The Haunted Bedchamber by Gillian St. Kevern

Author:Gillian St. Kevern [St. Kevern, Gillian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780995121829
Published: 2019-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

11

As suspect as Mrs Jarvis was as an aunt, she was a first-class nurse. She treated and bandaged Wiremu's scratches, gave him a generous amount of brandy to dull the pain, and personally saw that he reached his bedroom. The fire was lit and Wiremu settled on his pillows.

Wiremu watched her stoke the coals. Her face was not expressive, too careful for that. Still, something in her eyes as she considered the room had not been there earlier. "You are sure that you would not prefer to be closer by the rest of us tonight? You may need help in the night."

Had he ceased being a threat now he was a patient? "I will be quite comfortable here, Aunt Prudence. Though I would be grateful if you sat with me a while."

If his request startled her, she gave no sign of it. She drew up one of the armchairs to his bedside. "What is on your mind?"

"Grandfather said the spirits are more active since my arrival. Is that the case?"

She frowned. "It is difficult to judge, but to my mind, yes—the manifestations are more frequent."

Wiremu frowned. Perhaps his disregard for tapu had angered the spirits? But no, everything he had done had been done by others in the house for years before his arrival without provoking this effect. Everything but one—and the ghost seemed to welcome Wiremu’s nightly attentions. "Why do you think that is?"

Her pale fingers settled on her lap. "I know nothing of such things."

"That is not so. You are an observant women. Twice now, before the manifestation, you were tense. I got the impression that you sensed something—some warning sign."

For a long moment, he thought she might deny it. "You will not tell Mr Jarvis?" She held herself stiff and proud, but her fingers curled in the fabric of her dress.

Wiremu shook his head. "Why should I? He does not wish to talk on the subject."

"He doesn't like any discussion of it, whether it is in his hearing or not. But yes. It seems to me that there is something in the air, like that before a lightning storm, before the manifestations." Her eyes searched his. "You feel it too?"

Wiremu nodded.

She exhaled lightly, slumping forward. "Then I am not mad."

"Not at all." Wiremu bit his lip. All this time, had his aunt been wrestling with that fear on top of the spirits? "And their effects are real enough." He winced as he shifted his cut hand.

"They haven't injured anyone before tonight," Mrs Jarvis said softly, following his movement. "I don't like this. Up until now I could console myself with the thought they sought to scare rather than injure. But now..." Her brow furrowed, her face turning in the direction of the nursery.

"Can't you send Rickie to school?" Wiremu asked.

Mrs Jarvis shook her head. "Julius died without making a will, and he had no income of his own. Mr Jarvis provides me with my necessities while I'm here, but there is no provision for Rickie's education."

"And he has a go at you for Rickie's schooling? That's a bit thick.

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