The House of Closed Doors by Jane Steen

Author:Jane Steen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Aspidistra Press
Published: 2012-06-24T21:00:00+00:00

I lay on my back, staring into the warm darkness. I had opened the window, and the sounds of the night drowned out those of my sleeping companions.

It had taken an hour to calm everyone down after Mr. Ostrander began screaming. A chaotic hour of everyone milling around and commenting, in whatever manner befitted each person’s level of understanding, on the insanity of our erstwhile superintendent.

I had been surprised to see Mrs. Lombardi still at the Farm, and in evening dress, but it was fortunate that she was present. She had taken control of the situation with admirable calm, while Mr. Schoeffel blustered and shouted and tried to ask questions of Mr. Ostrander. It was a pointless exercise; the former superintendent was obviously lost inside some maze of insanity, his eyes wandering and terrified in turns. The words he had spoken to me had been his last clear ones, and after that he had no longer made any sense.

Mrs. Lombardi’s quiet demeanor and gentle words had calmed Mr. Ostrander down, and we had taken him inside. He whimpered with fear every time a door closed, and we soon learned that he needed to see a way out of any room they placed him in.

“The terrible thing is,” Mrs. Lombardi said to me when she was finally able to leave Mr. Ostrander in the care of four male orderlies, “the recommended procedure in such cases is a straitjacket and a padded cell, but the poor man cannot bear to be shut in.” She still appeared calm, but her face was completely white, and I could see that she was trembling.

I felt ice spread through my veins. “You won’t do that‌—‌please, you won’t. He has harmed no one except himself.”

“No.” Mrs. Lombardi seemed to melt into the wall on which she was leaning. “We won’t.” She folded her arms and gazed at me.

“Nell, why were you outside talking to the superintendent?”

I shook my head vigorously. “I didn’t know he was there. I swear, Mrs. Lombardi, I had no idea. I was just getting some air.”

Would she believe me? I felt my arms and legs stiffen in an effort to convey my innocence to her.

“You should not have been outside.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It was so hot.”

Mrs. Lombardi glanced at her window, firmly shut against the hordes of insects that would have been drawn to the glow of the lamp. Her office was stifling, and we were both drenched in perspiration‌—‌she must have been suffering from the heat even more than I, since she wore stays and her dress was of a fine silk.

“What was he saying to you?”

“Nothing. Just nonsense.” I was sure Mrs. Lombardi knew I was lying, but I looked her boldly in the face, and the suspicion in her large hazel eyes gave way to weariness. She pushed away from the wall and came to lay her hand on my arm.

“I am sorry, Nell. I have no reason to suspect you of any sort of complicity.”

I could smell her freesia scent and see the fine sheen of perspiration on her olive skin.

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