Philippa Carr - Voices in a Haunted Room

“Dolly will be all right,” I assured her.

“If I went, where would she be? I used to think when Evie married she would go with her and be looked after. That’s all changed now.”

“I’d see that she was all right, Mrs. Trent. Don’t worry about Dolly. We’d see that she was all right.”

“It’s like the family… in a way,” she said.

I felt almost happy. It had been so wonderful to bring her that little bit of cheer.

It was the day of Evie’s funeral. It was hot and humid. There was a stillness in the air—a hushed silence everywhere. People talked in whispers in the house; and there was no breeze to make the slightest rustle in the trees.

Dickon had promised to go to the church and David and I would go with my mother. I was sure that would please Mrs. Trent.

In the morning there was a visitor to the house. I was in the garden picking some roses which I was going to lay on Evie’s grave. I saw him coming and my heart missed a beat. I ran to him and said: “You shouldn’t have come.” It was a strange way to greet a visitor.

He looked pale and distraught.

“I heard,” he said. “I was so shocked.”

“I’m not surprised.”

I hated Harry Farringdon as he stood there, although he was all contrition. I could not help thinking that but for him Evie would be alive today.

“I had to come,” he said.

“It would have been better if you had stayed away.”

“But I was fond of her.”

“That was unfortunate for her.”

“You don’t believe that I…”

“Harry,” I said, “don’t go into the house. I think it would be better if you were not seen. Go right away… now. I don’t know what would happen if Evie’s grandmother saw you. I believe she would try to do you some harm.”

“I have behaved badly.”

“Indeed you have.”

“But is it true… what I heard about a child?”

“Yes,” I told him. “It’s true. Evie was three months pregnant, and it seems that was the reason she could no longer face the world.”

“You don’t believe that I… was the cause of her condition?”

I looked at him angrily.

“Oh, no, no! It’s not true, Claudine. I swear to you. It could not be. There was never anything like that between us… never any intimacy.”

“Do you expect anybody to believe that?”

“Yes, because it’s true.”

“We all knew that you were interested in her.”

“I was. I was very fond of her.”

“So fond of her that you deserted her?”

“It was just that we did not meet very often.”

“You liked her in a mild sort of way. You led her to believe your feelings went deeper… and this happened.”

“It is months since I’ve seen her. It couldn’t possibly have been my child, Claudine.”

“She was such a quiet, gentle girl. Please don’t try to blacken her character, Harry.”

“I would have done anything I could for her.”

“A not very taxing exercise since she no longer needs your assistance.”

“Oh, Claudine. You doubt me.”

Of course I doubted him! We had never heard of her having another lover. And we should surely have known if there had been anyone else. Who could there be? I had imagined Harry coming surreptitiously to Grasslands, their meeting in secret, his persuading her to become his mistress… no doubt with a promise of marriage. It was an old story.

I said: “Harry, for Heaven’s sake, don’t show yourself. Go away. The mischief is done now. Nothing can bring her back to life.”

“But I was fond of her…” he began.

I looked at him in exasperation. “Harry, go away. You must not be seen. You would be torn to pieces by a lot of angry people. We don’t want a scene at the funeral. That would be the last straw.”

“I wish that you would believe me,” he said. “I swear to you, Claudine, on everything that I hold sacred, that the child was not mine.”

“All right, Harry, but go away. Don’t let anyone see you here. I’m glad you didn’t come to the house.”

“Are those roses for her?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Oh, Claudine, I wish I could have helped her.”

“It’s too late now, Harry. Please go away.”

He turned away and as I watched his retreating figure my hands were shaking.

I had always felt there was something weak about him. He had never been able to make up his mind. Whatever he said, I should still believe that Evie’s child was his. He was so full of remorse now. Well, so he should be.

How fortunate that I had seen him. If he had appeared at the graveside anything might have happened.

There was a simple service in our chapel and Evie’s body was taken in the Eversleigh carriage to the churchyard and there we laid her to rest.

We stood silently round her grave, listening to the fall of the earth as it struck the coffin. As I threw down the roses I had gathered that morning, I saw Mrs. Trent reach for Dolly’s hand and hold it tightly.

When we were leaving the grave I saw the figure of a man partly hidden by some bushes.

I recognized Harry Farringdon.

So he had not been able to keep away.

AUGUST HAD COME. It was several weeks since Evie’s funeral. I often went to her grave and took flowers with me. I noticed that a rose had been planted there and I wondered by whom.

I thought a great deal about her. I could well understand her succumbing to temptation. Who better than I? And often I thought how harsh life was with some people and lenient with others. I had sinned more deeply than she had, for I had betrayed my husband; yet she had suffered and I had gone free—not exactly free, but to be troubled only by my conscience.

Life is so unfair, I thought. If only she had confided in me and I had been able to help her! I could have found comfort in that for myself. What agony of mind a person must endure to come to the conclusion that there was no other way than to end it all!

Mrs. Trent kept largely to her house and I rarely saw her. I had called once or twice, but I think seeing me recalled Evie to her more vividly and it seemed that it was better to leave her alone.

Aunt Sophie was horrified by what had happened. She could always have pity for others’ misfortunes; in fact she was apt to brood on them as she did on her own; and Jeanne said that she talked incessantly about Evie’s death and the wickedness of men who betrayed women.

Young Dolly was with her a great deal.

“Poor child!” said Jeanne. “It is a terrible blow to her. She adored her sister. She has become more withdrawn than ever; but she and Mademoiselle seem to bring some comfort to each other.”

“Time will help,” I said. “It always does.”

Jeanne agreed with me. “Time,” she repeated, “even with Mademoiselle and the little Dolly… it will help.”

There was a change in the air. Events were moving fast and it was clear that what was happening on the Continent must affect our lives. England was indeed deeply involved in the conflict.

In June the little Dauphin had died in the Temple. He had been twelve years old. Now there was no king of France. I often thought of that little boy. What a sad life he had had! And how he must have suffered, parted from his mother, forced to make cruel and even obscene allegations against her. And then… to die. How had he died? We should never be sure of that.

Oh, what a cruel world this had become.

There were riots in some parts of the country due to the high price of food. I wondered if Léon Blanchard had helped to rouse the mobs. Jonathan was right. Agitators must be eliminated—even young men like Alberic.

There was some consternation when Spain made peace with France; and it seemed that all our allies were deserting us because they realized that France, led by this adventuring Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte, war-torn though it was by revolution, was a power to be reckoned with.

It was afternoon. I had been in the garden and as I came in I saw Grace Soper on the lawn with the babies. Jessica was now a year old, Amaryllis a little younger. They were both crawling all over the place and could now take a few staggering steps. Soon they would be running about.

“That’s the time we shall have to watch them,” said Grace Soper. “My word, that Miss Jessica, she’s a little madam, she is. She wants this, she wants that and I’ll tell you this, Mrs. Frenshaw, she won’t be happy till she gets what takes her fancy. Miss Amaryllis is such a good little girl.”

My mother took as much pride in Jessica’s waywardness as I did in Amaryllis’s docility; they were both perfect in our eyes.

I looked into the little carriage in which they slept side by side. Jessica with her dark hair and long sweeping lashes, cheeks faintly tinted, was beautiful in a striking way; I thought she might be like my mother except that her eyes were dark and my mother’s a brilliant blue. “She must get them from some of her fiery French ancestors,” my mother said.

“The Eversleighs can be somewhat fiery too on occasions,” I replied.

She admitted it. “Amaryllis looks like a little angel,” she said; and so she did with her fair hair and blue eyes and a certain air of fragility which alarmed me sometimes but which Grace Soper said was due to small bones, and that my Amaryllis was in as perfect health as her robust nursery companion Jessica.

I left them slumbering side by side under the shadow of a sycamore tree on that peaceful August afternoon and went into the house.

It must have been about half an hour later when I heard shrieks coming from the garden. I hastily ran downstairs. Grace Soper was there with my mother and they were both distracted. All my mother could say was: “It can’t be… How can it be? What does it mean?”

Grace was shaking so much that she could scarcely speak.

“The babies…”

My mother cried: “Jessica… she’s not there…”

I looked into the baby carriage. Floods of relief swept over me, for Amaryllis was lying there fast asleep. But then the horror of what had happened dawned on me. Jessica was missing.

“How… what has happened?” I cried.

“They were asleep,” stammered Grace. “I went into the house. I was only gone five minutes… When I came out…”

“She can’t be far,” said my mother.

“Could she have got out of the carriage?”

Grace shook her head. “They were both strapped in. I always see to that.”

“Oh, God help us,” I prayed. “Someone has taken Jessica.”

Fortunately Dickon was at home and he took charge in that calm efficient way of his.

“The strap could have been loose,” he said. “She might have undone it.”

“It wouldn’t have been easy for her to get out even then,” said my mother. “Someone’s taken her. Oh… Dickon… who? Who? We must find her.”

“We’ll find her,” said Dickon. “Now first of all we must have a thorough search of the garden and all around. It is possible that she could have got out. She could have crawled into the bushes somewhere. That’s where she’ll be. We’ll waste no more time.”

The servants had come running out of the house. Everyone was deeply shocked. The search began; but although the gardens were thoroughly checked there was no sign of Jessica.

I took Amaryllis from the carriage. I couldn’t bear to let her out of my sight. Poor Grace Soper was in a state of collapse, blaming herself, which we assured her she should not do. She was an excellent nurse and had been assiduous in her care for the babies. She had left them for only five minutes asleep in their carriage.

The straps were examined. There was nothing wrong with them and that brought us to the only conclusion.

Jessica had been kidnapped.

Dickon said that there would almost certainly be a demand for ransom.

“I hope so,” said my mother. “I hope so… soon… anything, just anything, to get my baby back.”

Dickon himself led a party and searched and questioned everyone on the estate.

The news spread.

I don’t know how we lived through the rest of that day. My mother was distracted. I think we all were. It was so unexpected.

Dickon immediately had posters set up in the town offering a reward for any news of his daughter. He sent messengers out to all the neighbouring towns and to the ports.

By the end of the day we were all exhausted with anxiety. Night had fallen and there was still no sign of the child. There was nothing further we could do. We all knew it. We sat in the punch room—silent and desperate.

Grace Soper was upstairs in the nursery. She would not go to bed, but kept her vigil beside Amaryllis’s bed. Dickon said: “You can rest assured we shall hear something in the morning. They are giving us time to work ourselves into a frenzy. I know these people. We shall hear, you see.”