The Lady and the Lake by Rosemary Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

she slipped on the mud and fell into the water. It is a very deep lake and Pheobe could not swim. By the time the alarm was raised it was too late.’ Alice recounted the tale with some emphasis on the word accident.
    ‘Who told you this?’ I asked tentatively.
    ‘Mr Kershaw himself on the day I arrived to take up my position as governess to Emily. He wished to put the record straight for he knows there are many in the village who point an accusing finger at him. This angers me.’
    She indeed looked angry I thought and had the feeling that this was a true account of Pheobe’s demise. But it didn’t explain the deaths of Annie and Gladys. I’d not given it a lot of thought, but thinking about it now someone must have lured them to Kerslake Hall with some false promise.
    There were only two men at the Hall now, Mr Kershaw and Thomas. Lord forbid it was him! Then came the thought that Thomas had not been here when Annie died, so unless it was a member of staff like the gardener or handyman the finger did point to Antony Kershaw.
    He always did seem like a man with something on his mind, time would tell and I prayed it would be soon, for no female was safe until the culprit was apprehended.
    Placing my blue dress back in the wardrobe after Alice had left, and ensuring the skirt of it was straight so it didn’t crease, I spied an envelope in the bottom of the wardrobe. Swiftly I bent to pick it up and sitting on the bed I looked at it.
    There was no name on the front cover so I opened and read the words on the sheet of paper inside, and this is what it read:
    Whoever sleeps in this room and reads this , I want you to know that I too , have heard the steps on the stairs and the scuffling behind the bed . The worse thing is the piercing scream that comes some nights . I am so fearful as to who it is that I can no longer stay , but wish you well . This is a strange household and I shall be glad to leave it . Maybe you should go also before some harm befalls you .
    Martha .
    As I looked down at the words, I realised Martha had been more frightened than I and was she right? Should I leave now? But then there was Thomas.
    I tucked the letter in a drawer of the dressing table and tried to forget it. I was so tired after my eventful day, in fact each of my days had been eventful, but I fell into a restful sleep before one o’clock, but was awoken, not by a scream, but by a scuffling sound in the tower, almost as though someone was moving furniture. I listened for some time but the sound ceased and all was quiet.
    I drifted again into a peaceful slumber, thinking of Martha’s note, and then dreaming of Thomas and his lips on mine. How I wished that soon it would be reality.

 
    6
     
    Saturday dawned and I could see by the sky that it was going to be a glorious day. I decided to wear the mauve skirt and jacket I’d worn on the day of my arrival as I felt no other dress would be suitable for the occasion.
    With breakfast over, I took Maggie to one side. ‘Should anyone ask for me,’ I confided, ‘I am spending the day at Whitby. No-one else knows.’
    ‘Well I hope you have a nice time,’ said Maggie, eyes like saucers, ‘are you going alone, Miss?’ she asked as an afterthought.
    ‘No, I am spending the day with Thomas Craddock, only please tell no-one,’ I implored her.
    ‘I promise, Miss,’ pledged Maggie, and I knew I could trust her.
    As I left the kitchen I had the misfortune to encounter Mrs Grafton, who completely spoilt the moment.
    ‘Ah, Miss Sinclair, the Mistress wishes you to read to her this afternoon in her sitting-room at two o’clock,’ she informed me.
    ‘I’ll be there.’ I said, knowing full-well I would not be back, but I was willing to suffer Henrietta Kershaw’s wrath for a day with her nephew, and although I wasn’t used to lying I felt I had no choice as I didn’t want Mrs Grafton to know I was going out.
    But I wasn’t to get away so lightly. ‘You are dressed up,’ she said,