Part 18 (2/2)

I kept my head up and my eyes forward. I was within 20 steps of the building when a bell rang and two doors in its side opened. Women in white dressed poured out. They were all ages from youthful to those tottering with the support of canes. Some of them were neatly kempt and others had the wild, wind-blown hair that the popular papers a.s.sociate with the insane. Of course, Dr Frank had said that they believed in healthy exercise for all the inmates. This must be their daily const.i.tution. At least I could be fairly certain none of those present would be violent.

However, I knew there must be attendants. I would not have long. I started to look around for anyone who could be Alice. I knew Mrs Wilson had worked for the late Lord Stapleford prior to his first marriage. I didn't know when Sophy had been born, but it seemed logical that any dalliance must have occurred before his marriage in order for him to keep it secret from the rest of the family. Alice was of age with Sophy, so I began to search for any woman who looked slightly older than Richard.

It was very difficult to tell. I approached one woman and asked gently if she was Alice. Pale blue eyes stared into mine. Tentatively she put out a hand and touched my hair. *Is it you, Margaret?' she asked.

*No, I'm afraid not,' I said. *I'm a friend of Sophy's. I'm looking for her friend Alice.'

*Sophy's gone,' said the woman. *They took her away in the night.'

*Who took her?' I asked, a cold s.h.i.+ver creeping down my back.

*Why, the dead ones,' said the woman. *They come at night and take their own.' She leaned in closer. Her breath was strangely sickly and sweet *They have no faces.'

*Of course,' I said retreating, but the woman still had hold of my hair. She held hard. *Guard your virtue,' she warned in a low, gravelly voice. *You're a fair one. They all get taken. All of them. I've been here since I was a girl and I've seen them all go. No safety for the pretty ones. Like my father said, beauty is a curse. You're cursed. Cursed to h.e.l.l.'

The words were uttered without anger. It made them all the more chilling. Gently I disentangled her fingers from my hair and stepped away. As I would with a feral animal I kept my eyes on her until I was clear then turned quickly and walked away without looking back.

All at once I desperately wanted my father. I wanted him to explain to me why G.o.d could be so cruel to cripple minds inside healthy bodies.

I made my way towards one of the summerhouses. This had been a foolish plan. I should seek out an attendant, explain I had been taken ill and hopefully someone would escort me back to Dr Frank's office.

Inside I found an attendant in a blue dress seated on a bench. She looked up as I entered and I saw she had been crying. *Can I help?' I said without thinking.

*Help?' asked the woman. Her voice was light and clear. *I don't think anyone can help me now.'

*Oh, I'm sure that's not the case,' I said sitting down next to her. *There is always something to be done.' I confess that I meant this merely as a plat.i.tude. I was hoping to enlist her support to return to the main building without fuss.

*I'm going the same way as Sophy,' said the attendant. *Poor Sophy.'

*Sophy?' I exclaimed.

*We came up together,' said the woman. *She was a simple soul, but she had a lovely nature. She could do most tasks if it was explained clearly. She trusted everyone. Never any trouble.'

*What happened to her?' I asked.

*She died.'

*But how?'

*At night. The doctors came into the ward in the morning in gowns and masks and took her away. She looked like she was asleep. They said she had caught something very bad and it had made her die.'

*Caught something very bad?' I echoed blankly. *Couldn't they be more specific?'

*Possibly, but not to me. Poor Sophy. She and I came here together.'

*You're Alice?' I asked. *I thought you worked here. You don't seem ...'

*Mad?' said Alice. *I have fits.' She saw my expression. *Shaking fits. I'm not violent or anything like that, but it makes people uncomfortable. And if I'm not with someone I can hurt myself by accident.'

*I see,' I said looking around for her attendant.

*They don't bother with me now,' said Alice. *Not since I started having the dreams too.'

*The dreams?'

*They came to Sophy before she died, so I know I'm going to die too.'

*Dreams can't kill you,' I said kindly.

*Sophy's dreams did. She dreamt the masked man came for her every night. He made her drink a medicine and then everything got strange and confused and the world got all whirling and wobbly. I didn't believe her. I thought she was making it up. She liked to make up stories. But now I have the dreams too.'

*She obviously told you the dreams very clearly and you are remembering them. It's horrible when someone you care for dies. You think there should have been something you could do for her, but there wasn't. She got ill and she died. It's very sad, but it wasn't the dreams.'

*But I'm the same as her,' cried Alice placing her hand on her stomach. *They haven't noticed yet, because it's not very big, but I can see it. I'm getting fat just like Sophy did. She said it felt like things were moving inside her. I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want to be killed by something eating my insides.'

Very gently I reached out and touched Alice's stomach. There was no mistaking her condition. I felt tears sting my eyes. *My dear, you're not being devoured from within, I promise you. You're going to have a baby.'

6 Please see my journal of A Death in the Highlands to learn of Mr Fitzroy's efficient and ruthless method of dealing with difficult situations.

Chapter Thirteen.

Adventure at the Asylum

The ramifications of Alice's condition shook me to the core. There was only one interpretation that could be placed upon her and Sophy's dreams. What was clear was that I could not leave her here.

*You need to come with me,' I said rising. *I will help you, but we must go at once.'

*We're not allowed to leave the gardens until the next bell sounds,' said Alice.

Confusion was written all over her face.

*But you're not safe here!'

Alice's face crumpled. *I don't understand. This is my home.'

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