Voices in a Haunted Room

by Philippa Carr

  “We have fixed the day for the party,” I said, “and we’ve been over to Grasslands to issue the invitations.”

  We did not ask Aunt Sophie. We knew she would not want to be present, and if by some miracle she did decide to come, she would not need an invitation.

  She asked after my mother and Claudine which was a formality really, because they had called on her only the previous day.

  I said: “Edward Barrington is concerned about trouble in his factory. The people are threatening to break up the machines.”

  Jeanne flashed a warning look at me. We did not talk of such things in front of Aunt Sophie. It reminded her of what she had endured from the revolutionaries in her own country.

  Amaryllis said quickly: “We saw Tamarisk on the way in.”

  It was a subject calculated to turn Aunt Sophie’s thoughts away from all that was unpleasant.

  “She sits a horse well,” I said.

  “Amazing child,” murmured Aunt Sophie lovingly.

  “Too fond of her own way,” added Jeanne.

  “She has spirit,” insisted Aunt Sophie. “I’m glad of that. I shouldn’t want her to be meek.”

  “She was complaining bitterly about being on a leading rein,” I said.

  “That one wants to run before she can walk,” commented Jeanne.

  “She is full of life,” said Aunt Sophie.

  We chatted a little about the weather and the party and after a while there was a commotion outside the door.

  “I will go in. I want to see Amaryllis and Jessica. They are with Aunt Sophie. I will. I will. Let me go. I hate you. I’ll put a spell on you. I’m a witch.”

  These words were followed by a crash on the door.

  “Let her come in, Miss Allen,” called Aunt Sophie. “It’s quite all right.”

  The door burst open and Tamarisk stood there—beautiful in her riding habit, her eyes ablaze, her hair like an ebony cap on her perfectly shaped head.

  “Hello, mon petit chou,” said Aunt Sophie.

  Tamarisk turned to us. “Petit chou means little cabbage, and in French that means darling and you are very precious. You thought I was going to be scolded, didn’t you?”

  “I thought nothing of the sort,” I said.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “How did you know what I thought?”

  “I know because I’m a witch.”

  “Tamarisk,” murmured Jeanne reprovingly, but Aunt Sophie was smiling, clearly applauding her darling’s precocity.

  “And what have you been doing?” she asked, giving her entire attention to Tamarisk.

  “I’ve been riding. I can ride now. I won’t have Jennings holding my horse. I want to ride on my own.”

  “When you’re a big girl…”

  “I want it now.”

  “Little one, it is only because we are afraid you will fall.”

  “I won’t fall.”

  “No, chou, but you wouldn’t want poor Aunt Sophie to sit here worrying that you might, would you?”

  “I wouldn’t mind,” said Tamarisk frankly.

  Aunt Sophie laughed. I looked at Jeanne who raised her shoulders.

  Aunt Sophie seemed to have forgotten our presence, so I said we should be going and Jeanne escorted us to the door. Tamarisk was still telling Aunt Sophie how well she rode and that she wanted to ride by herself.

  I said to Jeanne: “That child is becoming unmanageable.”

  “She is not becoming, she always was,” commented Jeanne.

  “Aunt Sophie spoils her.”

  “She loves her so. She has made all the difference to her.”

  “It is not good for the child.”

  “I daresay Aunt Sophie is very sorry for her,” said Amaryllis. “Poor Tamarisk… it is awful not to have a father or a mother.”

  “No child could be better looked after,” I reminded her.

  “Yes … but to have no real father or mother… I understand how Aunt Sophie feels.”

  “It is good that we came here,” mused Jeanne. “We had to leave our home … everything. But here there was first this house and that did a lot for her … and now the child. I think she will become better than I ever hoped … and it is due to the child.”

  “The child is storing up a lot of trouble for herself, and for Aunt Sophie, I should imagine,” I said.

  “Dear Jessica,” put in Amaryllis, “you were a bit of a rebel yourself when you were young. I can remember you … lying on the floor and kicking out at everything because you couldn’t have what you wanted. And look at you now!”

  “So I have improved, have I?”

  “A little.”

  “We do our best,” said Jeanne, “Miss Allen and I. It is not easy. She is a difficult child. Sometimes I wish she were not so bright. She listens; she misses nothing. Miss Allen says she is quite clever. I wish she could be a little more serene.”

  “I’m afraid she won’t be while Aunt Sophie spoils her.”

  We rode back to the house.

  “Well, are the Barringtons coming?” asked my mother.

  “The entire family … with the exception of Irene who could not possibly have accepted,” I told her.

  “I thought they would,” she answered, smiling at me.

  Riding near the woods I came face to face with Penfold Smith. I recognized him immediately as I had his daughter. I called: “Good day.” He hesitated for a moment and then he swept off his hat and bowed.

  “You’re Miss Frenshaw,” he said.

  “Yes, that’s right. We last met in Nottingham.”

  “Six years ago.”

  He looked older, I thought. There were streaks of white in the black hair, and his face was lined, more weather-beaten.

  “We shall never forget what you did,” he said.

  “It was my father.”

  “Yes, but you, too. I think you moved him to do what he did.”

  “You know a great deal about us.”

  “Gypsies learn about life. It’s wandering … seeing so many people.”

  “I should have thought you weren’t long enough in any place to find out much about people. I saw your daughter a few days ago.”

  “Yes—a good girl.”

  “She has married, I suppose?”

  He shook his head. “No, she has not married. She will take no man.”

  “She is very beautiful… strikingly so.”

  “I think so. I fear for her sometimes because she is so beautiful. But she knows how to take care of herself… now.” His eyes glinted.

  “You have never heard anything of… ?”

  “You mean Jake?” He shook his head. “It would not be possible. He is well though.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Leah knows. She has powers … the second sight. She knew that disaster was threatening us. Poor child, she did not know from what direction it was to come. She has grown in her powers. She was born with them. She is my seventh child. Her mother was a seventh child. In gypsy lore the seventh child of a seventh child is born with the power to see into the future.”

  “I thought a number of gypsies had that. Fortune telling is one of their gifts, I believe.”

  “Leah has special gifts. She has said she would like to look at your palm one day.”

  “She told you that?”

  “Yes, after she had seen you. She said there were powerful forces round you.”

  I looked over my shoulder and he smiled.

  “They are not for ordinary eyes to see. She said you interested her very much. The other young lady, too, but especially you.”

  “I am sure Amaryllis would love to have her fortune told. So should I. Tell her to come to the house tomorrow afternoon. If it is fine we will be in the garden. If the servants hear she is telling fortunes they would not give her a moment’s peace.”

  “I will tell her.”

  “And you say she foretold … that terrible tragedy?”

  “In a manner … yes. She knew that Jake was i
n danger, but she did not know that it would come through herself. Now she knows that Jake is well. He will come back, she says.”

  “She is waiting for him,” I said. “Is that why she will not marry?”

  “Perhaps. She keeps her secrets. But… she is waiting and she knows that one day he will come.”

  “I hope he understood that I had no part in betraying him.”

  “I am sure he understood. He knew that you were there, that you cared enough to try to save him. He knew what your father did and that he owed his life to that.”

  “But to be sent away … to that place … not knowing what would happen to him when he arrived …”

  “Remember, he had been expecting the hangman’s noose. Anything would seem good after that. Life is sweet and he had not lost his. He would always survive, and he will always be grateful.”

  “How cruel life was to him … just because he happened to be there …”

  “He saved Leah. I think I should have been the one to kill that rogue if Jake hadn’t.”

  “If he ever comes back he will find you,” I said. “When he does will you please tell him that I had no hand whatsoever in his capture. I rode over to tell him that they were looking for him. My plan was to help him. I had no idea that they were there … right behind me.”

  “I’ll tell him but he knows already.”

  “I think of it often and I hope and pray that life is not unbearable wherever he is.”

  “He will come through whatever happens to him.”

  “You are sure of that?”

  “My daughter is and she is the one who sees beyond what ordinary people see.”

  “And you are all right in your camp?”

  “Very comfortable, thank you. Your father has been good to us.”

  “He remembers too and wishes he could have done more at the trial.”

  “He has given us permission to stay for a few weeks, but we shall be moving on shortly.”

  “To the West Country, I believe. Your daughter told me. Will you remind her that we shall expect her tomorrow afternoon?”

  I rode on.

  When I told Amaryllis that Leah was coming over to read our palms, she was intrigued. Who does not like having one’s fortune told? Even the men do, I think, though they would probably deny it.

  However, there was no doubt of Amaryllis’ interest.

  The next day Jeanne came to the house with some embroidery she had done for my mother. To my surprise Tamarisk came with her. She wanted to see the puppies which had been born to one of the Labradors; and as Amaryllis and I were meeting Leah one of the maids was asked to take her to the kennels.

  Amaryllis and I were in the garden when Leah arrived. She wore a red skirt with a simple white blouse; her hair was piled high to make a crown about her head and there were gold coloured rings in her ears. About her waist was a thick leather belt. She looked quite regal. “The queen of the gypsies,” I said to Amaryllis as we saw her approaching.

  I said: “We are going to find a sheltered spot in the garden because if the servants discover that you are telling fortunes they won’t give you any peace.”

  “I like only to tell when I have something to tell,” she replied.

  We walked across the grass to the summer house.

  “Let’s go in here,” said Amaryllis.

  “You may well have nothing to tell us,” I said.

  “I am sure there will be something.”

  “And for me?” asked Amaryllis.

  “We shall see. There is serenity all about you. It is the best. It makes for happiness … but happiness often means that there is not much to tell.”

  We seated ourselves on the chairs in the summer house. There was a small white topped table there. As Leah sat down I noticed that her belt had a sheath attached to it. She was carrying a knife. I remembered what her father had said about her taking care to protect herself. The knife was such a startling contrast to her gentle demeanour. It was very understandable, I thought. If what had happened to her had happened to me, I should want to carry a knife in my belt.

  First she turned to Amaryllis and took her palm. They made a charming picture—their heads close—one so fair, one so dark. Two of the most beautiful women I had ever seen—and so different. Amaryllis so open, so innocent in a way; Leah dark, brooding, her eyes full of secret knowledge—and wearing a belt with a knife in it!

  “I see happiness,” she said. “Yes, I felt it immediately. You walk through life calmly, as the young do. You are young in heart and that is a good thing to be. There are dangers all around you … below you … above you … but you walk straight through and you look neither up nor down, and because you see no evil, evil cannot harm you.”

  “It sounds a little dull,” said Amaryllis. “I should like to know what all these dangers are.”

  Leah shook her head. “This is the best way. You are a lucky lady. That much I can tell you.”

  Amaryllis looked faintly disappointed but Leah could say no more.

  Then she turned to me. I held out my palm and she took it.

  “Oh yes …” She touched my hand lightly and looked up at me. Her dark eyes seemed to bore right through me and I felt my secret thoughts were revealed to her, my petty jealousies and vanities, my less than admirable nature.

  She said: “You will be much sought after and there will be a choice to be made. So much will depend on that choice.”

  “Can’t you see what I should do?”

  She answered: “There is always free will. There are divided paths. It is for you to decide. If you take one you must beware.”

  “How shall I know which is the dangerous path?”

  She paused and bit her lip. “You are strong in your will. Whatever happens to you will be your choice. You can come through. But you must be wary. All about you I see forces … forces of evil.”

  “What sort of evil?”

  She shook her head. “I saw this … and I wanted to tell you. You must be careful. Do not act rashly. Be careful.”

  “How can I when I don’t know of what to be careful?”

  “Take care in all your actions. The time of choice will come, depend on that. You go one way and the evil will not be there. You take one path and then … it is there.”

  “What sort of evil? Death?”

  She did not answer.

  “So it is death,” I insisted.

  “It is not clear. Death could be there … Not yours. A death. That is all I can say.”

  “And you saw all this when you met me. You wanted to come and warn me.”

  “I did not know what I should find. I never know. But I had the strong feeling that I wanted to warn you.”

  She released my hand and looked at me helplessly; and at that moment the door of the summer house opened. I looked towards it in dismay. She had shaken me a little with her warning and I wanted to hear more.

  It was Tamarisk who stood there. She was dressed in a red dress with a light navy blue cloak. The combination was beautiful. Jeanne made most of her clothes and the colours always blended delightfully.

  “What do you want, Tamarisk?” I asked.

  “To see you,” she replied. “What you are doing?” She stared at Leah. “You’re the gypsy,” she added.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “I know about you. Jenny and Mab told me.”

  “They told you?” I said sharply.

  “No … not me … but I heard them. You live in the woods and tell fortunes.”

  Tamarisk approached and stood still, looking intently at Leah.

  As for Leah herself she could not take her eyes off the child. I thought she was struck by her extraordinary beauty.

  “Tell my fortune,” said Tamarisk.

  “Fortune telling is not for children,” I said.

  “Oh yes, it is. It’s for everybody.”

  Leah had taken the small hand which had been thrust into hers. She said gently: “When you are young, there is nothing written in the palm.
It comes when you grow older.”

  “Nothing written on it!” She seized my hand and studied it. “There’s nothing written on Jessica’s.”

  “It is not writing with a pen,” explained Leah. “It’s written by life.”

  “Who is Life?”

  “What we are … what we are growing up to.”

  “I want Life to write on my hands.”

  “It will,” said Leah with a smile. “I think it may have a great deal to write.”

  That pleased Tamarisk, but she was bored with fortunes if she was not to have one yet.

  “There are four puppies. I like the big one. He squeals a lot and he is very greedy.”

  “Who took you down to show you the puppies?”

  “Jenny.”

  “Where is she now?”

  Tamarisk lifted her shoulders. “Do gypsies have puppies?” she asked.

  “Oh yes,” Leah told her. “We have our dogs and some of them have puppies.”

  “Where does Life write on them? They haven’t got hands.”

  “It would find somewhere no doubt,” said Amaryllis.

  Tamarisk was quite taken with Leah. She put her hands on her knees and looked up at her searchingly.

  “You’ve got gold rings in your ears.”

  “Yes,” said Leah.

  “I want gold rings in my ears.”

  “Tamarisk always wants everything everyone else may have,” I said.

  “I want gold in my ears,” she repeated.

  “Perhaps one day …” began Amaryllis.

  “I want it now. They are always saying one day,” she told Leah. “Do you live in a caravan?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you sleep there?”

  “Yes. Sometimes if it is a very hot night we sleep out of doors … under the sky and when we wake in the night we can see the stars twinkling overhead. And sometimes there’s a moon.”

  “I want to sleep under the stars.”

  “Perhaps you will… one day.”

  “You say it now. One day! I never want one day. I always want now.”

  I heard an agitated voice: “Miss Tamarisk. Miss Tamarisk. Where are you?”

  Tamarisk buried her head in Leah’s lap. I noticed how gently Leah’s long brown fingers touched the dark straight hair.