“Come in, just sit anywhere,” she said. “She’ll come back around in a few minutes, and bring you breakfast.”
“Thank you,” Eliza replied, walking to a table next to the women, and sat.
“I’m Abbey,” the old woman continued, “and this is my travelling companion, Teresa.”
Teresa glanced up briefly from her breakfast. The scowl on her face changed for a moment to a smile, then returned to a scowl and lowered, studying her food.
“Nice to meet you,” Eliza replied. “I’m Eliza, and this is Robert.”
“It’s so nice to meet a young married couple, isn’t it, Teresa?” Abbey continued. “So youthful and vibrant. It brings a healthy energy to the morning, doesn’t it?”
Teresa glanced up again. “I don’t see rings.”
Eliza saw Robert turn to look at her, and they exchanged a panicked moment. Eliza turned back to the women. “We’re not married.”
Abbey raised a hand to her mouth. Eliza wasn’t sure if it was in shock, or to stop herself from exclaiming.
“See what you’ve done?” Teresa chastised Abbey. “Presuming things.”
“I’m so sorry,” Abbey said, turning to Eliza. “So presumptuous of me. You looked like a married couple, so I just assumed.”
“A nasty habit!” Teresa interjected.
“It’s perfectly alright with us,” Abbey continued. “Teresa and I are both freethinkers. We won’t in any way think less of you because you aren’t.”
Eliza turned to look at Robert; he looked as if he was suppressing a smile.
“Aren’t properly married, I mean,” Abbey said.
“You’re putting your foot in your mouth!” Teresa said to Abbey. “Just shut up!”
“We’re not offended,” Eliza replied.
“Oh, of course,” Abbey continued. “Young people today aren’t bothered by old fashioned ideas like marriage.” She laughed and returned to her breakfast.
“I have nothing against marriage,” Robert said. “I fully expect to be married someday.”
“Some people say there’s nothing to be gained by it,” Abbey replied, laying down her fork. “I have many friends who think it’s quite useless, and I’m not sure they’re wrong.”
“All divorced and bitter,” Teresa interjected, then turned to Eliza. “Don’t listen to her.”
The woman they’d seen in the kitchen suddenly entered the room. Observing Eliza and Robert seated at a table, she let out an “Ah!” Then she turned on one heel and quickly exited.
“Damn,” Robert muttered. “I wanted to ask her about coffee.”
“She’ll bring you coffee,” said the small boy, who now stood next to Eliza. “Along with a plate of food.”
“Hello,” Eliza replied, turning to look at the child.
“Mack!” said the man at the other table. “Come away and leave them alone.”
“You must be Mack,” Eliza said. “I’m Eliza.”
“I heard you tell them that,” Mack replied.
The man rose from the table, his plate empty. He downed the last of his coffee. “Come along, Mack,” he said.
“But I’m not done,” Mack replied.
Eliza turned to see a full plate of food still on Mack’s plate, next to the man’s empty one.
“He’s such a slow eater, that boy,” Abbey muttered.
“He’s welcome to finish eating with us,” Eliza offered to the man. He paused, looking them over. “Alright, Mack, you can stay, but straight back to the room when you’re done.”
“OK,” Mack replied, grabbing his plate of food and moving it to Eliza and Robert’s table. The man strolled out.
“I don’t know if the boy eats slow,” Teresa said. “Seems more like his father wolfs it down.”
“My dad eats fast,” Mack said. “I hate to eat here. It smells so bad.”
“You don’t like the food?” Eliza asked.
“No, the smell,” Mack replied. “She was in here earlier, and it left a stench.”
“She?” Robert asked. “The cook?”
“No, her,” Mack replied. “That girl.”
“He means Marth’s daughter,” Abbey said. “What’s her name again, Teresa?”
“Wanda,” Teresa replied.
“That’s right, Wanda,” Abbey continued. “I don’t know why I can’t remember that name.”
“She stinks,” Mack said. “Makes it hard to eat.”
“Really?” Eliza asked. “I imagine at your age, you think all girls stink.”
“No, just her,” Mack replied.
“She really does present an olfactory challenge,” Abbey said. “I don’t know how Martha administers hygiene, but whatever she does, it does not work with that girl.”
“I imagine she hasn’t bathed in months,” Teresa added. “To smell that bad, a child would have to be kept from a bath for a very long time.”
“Perhaps she resists baths,” Abbey said. “I’ve heard some children hate to take them.”
“Well, it’s not just the hygiene, now, is it?” Teresa replied. “All the other things.”
Through the archway came the cook, bearing two plates of food, one in each hand. She set one down in front of Eliza and another in front of Robert. “I’ll be back with some coffee for ’ya,” she said, and turned to leave the room.
“And utensils!” Eliza called after her.
Robert looked down at the food. “It smells great.”
Mack wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “I can’t stand it.”
“Mister Lyons told me he thinks she smells because she has an evil soul,” Abbey said, spreading jam on toast. “Do you think that’s true?”
“Might be,” Teresa replied.
“Are we talking about a little girl?” Eliza asked. “Someone who stays here?”
“I wish she didn’t,” Mack said. “She is evil.”
“I have a hard time believing a little girl is evil,” Robert replied. “Why would you say that?”
“You must not have met her yet,” Mack answered. “When you see her, you’ll understand.”
“He said they ought to lock her up,” Abbey continued, “and if what they say is true, maybe they should, just to protect the rest of us.”
“Lock her up?” Eliza asked. “Because she smells?”
“She does more than that,” Mack replied, poking at the food on his plate with his fork. “She kills things.”
“Kills things?” Robert asked.
“Small animals, I hear,” Abbey said. “Have you ever heard a rabbit scream?”
“Oh, I have,” Teresa replied. “Horrible, chilling sound.”
“Well, there’s been a lot more of that since she and her mother started staying here,” Abbey said. “It’s not rutting in the wild, I promise you. That child is doing something to them!”
Eliza turned to look at Robert. He shrugged. She wanted to change the subject. “Have any of you seen our host?”
“Oh, he rarely comes out during breakfast,” Abbey replied. “He’s usually out in the yard, later in the day.”
“Hmm,” Robert said. “I wanted to meet him.”
“Not much to meet,” Teresa muttered.
“How long have you ladies been here?” Eliza asked.
Abbey put down her fork and looked at Teresa. “How long has it been, now, Teresa?”
“Let me see,” Teresa said, her eyes rolling up as she thought. “Just over six months.”
“Normally we stay a few weeks somewhere and move on,” Abbey said, “but this place we liked so much, we just kept staying. I suppose we’ll move along at some point, right, Teresa?”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Teresa replied. “For the moment we’re happy here. This place is run better than most, and of course the scenery is excellent. I like to ride horseback, and there’s a little place not far from here where they let me take a stallion for the afternoon.”
“Do you ride?” Abbey asked Eliza.
“I have, off and on,” she replied. “I
grew up on a farm.”
“Well, then you must ride with Teresa,” Abbey said. “I’m not much of a rider myself. The horses frighten me. Teresa has a command over them that I don’t. You’d love to have some company, Teresa, wouldn’t you?”
Eliza could see that Teresa wasn’t happy with Abbey extending the invitation. However, Teresa turned to her and masked her displeasure. “Yes, if you want.”
“Thank you,” Eliza replied. “We haven’t set our plans yet. Can I let you know?”
“Of course,” Teresa answered, and returned to her food, glancing up at Abbey with an angry look.
“You should take Wanda,” Mack offered. “Get the smell out of here for a while so I can eat.”
“Mack,” Eliza replied. “That’s not very nice.”
“The boy’s just being truthful,” Teresa said.
“She set a fire yesterday,” Mack replied. “She tried to burn the shed in the back. If they hadn’t caught it, the whole thing might have burned down.”
“She did?” Abbey asked, surprised.
“And she wets the bed,” Mack said. “The cleaning lady told me. Every day she has to change her wet sheets, soaked in pee.”
The woman returned with coffee and utensils and quickly left the room. Eliza began to dig into her food. “You really don’t like this girl, do you?” she asked Mack.
“With cause,” Teresa said. “The perfidious child trampled all of the flowers out front.”
“Oh, yes,” Abbey agreed. “They had the most beautiful tulips and daffodils growing in the beds by the entry. Now they’re all ruined. No, I’m afraid Teresa and Mack are right; that child really is a menace!”
“I’ve gotta get back,” Mack said, “or my dad will be mad.” He rose from the table, his food mostly untouched, and walked out of the room.
“Nice to meet you,” Eliza called after him. He stopped and turned, giving a quick wave, and was gone.
“I wish all children were that well behaved,” Teresa muttered, sipping at her coffee. “The family that was here before Ivan and Mack were so loud and crass.”
“How long has Mack been here?” Robert asked.
“They arrived, what, Teresa, a week ago? Two?” Abbey said. “Mack has been a constant source of entertainment the entire time, although his father seems a bit gruff.”
“Are you finished, Abbey?” Teresa asked, then turned to Eliza. “It seems we spend our entire morning chatting with people, never finishing our breakfast.”
“Don’t rush me,” Abbey replied. “You know I get indigestion if I eat too quickly. A rushed breakfast is a day ruined.”
“I should think that one bite for every ten spoken sentences is slow enough,” Teresa shot back.
“You’ll have to forgive Teresa,” Abbey said to Eliza. “She can be cranky in the mornings if things haven’t moved precisely in the manner she likes them to move.”
“How unnecessarily indelicate!” Teresa replied, rolling her eyes and rising from the table. “I have a day to begin, so I’ll excuse myself. Abbey, I’ll see you back at the room, provided you can stop chirping and peck a few more bits of food.” She turned and walked off.
“Nice to meet you,” Eliza called after her.
“You as well,” Teresa called back.
“She no doubt felt the call of nature in response to my indelicate comments,” Abbey said, once Teresa was out of earshot. “A little aural prompting sometimes works wonders.”
Eliza turned to look at Robert, trying to hide a smile from Abbey, but the woman saw it. “No sense in pretending otherwise. When you get to be our age, you’ll understand that clockwork is the most important thing in life.”
Chapter Three
Eliza and Robert strolled the grounds surrounding the B&B. It was a cool morning, but the sun was out, and they both agreed that walking off breakfast felt like the right thing to do.
In the daylight Eliza could see details of the house that were too dark to make out when they arrived. It was a large structure; not quite a mansion, but bigger than most. A section on the north end had been added on at some point in the past, which accounted for most of the rooms.
The grounds were rustic and not overly tended, but little details here and there told her that someone kept an eye on things. In the back was a small gardening shed. As they walked around the south side of the building, they ran into Ivan, who was smoking a cigar.
“Morning,” he acknowledged.
“Good morning,” Eliza replied. “We were just inspecting the grounds.”
“Not much to them,” Ivan said. “It’s a nice enough place to stay, particularly if you want to check out other things in the area.” He tapped at his cigar with his finger, and a chunk of ash fell to the ground. “Hope you don’t mind the smell. I smoke them outside because so many people do.”
“Doesn’t bother me,” Eliza replied. “My father smoked them occasionally.”
“Your son sure seems like a nice kid,” Robert said.
“He usually is,” Ivan replied. “I was going to stay a few more days, but I might leave tomorrow. Mack’s all worked up over this girl who’s here, and it might be best just to move along and stay somewhere else.”
“Yeah, he did talk a lot about her,” Robert replied. “After you left.”
“Well, she’s a real problem,” Ivan said. “I can’t believe they let her stay. Her mother’s nice enough, but her kid is a hellion and a half.”
“We haven’t run into her yet,” Eliza replied. “I’m beginning to think we don’t want to.”
“No, you don’t,” Ivan replied. “It’s not unusual for them to skip breakfast. The one morning they showed up for it, the room cleared out in seconds.”
“Teresa said she trampled the flowerbed,” Eliza said.
“True,” Ivan said, turning to walk. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” He led them around to the front of the house, where a small section of ground in front of the entryway bore the remnants of plants. Dozens of large tulips and daffodils had been crushed, their petals scattered and their stalks broken. Some were uprooted, their bulbs exposed to the morning sun.
“Oh, what a shame!” Eliza said, examining the bed. “She did this?”
“That’s what they say,” Ivan replied. “I didn’t see her do it, but it fits in with her behavior. Look how much work she ruined. Horace is right, I think Martha needs to step up the discipline, if you know what I mean.” He tapped out the rest of his cigar. “At least force the kid to bathe. Are you in Room 7?”
“We are,” Robert replied.
“Martha and that kid are in Room 5,” Ivan continued, “and they keep Room 6 vacant to buffer the stink. People stayed next to them and complained of the odor.”
“Really?” Eliza asked, becoming more intrigued by everyone’s obsession with Wanda. “I can’t believe they wouldn’t just talk to Martha about it.”
“From what I hear, they tried,” Ivan replied. “I don’t think she can handle her, to tell you the truth. Wanda is the parent in that relationship.” He tucked the unsmoked half of his cigar into his pocket. “Speaking of being a parent, I need to get back to it. Mack and I are heading into town around noon. Talk to you folks later.”
“Bye,” Eliza said, and they watched as Ivan walked off. “This place seems fixated with Wanda.”
“Yeah,” Robert replied. “I wonder when we’ll finally run into her. I’d like to find Milton and ask him what he thinks.”
Eliza glanced up at the house. She had the disturbing sensation of being watched, and noticed movement in a window on the second floor. A figure stepped back when it realized it had been seen, and a curtain was pulled closed. “Let’s find him,” Eliza said, and they walked onto the porch and into the house.
Their first stop was the kitchen; it was empty. Next they went down the hallway, winding up in the breakfast room. It, too, was empty and quiet.
“We know he’s not outside,” Robert said. “We were just out there.”
“He’s aro
und somewhere,” Eliza replied, leading them back down the hall toward their room. Instead of stopping at Room 7, she continued on to Room 6.
“What are you doing?” Robert asked, smiling a little.
“Snooping,” she replied, looking up and down the hall to see if anyone was there. She reached for the door handle. It was locked, but with two quick shakes she was able to get it to open.
“Ha,” she said. “Didn’t even have to pick it.” She opened the door and slipped inside the dark room. Robert followed, closing the door behind them.
“Why are we doing this?” Robert whispered.
“Just to see...” she drifted off, reaching out for a light switch. She found one and turned it on.
They gasped.
The mattress and box springs had been removed from the bed, and were pressed against one wall, held in place by furniture that had been piled against them.
They walked toward the barricade. “That’s the wall separating this room from room 5, right?” Robert asked.
“I believe so,” Eliza replied. She stepped up to the mattresses and took a breath. There was a faint, rancid odor.
Then, she heard the soft sounds of a child.
“Do you hear that?” she whispered to Robert.
Robert leaned toward the mattresses, cocking his ear. “It’s a little girl. Crying.”
“What if something is wrong?” Eliza asked. “I know we said we weren’t going to use the River while we were here, but what if we just drift through, and see what’s going on in there? She might be in trouble.”
“Or,” Robert said, “we could walk out of this room, go down the hall, and knock on their door like normal people.”
“She might be in trouble!” Eliza protested.
“We’ll find out either way,” Robert replied. “We don’t really have a right to invade their space.”
Eliza paused. “Listening to her cry breaks my heart,” she said.
“Maybe her mother is punishing her for bad behavior,” Robert replied. “We don’t know.”
Eliza turned and walked to the door.
“Are you going to knock?” Robert asked as he followed her.
The Haunting of Waverly Hall Page 18
