Chapter Twenty-One #2
“A sound, like a rustle. Rose said it was a whisper. She said it was Nellie, trapped outside because they had closed the windows. She was going out to talk to her. She said she has seen ghosts, that her grandmother had the Sight. I wanted to go, but she said that was not safe. We could not frighten Nellie. I was to wait in here and watch.”
I school my features even as my breath catches. Tell me you watched, Polly. Tell me you saw what happened.
“So Rose went outside, after hearing what sounded like Nellie.”
She nods.
“And you were watching out the window,” I say.
Another nod.
“Can you tell me what you saw?”
“Nothing. It was very dark. The stable light was out for the séance, and I could not see anything. Then I remembered Rose saying she couldn’t see anything, and I realized why. This light.”
She points at the lit lamp. I look at the window and, with the lamp on, I only see a reflection of the room.
“I heard Rose talking,” she says, “and I realized she was in the yard, so I quickly put out the light. I had my back to the window when she shrieked. I ran back to the window, and I thought I saw something beside the stable, but then it was gone. And I…”
Polly swallows. “I thought Rose had run back to the house. I thought she tried speaking to Nellie’s ghost and it frightened her.
I went to talk to her, but everyone was in the hall, and there was such a commotion.
By the time I realized they thought someone outside had been hurt, they already knew Rose was missing, and I… ”
She swallows. “I did not want to say we were listening to the séance, or we would both be in trouble and Rose would be unhappy with me.”
“It’s all right,” I say. “Whatever you tell me, I can guarantee Rose will be fine with it.”
“Because you think she has been taken.” Polly’s eyes brim with tears. “It was not Nellie’s ghost. A living person was out there, in the bushes, where they should not have been, and Rose saw them and they took her.”
“We don’t know,” I say firmly. “She may have seen someone and run. But whatever has happened, she will understand you needed to tell me, and I will not let Mrs. Loomis know you or Rose were listening to the séance.”
“I have nothing more to tell, miss.” Those tears spill. “I wish I did.”
“It’s all right. I’m going to ask you questions, and you will answer if you can. That is all. Now, you heard a rustle and Rose thought it was Nellie’s ghost.”
“Yes.”
“Did Rose say what she thought the ghost said?”
“No, that is why she went out. She said she could not hear properly, but it sounded like a whisper.” She pauses. “A pleading whisper.”
“Did Rose say that?”
“She said it sounded like that.”
“I understand. Then Rose went out, and you heard her speaking.”
“Yes, miss.”
“Did you hear what she said?”
“I…”
I lean forward. “I am only looking for your recollections. You can tell me what you think you heard. Or you can admit you couldn’t make out what was said. Even the tone of her voice would help, if you noted that.”
“She sounded…” Polly wrings her hands. “I am not good with words, miss.”
“May I help?”
She nods.
“Did she sound happy?” I say. “Nervous? Angry? Frightened? Excited? Worried?”
I list them slowly, watching her expression and being sure to use a variety of emotions and not lead her in one direction.
“Not frightened or worried but something like those?” she says.
“Apprehensive?”
A blank expression says I’ve exceeded her vocabulary. Damn it, Dad, this is what happens when an English prof raises a kid. Half the time, I’m not even sure which words are too big. I only know which ones fit.
Still I think I get the idea, and it meshes with what I heard. “Apprehensive” would be the word I’d use, and for what I heard. This only confirms that Polly did, in fact, hear her.
“As for what she said…” I prompt. “Please do not feel the need to come up with something, but if you picked up any words or thought you did…”
More lip nibbling. Then she blurts, “What are you doing here?”
That sets me back, and I almost reply that I’m Gray’s assistant.
“That’s what Rose said,” I say. “‘What are you doing here?’”
“Only it didn’t make sense, saying that to Nellie’s ghost, so I thought I heard wrong.
Then I thought she must have been asking what Nellie wanted.
Why she was here. But when everyone said Rose was missing, I…
” She fidgets. “I did not understand her meaning, miss. If I did, I would have said something straightaway. I would have run out to help her.”
Ah. Okay, now I get it. Polly heard Rose say “What are you doing here?” and later realized that should have been a sign of trouble, and Polly didn’t want to admit she did nothing when Rose said that. The longer Polly waited to tell someone, the more damning it became.
“It’s all right,” I say. “Whatever you heard her say, you couldn’t have gotten outside in time. It only helps to know what she said.”
“I think that was it.” Another lip nibble, then she squares her shoulders. “No, I am sure of it, miss, and I am sorry I did not understand.”
“No need to apologize. It all happened very fast. Now, if I may ask a few more questions…”