The Lady and the Lake (16 page)

I
knew
now
why
the
house
had
seemed
so
familiar
then,
for
Mr
Lang
had
a
copy
of
the
painting
hung
in
his
office.

I
stopped
in
front
of
a
very commanding
portrait
of
a
young
dark-haired
woman,
ringlets
fell
each
side
of
her
face,
her
complexion
perfect
with
rosy
cheeks.
She
wore
a
cream
silk
gown
adorned
with
small
violet
flowers
and
a
prettily-painted
fan
in
one
hand.

‘Who
is
this?’
I
asked
Thomas,
too
entranced
to
look
at
the
brass
plaque
beneath.

‘It
is
Aunt
Henry
in
her
younger
days,’
he
replied,
and
I
was
quite
taken
aback
for
this
young
woman
was
beautiful
and
I
felt
a
sudden
sympathy
for
the
older
Henrietta
Kershaw.

Now
you
have
told
me
I
can
see
that
Emily
has
some
of
her
features,
especially
the
dark
hair
and
the
small
pert
mouth.’
I
could
hardly
believe
that
this
was
the
same
woman
that
had
berated
us
earlier.

‘Well
it
is,
I
can
assure
you.’
And
he
showed
me
the
plaque
to
prove
it,
which
read,
Henrietta Kershaw 1854
.
‘Now
let
us
talk
of
ourselves.’
He
insisted
taking
my
arm
and
leading
me
towards
the
door.

‘It’s
nearly
six
o’clock,’
I
exclaimed
looking
at
my
fob
watch.
‘The
time
has
just
flown
by
today
and
I
have
to
be
in
the
kitchen
in
the
next
five
minutes.’

‘Just
time
for
me
to
say
that
we
will
still
go
to
visit
Whitby
on
Saturday
if
you
are
willing.’
As
he
asked
the
question
he
gently
touched
my
cheek
with
the
back
of
his
hand.

‘Indeed
I
am,
for
if
I
am
to
be
banished
from
the
house
I
know
it
will
be
worth
it,’
I
teased
laughing
up
at
him.

‘Well
then,
I
shall
meet
you
in
the
pony
and
trap
outside
the
gates
at
9
a.m.’
So
saying
he
took
my
hand
gently
kissing
the
palm
which
sent
a
shiver
through
my
whole
being.

‘I
shall
be
there
I
promise.’
Praying
silently
that
no-one
would
stop
us.

***

Later,
making
my
way
to
my
room
after
supper,
my
thought
was
to
find
a suitable
dress
in
my
wardrobe
for
Emily’s
party.
After
my
interlude
with
Thomas
in
the
long
gallery
I
felt
so
much
happier
and
had
a
spring
in
my
step
again.

The
sun
had
moved
across
the
sky
leaving
just
a
ray
of
light
on
the
wardrobe
which
appeared
to
light
my
way.
Opening
the
door
I
looked
at
my
sparse
array
of
dresses
hung
on
the
rail,
deciding
on
which
one
would
be
suitable
and
alluring.

I
picked
out
my
best
dress
of
pale
blue,
it
was
made
of
a
light
cotton
material
with
a
rounded
neck-line,
puffed
sleeves
to
the
elbow
and
a
slightly
flared
skirt.
Quickly
I
removed
my
shabby
grey
dress
and
put
on
the
blue
one.

The
cotton
felt
cool
against
my
skin
and
as
I
looked
in
the
mirror
at
my
reflection
I
realised
that
if
I
could
find
a
haberdashery
shop
in
Whitby
I
could
purchase
some
silk
flowers
for
the
shoulder
and
waistline
of
the
dress
to
follow
the
fashion
of
the
day.

Also
a
matching
flower
in
my
hair
could
look
quite
fetching,
with
this
thought
in
mind
I
felt
so
much
better
and
looked
forward
to
Emily’s
party.
I
was
about
to
remove
the
dress
when
there
was
a
tap
at
the
door.

It
couldn’t
be
Mrs
Grafton
for
she
would
have
stepped
in
without
invitation,
how
I
loathed
that
woman.
Opening
the
door
I
could
see
it
was
Alice
and
drew
to
one
side
so
she
could
enter.

‘What
a
delightful
dress,’
Alice
observed,
‘and
the
colour
suits
you,’
she
complimented
me.

‘Thank
you,
I
intend
to
wear
it
to
Emily’s
birthday
party,’
I
explained
and
told
her
my
intention
to
stitch
the
silk
flowers
on
to
enhance
the
dress
once
I’d
been
able
to
purchase
some.

‘A
cream
colour
would
look
quite
fetching,’
said
the
governess
walking
across
to
sit
on
my
bed.

‘It’s
pleasant
to
have
you
call
on
me,’
I
said.
Was
there
a
purpose
for
your
visit?’