Twelfth Night at Eyre Hall (19 page)

“Why didn’t he do it to you, Daisy?”

“Says I’m ugly, marked, and skinny, so
he don’t like me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Mrs.
Mason.

“Would you have cared?” The question was
full of pain, not bitterness.

“Of course I would, Daisy. I wish you
had told me.”

“Mrs. Leah didn’t care about us. He
threatened her with his doings, and she was terrified of him. So long as he
didn’t do it to her, it was all right, weren’t it?”

“This is dreadful. I cannot believe this
has been happening at Eyre Hall. In my house.” Mrs. Mason flew to the window
and turned her back on us. She pressed her palms into the panes, and lowered
her face towards the floor.

“It didn’t happen very often, ’cos he
was hardly ever here. First time was last year when he came in summer, then
before the wedding in October, and this is the third time he done it, so we had
to stop him, ’cos nobody else would, would they? And Christy couldn’t take it
no more. Simon said he’d sort him out with the laudanum, but it weren’t enough.
Christy threatened to kill herself if he came near her again, so on Twelfth Night,
I did it. I stopped him once and for all. It was my doing. Christy, she didn’t
know nothing about it.”

“I understand perfectly. Now, tell me
how it happened, Daisy.”

“He always came down before dinner and
had some Madeira, usually on his own. Mrs. Mason never drank before dinner,
neither did Master John nor Miss Annette, or Miss Adele. Mr. Greenwood and
Dante sometimes came down too, but they didn’t usually drink with him.”

“How did you know if you were not
usually upstairs?” I wanted to make sure she was telling us the truth and not
covering up for Christy.

 “When he was at Eyre Hall, I made it my
business to know his habits. I asked Simon what time he came down to dinner,
and offered to kindle the fire and prepare the drawing room when they came down
before dinner. It was easy. I put the rat poison in the bottle of Madeira in
the drawing room, and then while he was at dinner, in the dining room, I
emptied it out and washed it real carefully, ’cos I know how dangerous it is,
and filled it up again from the barrel, in case anyone would notice, but they
didn’t, did they?”

“What if Mr. Greenwood and Dante had
joined him in the drawing room?”

“They had gone shopping with Miss Adele and
Susan to Millcote. I knew they wouldn’t have time to come down before dinner.”

I thanked God that at least she had been
clever about it, otherwise there could have been even more damage done. 

“You realise you have just described
cold blooded murder, don’t you, Daisy?”

“It weren’t murder, Doctor. It was self–defence.
He would’ve killed my Christy, if I hadn’t killed him, and I can’t live without
her.”

The two girls hugged each other and
cried noisily. Mrs. Mason was still pressing the panes as if she wanted to bend
them, and I was at a loss for words.

“Tell them Christy,” said Daisy. “Tell
them. They have to know about it. Tell them why you were going to kill
yourself.”

“Is there anything you want to tell us,
Christy?” I asked, wondering if there could be anything else more shocking to
be heard.

Christy was a beautiful girl, I was sure
the boys would line up for her favours. She had long curly hair blonde hair,
bursting out of her cap, emerald, almond shaped eyes adorned with long black
lashes, a short upturned nose, and thin rosy lips. She finally stopped crying.

“It happened last year, on Boxing Day.
We had the evening off, so we went to the inn for some drinks and a party. I’d
been drinking with Mr. Raven’s son and his friends. We were having fun, like we
often did. Beth and Simon had come too, but they left before me. Perhaps I
drank more than I ought to, and I stayed longer than I should have. They said
they would walk me back to Eyre Hall, I didn’t mind. I liked the attention, and
they were very nice to me, taking it in turns to hold my hand, like a game, but
then they stopped playing and took me into the woods. They all had their way
with me. All of them. I hadn’t done it before. They hurt me, they were shouting
at me, and there was blood, and mud, and dirt everywhere. When they finished,
they left me there.”

She had managed to tell us her story,
stopping only briefly to blow her nose and dry her tears, but she finally broke
down and Daisy continued.

“She arrived back at Eyre Hall after
dawn, looking like a wreck; half–naked, clothes torn, hair dishevelled, covered
in grime. We bathed her and nursed her. She was terrified of going out of the
house. She still is. She can’t go out the door, says she stops breathing when
she puts her foot beyond the threshold. She ain’t left Eyre Hall in over a
year. She can’t even go out into the garden. She has nightmares every night.
She can’t sleep on her own either. I’ve slept with her every single night since
she came back. She can’t live without me, and I can’t live without her. We’re
like twins, can’t never be split.”    

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Mrs.
Mason.

“We looked after her. We didn’t need
your help. We knew they wouldn’t be punished. It’s their way. Everyone is
afraid of them.”

“Thank you for your honesty, Daisy and Christy.
You can leave,” I said.

“What’s going to happen to us?” asked
Daisy.

“I am not sure, yet. Mrs. Mason and I
need to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, it would be better not to disclose our conversation
with anyone else at Eyre Hall.”

They stood up. Daisy held Christy’s hand
and gave me a resolute look. “If you’re going to turn us over to the law, tell
us first. We won’t escape. If the noose is our punishment, we’ll accept it, but
we’ll do it ourselves.”

“Mrs. Mason does not want the police
involved, and I assure you, we are not interested in vengeance. Our concern is
for the safety of the members of this household.”

 Mrs. Mason walked across to the girls
and hugged them warmly. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry I let you down. Don’t
worry. We will find a solution this time.”

When they left, she sat on the armchair
by the hearth, covered her face with her hands, and cried bitterly. I watched
her uncomfortably, unsure of what to do or say. I imagined she needed some
physical comfort, which I was in no position to offer, so I asked her if I
could do anything for her.

“They must stay at Eyre Hall.”

“Can you trust them?”

“I am sure I can. It will not happen
again. I cannot punish them further. They have already paid their penalty. I
will look after them. They are my responsibility. They will be safe here. It
will be our secret. Another secret.”

Mrs. Mason was right. The alternative
would cause a great scandal. The funeral would have to be delayed, the girls
would be detained, there would be a trial, and we would all lose our
comfortable, quiet lives. I would be further away from Annette, Mrs. Mason
would no longer be my benefactress, and two tortured girls would be hanged. Mr.
Mason would not be brought back to life, and in any case, he would not be missed
by anybody. 

“We will have to keep an eye on Christy.
She has developed a mental illness as a result of the violations she has
suffered. I am not sure if she is dangerous, but she is unstable.”

“Can you help her, Doctor?”

“Perhaps. I have read some
investigations by a German doctor, in an international medical journal, of
patients’ descriptions of anxiety and terror leading to panic and constriction
of the throat and difficulty breathing when confronted with open spaces. The patients
rarely leave home.”

“What could bring on this fear?”

“The condition could be due to a
temporary disturbance of intellectual faculties, or it could be connected with
a problem in the sympathetic nervous system, or even with a physical problem in
the internal ear related to vertigo. It could also be a case of hysteria,
related in some way to the attacks she suffered. It will not be easy to
diagnose or cure.”

“What can be done for her at present?”

“I recommend rest and four square meals
a day.”

“I will employ some extra staff for a
few weeks, so she can have some repose, and Daisy can look after her.”

“If she doesn’t recover, I may have to
recommend confinement in a mental asylum, for her own safety.”

“Let us be patient and hopeful, Doctor,
for the time being.”

***

Some things had changed since my last
visit to Eyre Hall, but most had remained unaltered. Dawn had not yet broken, and
I could see candlelight coming from her window. I presumed the widow was having
breakfast in her room to avoid the hordes of fake mourners who would soon be
flooding into the drawing room.

I stood before the unlocked door and
kicked it open. A gust of wind and snow swirled into the hall. A maid screamed
and ran through a door and down to the servant’s quarters. Was my presence so
disagreeable that they were so easily frightened? Could they see what I saw? Could
they see the sins I had absorbed and feel the evil I carried?

The house was still. The guests had not
yet arrived, but I could smell the corpse upstairs. I supposed he was in Mr.
Rochester’s room. Another sinful meal awaited me.

I was about to walk up the stairs when I
heard a stuttering voice behind me. I recognised the terrified, long–limbed
servant I had seen last year.

“I’m afraid Mrs. Mason cannot see you.”      

I turned, parted my chapped lips and
showed him my sharp grey teeth. “I have come to see Mr. Mason, you idiot.” My hollow
voice reverberated in the empty hall. “So announce me to his widow, unless you
wish yours to be the next funeral.”

He jumped back and babbled some
unintelligible words. I managed to decipher the last three. “Please leave, sir.”

“Will you be responsible for Mr. Mason’s
permanence in this house as one of the undead?” My voice rumbled across the
hall.

“No, of course not. What is it you
want?”

“To see him and absorb his sins, of
course.”

“Please wait.” His voice trembled.

He flew up the stairs like scared prey.
Seconds later, I was standing beside Mrs. Mason who was sipping her tea
distractedly by the hearth in her bedroom.

“Good morrow, Mrs. Mason. I believe you
require my services once more.”

She looked displeased, but not surprised
to see me.

“I supposed you might return.”

She sighed.  “Bad news travels fast.”

“Not such bad news for us.” I smiled.

“You are mistaken. I cannot be pleased about
Mr. Mason’s death.”

“But you are relieved.”

“I do not question God’s designs. His
time had no doubt come.”

“Perhaps it was hastened?”

“We all die when our time comes, not
before and not after. There is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to
plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. Do you not agree, Mr.
Junot?”

“Will I be allowed to pluck up his sins
and free you of his ghostly presence?”

“Of course. Please come with me.”

The foolish servant rushed up and burst
into her room breathlessly. “Mrs. Mason, the devil is back!”

When he saw me inside the room, he
shrieked in horror. “How did you get up here?

The mistress of the house ignored his
question. “Simon, bring up some food to Mr. Mason’s room. Mr. Junot will rid us
of his tormented soul.”

“Mrs. Mason, are you sure it’s a good
idea?”

“Do as I say, Simon,” was her curt
reply.

When he left she turned to me
accusingly.

“You lied to me, Mr. Junot.”

“I lied? Were you not with child?”

“I lost it.”

“I did not say it would be born, did I?”

“That is so.”

“I will answer three questions. Ask”

“Will I have another child?”

“Your daughter will give birth to the
children you cannot have.”

“Where is she?”

“Close to your heart.”

“My son?”

“He will not fulfil the mission his
father expected.”

 “Michael?”

“I have answered three questions.”

“Follow me.”

“I have one question for you first, Mrs.
Mason.”

“Proceed,” she said as we walked down
the corridor to her husband’s room.

“Why do you not fear me, Mrs. Mason?”

She stopped outside Mr. Mason’s door to
answer my question. “Because I know that good and evil are two sides of the
same coin, just as happiness and sadness, and beauty and ugliness are all part
of our nature. There is no good without evil. Each of us has both. All our
lives the fight goes on between them, and one of them must conquer. You chose
evil, so you make the rest of us your opposite: good. Why should I fear you?”

“You are unwise not to fear me,” I said as
we walked into the same room I had entered the last time. The corpse was laid
out, dressed, and blackened. The smell was the most nauseating I had ever
encountered. Was he already decomposing? Had his soul escaped before my arrival?

“When did his body perish?”

“Five days ago.”

“Close your eyes and turn away. He has
been expelled from the flesh, which has already been taken over by the corpse
eaters, but he is not far, yet. I hope I am still on time, for my sake and
yours, Mrs. Mason.”

She turned to face the door. “Do what
you have to do quickly.”

I proceeded with my incantation. He was
indeed still here, naked and petrified, unable to return, and yet unwilling to
leave, so I stole his sins and left his carcass to wither. When I finished, her
young lover rushed in.

“Jane, why are you alone with him?”

“Fear not, Kirkpatrick. She is of no
interest to me. Her sins are insignificant.”

“Jane has no sins,” protested her ardent
champion, but he was fast becoming one I should watch.

“And you, my boy?”

“I am not your boy.”

“Mr. Junot, thank you for your visit,
but please leave,” interrupted Mrs. Mason.

“You will father children, Kirkpatrick.”

“You lie!” He walked towards me, fists
ready to strike.

I moved away. “If you survive your next
voyage.”

“I do not believe in the powers of evil
which you claim to possess.”

“It matters not what you believe. I am
proof that evil exists, and so are you. Does Mrs. Mason know how many people
you have murdered, recently? In the last six months? In the last few days,
even?”

“Mrs. Mason has asked you to leave,” was
his reply.   

 “Does your future wife know she is
marrying a cold–blooded murderer?” I looked from one to the other. “Of course
not. You cannot imagine the monster within Kirkpatrick, can you Mrs. Mason?”

“You are the only monster here!” she
said.

“You will empower me. I will return for
your sins, my boy, which will grow and entangle you like the seaweed on the
Sargasso Sea. Your next voyage may well be your last.”

“You are a charlatan. Leave,” she ordered.

I looked at her closely. I saw the ship
and the storm in her eyes, and I felt the fear in her soul. 

“You will cross the seas in search of
peace, but you will find only more torment,” I told her.

Kirkpatrick rushed towards me, but I
flew across the room and out of his reach.

“Your offspring will be her descendants.”

He moved towards me. “I will have no offspring.”

I let him grab me and aim to sink his
knuckles into my face, but instead his fist soared through the putrid air.

“I will be back for you, Kirkpatrick.” My
voice echoed as I slithered out of Eyre Hall.

***