by Ruth Hay
Two weeks went by; two weeks during which a number of things came to a head.
Faith stopped adding to the online material and concentrated on her school work. Shakespeare, as performed by expert actors, became marginally more comprehensible. She planned repeat viewings.
Honor was relieved that Faith was more focussed.
* * *
Dennis Ridley phoned Hilary from his office downtown and advised her that Louise was ill and under a doctor’s orders but she might possibly wander off and be found on the grounds of Harmony House.
He politely asked to be informed immediately if such an event occurred.
Hilary agreed at once and expressed her sympathy for Louise’s condition.
“What makes you think your wife might head over here, Dennis?”
He was reluctant to provide further information but in case of some disturbance caused next door he chose to take Hilary Dempster into his confidence as a preventative against the police being called.
“I am sorry to have to tell you, Louise has been unwell for some time now. She imagines things. For example, she told me she has seen lights in your house far into the night in a suspicious place where no one could go.”
“Oh my! What a worry for you Dennis. If you need someone to check on Louise during the day, Mavis or myself would be glad to help out.”
He felt quite overcome by this suggestion. His voice betrayed his emotion and Hilary detected a catch in his voice when he responded.
“That is extremely kind of you, Hilary. I may be required to ask you to do this sometime. It’s difficult when I am at work all day.”
“Of course! Please call on us if you need us.”
“Thank you.”
* * *
Andy Patterson remembered the misplaced ladder and checked to see if it was gone on his next Wednesday visit. When he saw it was still in position he asked Vilma if work was being done on the house.
“Nothing I know about, Andy. I’ll ask Hilary. She’s out right now. Remind me to tell you when I see you on Friday.”
Later in the day, Vilma found Hilary in the kitchen and repeated what Andy had said.
“No. There’s nothing scheduled. Why would a ladder be left near the house? Let’s go outside and find it, right now.”
Hilary was thinking this could have something to do with Louise Ridley next door. Her husband had indicated strange behaviour was possible.
Vilma followed along to be company for Hilary and so she could report accurately to Andy. She had no other interest in the ladder issue. She had plenty on her mind already. Perhaps this private moment would be a chance to fill Hilary in on the Dog Show weekend and get her opinion.
It was obvious, once they began to search, that the ladder in question was deliberately placed tight against the base of the porch and hidden by the large maple tree.
“This is no accident,” announced Hilary. “Someone wanted to conceal what they were doing. Don’t touch it Vilma. I’ll keep an eye on this area now and see what I can find out.”
Hilary was considering whether or not she should mention this to Dennis.
Vilma was suddenly brought up short by recognizing the padding on the ends of the ladder. The worn cloth was an unusual colour, tied in place on the top rungs by elastic bands. Faith Jeffries had once worn a T shirt in that violent shade of pink.
She did not mention this discovery to Hilary but she determined to keep watch whenever she was passing with the dogs. If Faith was up to something, Vilma Smith would be sure to catch her out.
The girl was definitely a stranger in their midst. It would not surprise her if she turned out to be doing something illegal. The girl’s family background was dubious at best. It was quite likely Honor, with no previous experience of teenagers, had been hoodwinked into thinking the girl had reformed.
As far as Vilma Smith was concerned, a leopard never changes its spots.
* * *
Faith had forgotten the burner phone with the number she had given out on the card information.
It took her several minutes to track down the buzzing she could hear. At first she thought her ears were buzzing from the headphones she used to watch the Shakespeare videos. She shook her head about and tried a cotton swab but nothing helped until she passed her bedside table drawer and noticed the sound got louder.
“Flip! It’s the phone!”
Thinking it could be Jo with an urgent message she rushed to answer, wondering how often the phone had been ringing and she had not noticed. Jo would be mad with her.
“Hi! I’ve got it now! Sorry, if you had to wait. I forgot all about this phone.”
There was a silence on the line and she realized it was not Jolene calling. Jo would have laid into her at once for wasting her time.
“Who’s there?”
Visions of pedophiles and child kidnappers raced through her mind from lectures and warnings she had received in school. Her hand shook as she made to disconnect. She would throw this thing in the garbage right away.
“Faith, is that you? It’s Mason Jeffries here.”
While she was still struck dumb with sheer shock, the male voice continued.
“Melvin told me everything and showed me your vlog. He’s quite a character, isn’t he? God knows what he’ll be like in a few years. He’s a handful for his Mom and me already. Too smart for his own good.
Can you talk? Is this a bad time? Sorry for rambling on.”
“No. It’s okay. I didn’t expect to hear from you. I forgot about the phone completely.”
“That’s all right. It’s taken me a while to catch up with everything but I am so happy to know you are with good people. I have had nightmares about you and your Mom. She took you away and I couldn’t trace you two. I did try, Faith. Believe me. I know I shouldn’t have left you the way I did.”
Her first thought was to tell him about the real nightmares of her childhood, but she thought those stories might make him stop talking to her altogether. She had questions that still needed answers.
“I finally found my Aunt Honor, Felicity’s twin. I live in a grand house in London, Ontario, now, and I am working hard in school. “
“That’s wonderful news, Faith!”
He really sounded happy for her. She decided it was best to leave the past in the past; except for one important detail.
“Mason, you must know from Melvin that I am trying to find my real father. Can you remember from school days who might be the one who made my mother pregnant? I have a few first names from my aunt but she has no idea who it was. Did my mother ever talk to you about it?”
“Mel told me, Faith, and I have tried to think of anything I heard said back then, but the truth is I don’t know. I was a mess myself in those days with enough problems of my own to worry much about anyone else around me.
I believe now, if your Mom knew who it was, she would have told your parents. Yes, she went around with several guys who were a bad influence. Frankly, it could have been any one of them. I am sorry to say this Faith and I don’t want to hurt you any more than I already have. I just can’t tell you what you want to know. Nobody can.”
It was a hard fact to swallow, but not entirely unexpected.
In those few seconds, Faith felt a change inside her. She began to grow up. She was on her own. She realistically held no great hopes of the ‘real’ dad making a difference in her life.
She was where she was. She was who she was. She was Faith Jeffries, for good or ill.
“Thank you for being honest, Mason. I am happy with your last name. You sound like a great dad for your kids. And, please tell Melvin I owe him a lot.”
“Don’t go yet! We live in Kingston now. I want you to know you are welcome here any time. I think of you as the daughter I have always wanted. Write down our phone number. Mel wants to meet you and I would love to see you again. Pauline agrees with me about this. She knows I never forgot about you.
Please, let this be your sixteenth birthday present fr
om us.”
Again with the unexpected! This man was not who my Mom described. Or maybe he has grown up since then.
“I promise to keep your number but this phone is done now. Goodbye and thanks again, Jar.”
Darn it! I called him by the old name. Never mind. It’s done now. People say things like ‘come to see us’ and don’t expect it to happen in this lifetime.
Bye Melvin, you smart kid.
Bye, real dad whoever, or wherever, you may be.
Bye vlog.
Bye, tower room………..Oops! One more climb up there to remove all the evidence, then the ladder goes away and it’s truly all over.
* * *
Faith copied the phone number then put the burner in her backpack to show Jolene. They could dispose of it at school for safety. Awkward questions could be asked if the phone was found in Harmony House.
She checked on the time. It was still early in the evening. She needed to get a few things off her chest and it was probably good to bring her aunt into the picture.
* * *
Honor had just finished for the day. She went through her stretching routine before donning her coat and going out for a walk to use her leg muscles. The big window wall had been closed tight for hours so she climbed the steps to the porch from where she could walk down the slope to the garden.
She almost bumped into Faith at the door.
“Hello there! I was just thinking about you. How’s the Shakespeare going? I am off for a walk. Do you want to come along?”
“Sure!” The less said about the Finding Father thing inside the house, the better. If her aunt was going to freak out, it was best to get it done with, where no one could overhear.
They set off along the side path to the garages. Faith followed her aunt who seemed to have a regular exercise circuit and was walking quite quickly.
There was no easy way to get into the topic so Faith just blurted it all out in a steady stream with hardly a breath to break it up.
Honor came to a complete halt and turned around to make sure she was seeing and hearing properly.
“You mean you did this online, in the house, without anyone knowing?”
Faith nodded.
“You know you took a big risk? Any pervert could have snagged you.”
Faith nodded.
“You found Jar Jeffries, I mean Mason Jeffries, and he has a family with three boys living in Kingston?”
Faith nodded.
“I should be furious with you for taking these risks but it all seems to have worked out well. Don’t ever do anything that crazy like that again Faith Joan Jeffries. Your grandmother, Joan, would have taken a strip off your hide for that behaviour, believe you me! You are so fortunate Hilary Dempster did not find out what was going on under her roof. She might well throw you out for this kind of deception.
Let’s agree to say nothing more about it. You had a lucky escape young lady!”
Faith nodded.
“I know it was stupid, Aunt Honor. I’ll be more careful in future and I’ll take you into my confidence before I go off on another crazy scheme.”
They walked on toward the edge of the forest without knowing that Louise Ridley was standing by the open window of her upper bedroom listening to every word and swearing she would make Dennis believe her this time. That strange girl next door had just confessed to doing forbidden things that upset her Aunt Honor. It was something secret with family involved. It was wrong and the tall one, Hilary, did not know about it at all. She must tell Dennis right away.
Chapter 17
Andy followed Vilma home in his truck on Friday evening. He was reassured that Hilary had not employed a workman but, in their earlier phone conversation, he mentioned noticing a portion of the tower top had pulled away. Hilary agreed this should be fixed as soon as possible and he thought he could do it before darkness fell, if he cut short the practise session. The training was going very well and now that Vilma was on side with the Dog Show plan he felt much more relaxed about it all.
Vilma and the dogs went indoors and he walked round to the tower. He remembered about the ladder as soon as he went to examine the tower using a strong flashlight he took from his truck’s tool box.
He calculated there was nothing wrong with the ladder’s location since no one had moved it back to the garage, so he lifted the ladder into place against the side of the house and, hefting a couple of tools into the deep pockets of his coveralls, he climbed up for a closer look.
There was no paint damage he could see from the tree branches, although he presumed the pressure from a branch during a strong wind had caused the open section to release.
It was a surprise to find there was an actual door in the hexagonal top. It was small but still capable of allowing rodents to access the building by gnawing their way through the walls. He oiled the hinges and checked the simple push locking system. Then he looked inside to make sure no creature had taken up residence.
It was then he found a placard of some kind and a small flashlight and a cushion.
Someone had been inside the tower room and it was neither a squirrel nor a raccoon.
He threw down the cushion and pocketed the flashlight. The placard just fit inside the bib part of his coveralls. If he climbed back down carefully he could then examine it for clues.
It was almost dark by the time he closed up the tower room securely and made his way slowly to the ground again.
Hilary, who was reading in her room, heard the noise of the ladder against the tower walls and watched to make sure Andy was safe. It was really too dark for such activities.
She saw the cushion come flying past and her curiosity was aroused.
By the time Andy had replaced the ladder in the garage, she was waiting for him at the front door.
“What’s going on?”
“You tell me Mrs. Dempster. There are definitely signs someone has been up in the top of the tower.”
He pulled out the cardboard and turned it so the light shone on the letters.
Hilary read the message and there was no doubt who the culprit was. She felt relieved for one moment that it was not an unknown intruder but her anger resumed almost immediately. What was that girl thinking?
Her first instinct was to turn and hammer on the door to Faith’s room. A second later she realized Honor must be the one to take responsibility for her niece.
“Andy, I’ll take care of this. Thank you for fixing the door. If you will please return the ladder to the garage, you can get off home. I’ll bring Vilma up to date about all this.”
“Fine with me! You know where I am if you need anything done.”
“I do and it’s a great comfort to have you standing by, Andy.
Goodnight.”
Hilary did not wait any longer. She went along the porch and knocked on the side door, only to find Honor standing on the other side wearing a coat and obviously ready to exit.
“Hilary, I was coming to find you.”
One look at Hilary’s face and Honor knew why she was on her doorstep.
“Look, it’s best if you come inside. I have things to explain.”
She turned carefully on the small platform and led the way down to her domain, pulling out the spare chair and taking her usual position by her desk. She steeled herself for trouble knowing this was not the first time she had to defend her niece to Hilary Dempster. The birthday fiasco was fresh in her mind but on this occasion she had the entire story already and she was prepared to fight on Faith’s behalf.
“Hilary, Faith came to me and told me everything she had done. She understands how dangerous and foolish her actions were, but I must remind you of her age and of how different her life was before she came under your roof. I think you will agree that she has come a very long way under your tutelage. It’s perhaps not surprising that she falters now and again, considering how she was treated before and after her mother died.
Basically she was searching for answers about her origins. Who among
us has not tried to do that?
Most of us grow up knowing who we are and that knowledge gives us the confidence to face the world. Try to picture the great gap in your own life if you were one of those who missed growing up in the bosom of family.
Oh, I know a bit about this myself but I am one of the survivors. I escaped in time. Faith was not so lucky.
Please give her another chance to prove to you how she has learned. She has given me her solemn promise to come to me in the future before she does anything in the least little bit dangerous. I believe her.
Do you believe me, Hilary?”
The ball was truly in Hilary’s court. Despite herself she was impressed by Honor’s spirited defence of her niece. Considering she had very little experience in being a good aunt, she was certainly exhibiting the ability to learn fast.
Recent events in her life had taught Hilary Dempster that she need no longer take on all the responsibility for the inhabitants of Harmony House. Here was the perfect example of an occasion to back down and let someone else deal with a situation. After all, Honor Pace was the only known family member of Faith Jeffries. It was her business to straighten the girl out.
To Honor’s amazement, Hilary pursed her lips and stood silently for a moment before speaking in a gentle tone of voice.
“I trust you, Honor. You are a valuable part of the team here and you have taken on this teenager with
a courage that must be admired. It will not be an easy task but together we can continue to guide her, as we have all done in our different ways. She’s a smart girl who just needs direction.
I’ll bid you goodnight and leave this matter in your capable hands.”
Honor was both relieved and astounded. Hilary Dempster had actually complimented her. More than once!
She raised her chin in pride and satisfaction. This aunt business was difficult, but not entirely impossible.
Her thoughts turned to a small bottle of coffee liqueur she was keeping for a special occasion. A liberal splash of that in her coffee would feel like a minor celebration for a job well done. She considered it was a small treat, well deserved.
