We saw Fred Carton, the policeman, wheeling his bicycle up to the gate. He came walking up the path.
“Mr. Carton,” cried Estella.
“What’s happened?”
“Is Doctor in?” he asked.
“I want to see him at once.”
“Yes. He’s here,” said Estella.
Jenny the parlour maid came out. She was startled at the sight of Mr. Canon.
“I want to see Doctor now,” said Mr. Carton, rather curtly for him. He was usually affable and inclined to joke.
Estella and I looked at each other with mounting excitement
Something was wrong and Mr. Carton had come to tell us what it was.
We followed Mr. Carton into the house and Jenny went upstairs to call the doctor.
He came at once and there was consternation in his voice as he said:
“What is it? What is it?”
Estella and I hovered.
“It’s Mrs. Marline, sir. Her horse took a toss. They’ve got her in the hospital. Reckon you ought to get there right away.”
“I’ll come at once,” said the doctor.
The Governess
They had not brought her home on a stretcher, which was what had happened when Mr. Carteret of Letch Manor had broken his leg in the hunting field. They had taken her to the hospital, and that seemed significant.
The doctor was away a long time. The news spread through the house.
The mistress had had an accident in the hunting field. It must be bad because they had not brought her home but had taken her to the hospital. It is only natural that people’s first thoughts are of how such events will affect them. Was she going to die? To the servants this might present a threat of losing their jobs. Everyone knew that she had the money. Nobody in the house liked her. The servants avoided her whenever possible.
However, there was no talk of Mrs. Marline’s being a ‘holy terror’. In fact, she was rapidly turning into a saint, which, I had long realized, was what death did for people. So they had decided that Mrs. Marline was going to die.
The doctor returned at last. He talked to the servants and then sent for Estella, Henry and me.
When we were assembled, he said to us: “I have to tell you that your mother has been badly hurt. Her horse tripped over an exposed tree root just as she was about to jump over a fence. As a result, the horse was so badly hurt that it has already been destroyed. Your mother is in the hospital and will be there for a few days. There are fears that she may not be able to walk. We must pray that something can be done and that she will be restored to full health. In the meantime, we can only wait … and hope.”
We were all very solemn. Nanny was closeted with Mrs. Barton and they discussed the future. Estella and I did not know what to say. We were shocked and expectant. As for myself, she had never played a big part in my life, and her presence or absence made very little difference to me. But I knew, even then, that nothing was going to be quite the same again.
And how right I was.
Just as it had ever been, the house was dominated by Mrs. Marline. Two rooms on the ground floor had been prepared for her. They both had french windows opening on to the garden-one was her bedroom, the other her sitting-room. There was a wheelchair in which she could propel herself from room to room, but she needed help to get through the trench windows to the garden. She had bells, by which she could summon the servants to her, and their imperious clanging was often heard throughout the house.
Each morning Annie Logan called to help her wash and dress. Annie Logan was the district nurse. She would arrive promptly on her bicycle at nine o’clock and spend an hour or so with Mrs. Marline. Then she would go to the kitchen and drink a cup of tea with Nanny Gilroy and Mrs. Barton. They would chat and after a while Annie would cycle off to the next poor creature who needed her attention.
It was obvious that Mrs. Marline was in intermittent pain. Dr. Everest, from the next village, called on her. That seemed to me rather odd since we had a doctor in the house. I said so.
“Silly!” retorted Henry.
“A doctor can’t attend his own wife.”
“Why not?” I demanded.
“Because they think he might finish her off.”
“Finish her off? What do you mean?”
“Murder her, stupid!”
“Murder her!”
“Husbands do murder wives.”
I thought then that it was a reasonable arrangement, for Dr. Marline might well want to do that.
She was more vociferous than ever. She continually raged against everything and everyone. Nothing was right for her. We often heard her haranguing the poor doctor. We would hear her loud voice and his meek replies.
“Yes, my love. Of course, my love.”
“My love’ seemed incongruous. How could Mrs. Marline be anyone’s ‘love’?
The poor doctor was looking gaunt and haggard. I understood very well then why it was necessary for Dr. Everest to look after her.
It was a very unhappy household. I was one of the more fortunate ones, because I could keep out of her way.
When Uncle Toby came life brightened. Even Mrs. Marline seemed a little happier, for she was clearly pleased to see him. He sat with her, talking to her and making her smile now and then.
I had a long talk with him. It was in the garden.
“Nice to get out of the house,” he said.
“Poor old doc. Things not too bright for him. And you have to be sorry for Grace. She’s always wanted her own way. She ought to have married someone more like herself, someone who could put a curb on her. Doc’s all for a comfortable life.” He raised his eyes to the sky.
“And he married Grace! Some people do have bad luck. Their own fault, I suppose.
“Not in our stars but in ourselves,” and all that. And what about you, little Carmel? How does all this affect you? “
“She doesn’t take much notice of me … she never did … so I’m lucky.”
“Ah, there’s good in everything, eh? You’re growing up now. How old is it? Eight?”
“Eight in March,” I told him.
He patted my hand.
“Not much fun, is it? I wish it could be better.”
“It’s nice when you come.”
He put his arm round me and held me tightly.
“One day,” he went on, ‘perhaps I’ll take you to sea with me. We’ll sail round the world. How would you like that? “
I clasped my hands together in ecstasy. There was no need for words.
“We’ll sit on the deck in the moonlight,” he said, ‘and we’ll look up at the Southern Cross. “
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s the stars you see on the other side of the world. On hot days we’ll watch for the whales and we’ll see the dolphins jumping out of the sea. We’ll watch the flying fishes skimming across the water ..”
“And mermaids?” I asked.
“Who knows? We might even produce one of those for you.”
“They sing songs and lure sailors to destruction.”
“We won’t be lured. We’ll go on sailing.”
“When?” I asked.
“One day … perhaps.”
“I’ll pray every night.”
“You do. I believe those up there occasionally answer prayers.”
I thought about those words for a long time afterwards, and I dreamed of the day when Uncle Toby would keep his promise and take me away with him.
Uncle Toby left soon after that and uneasiness settled on the house.
Dr. Marline looked lost and exhausted. Nanny Gilroy and Mrs. Barton had long conversations in the kitchen with the district nurse.
I overheard some of them.
“Nothing pleases Madam,” complained Nanny Gilroy.
“She’s in pain,” said Annie Logan.
“Not all the time … but it’s there, threatening. That’s why she’s got those rather strong pills, for when it’s specially bad. Morphine in them.