The Girl in the Cellar

CHAPTER 24

Prissy drove back in a very good humour. She was pleased with herself. She thought of telling Aunt Hester that they had had a visitor, but decided that she wouldn’t. Aunt Hester was all right, but she was inclined to fuss, and she hadn’t seen Anne. It would be better if she didn’t say anything about her. Aunt Hester wasn’t very practical, yet she had had at least thirty years more of reading the papers than Prissy had. She knew a terrible lot about shady characters and tricks, and all sorts of things which oughtn’t to be but tried to pretend that they were. If you read too many of those things they get in the way of what you really know about people-of what a cat or a dog knows, or a child.

Prissy considered that she was very good at judging people and knowing what they were really like. That man last night, she had really hated him from the first moment that he knocked on the door. Anne was all right-Prissy had been quite sure about that from the first moment. She was sorry not to have seen her onto the train, but the sensible thing was to come away at once and not let anyone see them together, and then to get home before Mrs Brown came. She went along at a pleasant speed and sang to herself.

She had locked the garage door and let herself into the house, when it came to her suddenly that she had been very wise. She was quite often pleased with herself, but this time she was very pleased indeed, because not a quarter of an hour after she had let herself into the house there was someone tapping on the front door again. It was too early for Mrs Brown. A quarter past eight was her time, and it was only eight o’clock.

She went down, and she put the chain on the door before she opened it. It was the first time she had ever used the chain, and she was very glad of it. The door opened as far as the chain would let it, and she saw the man who was standing outside.

Horrid. Casual. Impertinent. A bad lot.

She said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘Well, I’m looking for a lost lady. I came here last night, but you weren’t very hospitable. Now that it’s quite respectably daylight, don’t you think you might open the door? I’m enquiring for Miss Fancourt, just up the road from you.’

She wasn’t taken in for a minute. He was a bad lot. She wished she had something to stand on, because he was right up over her head. She stood up as tall as she could and said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. My aunt’s in town, and Mrs Brown won’t be here for a quarter of an hour. Please go away.’

‘Well, then I shall just have to wait and see Mrs Brown, that’s all. You’re making a bit of an ass of yourself, you know. If you’ve got the girl here, you can’t keep her. She’s in Miss Fancourt’s charge, and she isn’t right in the head, that’s all. You’re taking a very great responsibility in keeping her away from the people who are looking after her.’

Just for one awful moment there was a most horrible waggle in Prissy’s mind. Suppose what he said was true. It wasn’t the black dark of night any longer. It was broad daylight- well, not so very broad, because there was a black cloud over them, and it looked as if it might be going to rain at any moment. Everything in her shook.

And then quite suddenly everything was steady again. She believed Anne, and she didn’t believe a single word this creature was saying. She looked over her shoulder at the hall clock and saw that it was seven minutes past eight. She said, “That’s all very well, but I’m not supposed to open the door to anyone when I’m alone like this. You’ll have to wait till Mrs Brown comes.’

He didn’t want to wait. She heard him say ‘Damn!’ quite distinctly through the door. She said, ‘She’ll be here in about five minutes, I should think. Do you mind if I shut the door?’ and she shut it right in his face.

It was a very rude thing to do. Part of her was shocked, and part of her was very pleased. There was something extraordinarily gratifying about being rude to someone who couldn’t get at you. She tingled with excitement and backed away from the door.

It was a very long five minutes, and right in the middle of it Prissy had the most dreadful idea. Suppose that this day, out of all the days in the month and all the months in the year, Mrs Brown shouldn’t come! She was firm with herself. Why shouldn’t she come? She would come-she’d got to come-she always came.

The voice from the other side of the door broke in, ‘Look here, this is nonsense!’ The man outside was very angry.

Mrs Brown would be here in a minute. She would be a great help. Prissy went back until her heels struck against the first step of the stairs. The man was banging on the door and shaking the handle. She went up two or three steps and waited for Mrs Brown. When it was over it would be an adventure. In all her eighteen years she had never had an adventure like this before.

From the other side of the front door she could hear the man stop his knocking. She heard the gate. She heard Mrs Brown say, ‘Why, what’s up?’ and she ran down the three steps and along the passage to the back door.

‘Mrs Brown! Mrs Brown!’

Mrs Brown made short work of him.

‘Scaring the life out of a young girl! Really, you should be ashamed of yourself! No, you’ll not come in! If you’ve anything to say, you can say it to Miss Hester Knox when she comes home! There’s no one in the house corresponding to what you say! There’s no one here but myself and Miss Prissy that you’ve scared into a come-over!’

Prissy listened to her in full blast. She wasn’t in a come-over, but her legs felt a bit waggledy and she was quite pleased to sit down on the stairs and listen to Mrs Brown putting it across the horrid man. She didn’t think she was going to tell Mrs Brown about Anne. She thought she had better not. She didn’t think she was going to tell Aunt Hester. Really, the fewer people who knew the better. Aunt Hester would certainly tell her great friend Miss Ribblesdale, and goodness knew how many people Miss Ribblesdale might confide in. Come to think of it Aunt Hester wasn’t so bad, but Miss Ribblesdale had hundreds of friends absent and present. Absent friends didn’t matter so much. The present ones did. Why, before you could turn round everyone in Haleycott would know. Prissy had a horrifyingly clear picture of Mrs Bodingley, and Miss Escott, and Mrs Town, and the two Miss Bamfields all talking like mad. She shook her head in a very determined way and made up her mind that they weren’t going to talk about her-or Anne. She got up from the stairs and said, ‘Oh, Mrs Brown, what a horrid man! He said he was looking for someone-his niece he said she was. And why she should have come here, I can’t think, with Aunt Hester away and all.’

Mrs Brown looked shocked.

‘Miss Knox is away?’

‘Well, just for the night. She’ll be back for lunch-at least I suppose she will.’

Mrs Brown took off her hat and coat and hung them on the pegs in the scullery.

‘You did quite right keeping him in his place like you did, my dear. A horrid low fellow, that’s what he was. I thought as I’d do the dinning-room and your aunt’s bedroom this morning-give them a good clear-out. And we’ll have a cup of tea before we start. I’m sure you look quite pale, Miss Prissy.’

Prissy did feel a little pale.