Whitefern by V.C. Andrews

Author:V.C. Andrews
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books

Living a Lie

Arden had said that Mrs. Matthews was scheduled to come to Whitefern at around eleven in the morning. Right after we had cleaned up our breakfast dishes and put everything away, I had Sylvia sit on the settee in the living room, and I began an explanation to prepare her for a stranger coming to our home to examine her. The way she smiled at me was eerie. It was almost as if she knew exactly what I was going to say, and, contrary to what I might think, that made her happy.

“Something is going on inside you, Sylvia,” I began. “Arden and I think you might be pregnant.”

She nodded. There was certainly no shock, surprise, or fear on her face. This was unexpected. Perhaps she didn’t understand and was simply trying to please me.

“Do you understand what I’m telling you, Sylvia? When I say we think you might be pregnant, we mean there might be a baby forming inside you.”

“Yes, I know,” she said. Then she smiled and said, “Papa told me, and he said the baby would be forming in you, too, Audrina.”

For a moment, I was speechless. If I ever said anything clever or prophetic when I was little, Momma would always smile, tenderly brush my hair, and say, “Out of the mouths of babes . . .” I felt like saying that to Sylvia. Even if she had somehow overheard the things Arden had said, his plan in particular, she would never be able to comprehend it and embrace it. However, I couldn’t imagine her coming up with this idea herself. Her even suggesting such a thing gave me a chill. Out of habit, I looked at Papa’s chair. So often when I was teaching something to Sylvia, he would sit there and half-listen, occasionally smiling at how hard I pursued something with her until she had grasped it. I could easily imagine him sitting there now, with a similar smile on his face, encouraging me to go on.

“This is a house that welcomes ghosts,” Aunt Ellsbeth had once told Vera and me. She’d hugged herself when she’d said it, and both of us had looked around, expecting to see some spirit whisk past us.

“When did Papa say this to you, Sylvia?” I asked now. It was like following someone you knew was lost, traveling down roads that led nowhere, but I had to question her.

“One time when I was in the rocking chair,” she said.

“What time? When?”

“I don’t know the time, Audrina. I didn’t look at a clock.” She looked like she was going to cry because she was disappointing me. “I don’t remember.”

“Okay, okay. Forget about that. There is a woman coming to see you this morning. Her name is Mrs. Matthews. She’s like a doctor. She helps deliver babies when it’s time for them to come out. She will make sure you are pregnant and that you are doing okay, and then she will help us with everything that has to be done.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.