Silver by Scott Cairns Read Free Book Online Page A

seemed possible I had imagined the previous night’s events.
            I could sense the dawn approaching beyond the curtains and I was filled with a longing to return home, to see my children and to get away from that house. I felt quite sure that if I could put some distance between myself and that room then I could pretend, for a while at least, that it was not happening. My limbs were stiff and I shivered as I became sensible to the cold of the room. Padding quietly across the carpet, I unlocked the door and slipped out on to the landing. I was not surprised to see Heston asleep on a chair beside the door. I suppose John may have asked him to keep a vigil but such was his nature, I half expected he would have done so anyway.
            Quiet as I had tried to be, he roused instantly and stood to attention. In the gloom of the landing, his expression was hard to make out and I sensed, rather than noticed, his look of great sorrow. For his part, he had served my father above and beyond the call of his duty over the years, often forgoing personal engagements to better meet the needs of my father.  In this new age, Heston seemed more comfortable with the old traditions and placed his loyalty to my father above all others. His loss seemed comparable to my own. I forget how long Heston had been my father's man but I cannot remember a time without him. The grey haired man must have been a similar age to my father and I felt a pang of pity for his having slept in a corridor on my account. His eyes met mine for a brief moment before he composed himself; his sleep-crumpled clothes the only clue to the strangeness of the circumstance. I cleared my throat; the noise seemed loud in the silence of the house.
    “ I have to be home,” The words didn’t seem right and I felt a need to explain.              “I have to be with my family.” The word sounded hollow as the realisation broke over us both that no such thing existed within these walls anymore. I opened my mouth to go on but Heston’s voice filled the void.
    “ Of course, Madam,” He stepped aside allowing me to pass before swiftly disappearing down the hall to use the back stairs.
            When I descended the staircase several minutes later, somewhat more composed, Heston was waiting for me. He too was looking less disheveled having found the time to pull on a fresh jacket.
    “ Can I bring you some tea before you go Mrs. Bancroft?”
    “ No thank you Heston. I just want to get home.”
    “ Very good Madam. I will call for a cab.”
    I stepped into the parlour and waited, the clock on the mantel had been stopped, its hands frozen at ten past ten. I wondered if the clock had simply not been wound or if it had been stopped to separate the now from then. After several minutes Heston returned.
    “ There is a cab waiting outside Mrs. Bancroft.”
    I passed him into the hallway and allowed him to help me back into my coat and took my gloves without meeting his eyes.
    “Are the....,” I started to say, gesturing towards the front door. “Have they gone?” I managed to finish.
    “ Yes, Madam. For now at least we are to be left in peace.”
    “ Thank you Heston.” Our eyes met and I managed a weak smile. “Look after him.”
    The stiff butler nodded solemnly, bowing his head before opening the door to the cold January air. As the cabbie ushered me into his waiting carriage, I glanced back towards my father’s house, the curtains drawn at the master bedroom window and allowed myself a moment to imagine the respectable man that lay within.
            As the cab tumbled along the uneven roads across the fringe of the city, my gaze was jolted with it as I stared from the window. It was early, yet all manner of life was unfolding beyond the dusty pane. A man was out walking two large dogs, one pulling him in haste, the other dawdling to sniff at some delicious scent along a wall. The man looked about to be drawn in two. His eyes were