happened to you, just that you faded away, died. The doctor will have nothing at
all to say. Nothing will happen to me. No one will ever suspect me. But I will
know, and I will smile because I killed you.
“You thought Lawrence was the old woman who appeared in here with that knife,
but it wasn’t. I played that role. I wanted to scare you into madness, but you
have no sensitivity in you, you are hard and tough, too much of this practical
earth. Yes, I hoped you would simply fall into hysteria, but I should have known
better. You are not your mother’s daughter. Lawrence thought it would make you
frantic. I hoped it would, but I wasn’t as sure as he was. He didn’t know you,
and so he didn’t listen to my concerns. Just look where it got him. It got him
murdered by your damned lover, you little bitch.”
She grabbed my head and jerked me up. I saw that glass coming closer. I had no
strength. “No,” I whispered, “no.”
“You killed my dearest Lawrence. You deserve to die.”
“He was evil,” I said. “Evil.”
“Oh, no, he was a man betrayed, both by Caroline and by your wretched father. He
was a good man, a man who would have married me once you were buried deep in the
frozen ground. I came to know him very well when he came to London. I did not
want him to marry you, but he convinced me it was necessary. He told me he loved
me, only me, and you were only a pawn, for him to gain his vengeance.
“I loved him, do you hear? I would have wedded him. But not now. Now I have
nothing. As you fall back asleep this time, think of your father and how he will
soon join you. He is weaker than you. He will be with you quickly. I believe I
will kill him on Christmas Day. What do you think about that? Ah, and then there
is John. Will I kill him? I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“No, Milly. You mustn’t kill John. He has done nothing wrong. Oh, please, no,
don’t hurt my father.”
“He is pitiful in his weaknesses,” she said, hovering over me, too close now,
that glass nearly to my mouth. “Here, now, let’s end this.
I felt such helpless fear, I was choking on it. Then I heard a man’s sharp voice.
“Miss Crislock, let me take this.” It was John. He grasped her wrist and pulled
the glass from her hand. I saw him hand it to Peter, who stood directly behind
him. Then he looked down at me. “Welcome back, Andy.”
“You’re here. Why are you here?”
“I wondered about the old woman. I wondered even more why you didn’t wake up.
Peter and I discussed it, decided we would wait in here, just to see if anyone
came in. When Miss Crislock entered, we nearly welcomed her, but Peter held me
back and we waited and listened to her. She is mad, Andy, her hatred has twisted
her. But it’s over now, all over, and you’re back with me again, thank God.”
Suddenly Miss Crislock screamed, a curdling scream that sounded like a demon
just released through the gates of hell. She was striking out at both John and
Peter, yelling, kicking, her hands flying. I saw Peter pull back his arm and
strike her in the jaw with his fist. She collapsed. He simply let her fall to
the floor.
George was out from under the covers, wuffing until John, laughing, picked him
up. “Just look at your mistress, George. She’s finally looking at me again. You
know what I think? I think it will be quite some time before she once again
believes she can best me, either with her wit or with her fists. What do you
think?”
George wuffed.
I was so happy, but there were no more words in me. There didn’t seem to be
anything. I tried to smile at my beloved cousin Peter, and at the most precious
man in the world to me, the man who had brought me from the darkness into