue gold then an axe she tugged on jolyon's arm i need to sit down whether beaten gravestones line the path to the church door their inscriptions crewed three memorials in roe bore the name john smith with dates barely two years apart then came another pair beside a rose bush both jane price 1859 elsie kept her gaze lowered she did not want to see the mourners climbing out of their carriages or meet their cameras or commiserating gays just months ago she had walked in the other direction decked in silk and myrtle and myrtle yep myrtle silk and myrtle with a peel of wedding bells behind her she had looked down at her white dress and known that the spinster miss livingston was gone forever here stood miss spain mrs bainbridge a fresh creation newborn ashes to ashes dust to dust how quickly fortune turned the woman who walked into church after this coffin who is she now livingston bainbridge maybe neither maybe she was not a person else he wanted to know it was a lovely service a fat gentleman took her hand and pressed it against his mustache he reeked of tobacco yes chest lovely she said for the thousandth time thank you for coming please won't you take a memorial card she slipped her glove out of his sweaty grasp and replaced it with a black a piece of black edged card then she removed onto the next one they looked ridiculous these men of the city with their fine hat bands braying voices and cigars huddled together in a dilapidated graveyard what must they think of rupert's family's seat and his factory wife the sun had faded to a primrose disk yet she still paraded up and down the line of strangers thanking them handing out rupert's life compressed into a bare set of facts on a monochrome card in affectionate resent remembrance of rupert jonathan bainbridge who departed his life the 3rd of october 1865 on the 45th year of his age interned in the family vault all souls church fayford memento mori jalyan played his part passing from group to group accepting their condolences it was him the guests had come to see few of them knew her would they really notice if she slipped away perhaps she would go and find her old companion the starved cow at least that miserable creature had shown some interest in her she stood for a moment gazing abstractly through the net squares of her veil birds she did not even have a name for called in the trees beyond fat inquisitive ones that looked like london pigeons except they were beige bold black scavengers rooks jackdaws ravens she'd never really known the difference once she recognized one she did recognize a magpie rattled at her from the light lich gate the cobalt stripe of its tail pointed to the poorest of the gravestones lopsided devoured by lichen and thistle you're wondering about the gravestones the voice made her start oh sorry don't mind the wrong voice doesn't matter she swiveled around to see mr underwood standing unobtrusively by her side his hands were tucked under his surplus either he was cold or he was hiding the holes in his sleeve yes i was there seems to be an awful lot with the same names he sighed there are and no matter what i say to my parishioners there continued to be the people well i need not dress it up for you miss bainbridge you see how the village is the people do not have hope they do not even hope that their babies will live so they reuse names over there he pulled out a hand and gestured to jane prices she had seen earlier those two little girls were alive at the same time the elder was ailing and the babe was born sickly they died within a month of each other what a terrible thing those poor girls at least their folk remember them with a stone a slim comfort you think so have you ever been to london mr underwood is brow furrowed on occasion before i took my orders then you will have seen the burying grounds 20 foot shafts one coffin stacked atop another all the way to the surface horrible places i've heard of bodies being disturbed even dismembered to make way for fresh corpses so i say it is a mercy to be laid on your own plot of land under a stone with a name even if it is a buried one a borrowed one there are far worse things a parent can do he peered at her to reassess her to be sure she judged it prudent to turn the topic my maid told me that a skeleton was discovered on my own property years ago would you happen to know if that is buried here also mr underwood what skeleton would that be she blinked i do not understand you there have been a few he admitted but it is very old house mrs bainbridge there's no clothes to be alarmed mabel's words made more sense now it would be silly for maids to steer clear of a house over a single skeleton but she could understand they might be put off by multiple discoveries no one wanted to come across a pile of bones while performing their duties i'm not only alarmed only surprised my late husband did not know much about the history of the house it is a strange one the highest state was left empty during and after the civil war then with the restoration the family began to come back never for very long though the main ridge family had a nasty habit of losing their heirs and the house often passed to second sons who never returned to claim it how very sad business kept them away i expect he folded his arms there are many records in tobury saint jude i would be happy to fetch some if you had an interest from the sound of it the history would read like a bad penny dreadful the last thing she wanted was a tale of deaths and skeletons but mr underwood looked so earnest as he offered she did not have their heart to rebuff him you are most kind they fell silent watching the graves no hothouse flowers adorn the ground beneath the stones instead thistles prickled their purple blooms were fading turning to clutches of wispy seed perhaps mrs bainbridge i will go and fetch your cousin for you he said it last i trust she will be recovered yes i hope she will thank you she inclined her head as she strode away oh he she inclided her head as he strode away his blonde fringe bouncing upon around his temples the magpie had flown she stared at the gate where it had sat thinking of the little jane prices her veil fluttered in the breeze and made it look as if their graves were undulating waving to her elsie woke in a bad mood for a second night she had not slept well the infuriating hiss had begun again though it only lasted for an hour after it stopped shitlane uneasy teasing her mind for a way to help the village and remembering poor rupert in the chill crypt the bed was far too large without him although she was not the sort of wife that had slept curled up around her husband there was something reassuring about rupert's present beneath the sheets and the occasional creak he had made as he turned it was as though he were guarding her without him the other side of the mattress yawned cold and sinister so much space so much opportunity for something else to slip in without any assistance forthcoming from the maids she dressed herself and managed to pin on her widow's cap before making her way downstairs mr underwood's words continued to trouble her there must be something she could do for fayford she hadn't seen any of the children but judging by the state of the cow they would be they would be skin and bones who knew what domestic horror they faced yet if their parents were afraid of the bain bridges and their skeleton house she could hardly go barging in with her goodwill basket and condescending smile it would be better to and then moats danced in the air before her making her cough she stopped and glanced down at the steps her black skirts had brushed up a cloud of the stuff a powder unlike ordinary dust denser she bent down pinching a speck between her thumb and index finger the grains were beige and coarse she raised her fingers to her nose her nostrils flared with scents that took her back to the factory something sharp and clean linseed and beneath that a deeper nutty aroma she sneezed yes it was sawdust here sawdust phosphorus the whirl of the cutting blade hurriedly she brushed it away and slapped out her skirts not wanting the trace of the stuff upon her perhaps it was the beam supporting the ceilings they might be crumbling like everything else at the bridge she would have to ask mrs holt later on as she stood the stairwell wobbled it was going to faint she was going to faint leaning against the banister she taught her down the last steps breathe breathe sometimes it happened like that the slightest thing would hurtle her back in time resurrect memories and reduce her to the state of a frightened child with the blood roaring in her ears she reached the great hall and sucked in a ragged breath she was here now safe the past had taken enough from her already she would not let it have her adult years too she took the door to the left of a fireplace and entered the dining room jolly and sarah were already seated at the mahogany table the dandelion gold brocade on the wall throwing a sickly shade over their skin they took their napkins off their laps and rose to their feet as she entered they were julian dabbed his mouth i'm afraid we stopped without you we would not show if you would be down the grandfather clark chimed i must go on as usual i suppose her voice shook she slumped into the chair jolly and pulled out for her just in time servants lurked by the sideboard the shabby maid mabel had an older and an older woman who must be helen she was a stout jolly looking thing her face flushed in permanent strawberry hue no doubt the effect of standing over hot water for many years wisps of ginger hair and escaped her cap at the temples elsie guessed her age at around 40. supervising both maids was a tall gray-haired man he looked as if he had never smiled in his life jolyon poured coffee while helen served up buttered eggs buttered eggs on toast with herring gross but the sawdust smell had turned elsie's stomach that disgusting food would have turned my stomach she turned her fork and toyed with the wobbly pile of egg miss bainbridge was just telling hold on yeah miss bainbridge was just telling me about her time in the vica's house julian lifted the tails of his coat and sat back down beside her sarah blushed to the roots of her lanky hair wasn't it could have him miss bainbridge to take him in take me in like that when he was so busy yes he strikes me as a superior he strikes me as a superior sort of man jolyon observed not bred for the church i think at any rate not a church in fayette now he wasn't sarah gaveled warming to her subject he left a rich family and an inheritance to try and do some good his father cut him off without a penny but he had a little of his own money he used it to get a living at fayford did you ever hear such a noble thing elsie placed a morsel of food in her mouth and chewed slowly it was a mistake the texture of the egg made her want a gag how you well mrs bainbridge yes yes she touched a napkin to her mouth and discreetly spat out the egg what about you if you recovered from your faintness yesterday yes thank you i'm much stronger today i'm glad to hear it i expect you have had enough of funerals after the death of mrs crabbley and your parents yes sarah took a shaky sip of her tea although i didn't attend mrs crabby's burial she was an awfully old-fashioned like that she would have turned in her grave to know there had been a woman present at her funeral but my parents she stared into her tea stupid did not but rupert did not tell me much about your parents elsie said gently well i can scarcely tell you more i expect rupert was better acquainted with them than i ever was it put me out to mrs crabbley when i was eight to train as a companion whenever wealthy you see on our side of the family something to do with an argument between my grandfather and his father so we all worked our parents did not have a great deal of time for me sarah took another gulp of tea as if to give her strength and then they were gone there was no money for a funeral i couldn't have buried them if rupert had not she was already he he was always so good to me her voice thickened i wish embarrassed elsie picked up the fork and shredded her ring wow oh sorry i'm stupid embarrassed ellie picked up her fork and shredded her herring she was beginning to regret treating the girl so flippantly sarah may be dull as ditch water but she had suffered i'm so sorry jolyon cleared his throat we understand miss bainbridge he did not meet elsie's eye we also lost our parents at a young age sarah shook her heads hair slipping from her cheek chignon doesn't do well it doesn't do to dwell upon it but you can see why i was so grateful to mr underwood and his servant for looking after me did you know that mr underwood gave me the very last of his tea i felt awful taking it his cupboards were so sparse only a sliver of sugar and absolutely no milk milk elsie speared a piece of herring triumphantly of course that is the answer that is how i can help the village jollian you must make inquiries i'm going to adopt the cow [Applause] jollian snorted into his coffee the maid shifted by the sideboard what what cow the cow i saw on my way here poor old beast it looked quite done in the more i think on it the more i believe she was asking for my help if i buy the cow i can bring her here to get nice and fat and then she will produce milk we can make cheese and i can give the milk and cheese to the villagers for free you are goose helsi he placed his cup down why not simply call on the villagers with a basket it'll feel less condescending this way don't you think jolly and raised his hands doesn't matter what i say you're sure to do just as you please but you will have to get mr stilford here or mr mrs holt to make your end queries i'm returning to london by this afternoon's train this afternoon i'm afraid so speaking to the gentleman at the funeral made me realize how pressing business matters are but how could he abandon her leaving her alone with sarah when will you be back not for a good while i should think his lips compressed he sensed there were things he could not say in front of sarah i'm sorry elsie but i have to go back for the factory and how could she argue with that she who would get forgiven so much for that place of course of course i understand when jolyn's carriage departed in a spray of gravel elsie was left despondent the place felt even bigger emptier without him yes squid i know she wandered around her room in the summer parlor but found nothing to do gray clouds bubbled up outside wind lashed at the trees even the light within the house was subdued and grainy all she could hear was the tick of the clock the groaning of the walls and a maid brushing a hearth somewhere on the first floor she did not like being alone in this house she felt it was watching her sensing her movements within its walls as she felt the baby flutter inside her belly it was no good she needed company no matter how dire after two hours of boredom she padded down the maroon corridor past the ghastly marble bus towards sarah's room knocking once she entered to find sarah curled up on her bed with a book and mrs holt's cat jasper the room was remarkably like her own only as julian had said mirrored the trees waving outside sarah's windows were a treasury of gold and bronze elsie's side had the coppers the burnt reds oh mrs bainbridge i did not expect you sarah placed a mark in her book and rose embarrassed to her feet jasper merely watched her he did not forfeit his spot on the bed i'm sorry did you need me uh yes as a matter of fact i'm going to explore the house do you want to join me explore sarah's brown eyes widened why are we i mean i sup i suppose mrs holt won't mind mrs holt what has she got to do with this this is my house i can do as i like yes i suppose you can for a moment sarah's wide mouth sagged perhaps it occurred to her as it did to elsie that she had not been pushed out of the inheritance but then a happier thought seemed to inspire sarah for she smiled and said this house has belonged to my family for a long time it is the only part of them i still have a connection i would like to explore ever so much elsie held out her gloved hand come along then sarah hesitated elsie suddenly remembered exposing her coarse hands the night they had first arrived palms the color and texture of pork rind she tried not to let the consciousness show on her face what are you afraid of with a quick release of breath sarah stepped forwards they started at the bottom very bottom of the house the bridge was in fact much larger than they had imagined it seemed a twist unto itself leading off the great hall across from the fireplace elsie had warned herself that the first night let's turn this up a little bit whoa nice elsie had warned herself that first night they found a drawing room paneled with dark wood up the warmed herself she had warmed herself that first night they found a drawing room paneled with a dark wood up to the shoulder height blue gray paper covered the rest of the walls that shade reminded elsie of dead corn flowers it was a cold room full of marble urns and tapestries why would you withdraw here she asked i'd wager there are workhouses decorated with more warmth the drawing room connected to a vast powder pink space filled with instruments a modeled harp lent against the windows if pining to get out one of its strings had snapped elsie ran her eyes at the rose-colored curtains that blocked out the daylight the ceiling was scalloped like the white icing around the top of the cake sarah flew towards the grand piano opened it and pressed a key a plume of dust rose up with a note i can play the piano she said just little pieces mrs crabbley used to like them i'll play for you tonight it was a testament to how dreary elsie felt but she actually looked forwards to it next came a card room decorated in green a stuffed stag head loomed over them from the wall his antlers casting shadows like the branches of a tree how macabre elsie wrinkled her nose she really thinks so sarah gazed up at the mounted head the fur was dirty each light brown eyelash was carefully separated revealing the ebony marbles encased within the sockets there's beauty in it ordinarily this fellow would be rotting but instead he is here still majestic preserved forever stuck in the bridge for the rest of his days i can't envy him that the stag marked the end of the wing there was no escape but back through the music room and drawing room when they returned to the great hall the red-haired maid emerged from a green bay's door on the servant's side helen the maid pulled up sharp at the sound of elsie's voice it is helen isn't it she dotted nodded dumb wow she nodded dumbly and her legs bent in a curtsy far superior to mabel's helen now that is the now that the funeral's over i want you to turn the pictures on the second story and anywhere else for that matter miss bainbridge and i want to look at the portraits can you do that for me yes ma'am excellent curtsing again helen turned and went back through the bay's door they heard her feet through the walls climbing the spiral staircase elsie and sarah ascended the wider carpeted steps reserved for the family there were sawdust here earlier elsie said watching carefully it seems to have gone the first floor started off well with a honey-colored parlor adjoining a billiard room in the west wing but as they made their way into the east wing elsie found felt a nauseous chill take hold of her some sixth sense told her what they were about to see oh look miss bainbridge how darl mrs bainbridge how darling sarah dashed forwards leaving her leaning on a doorjamb look at the little nursery a child might have played there only yesterday it was spotless the flower pattern paper showed no signs of age in the carpet a bright shints of red and yellow had been beaten and washed a rocking horse stood proud and gleaming in the center of the room little dapples of white across its rump sarah pushed it and giggled as it bumped on green casters elsie looked around the horse was not the only toy dolls are arranged round a miniature table set out for tea on the floor beside him was a wooden noah's ark complete with animals a high screen sat in front of the fireplace within range of the heat hung a cot trimmed with swatches of lemon fabric it was joined by an iron bedstead covered in a patchwork quilt for an older child her throat closed up there's a school room beyond said sarah i think i've had enough exploring for the day she drifted back to the gallery and looked down on the great hall the gray and black flags danced before her eyes dear god she couldn't do it they might as well ask her to go to oxford and sit an exam she could not be an ordinary mother to an ordinary baby all those toys the memorabilia of childhood perhaps it was different if you grew up happy with memories of your father dang dandling you on his knee and your mother kissing your tears away but for elsie there was nothing but fear fear for the baby fear of the baby jolly had turned out all right she reminded herself but it was easier with jolyon being a boy what if rupert's a baby was born a girl she could not love a daughter that looked like her she could not bear to glance upon a mirror of her past without being sick mrs bainbridge sarah crept up to her side are you unwell no just weary but we explode again tomorrow there's not much left to see the library and the summer parlor are all on the same floor as our bedrooms we can go there anytime and then there's only her brow grew tight with the memory of the garrett that night and the sound rasping just beyond the door out of reach what had it been she could not believe it was rats not a noise like that she wanted to know the truth raising a hand she pulled a pin from underneath her cap two blonde curls tumbled down is bainbridge how'd you like to see me pick a lock oh wow and the okay the passage on the third floor appeared less eerie by daylight it was a different corridor to the one she had cringed down the dutch tiles revealed their copper color and clacked beneath her boots she noticed the sounds of damp the clouds of damp and little cracks she had not seen on the walls before i don't believe you mrs bainbridge you're not you're poking fun at me you cannot really pick a lock elsie grinned you will see i'm a most resourceful woman she turned the hairpin between her glove fingers it had been a long time since she'd done this there were no locked doors at the factory these days a patterning sound on the tiles behind she looked round and saw jasper scampering on to join them out bless him sarah stopped to wait when jasper drew level with her he brushed against her leg making her dress sigh unfortunate you are sarah you have a firm friend there or how fortunate you are sarah you have a firm friend there it was strange but did she did not seem to be able to traverse this corridor without the cat was he guarding something or did his arrival mean mrs holt was nearby it was one thing to let sarah see her pick lot pick a lock quite another to do it before the housekeeper come on then hurry we must do this while the light is still good she saw the door at the end of the corridor three shallow steps rising to a barrier of chipped wood it did not look sturdy she did not see how it could contain the nest of squirrels or rats surely their raspberries little teeth would have gnawed through it by now she was just about to mount the steps when jasper streaked past her mewing foolish chap she stood before the door as he had done that night green eyes shining and meowed she turned to sarah perhaps it is a good thing we have him with us mrs holt thinks there might be some type of type of rodent living there sarah shuddered don't be afraid they cannot hurt you and the cat will kill them i do not think i can watch that i hate mice very well you stand here then while i attend to the lock jasper and i will go through she paused hopefully she was not about to make this one of the skeletal discoveries mr underwood had mentioned i must confess i'm curious to see what manner of beast is in there you would not believe the strange sounds they made oh but i have heard it at night is this where it comes from sarah looked at the door with wide eyes something in her expression made elsie's stomach cleanse clench could could an animal produce that sound jasper mewed and scratched at the door it was a dull dull imitation of the hiss she heard at night thin white lines marked the wood where he had worried it over time jasper come away he looked at his emerald eyes inscrutable his paws suspended then he swatted at the door again it creaked the jar stairs sarah stepped back look it's open elsie could not believe her luck mrs holt must have written to tobury saint jude for a locksmith i didn't expect her to be so prompt she jammed the hairpin back in her cap i'm going in to explore no creatures skidded out from the opening that was a good sign mounting the steps she stood next to jasper and peeked inside the air was still and heavy there were no rats no squirrels no skeletons just trunks and old furniture dust coated every surface thick is velvet sarah she called back it's quite safe she coughed and sneezed rather dusty but safe she pushed the door and watched it swing back on its hinges with prolonged wine she expected jasper to dart in ahead of her but instead he turned tail and fled back the way they had come she laughed coughed again cats they're such perverse creatures are they not she took four steps into the room her hem sweeping up a cloud of dust the garrett looked as if time had stood still for centuries cobwebs fastened the corners but no insects writhed within them all were dead and cocoons are shriveled and dry by the far wall slumped a clock that no longer ticked its face was smashed in the hands hung at odd angles pollen sheets covered square shapes that might be portraits she walked to a table besides the smeared window it was heaped with yellow paged books dust obscured the titles with the tip of dust obscured the titles with the tip of one finger she prodded through the pile a few volumes lower down the stack still had clean covers tree disease on gardening from two centuries back some leather bound pads that look like journals complete herbal in general history of history of plants by gerard sarah come in she tried not to inhale too much dust as she called there are no books there are no mice but there are books sarah's long face appeared hovering beside the door books yes if you can still read them moldy old things i think some of these have been here since the norman conquest at least sarah patted to her side oh my goodness reverently she picked up the volumes with the tip of her fingers tied marks misted some of the pages others were as yellow and thin as onion's skin receipts ingredients it's a list of fario bills oh look at this 1635 can you believe it she blew to clear dust from the cover the dive and bainbridge two volumes of it why she must be one of my ancestors not a very interesting one if her diaries had been rotting here for 200 years elsie observed she put a foot out and tested the floorboard it creaked but held i wonder what could be under these sheets she threw back one with a flourish dust exploded out and they both gagged for breath when the air cleared it revealed a rocking chair in a small case that looked like a physician's traveling store of medicine elsie pulled it open clear glass bottles with cork stoppers rattled inside must they have been an apothecary in the family she said the residue at the bottom looks like herbs sarah turned clutching a book against her bosom let me see she took two steps towards elsie and then shrieked elsie dropped the bottle she was holding it cracked open and released a moldy underground smell what what is it there's something there eyes oh don't be ridiculous her voice subsided as she followed sarah's gaze and sarah was right green brown eyes lurking in the shadows at the back of the room a white shield concealed a white sheet concealed most of the face but she could see the pupils trained on her with an unnatural scrutiny a painting it's just a painting sarah look it does not blink i'll see doug through the clutter pulling and pushing objects out of her way dust powdered her dress gray trailing from them from the hammond ribbons the painted eyes kindled as they grew closer as if greeting an old friend lc seized the end of the sheet covering the portrait and dragged it away the material snagged as it moved finally coming loose with a ripping sound oh sarah cried it's it's it's me elsie thought with horror it was a girl about nine or ten a button nose and pursed lips eyes that simultaneously beckoned and dared you to come closer she was staring into the face of the child she had been the girl with her youth ripped out how her mind stuttered and stopped the face before her eyes as was her own yet she felt no kinship with it go away she wanted to scream go away i'm afraid of you it's not a painting sarah said that is it's painted but it's not a canvas that seems to be it seems to be free-standing she put her book down pushed forwards and poked her head around the back of the figure ah no it's flat but as a wooden prop you see elsie's field of vision expanded the face shrank into proportion and she saw the painted girl in full waist height like a real child the figure represented was dressed in olive silk with gold lace trim a tissue apron drifted around her legs she did not have blonde hair like elsie it was red brown and piled up onto her head in a kind of pyramid threaded with orange ribbon and beads she held a basket of roses and herbs at her waist the other hand was raised pressing a white blossom against her heart she was not of this century perhaps not even of the last remarkable sarah rested a hand on the outline of the shoulder the colors had faded with age and there were little scuffs on the woodwork this is if someone has cut out the figure from a painting and mounted it on a plank of wood does it does it remind you of anyone sarah oh sorry this is that was that was not sarah speaking that was lc does it does it remind you of anyone sarah nibbled her lower lip a little around the eyes it must be one of the bainbridge ancestors we cannot be surprised if she looks a bit like rupert rupert she repeated incredulously but then she saw it just a whisper creeping through the chipped paint she looks like me and rupert her heart seized was this what her baby would look like sarah ran her hand along the wooden edge of the arm she's beautiful we must take her downstairs let's put her in the great hall we might be able to lift her between us if we oh and she sprang back a shard of wood impaled her arm ouch come here carefully elsie held sarah's fingers within her gloved ones gretchen teeth one two three the splintered wood slid out beads of blood welled up from the puncture mark sarah raised it to her mouth and sucked these antiques do fall apart elsie said perhaps best to leave the thing where it is oh no miss bainbridge please i would so love to have her in the house elsie shivered well perhaps you should get a servant to move it for you she said reluctantly thicker skin behind them the floorboards screeched dash it elsie spun around mabel the maid lay crumpled beside the door with her skirt spread about her heaven above what are you doing mabel ain't nothing i've done floorboards gave way and swallowed my foot goodness me sarah rushed forward her own injury forgotten are you ahead can you feel the ankle yes i can dawn will feel it hurts like hell mabel bit down on a spr on a spurt of pain miss taking an arm each elsie and sarah wedged their shoulders beneath mabel's armpits and hauled her free a smell emerged from the hole in the board something reeking of wet ashes and decomposition seated on the floor mabel reached out to pride her ankle torn right through my stocking lucky the whole bleeding leg didn't come off we had better fetch mrs holt said elsie i'm sure she'll have a poultice to put on it whatever you doing mabel sneaking up behind us mabel lowered her chin into her chest she looked more truculent than ever it made no harm the door been opened since i come here wondered what was inside then i had miss sarah cry out like thought she needed help lots of things i gets for it she added sourly i'm very grateful sarah said come here i'll wrap your skirt around the cut keep pushing on it until we can bind it with some bandages she moved tenderly but mabel still moaned how strange uh how strange this is still sarah talking how strange that you should come in just then miss bainbridge and i'm about to fetch you he wanted your help moving our new discovery downstairs what discovery sarah pointed to the wooden figure mabel looked up and recoiled blade neck what is that mabel elsie said i appreciate you were injured but there's no excuse for your continued bad language please remember the company you're in sorry ma'am she mumbled although she did not sound contrite it's just i never seen nothing like that before what is it a picture no we believe it's some kind of ornament for the door for the floor a standing figure not a statue or a painting but somewhere in between i don't like it mabel's jaw set looks at me funny give me the creeps something like that hogwash said elsie it's no different from the portraits that hang in the corridor it is mabel insisted it's nasty i don't like it kelsey's skin prickled she found it uncanny herself but she was not able about to admit that to a servant it's not necessary for you to like it you're only required to move it for sarah and clean it mabel pouted as if some as if coming to her defense a fresh pulse of blood pushed up through the gash on her ankle can't do no cleaning now can i elsie sighed i suppose i'd better fetch helen helen regarded the wooden figure hands planted on her broad hips crinkles appeared beside her eyes as she squinted through the dust is this new mam new lc echoed now i expect it's very old no i meant new to the house i'm sure the master had something like it a spasm in her shoulder muscle to hear rupert spoken of like that as if he was still present and in charge in here he never mentioned he never mentioned such an object to me nope nevermind this is back to elsie he never mentioned such an object to me we didn't have one in london london and if you found one here well i've not seen another around the house have you helen shrugged and picked up a figure can't say i have mem then what do you suppose mrs brain then what makes you suppose mr brainbridge owned one he was a nice man mr bainbridge helen said as she maneuvered the wooden figure past the hole on the floor and out through the garrett door there's about him he used to chat with me when i was dusting in the library one day he starts to tell me about figures from amsterdam just like the one like this one he said said he was researching them from a book outside in the corridor else she squashed her crinoline against the wall to make space indeed i did not think why that topic would interest him may neither ma'am i didn't ask because i just presumed he owned one rupert always possessed an active inquiring mind that was what led him to livingston livingston's match factory he loved the idea of progress and new inventions she had not realized he was interested in the past too helen's words made her feel better about taking a strange wooden girl downstairs it might be unsettling but it was another link to rupert he might have warmed to the figure himself if he had ever opened the garrett did mr bainbridge say what these figures were helen called them companions silent companions elsie's lips curled she looked down the corridor to where sarah supported a limping mabel did you hear that sarah helen helen calls it a companion mrs crabbley might have saved her money your spices have been replaced by wooden statues how wicked you are sarah laughed i would dearly love to see a piece of wood plump cushions read poetry play the piano and make gruel if it did i'd get one myself helen pushed her sleeve down over her knuckles and tucked the companion under her arm it lay horizontally as if it had fallen into a swoon this way said elsie miss sarah wants it in the great hall not too close to fire mind she can greet our guests as they arrive yes ma'am she grimaced you're right i don't suppose we will have any for a while oh sarah pulled up on the corridor ahead of them miss bainbridge would you mind going back i'm terribly sorry i left one of the diaries behind but with poor mabel's accident i forgot to pick up the second volume i would so dearly love to read my ancestor's story elsie glanced over her shoulder she did not want to be running up and down she was already tired out by the day's exertion can it not wait until later i she stopped confused the door to the garret was shut she had not heard it close helen she scolded i told you to leave the garrett door open god knows it needs a good earring i didn't close it ma'am didn't close it what do you what do you think that is then she pointed back helen puffed out her red cheeks sorry ma'am i don't remember doing it where did mrs holt find such servants i'll go and open it she sighed while i fetch miss sarah's book thank you very ever so much i do appreciate it if oh sorry this is back to sarah's thank you ever so much i do appreciate it if you could leave it in my room i would be most grateful sarah called it might have a record of the visit from charles the first i'll put mabel to bed and perhaps you might see if mrs holt yes yes i will fetch her too she walked back with sharp irritable steps her crinoline bouncing behind her what was the point of being mistress of the house if you had to do all the work yourself remembering how jasper had simply swatted the door open she stretched out a hand as she approached the garret her palm struck the wood hard her shoulder jerked back she grunted and tried again using a little more force the door did not budge but she reached for the doorknob rattled it from side to side it would not turn damnation there must be something in the latch that stuck that was why that was why it jammed before they would need to get someone to replace the mechanism or perhaps fit a whole new door another job to be done wearily elsie retraced her steps and began the long descent to the ground floor really she was not feeling entirely well it must be this house the weight of it pressing on her after she had spoken with miss holt mrs holt she would have to l she would have a lie down she passed helen in the great hall adjusting the companion beside the window thought i'd said her thought i'd said i hear helen grin so she can see out she cocked her head looks a bit like you she does ma'am in the stronger light of the woods wooden girl's resemblance to elsie was more pronounced it made the skin on her scalp tingle a little isn't that strange taking one last look she crossed over the west wing and disappeared through the green bay's door of the servant's quarters on this side of the wall the air was thick with mingled smells of soap ash and burned fat a warden a warren of bare walls and stone wound deeper into the house the path just visible through oily light mrs holt's room was marked housekeeper with white letters elsie knocked on the door the second time today she had knocked for admittance to a room in her own house come in she squeezed into a room with an atmosphere that reminded her of pea soup a single lamp burnt upon the desk throwing an anemic glow over mrs holt's papers and drawers the housekeeper turned in her plain wooden chair and seeing her mistress started to her feet why mrs bainbridge this is unexpected please come in a little table was set for tea with blue and white cups elsie sat down in relief she was too ashamed of her weariness to ask for a drink but she wished mrs holt would offer one i was going to come and see you mrs holt confessed as she tidy the papers on her desk we've just had a delivery from taboury saint jude and i wanted to consult you about the menus i've grown up i've drawn up i'm sure they will suit perfectly well we will live very quietly miss sarah and i until mr livingston returns i expect you will ma'am but that's no reason not to enjoy your food very true actually mrs holt while i'm down here there's a matter i need to discuss with you yes madam it was only mrs holt looking back at her with those blurred yellow eyes so why did i feel why did it feel like a furious light trained upon her face she swallowed not knowing how to start this was nothing to be ashamed of she reminded herself the baby was conceived honestly however misbegotten it might feel we will soon be soon be in need of extra staff yet mabel has led me to believe that no person from fayford will consent to work at the house ah the lions and mrs holt's face deepened elsie nodded for her to sit this very strange situation ma'am oh sorry this is her talking it is a very strange situation madam there's been a long feud between the village and the family dating back i think all the way to the civil war they believe one of our ladies was a witch or some other silly thing elsies stared down at the tablecloth and at small wreaths of embroidered bordered flowers when mabel had said the villagers were afraid of the house she'd imagine ghosts and goblins not a witch but everyone knew that in those days women could be off could be and often were accused of witchcraft for all manner of things did you at least try and recruit and favor mrs holt oh yes but you see my case was not helped by the robert's family one of them was a footman here around the turn of the century and he met with an unlucky accident what do you mean accident mrs holt pressed her hand to her chest and adjusted a cameo brooch now when you show how it happened the poor soul fell ill the way from the way from the gallery to the great hall oh wow sorry the pool poor the poor soul fell all the way from the gallery into the great hall broke his neck of course a great tragedy but some of the robots remain even now that he was pushed they maintain even now that he was pushed by whom well that particular master lost his wife shortly after there's a story about the robot's man being the wife's admirer you know how these things go mrs holt waved her hand the flesh on it was like chicken skin jelly's husband taking revenge upon my word the village seems full of stories and all of them about us mrs halt smiled country folk madam there must be something to keep the winter nights occupied but have no fear i'm sure we will find some excellent workers elsewhere for both your house and your garden let us hope so clearing our throat she went on you see i have cause to be particular about my staff there will soon be i mean come spring a reason to hope there may be heat rushed to her face there was no delicate way to say it you don't mean oh bless me mrs bainbridge are you telling me you have sprained your ankle sprained your ankle she hadn't heard that expression in years a common phrase but it did the trick yes the baby should arrive in may it was unsettling to see tears sparkle in the old lady's eyes embarrassed she hurried on i will need nurse maids and also a new ladies made for myself i mean to go into tobury saint jude and visit the saint the registry's office is that where you found mabel and helen mrs holt opened her mouth and closed it i i did not have a large salary to offer ma'am and given the deserted nature of the estate without a resident family or opportunity for progression she twisted in her chair i found it better to take girls from the workhouse madam the workhouse she said flatly of course that explains so much i suppose they did not have any formal training mrs holt blushed helen did and how exactly did helen come to leave service again mrs holt filled it fiddled with her brooch i have not inquired into it i must say i'm astonished you could think such women suitable for employment in my house you knew nothing of their characters how did you ascertain if they were honest and how can i trust them near my child mabel's a terrible influence she has left trays of food to grow foul in my room the language she uses her inability to even curtsy i cannot risk my child copying such behavior i can only apologize i will speak to her madam they're not used to serving mistress and perhaps i've been too soft on them in the past she took a breath but i found the general cleaning and cooking quite satisfactory i wish that i could say the same the amount of dust in the maroon corridor is phenomenal i even found sawdust of all things upon the stairs where could that have come from some of the carpenters look as if they've never been beaten which i cannot comprehend when the nursery is in such perfect order wow why did i why did i say that not carpenters some of the carpets look as though they've never been beaten carpenters are not carpets don't beat carpenters they pay them in the work uh this is way longer than i thought i would be which is why you can see me slowly turning into a puddle of sludge mrs holt's head jerked up the nursery yes that is the one room i will thankfully have no need to prepare it is practically ready for a child mrs holt looked at her strangely perhaps there's been some confusion the girls rarely go into the nursery you're mistaken mrs holt they've been brushing on rocking horse and setting up dollies tea parties dear me mrs holt shook her head i had no idea helen told me she was afraid of that room everything was covered up with dust sheets not this morning come i'll show you she stood mrs holt rose too grasping at the keys dangling from her waist i hardly ever go there she confessed the servant stares lead up to the landing just outside if you do not mind not at all i'm quite capable of going up servant stairs elsie spoke bravely but she had caused to regret it there was no space for her crinoline it jammed and stuck out beside her behind her in a hefty trail which she lugged from step to step they emerged onto the landing she had crossed with sarah earlier that day she followed mrs holt to the door once again that tense unsettled feeling held her captive it's just a nursery she told herself there's no need to cry mrs holt jangled the keys at her waist and slipped one into the lock it clicked as the tumblers moved but it was not locked when it could not be it was simply not possible the airy perfect manicured room had perished taddy curtains covered the windows admitting only sparks of light the dolls were gone the ark was gone a few toy chests remain but they were coated in the dust of countless years great white sheeps like those and the garrett formed lumpy shapes where the rocking horse and the cot had been rust spotted the fire screen in iron bedstead miss holt mrs holt did not speak height it's not words swarmed into her mouth but she could not form any of them how could it be striding over the crib she took hold of the sheep right here there was the most beautiful and she gasped as the sheep slithered away a musty smell of camphor welled up the shape of the crib endured but the delicate draperies were moth eaten and stained i didn't think i didn't think the girls would trouble it much mrs holt said carefully it's a sad place not opened except for sweep every few months since the little ones went elsie stared at her the nursery had been glorious she could not have imagined the things she had seen sarah was there too she had pushed the horse what what did you say the little ones metal keys clunked together as mrs holt shifted her stance yes god bless them whose little ones the the master and mistress that his master rupert's parents he was the third child or so i was told elsie leans against the crib it creaked you know rupert's parents before they died i did madam i did all at once she looked older and more profoundly sad i worked for them in london just as alas i was then soulmaster rupert delivered her voice grew hoarse he he was the first to the babies to be born away from the bridge the others died they said before the move that was the reason they had relocated the lun oh that was the reason they had relocated to london she looked away you can imagine how it would be living in a house where you have lost a child the other babies died elsie looked down at the decaying crib and felt sick she released the edge and it swayed empty god what a heritage for her baby a nervous mother in a nursery of death mrs hopes i do not wish to upset you but she took hesitant step towards her you were one of the last people to see my husband alive no one has told me exactly how he died did not write that he was ill was he taken suddenly mrs holt withdrew a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes ah madam it was a shock to us all he seemed hail and hearty perhaps a little preoccupied i was under the impression he was not sleeping but he did not seem like to die and then she hold her breath helen found him gave a shriek i won't forget chilled me to the very bone it did but how how did he die he's fully ma'am don't you fret he's fleeing his bed tucked up warm not my bed no no the bedroom just next door the coroner thought it was his heart it can give out suddenly he says sometimes a person carries an unsound heart all their life and they never know until well they never know so the heart that was so warm and kind burnt itself out she sighed i hope there was not much pain i saw splinters near his neck do you have any idea how he got how they got there mrs holt narrowed her eyes splinters i don't know ma'am sometimes those embalmers do strange things but as to how helen found him didn't look like there was a struggle a sudden seizure maybe his eyes were open a tear leaked out of her eye and made a tributary of one of her wrinkles i saw his eyes open madam and i closed them for him god forgive us what a world this is a cool world to the main bridges healthy thought for a moment but mrs holt you said you were present when rupert was born in london how did you come to be here she patted her eyes and folded the handkerchief staring down at it that was immense masta's doing rupert's father yes she hesitated elsie thought she was choosing our words with care it was fond of me i helped him with the misses she was in a bad way the poor love never really recovered from the birth just before we lost her she said the strangest notions about this place used to rattle on about what kind of wild sadness what do you mean by strange notions mrs holt shook her head i don't know couldn't make much sense of it she used to talk about this nursery in the rocking horse a great deal all gibberish but after she went thoughts of it troubled the master too that's why he asked me to come said his wife would rest easier knowing someone was keeping an eye on the house the trace of a smile played at the corners of her bracketed mouth i didn't want to go didn't want to leave little rupert just when he was learning to walk but the master talked me round in the end how she laughed flattery flattery and bribery what else for a girl so young to be promoted to housekeeper that's an opportunity you don't turn down not if you want to keep your mother in her old age he was a hard strange man with mr bainbridge but he said the most curious thing so it stayed with me ever since that house needs someone young and pure he told me someone good without bitterness you must be its angel edna silly isn't it but it touched me i've always tried since that day tried to be the angel he felt i was elsie shoot her lip again the skin was hot and raw now it's not silly but why did rupert not come to live with you after his father died it would have made sense for him to come here i would have liked that mrs holt looked fondly at the shape of the rocking horse in its shroud a family on his mother's side took him in town people didn't have time for jaunts to the country but all that time weren't they ever curious to see the house well there was mother's people they knew about the other poor mites dying here about how she jabbered on about the place didn't think she would forgive them if they brought her child back it seemed absurd that no one attempt had attempted to claim the house for all that time no lurking four times removed connection it was astonished it is astonishing how unlucky a family can be three children and nothing remains mrs holt cleared her throat except except her own baby she placed a hand on her stomach the nausea returned i've been very neglectful i've been very neglectful mrs holt all this talk of rupert's family has made me forget my original errand i came to tell you that mabel has hurt her leg she was following me in the garrett they gave it madam yes there's another thing i've forgotten i was supposed to thank you but it's so good of you to write after we spoke but whoever got you in will have to come back i'm afraid the door is quite stuck again mrs holt regarded her as if she had sprouted a second head i don't understand the door elsie repeated the door to the garrett you had someone come from torberry to open it oh tori to open it and it has got stuck again i need you to write them another letter but but i can't i think there must be some mistake for heaven's sake why why cannot you not fetch the person back in mrs holt shrank away because madam i never wrote to tobory saint jude and that is the end of chapter four this was the longest chapter ever it was incredibly long um i felt like that was a good like eighth of the book we just read so what was this chapter about it was very long um it starts out in the night uh where elsie decides not to go downstairs for dinner um that the two chapters ago where we left off uh the servant um mabel right mabel yeah the servant mabel i believe comes in um and she's very like unprofessional and she's not a good maid and we later find out it's because she actually comes from a workhouse she's not a maid because she wasn't trained to be a maid but she's a maid nonetheless and so she brings the food to elsie and does a bad job of it and elsie is upset with her because she's unprofessional but again she later finds out that it's because she's not trained so she's obviously not a professional so um elsie tries to eat it and then it's like oh you can go mabel and then mabel leaves and leaves the door open and turns off the light so uh elsie is essentially left in a fairly dark room with food that she doesn't really want to eat and so she just puts it next to her bed and falls asleep for a bit when she wakes up the food has gone bad and she can kind of smell it in the room and she's like why isn't the servant come and got this and it's like pitch black and she's hearing this weird like like i don't know like i don't know if you can even yeah like kind of scratching noise like a kind of noise uh it's filling the house and she's like what is that sound and so she crawls around her room in the night uh trying to find a light or something because she's kind of terrified by the noise and she can't find out what it is uh while she's crawling around she falls into her own food and gets food on her nightgown either way she eventually finds her way into the hallway and wanders uh only to discover one of the servants out and about uh also up because of the noise i think it's mrs holt i'm not entirely sure uh yeah mrs holt so that's mrs holt who she's meeting for the first time she's like oh it's awkward meeting for the first time this way but uh she's the main housekeeper she's the person in charge of taking care of the house so uh they both go up and go to the door of the garrett which is basically the attic um and try and open it but it's like shut closed there's no way to open it and they're like well it's been closed for a while nobody has the keys so that's why no one's gone in so at some point they're gonna have to find someone to like break down the door or use it to pick the lock or something to open the door uh to find out if there's like an infestation that they need to like kill to get rid of that sound that scraping sound so they um let's see they go to so they event there's all she also meets the cat uh the cat uh jasper uh it's also somebody she meets and anyways so uh the next day i believe uh they have the funeral and she meets mr underwood who is the vicar um uh he looks well-bred is how they describe him so he looks like he comes from a good family because he has strong features i guess um anyways doesn't matter uh he talks to her and sarah sarah's crying at the funeral so she ends up staring staying at the vicar's house instead of uh staying for the funeral and they go through the process of having a funeral and uh at the end of it else he's like having her hand kissed and stuff as a lady and she says goodbye to all the guests that came in from london and after all that um her brother tells her that he needs to leave and so he does leave and um she understands why he has to leave he says he has to leave because of the factory um uh it has to be taken care of he's reminded by all the people that came in that he does have duties and because she had spent her whole childhood with jasper uh trying to keep the factory running uh and keep it producing matches uh she understands that it's important for that work to be done so she's like okay you can go to the city and so off he goes um i've been calling him jasper for some reason his name is jolyn her brother's name is jolyn anyways he goes off um and we learn a little bit more about sarah i think uh and her experience with mrs crabbley and all that really matters um let's see that's right and then they go into explore the house i think from here so uh she grabbed sarah because she's bored and they decided to explore the house from the bottom up they see some of the rooms they see the nursery which is perfectly decorated and well cleaned and there's a rocking horse that sarah goes in and rocks and she's like wow everything looks so nice i'm glad we don't have to do the nursery uh and then they go upstairs and around and eventually um let's see where does it go from there actually uh yeah so from here they uh they finish up uh she gets upset by something let's see uh she thinks about how she's not gonna be a good mother um anyways with jolly and gone and all those things she feels like she's not going to be a good mother and she feels worried and then she's like i don't know if i want to continue doing this walking around and looking at stuff there's not much else to look at and she's like you know what i want to do i want to check out the garrett and sarah's like how are we going to do that and she's and elsie's like oh we're gonna pick the lock with this bobby pin um and so they go upstairs and jasper joins them just for the cat and as they get to the top jasper just like puts his paw against the door and the door actually just pushes open by the cat's paw and they're like oh i guess the i guess um what's her face wrote a letter mrs hoyt man i'm not good at remembering names holt mrs holt um i guess mrs holt has written and gotten somebody to open the door for us so let's go and so they go in and they look around and they look at like books and things and all the old stuff in the attic um and there's no sign of any sort of like creatures or critters scraping away at anything so it's not anything like that um but then sarah's like oh my god look at that and elsie's like what and she's like it's a person and they think it's a person they're like no it's not a person it's like a cut out of a person from a painting that's been put on a board of wood and um they later find out that that's called a silent companion from what's her face it doesn't matter anyways mabel walks in uh and mabel's foot falls through the ground uh and and she's like oh god i've hurt my ankle i was coming up because i heard sarah scream and so i was coming to help which is suspicious i don't know if i entirely trust mabel i think she might have been trying to sneak around but i'm not entirely sure what the deal with that is anyways um long story short mabel's hurt now uh elsie actually the reason sarah screamed was because she got a splinter in her arm from the uh from the wood frame of that doll thing um now she spilled blood on the doll so it's probably haunted but it doesn't matter anyways um [Music] long story short they get what's her face to come help uh sarah no helen helen is another servant they met earlier uh so they get helen to grab the silent companion we learn it's called because helen has actually spoken with uh rupert her dead husband and she knows that he was actually interested in silent companions for some reason uh long story short uh her husband had been interested in them and so now elsie's like okay so it makes sense that since my husband is interested in it i should have this as some kind of connection to my husband because it reminds me of him or connects me to him in some way so that's one of the reasons she wants it brought down but she's also unnerved by it and the reason she's unnerved is because it looks very very similar to her except different hair color and so she's a little freaked out by it but sarah insists that it's out in the great hall for greeting people just like a little painting person kind of standing there because it's like a little um it's not a mannequin it's a two-dimensional board of wood but it's got like a painting of a person and it's like a cut out you know it's like a danny devito cutout or something anyways um it can stand on its own and so you base you're meant to just kind of like put it there and it's like a life-size version of a person and long story short it does get brought down and helen tells her a little bit about what's going on there eventually um uh sarah's like i forgot the book when i was helping mabel and you go upstairs back to the garrett and grab the book and so she does go back upstairs and realizes hey this door is closed again of the garrett and it's locked how could you do this helen and helen's like actually i didn't do this i don't know who did that and they're just like oh weird so it's kind of like the spooky thing because the door let them in and then closed behind them without them hearing it they didn't notice they're like who closed that anyways um she goes down to talk to mrs holtz because she mrs holt is the one who she thought got somebody to unlock the door and get it open but mrs holt says when she gets to the room uh oh they're right first she's like hey i have a baby coming essentially um and mrs holt is excited because she's like oh a baby's coming yay a baby i'm glad because this house has been empty and dead for a while um they use the term sprained your ankle i apparently sprained your ankle is like a euphemism for uh getting pregnant i didn't know that um anyways it doesn't matter uh anyway she said she's gonna need new servants she's going to need better servants if she's going to need her baby taken care of and so mrs holt says yeah we can do something about that we'll get you better servants or we'll at least talk to the servants we have and get them kind of like up to the standard you want them to be at uh anyway she says uh yeah so the door uh couldn't get it open she's like all right anyways um the door gets addressed at the very end of this chapter actually she briefly mentions it but she talks about the nursery and says yeah it was really well taken care of it was like beautiful the nursery um and mrs holt's like oh i didn't know anyone was taking care of it i thought it was in a trashy state and elsie's like no no we walked around and we saw it today it looked great and was all like oh let's go take a look then and so they go up and realize the nursery's locked and mrs holt's like okay and she unlocks it and goes in and the whole thing's wrecked not rectus and somebody wrecked it rectus and as if no one's touched it for like 60 years it's covered in dust everything is completely dilapidated and they're like wait wasn't this like in tip-top perfect shape and mrs holt's like yeah it's not in tip-top perfect shape this is how i thought it was no one likes going in here because it's like creepy and old and decrepid and elsa's like i could have sworn that this was in like perfect condition earlier today haunting don't know what's going on anyways um we learned that the family has a history of babies dying in the house and rupert was taken away when he was born i don't know if he was born in the house or if he was born in london but anyways rupert never actually spent any time here as a child um but he that doesn't matter anyways long story short no one's been in this house forever and it's in bad condition and uh mrs holt was excited when they gave her a charge over the entire house they said they need somebody pure to take care of it and so that's miss hold has been doing her best to take care of the house all this time uh anyways uh then we get to the very end um where she says yeah the the door of the garrett closed behind us can you get somebody to open it again and mrs holt's like i never wrote to torberry st jude to have somebody open that door for us i don't i don't know how that door opened and it's like whoa mystery how did they how did the door open on its own and so right now we have a couple creepy like weird haunty mystical things where one is the nursery that was in like perfect condition but when they went back to it it was like old and decrepit and i guess there's and then there's the the garrett the attic that is like the door opened on its own essentially let them in let them take the doll and then close behind them so what what has been that rasping noise in the garrett first of all uh who let them in to the garrett we don't know maybe here's my theory i don't know if this is entirely supernatural i'm sure there might be kind of a supernatural element to it but i also don't trust mabel i think there's something to it with her being in the attic with them in the garrett with them and her foot falling through i don't think she was up there following them i think she was there first i think she's the one that opened that door i think she maybe she picked the lock and went into the attic and i think as they were leaving i think mabel maybe pulled the door closed as they were leaving without anyone noticing like maybe if sarah and mabel were last maybe she was like reaching behind her and like closed the door i don't know i don't know any of the details about that maybe mabel's in on it maybe schnabel is secretly a witch the people of the town apparently don't want to work with them not because there was only one body discovered in the yard but there were many bodies discovered in the yard and also they thought the owner of the house was a witch so what's going on here i do think mabel's a part of it i will say is my first part of trying to figure out the book before i get the actual answer that mabel will be a key element of some of the suspicious things going on i don't know if somebody could have the nursery in perfect condition and then tear it down and make it look old and decrepit in the time period that we had because it's only been like the same day unless there's another door that's really close to the nursery that was like intentionally left open to distract them from that fake nursery i don't know they might just be haunted it might just be some weird mystical thing where they kind of like got a glance back into the past of how the room was supposed to look i don't know but it's interesting and kind of creepy and i'm getting chills so uh where where you know where where is this going what's going on i don't i do think there's like some supernatural element to this i don't think mabel could have like aged a room up um i do think she might have let them into the attic initially i think that might be something that like the attic was intentionally locked to keep something in and maybe when mabel opened the attic it made that nursery look brand new and then when the attic was closed it made the nursery look old again ah there might be some element you know we're thinking you got to think what changed in between those two moments it was open when they got to it effectively the the the attic so hmm anyways maybe super maybe it's supernatural we'll see thank you for joining me guys i will see you in the next one uh the next chapter here which is also at the bridge we're not cutting to the mental hospital again we are going straight back into this story in this time period so i will see you then goodbye guys [Music] you

Channel: Micah Reads

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Id: PC2efYv5wT8

Length: 97min 39sec (5859 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 02 2021