*
Quickly leaping out of bed she grabbed her gown and raced for the stairs. The sounds were coming from the nursery area. Recalling that Lord Buchanan has said that Vinnie suffered from nightmares she headed straight for the little girl's bedroom. Suzy was there already, rocking Vinnie in her arms and trying to hush the screaming child.
"Give her to me," Arabella said, "And see if you can rustle up a cup of hot milk or cocoa."
Suzy relinquished her hold on the child and Arabella gathered her up into her arms. "You are quite safe now." she said as she rocked Vinnie. Gradually the sobs subsided. Looking up she saw that Lord Buchanan was standing quietly by the bed. He sat down beside the pair and Vinnie crept into his arms and nestled there. Suzy returned with a cup of hot cocoa and then retired.
As Vinnie sipped her cocoa, Lord Buchanan talked to her about everyday things; what plants she was going to grow when the thaw set in; about the foal to be born to Trilby, the Clydesdale mare. Gradually her eyelids started to close and he tucked her gently back into bed. "I'll stay here for the rest of the night to make sure that she feels safe." he said. "You get back to bed and tomorrow we will talk about what needs to be done about these nightmares." [15]
Arabella dressed quickly the next morning and went up the flight of stairs to the nursery. Vinnie seemed to be quite cheerful and to have forgotten the horror of the previous night. She was eating her breakfast in the company of her brothers who were giggling over something which they were finding extremely funny and for the first time Arabella saw the little girl smile.
Going down to her own breakfast she felt that a frank discussion with Lord Buchanan was imperative. Some help for Vinnie was essential, and as soon as possible. She considered the options. It was going to be essential to find out what it was that was frightening her and since she had obviously put aside her fears of the previous night it might be necessary to question her as soon as possible after her dream, while she still remembered it.
Lord Buchanan was not in the dining room so she ate her breakfast and went to his study. He stood as she entered and motioned her into a chair by the fire which was blazing in the grate.
"There is something seriously troubling my daughter," he began, "And we need to get to the bottom of it before she is destroyed." [16]
"Your Lordship," began Arabella ...
"My name is Edward." Lord Buchanan smiled at her, "I would be honoured if you would use it."
"Thank you, Edward," she replied, "I agree with you. We need to find out what it is that is frightening her. She has already forgotten about her dream and is happily playing with the boys. We are going to have to question her as soon as she wakes up to try to find out what is going on. If a bed could be set up for me in her room I could be at hand immediately. However, it may be that with somebody else in the room to make her feel safe she will not have any more bad dreams. It seems cruel but I think that any action should be delayed until we have a chance to ask her what is scaring her."
"I agree. I've noticed that she forgets her fears in the morning."
Thoughtfully, Arabella said, "Yesterday when we walked past the gate to the stable yard she appeared to have a panic attack. Is there any significance in that spot?"
"That is where her mother was killed." said Edward, "Nobody saw the accident. The inquest found that she attempted to jump the gate and was thrown from her horse. She hit her head on a rock and died instantly." [17]
"Thomas Scott, the chauffeur, who doubles as the groom for the horses was the first on the scene. He attended to my wife's hunter which was lamed in the accident and called the ambulance. There was no hope for Charlotte, of course; she was dead when he found her."
"How did Vinnie learn that it was the place where her mother died?" asked Arabella.
"The servants talk. She must have overheard them discussing it."
"Even so, her reaction was extreme. She desperately needs help. Have you discussed the problem with her doctor?"
"Yes," he replied sadly, "He has suggested sedatives but I am not willing to try those yet. I feel that should be used only as a last resort." he smiled fleetingly at her, "I am hoping that with your help I can get to the bottom of it.
"To begin with her mother's death hardly affected her, or that was the way it seemed. The nightmares only started a few weeks ago. Something must have triggered them off just recently but I do not know what it was."
"Of course. I will do all that I can to help her. Perhaps if I question her directly she wakes from her nightmare I will get some clues as to what is troubling her. In the mean time I had better go and see what the children are doing, and attempt to start some sort of routine in their days." She stood up and smiled at Edward. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.
"Thank you for all you are doing for us." he said. [18]
The day passed with Arabella attempting to instigate a few short lessons to get the children back into a regular pattern to their days. The weather was grey and damp and they were content to spend the day indoors, reading and playing counting games. She found a cupboard filled with games such as Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly and Ludo - all well used and obviously belonging to several generations of children who had used the nursery in previous years.
Tucking the children into bed, she spent the evening chatting to Edward and reading the newspapers. At bed time she decided to remain awake to be ready in case Vinnie had another nightmare. Dressed in a comfortable pair of trousers and a dark sweater she settled down in a chair by the fire in her bedroom and prepared to spend a long, dull night. Tomorrow, if needs be she would hand the children over to Suzy for the day and catch up on the sleep she had missed.
Her eyelids were drooping when she heard the screams. Hurtling up the stairs she reached Vinnie's room at the same time as Suzy, who had obviously been asleep and was still only half awake. "I'll sort this out." said Arabella, "You get back into bed." [19]
Suzy turned reluctantly and went back towards her room. Entering Vinnie's bedroom Arabella noticed that it was in total darkness. The night light which she had left burning was now extinguished. She noticed also that there was an odd smell as though something was burning. Assuming that it was caused by the burnt-out night light Arabella switched on the lamp by Vinnies bed. The little girl was crying and shaking. Gathering her up in her arms she rocked her and made soothing noises until the weeping stopped.
"Vinnie," she said, "Tell me what you saw."
"A monster!!" said Vinnie, "It was green and then it caught fire."
"Where abouts was it?"
"It came out of the fireplace." said Vinnie, "It got bigger and bigger and then it sort of burst."
At that moment Edward entered the room and Arabella lifted Vinnie into his arms and walked over the fireplace. The small wood fire behind its safety screen had burnt itself out and there was nothing to see there but white wood ash and a few embers. Looking closely she noticed that there was something sticking to the back of the fireplace. She reached out and touched it; a thin film of rubber. That was the smell she had noticed on first entering the room - the smell of burning rubber. [20]
Puzzled, she carefully removed the scrap of rubber and slipped it into her pocket, resolving to show it to Edward as soon as she was able to get him on his own.
"I'll stay with Vinnie for the rest of the night." he said to her, "You appear to have yet to retire to bed. Better go and get what sleep you can and in the morning we will discuss what we intend to do about the bad dreams."
She awoke to the sound of her tea tray being placed on her bedside table and saw the chambermaid pulling back the curtains. It looked as though the bleak weather had given way to a fine day at last. Her first happiness at the sight of the sunshine was replaced by a mental gloom as she recalled the events of the previous night.
Reflectively sipping her tea she decided that she needed to know more about the death of Lady Buchanan. There seemed to be some mystery there. Certainly, Vinnie reacted very dramatically to the spot where her mother was killed but why had the problem surfaced so recently? Lady Buchanan had died two years ago - Vinnie was only six years old at the time and probably had only hazy memories of her mother. [21]
"Thomas Scott, the groom/chauffeur, was first on the scene. Perhaps he is the person to ask about what happened. He may have noticed something out of place or unusual." Arabella thought about how best to approach the surly little man. She needed to get him on his own or at least without the presence of the children. Perhaps it would be better to tackle all the servants at once. There might be less chance of outright rejection of her questions.
Smiling to herself she decided that her ambivalent status in the household might be an excuse for her to join the servants at their tea and see if she could bring the subject around to Lady Buchanan's death while they were all there together.
Thus resolved, she slipped out of bed, showered and dressed for the day. She had some ideas which she needed to discuss with Edward. That scrap of rubber needed to be investigated and if there was something odd going on then it was imperative to move Vinnie out of her bedroom and to ensure that she wasn't left alone at night. That was going to mean moving her down to Arabella's own room. [22]
After breakfast she made her way to Edward's study. She needed to obtain his permission to move Vinnie down to her own bedroom and she needed his help with her plan to question the servants. Entering the study she saw that Edward was looking tired and heavy eyed. He obviously hadn't had sufficient sleep either. Perhaps tonight, with Vinnie sleeping in her bedroom they might all have a better night tonight.
"Good morning," she said, "You look the way I feel this morning."
Edward smiled wearily. "Have you any ideas as to where we proceed from here?" he asked.
"I'd like to move Vinnie down into my bedroom," she said, "There is something strange going on and I think that she would be safer in with me for a while."
"What makes you think that there is something odd going on?" he asked, "Is there something you haven't told me?" [23]
Drawing the piece of rubber out of her pocket she handed it to him. "I found this sticking to the back of the fireplace last night. I didn't want to say anything in front of Vinnie. And when I first entered the room there was a smell of burning. This looks to me like a bit of balloon rubber."
"So? Surely a nursery is the place to find balloons." he exclaimed.
"In the fireplace? Behind the safety screen? Vinnie described to me what she saw which hadfrightened her. She saw a monster in the fireplace which got bigger and bigger and then burst. Could it have been a balloon which burst when it touched the hot embers?"
"Why in the world would anybody rig up something like that? Surely you do not think that her brothers are playing those sorts of tricks on her?"
"No, I wasn't thinking of her brothers. In fact, the thought never occurred to me. I think that somebody is trying to frighten her, but for the life of me I can't think why. Suzy is usually the first on the scene when she has one of her dreams. Last night I got to the door first and sent Suzy back to bed. She wasn't very happy about it. I'd hate to think that she is implicated since I think that she is genuinely fond of the children, but she is certainly the one best placed to rig up something in the chimney." [24]
He looked surprised but said, "Probably far too late to find anything now. If there was any evidence, which I find hard to believe, then it would have been removed first thing this morning while the children and I were having breakfast."
"If somebody is playing tricks then I feel that Vinnie would be safer in my room. Do I have your permission to move her in with me?"
"Do whatever you think is best but I hope that you are wrong in thinking that somebody is trying to harm her."
"Thank you," she said, "And there is one other think that I'd like to ask of you."
"Fire away!" he grinned at her ruefully.
"It is a beautiful day today. Would you take the children out for a drive, a ride or a picnic, please."
He looked at her suspiciously for a moment and eventually said, "I'll take the car and drive them over to see their grandmother. Will that do?"
"You will drive them yourself? You won't ask Scott to drive?"
"I'll drive myself." he said, "But I hope that you are not thinking of doing anything foolish while we are away." [25]
Arabella decided that it would be better to question the servants before it was known that Vinnie was moving down to her room and so she busied herself with lessons for the rest of the morning.
After they had finished their lunch their father came into the nursery and announced that they were all going to visit their grandmother. Arabella gathered from their reaction that this was a high treat for them. She and Suzy dressed them in their best clothes and sent them off to Edward. Watching them drive out, Arabella turned to Suzy. "They are all gone for the afternoon and I can manage their baths when they return. Would you like to take some time off? Unless you have other things to do their doesn't seem to be much point in you staying here for the rest of the day."
"Thank you, Miss Hilary," said Suzy, "I'd really like to go and see my mother. She and Father live in one of the tied cottages on the estate. I'll pop over for afternoon tea and I can easily be back by bathtime."
"I didn't realise that your father didn't live here in the house." commented Arabella.
"No. He and mother have lived in the cottage ever since they got married. Mother used to be the cook here. The only people who live in the house now are me, Mrs Makepeace and Tom Scott." [26]
Just because Simpson lived in the cottage didn't totally exclude him from the possibility that he was involved in a plan to harm Vinnie but it would mean that Suzy shared his guilt and at this stage she was reluctant to suspect Suzy, although she was starting to look the most likely candidate.
She kept her eye on the stable yard from one of the upstairs windows and when she saw Scott crossing to the kitchen for his tea she made her way downstairs.
She entered the kitchen with a bright smile on her face. There she found Mrs Makepeace presiding over a table on which there was a substantial array of cakes and sandwiches. Seated around the table were Scott, and the two housemaids.
"Everyone has gone out for the afternoon, so I thought that I should join you for tea, if you don't mind."
She suspected that she was less than welcome but one of the maids got up and fetched another cup and saucer from the dresser and Mrs Makepeace poured her a cup of tea. A silence had fallen in the room at her entry so she decided to start with a neutral subject. Addressing Mrs Makepeace she said, "This is a beautiful old house. You must know its history and I'd love to hear about it some time and be shown over it all. Do you know about the people in the portraits?" [27]
A glimmer of interest showed in Mrs Makepeace's eye as she said, "The house dates back to the time of Queen Anne. I'd be very happy to show you over it one day. It has a very interesting history."
"Thank you," she smiled, "I'll take you up on that when you have the time to show me around.
Turning to Scott she said, "Hw long have you worked here? I didn't realise, until the children and I visited the stables, that you looked after the horses as well as the cars. That must keep you very busy."
Scott mumbled something which Arabella didn't catch and Mrs Makepeace said, "Scott was born on the estate and started out as a stable boy. He has worked his way up and is a brilliant mechanic. He can fix anything."
"Anything??" Arabella thought to herself, "Things up chimneys, too?" But why would Scott be trying to frighten Vinnie.
"Do all three children have their own ponies?" she asked him, "The boys showed me their ponies but something scared Lavinia when we went to the stables so I thought that it was best not to ask her if she had one too."
"Aye," said Scott, "Miss Lavinia has a welsh pony like the boys." [28]