The Secrets of Tenley House

by Patricia Dixon

  “Georgie please, shush, shush… I told you I’m good at this, I always get away with things, like when I strangled Horace, and threw Miss Mittens out of the window… I hated that bird and the scratchy cat. See, I still have the scar.” Vanessa pointed to an almost invisible mark on her cheek and pulled a glum face.

  “All I wanted to do was feed Horace but Granny wouldn’t let me so one day I sneaked in and he pecked me. That’s when I decided to punish him and Granny because the only person she was kind to was that stupid bird. You didn’t like him either. I saw you bash his cage that day, remember, when you told Granny you’d send her to a home if she didn’t behave. I was listening at the door. You were incredible and I knew then I wanted to be just like you.”

  “Vanessa, what’s got into you? I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I didn’t want you to emulate me. And I would never kill an animal, not even a bird, and Miss Mittens didn’t mean to scratch you so you shouldn’t have killed her.”

  “It wasn’t because of the scratch although it did hurt at the time. No, it was because of the sandwich.”

  “The sandwich?” Georgie thought she was losing grip on reality, Vanessa appeared to have already let go.

  “Yes. Sandy made me salmon sandwiches for lunch and I was going to have them in my room but when I came back from the loo, Miss Mittens had eaten one of them and was licking the other. I simply lost my temper and grabbed her. I’m sure you can imagine the rest.” Vanessa studied her nails and then glanced up at Georgie who had covered her mouth with her hands.

  “I can’t believe this is happening. I always thought you loved your cat and were such a good girl. How could I have not known you were capable of such things?” It was a simple statement but one that Georgie would regret as Vanessa seemed intent on confessing all, or was she showing off?

  “Ha, you think that’s bad. None of you guessed about Granny, did you?”

  “What do you mean, about Granny?” Cold sweat was clinging to Georgie’s entire body as she listened in horror, wide awake and living each second of a nightmare.

  Vanessa leant forward and lowered her voice slightly, speaking as though to a fellow conspirator as she bragged about her evil past.

  “You all thought she’d died in her sleep but I suffocated her with a pillow, trapping in all those horrid things she said about us that night. When she pointed at me from her bed, I thought she was going to tell you and Daddy about Horace or that I tormented her. That was great fun, by the way. I loved creeping into her room and being nasty to her, just like she was nasty to me. It served her right and in the end, I enjoyed getting rid of her. I didn’t plan to do it, or what I did to Daddy it just happened.”

  Vanessa wasn’t looking at Georgie anymore, instead she stared into the middle distance, her eyes fixed on the past where she became lost, her face quite serene.

  Georgie was aghast, pinned to her pillow and riddled with panic but she had to ask, even though she dreaded the answer. “Vanessa, look at me. What did you do to Kenneth?”

  Vanessa tutted and folded her arms, reverting more and more to a naughty, petulant child with every confession.

  “Now, Georgie, you must remain calm and be brave because what I’m going to tell you next will be dreadfully hurtful and shocking but you need to know. I really wasn’t going to tell you any of this, ever, but now, with this Sandy business it’s probably best you hear the whole truth.”

  Georgie’s mouth had gone dry but she managed to speak. “What truth? Tell me.”

  “Okay, as long as you’re sure.” Vanessa paused and when she saw Georgie nod slightly, carried on, leaning forward, her eyes wide, an incredulous look on her face.

  “It seems that Granny was right about Daddy because he was a great big poofter after all and if that wasn’t disgusting enough, he was betraying you, and me. He was planning to elope with that Simon chap, the one who called while you were in London. I came home early and heard Daddy and Sandy arguing in his study. I was so annoyed with him when I found out the truth and what he was going to do. We were both for the chop. How dare he send me away and divorce you? How could he do that to us? There was no way I could let him sell up and leave us behind. Tenley is my home and my inheritance. I deserve it, it’s my right. And as for Sandy, she took money off Daddy to keep quiet, the sneak. But I let that go because she was more useful alive than dead, until now of course. Anyhow there was nothing for it, I had to protect us. He had to go.”

  The gasp and strange choking sound broke Vanessa’s reverie, and on seeing Georgie’s distress and tear-soaked face she reverted back to nursemaid and hurriedly held the glass to her lips.

  Managing a sip, Georgie sunk back into the bed that was vibrating, no, that was her own body, trembling from head to toe with shock. Her voice, when she found it, betrayed every single terrible emotion that was consuming her body.

  “You… you killed Kenneth? Dear God, Vanessa, how could you?”

  Vanessa placed the glass back on the stand and grabbed Georgie’s hand. “Oh I’m sorry, Georgie, that came out all wrong and I should’ve broken it to you gently but now you know the truth about Daddy so you must understand why he deserved to die. I was utterly disgusted but held my tongue, so he wouldn’t cotton on while I had time to decide what to do. I just wanted revenge, so when Sandy asked him to clean the gutter I saw my chance.”

  “But you were in your room. I heard the music playing.”

  “I was, but I crept downstairs after I saw Daddy carrying the ladder. Sandy was in the kitchen preparing lunch so I went out the front way and there he was, asking for it.”

  Unable to take it all in, unwilling to believe that Vanessa had killed her father, Georgie tried to make sense of it all, desperate for it to be a wicked lie. “H… he fell off the ladder, Vanessa. It was an accident, a terrible accident.”

  There was a strange ringing sound in her ears and everything was going fuzzy. Georgie couldn’t catch her breath and then realised it would be the best thing, to die, right there on the bed and end this nightmare.

  “Yes, yes, he fell off the ladder but that’s because I pushed it from under him. It was very quick though, not like Granny who was stronger than you’d imagine but she stopped struggling in the end.” Vanessa waited for her words to sink in and watched Georgie closely, waiting for her congratulations.

  Georgie inhaled deeply, forcing herself to look into Vanessa’s eyes. That’s when she saw it, what had always been there, the thing she had turned a blind eye to, possibly encouraged, nurtured even. Through eyes swimming with tears, Georgie managed to focus on the smiling face of a demon.

  The bedroom was silent. Georgie had never been inside a courtroom but imagined that this was how it sounded in those seconds before the verdict was delivered and everyone held their breath, waiting for the words guilty or not guilty. For some insane reason, although she had committed no crime, not lately anyway, Georgie felt as though she was on trial and the jury was in.

  “Are you not going to say anything, Georgie?” Vanessa was seated in the Queen Anne chair, not bolt upright and animated as before, she was now reclining, arm’s spread in a relaxed manner, tapping her fingers, observing, inquisitive.

  Georgie did not attempt to hide her tears, why should she? That would be unnatural. Anyone, apart from the psychopath seated before her, would be distressed by such a revelation so Georgie allowed the tears to flow. In the meantime, as she hid between sobs and blowing her nose, she was biding her time, getting her act together because if there was ever a moment she needed to perform, this was it.

  “Seriously, Vanessa, what do you want me to say? You’ve just confessed to murdering four people, three of them members of your own family, not to mention countless defenceless animals whose only crime was to give you a nip and a scratch. How would you react if someone told you the same thing? Go on, answer that.” Georgie could hear the fatigue in her own voice and it was becoming a strain to get words out, her chest was tight and she feared a panic attack was looming. B
ut she had to hold it together. It was imperative to find out what Vanessa planned next and prayed it wasn’t murder number five, the silencing of her confidante.

  “That’s an excellent question, Georgie dear, and one I already know the answer to. I’d be proud as punch. Yes, I admit I’d be slightly taken aback but glad at the same time. I would realise how much this person cared for me and wanted to protect me from being cast aside or maligned in any way. What greater demonstration of love and devotion could anyone ask for?” Vanessa smiled.

  The angel of death looked smug in her response. Georgie felt her heart rate slow and the panic recede. Now she knew how to play it and what Vanessa wanted; praise and gratitude, a show of loyalty equal to that which she had given. As much as it pained her, Georgie played along.

  “Darling, whilst I am grateful for your love and devotion, I would have preferred something a little less severe. Surely we could have shuffled Granny off to an asylum and as for Daddy, he was very naughty and I did suspect he was being unfaithful, not with a chap of course, but I think between us we could have found a suitable punishment, for him and that hateful Simon. All you had to do was tell me, not make it your personal mission to rid the world of Tenleys. Now we could both end up in jail and I for one don’t fancy that, do you?” Again, Georgie threw the question back to Vanessa. It was the only way to get inside her head.

  “I’m not concerned in the least. I won’t be going to jail and neither will you. And why on earth would the police think I killed Sandy? She lived in the lap of luxury especially while we travelled, we brought her presents from all over the world and to top it off, I didn’t even kick her out of bed and send her back to the servants’ quarters when we returned. The police will think we are marvellous and Sandy was just a mad old lush.”

  Vanessa took a sip of water and then settled back into her chair and defence.

  “As for Daddy and Granny, it was a spur of the moment thing. I had to act quickly, to prevent us being humiliated or in my case, exposed. I thought you’d be pleased that I used my initiative. I wanted to be like you; fiery and in control. You taught me to serve revenge cold and use a situation to my advantage, like at school with Jemima and her cronies. You can’t blame me for following your lead and like I said, you should be grateful.”

  “I am, Vanessa, I am. Just rather shocked and disturbed by the thought of everything, not to mention a dead body floating in our pool, in fact it gives me the creeps.”

  “I don’t care and to prove it, I’m going to go downstairs and make some supper. Would you like anything?”

  “No, not for me, thank you, dear. I really couldn’t eat a thing. I might be suffering from shock. All these revelations are playing havoc with my nerves. I’ll just close my eyes and rest for a while. You go ahead.”

  Vanessa didn’t need to be told twice and after pulling the covers over Georgie, who somehow resisted the urge to shrink away, Vanessa left the room, eager to get to the kitchen. Once the door closed, Georgie did in fact close her eyes in an attempt to shut out the horror. No matter how shell-shocked she was, now was the time to gather her wits and form a plan of action, weigh up her options and most of all, stay alive.

  She began with Vanessa. How it crucified Georgie to realise the truth about the little girl she had loved unconditionally and saved from bullying at the hands of her grandmother and school friends. Georgie had accepted her and never judged her humble beginnings or attempted to change how she looked. Nevertheless she had turned out to be a monster. To have killed Daphne, even if it was just in temper, not premeditated or out of pure malice, must have damaged her in some way. Or had she always been evil and some genetic fault had fostered inherent wickedness. Maybe that was it. What if one of her natural parents had been bad, or mad, or both? Georgie shuddered.

  Her next inclination was to pick up the phone and call the police but then what? If she told them that Vanessa had killed Sandy, it would open a huge can of worms, great monstrous things that would suck the life out of her marriage and bring shame on the man she loved. Would they believe that a little girl had killed her mother all those years earlier? Surely Vanessa would deny it. How could Georgie make them believe that Vanessa had killed Kenneth without exposing the reason why? The police would look for a motive and if they found out about Kenneth’s plans, she might also be in the frame. That settled it. There was no way Georgie was going to tell them about Kenneth or be punished for Vanessa’s crimes, both outcomes were unthinkable.

  And what of her future? Georgie was virtually penniless. Vanessa had vowed to provide for her and at the first hint of betrayal would take revenge in the second-best way possible, eject her from Tenley then leave her to struggle alone. While Georgie considered this to be preferable to the first option, being murdered in her bed, the thought of life on the outside didn’t appeal. To be without status and a home, having to start over or ask for favours from her impoverished band of friends was not something Georgie had imagined for the last years of her life, or how she would end it.

  As the truth dawned on her predicament, Georgie was consumed by panic. She was trapped. It would all come down to Vanessa’s word against hers and whilst she prided herself on her powers of persuasion and dramatic abilities, perhaps she was a mere understudy to the calculating she-devil who had fooled everyone for so long. It was the mention of satanic forces that reminded Georgie of something Phyllis used to say, that a demon visited her room and walked amongst them. And as much as she had despised the bitter old crone for much of the time, Georgie now felt some pity for Phyllis and accepted that she was right, there was a demon living inside Tenley. Her name was Vanessa.

  It was 3am. Vanessa had returned after her feeding frenzy and refused to sleep. She insisted on keeping vigil beside Georgie who was unsure whether she was under observation or held prisoner. They were both counting down the hours until morning and a suitable time when the police could be called, and then the lies and fakery would begin. Until then, Georgie was trapped in a room with the demon who would not stop talking. Just when Georgie thought the nightmare could not get any worse, Vanessa decided to reminisce, talking of the good old days as though the bad ones had never existed.

  After a while, Vanessa pulled her chair closer and nudged the bed, forcing Georgie to open her eyes from her pretend sleep. Focusing on Vanessa, whose piggy eyes were set in a face that resembled a lump of dough, Georgie thought it ironic to have never regarded her in this way, but she did now.

  “Georgie, can I ask you a question? It’s something I’ve always longed to know, say really.”

  “Yes of course, Vanessa, what is it?” From behind closed lids, Georgie had spent the last few hours turning everything over in her mind and didn’t welcome the interruption but had no choice in the matter. This fact was becoming ever more clear.

  “Why did you never ask me to call you Mummy?”

  The question threw Georgie, more so because knowing the truth, it was the last thing she wanted to be called. “I’ve no idea, Vanessa. Perhaps because you never asked or indicated it was your wish.”

  “Oh it was. I so longed to call you Mummy. In fact for a long time I believed you truly were.”

  “Why on earth would you think that?”

  “Because of my dream… Do you remember the Christmas party in the village when Dolly looked after me?”

  “Yes, yes I do.”

  “You let me try Babycham and it was so lovely that once you left, I drank some more and got a bit tiddly and fell asleep. Later, I had the most wonderful dream that you came into my room and sat on the bed and spoke to me. I can remember every word of it. You said that you missed me and came to find me and that you would watch over me and keep me safe. You wanted to tell the world I was yours but they would send you away so it had to be our secret. You said, ‘Mummy is here’, and you’d never leave me again. When I woke up in the morning it felt so real and I was sure you’d been to see me in the night.”

  Georgie would have rolled her eyes had she no
t realised the danger in doing so and instead poured water on Vanessa’s fanciful dream. “I’m sure it was a lovely dream but that’s all it was. What on earth made you think it was me?”

  “Because of the chocolates and the pretty dress. Don’t you remember? I found some chocolate favours under my pillow and during breakfast you asked me if I’d found them and winked, then whispered it was a secret. I thought it was a special code, please tell me you remember.”

  Georgie didn’t, then a faded memory returned, of her tiptoeing into Vanessa’s room and slipping something under her pillow but she certainly hadn’t whispered sweet nothings in her ear, why would she? Perhaps she’d told Vanessa to keep quiet to avoid a telling off from Sandy but that’s all. “I’m sorry, Vanessa, but I really can’t remember. Never mind, it’s all in the past now.”

  “But what about the dress and the perfume? It had to be you.” Vanessa was angry at her memory being dismissed and was determined to make her point.

  “What dress, what perfume? I don’t understand.”

  “You were wearing the pink dress, one of your favourites, with the organza overlay scattered with pearls and as you sat next to me, I could feel it scratching on my hand and the little pearls, and your perfume went up my nose, it was Chanel, you always wear it. Even though I was half asleep I remember every second.” Vanessa was leaning forward, animated eager, desperate for Georgie to confirm her belief. It was never going to happen.

  “Vanessa, dearest.” How those words stuck in Georgie’s throat. “Please stop this right now. I know you want to believe it was me but I assure it was just a dream, you were a little bit drunk and I was very naughty to give you Babycham but you need to put it out of your mind. Really, there are more pressing issues to think of.” Georgie closed her eyes and blocked out the sullen dough ball who had slumped in her chair, bad temperedly tapping her foot.

  How quickly though she bounced back and within seconds, Vanessa had resumed her position and asked yet another question.