I knew that she was drinking a great deal. It was becoming obvious in her high colour and her occasional aggressiveness and in the rather unguarded remarks she would make when she was a little less than sober.
I wondered if Drake was aware of this. He was always extremely courteous and, after the initial shock of finding her here, had played the perfect host.
There was the traditional Christmas dinner eaten at midday; turkey followed by Christmas pudding brought ablaze to the table and served with brandy butter—and then of course mince pies. Several of the neighbours, friends who supported Drake as their member of Parliament, were present; and there was a great deal of conversation about political affairs, and an election which seemed imminent.
After lunch we rested awhile.
I was very grateful to Drake for taking a little time to lead Katie round the paddock in the afternoon—a source of great delight to her; and I liked to see how happy she and Drake were together.
There were more guests in the evening when we had a cold buffet supper and minstrels came in and played. There was dancing in the long gallery which lost its eeriness with so many people present.
Drake had to dance with all the female guests and I had only one with him. He asked me if I was enjoying my stay and I assured him that I was. He said he was glad. He had so much wanted me to come down and see everything. He wanted me to tell him frankly what I thought about the life a politician was expected to lead.
“You know what I think of that,” I told him. “It must be one of the most interesting professions possible.”
”Even better than running an exclusive dress salon? “
“That has its points,” I replied.
“I’m sure it has.”
“Isabel is wonderful in the way she copes with everything.”
“She has done it all her life. First at home, then with Harry and now with me. Isabel is a wonderful person.”
“I know. Nothing ruffles her. She was quite unprepared for Julia and did not show it.”
“Yes. She certainly did not.”
I was waiting for him to assure me that he had not invited her. It was important to me that he should not have done so.
But he said nothing and I could not ask.
Later I saw him with Julia. She was very flushed and laughing all the time; and he was smiling as though he were enjoying the dance. One would never really know what he was feeling.
When I went to my room that evening Katie was fast asleep. I bent over and kissed her lovely innocent face. I prepared slowly for bed. I knew I should find sleep difficult. A sense of disappointment was still with me. It had come with Julia’s arrival.
I kept thinking about Drake and Julia. I kept seeing them dancing together. She had a proprietorial manner towards him, and he did not seem to resent this. Or did he? He did not show his feelings; his manners were impeccable; he had to play the perfect host. Had he invited her? I was unsure.
I could not sleep. I lay staring out of the window. I looked over at Katie sleeping peacefully. She was mine entirely and while I had her I must be happy … no matter what. But my disappointment and frustration stayed with me.
Suddenly I was wide awake. Something was happening upstairs. I got out of bed and put on my dressing gown and slippers.
I went out and up the stairs to the long gallery. A few candles had been lighted and they burned fitfully in their sconces. I saw Isabel. She was seated on a settle, a young girl beside her. The girl was crying.
“It’s all right,” said Isabel, when she saw me. “Patty was feeling a little hysterical.”
The girl said: “But I heard it, M’am. I heard it distinct. It was awful ghostly like. …”
Drake had come hurrying up.
“What on earth is happening?” he demanded.
Isabel said: “Patty’s had a nightmare.”
“Oh no it wasn’t… .” said Patty. Three of the other maids emerged from the shadows.
“I heard it too,” said one of them. “Oh, it was terrible. I never heard the like… . Someone was crying something aw-ful. She said, ‘Beware! Beware! …’ Three times she said it. Oh, it was terrible, M’am. I was shivering for it turned terrible cold sudden like.”
“That was because you were only in your night things.”
Julia had come to the top of the stairs. Her hair was hanging about her shoulders becomingly and she was clutching a pale lavender negligee about her.
“What’s wrong? Oh, my goodness. What has happened? That poor girl. She looks scared out of her wits.”
“Patty has had a nightmare,” repeated Isabel.
Patty shook her head, her teeth chattering.
“I was wide awake, M’am. …”
“I think a little brandy, Drake,” said Isabel. “Oh, there’s Harry. Harry, Patty’s had some sort of dream. The girls are all upset. Do bring some brandy. It will quieten them down.”
Mrs. Gratten, the cook, appeared. She sailed in majestically in spite of the fact that her hair was in curl papers.
“What is it?” she said to one of the girls. “What’s wrong with Patty?”
“She’s a little hysterical, Mrs. Gratten,” said Isabel. “There’s no need for everybody to get so excited. I think they were probably frightening themselves with ghost stories before going to bed.”
“No we wasn’t, M’am,” said one of the girls. “Nobody said nothing about a ghost. It just came into Patty’s head. And I heard it, too. It wasn’t fancy. It was the real thing. You could tell.”
Julia said:’ ‘It wasn’t that ghost you were telling us about… the one who comes in through the window and weeps and cried, ‘Beware’?”
“Yes, M’am, that’s it,” said Patty. “I heard her footsteps all along the gallery. She was crying something awful and she said, ‘Beware.’ That was it.”
“Oh, here’s Harry with the brandy,” said Isabel. “Thank you, Harry. Now you girls, drink this and get to bed.”
“I’ll see to them, Mrs. Denton,” said the cook. “I don’t know what things are corning to … rousing the household like this.”
“But it was the ghost, Mrs. Gratten,” insisted Patty. “It was truly.”
Drake said: “I think we all need a little fortification. Come down to the drawing room.”
We followed him down. He poured out the brandy and very soon Isabel joined us.
“I hope all this didn’t wake Katie,” she said.
“No. I looked in. She was sleeping peacefully.”
“Oh … good.”
“What an extraordinary thing,” said Julia. “After we’d been talking … What do you think that girl really heard?”
“Someone has been telling her the story, I should think,” I said.
“That is very likely,” agreed Isabel.
“It really was rather strange,” went on Julia. “In any case you’d better take it as a warning, Drake.”
Drake raised his eyebrows.
“Well, isn’t it something to do with an impending marriage … warnings and all that? You’re the only marriageable member of the family. Don’t you agree with me?”
“I always thought Patty was the hysterical type.”
“It was odd all the same,” said Julia. “The brandy is deli-ciously warming.”
“A little more?” suggested Harry.
“Oh yes please,” said Julia.
I said: “I am going now. I don’t want Katie to wake up and find me not there.”
“Poor Lenore,” consoled Julia. “You look really shocked. You don’t believe in ghosts, do you?”
“Do you?” I asked.
Julia laughed and lifting her hand swayed from side to side. “Not really. But it is rather odd. I wonder if that girl overheard us talking… .”