The Mask of the Enchantress (2 page)

It was the first day of September and a shaft of sunlight had managed to get through one of the slats in the blinds which had not been properly closed. I can see it now all so clearlyhe horsehair sofa; the horsehair chairs to match, which, mercifully, were rarely sat on, with the antimacassars placed primly on their backs; the whatnot in the corner with its ornaments which were dusted twice a week; the holy pictures on the wall with that of the young Queen looking very disagreeable, her arms folded and the ribbon of the Garter over her very sloping shoulders. There was no gayety in that room at all and that was why the shaft of sunshine looked so out of place. I was sure Aunt Amelia would notice it and shut it out before long.

But she did not. She was obviously very preoccupied and rather concerned.

iss Anabel is coming on the third,she said. The third of September was my birthday.

I clasped my hands and waited. Miss Anabel had always come on my birthday.

he is thinking of a little treat for you.

My heart began to beat fast. I waited breathlessly.

f you are good,went on Aunt Amelia. It was the usual proviso, so I did not take much notice of that. She continued: ou will wear your Sunday clothes although it will be a Thursday.

The wearing of Sunday clothes on a Thursday seemed full of portent.

Her lips were firmly pressed together. I could see that she did not approve of the meeting.

he is going to take you out for the day.

I was astounded. I could scarcely contain myself. I wanted to bounce up and down on the horsehair chair.

e must make sure that everything is all right,said Aunt Amelia. would not want Miss Anabel to think that we did not bring you up like a lady.

I burst out that everything would be all right. I would forget nothing I had been taught. I would not speak with my mouth full. I should have my handkerchief ready in case it were needed. I would not hum. I would always remember to wait until I was spoken to before speaking.

ery well,said Aunt Amelia; and later I heard her say to Uncle William: hat is she thinking of? I don like it. It unsettling for the child.

The great day came. My sixth birthday. I was dressed in my black button boots and my dark blue jacket with a mercerized cotton dress beneath it. I had dark blue gloves and a straw hat with elastic under the chin.

The fly came from the station with Miss Anabel in it and when it went back I was in it as well.

Miss Anabel was different that day. The thought occurred to me that she was a little afraid of Aunt Amelia. She kept laughing and she gripped my hands and said two or three times: his is nice, Suewellyn.

We boarded the train under the curious eyes of the station-master and were soon puffing away. I did not remember ever having been on a train before and I did not know what excited me most, the sound of the wheels which seemed to be singing a merry song or the fields and woods which were rushing by; but what gave me most pleasure was the presence of Miss Anabel pressed close beside me. Every now and then she would give my hand a squeeze.

There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask Miss Anabel but I remembered my promise to Aunt Amelia to behave in the manner of a well-brought-up child.

ou are quiet, Suewellyn,said Miss Anabel, so I explained about not speaking until I was spoken to.

She laughed; she had a gurgling sort of laughter which made me want to laugh every time I heard it.

h, forget that,she said. want you to talk to me whenever you feel like it. I want you to tell me just anything that comes into your mind.

Oddly enough, with the ban lifted, I was tongue-tied. I said: ou ask me and Il tell you.

She put her arm round me and held me close. want you to tell me that you are happy,she said. ou do like Uncle William and Aunt Amelia, don you?

hey are very good,I said. think Aunt Amelia is more good than Uncle William.

s he unkind to you?she asked quickly.

h no. Kinder in a way. But Aunt Amelia is so very good that it hard for her to be kind. She never laughsI stopped because Miss Anabel laughed a good deal and it seemed as though I were saying she was not kind.

She just hugged me and said: h, Suewellyn youe such a little girl really.

not,I said. bigger than Clara Feen and Jane Motley. And they are older than I am.

She just held me against her so that I couldn see her face, and I thought she didn want me to.

The train stopped and she jumped up. ee getting out here,she said.

She took my hand and we left the train. We almost ran along the platform. Outside was a dogcart with a woman sitting in it.

h, Janet,cried Miss Anabel, knew you come.

Tain right,said the woman, looking at me. She had a pale face and brown hair drawn down the sides of her face and fastened in a bun at the back. She had on a brown bonnet with ribbon tied under the chin and reminded me of Uncle William suddenly because I could see she was trying to stop herself smiling.

o this is the child, miss,she said.

his is Suewellyn,answered Miss Anabel.

Janet clicked her tongue. don know why I she began.

anet, youe having a wonderful time. Is the hamper there?

ust as you said, miss.

ome on, Suewellyn,said Miss Anabel. et up into the trap. Wee going for a ride.

Janet sat in front holding the reins. Miss Anabel and I were behind. Miss Anabel held my hand tightly. She was laughing again.

The dogcart started off and we were soon riding through leafy lanes. I wanted this to go on and on forever. It was like stepping into an enchanted world. The trees were just beginning to turn color and there was a faint mist in the air which made the sunshine hazy, and this seemed to give a certain mystery to the landscape.

re you warm enough, Suewellyn?asked Miss Anabel.

I nodded happily. I did not want to speak. I was afraid of breaking the spell, afraid that I would wake up in my bed and find that I had been dreaming it all. I tried to catch each moment and hold it, saying to myself, Now. It is always now, of course, but I wanted this moment of now to stay with me forever.

I was almost unbearably excited, almost unbearably happy.

When the trap stopped suddenly, I gave a gasp of disappointment. But there was more to come.

his is the spot,said Janet. nd, Miss Anabel, I reckon it a whole lot too close for comfort.

h, get away with you, Janet. It perfectly safe. What time is it?

Janet consulted the watch pinned to her black bombazine blouse.

alf past eleven,she said.

Miss Anabel nodded. ake the hamper,she said. et everything ready. Suewellyn and I are going for a little walk. You like that, wouldn you, Suewellyn?

I nodded. I should have liked anything I shared with Miss Anabel.

ow you watch out, miss,said Janet. f you was to be seen

ee not going to be seen. Of course wee not. Wee not going all that near.

should hope not.

Miss Anabel took my hand and we walked away.

he seems rather cross,I said.

he cautious.

hat that?

he doesn like risks.

I didn know what Miss Anabel was talking about but I was too happy to care.

et go into the woods,she said. want to show you something. Come on. Let run.

So we ran over the grass, dodging between the trees. ee if you can catch me,said Miss Anabel.

I almost did; then she would laugh and slip away from me. I was breathless and even happier than I had been in the train and the dogcart. The trees had thinned and we were on the edge of the woods.

uewellyn,she said softly. ook.

And there it was, just about a quarter of a mile away from us, set on a slight incline with a ditch all round it. I could see it clearly. It was like a castle out of a fairy tale.

hat do you think of it?she said.

s it real?I asked.

h yes it real.

I have always had a good visual memory and could look at something and remember it in detail after a glance or two and thus was able to carry the image of Mateland Castle in my mind through the years to come. I describe it now as I know it to be. When, at the age of six, I first saw it there was something magical on that day which was to stand out in my mind for some years to come, almost like a dream.

The castle was magnificent and mysterious. It was enclosed by tall curtain walls and at the four angles there were massive drum towers; on each flank was a square tower and there was the traditional machicolated gatehouse. Long narrow slits of windows were set in the ashlar walls. The postern tower parapet defending the portal below was a formidable reminder that once boiling oil had been poured from it on anyone who dared attempt to break down the defenses. Behind the battlements were wall walks from which the defenders of the castle would have sent their arrows raining down. I learned all this and much more later; I came to know every corbel, every machicolation, every twist of the spiral staircases. But from that moment it fascinated me completely. It was almost as though it took possession of me. I liked to think later that it willed me to act as I did.

At this time I could only stand beside Miss Anabel staring, speechless.

I heard her laugh and she whispered: o you like it?

Like it? It seemed a mild word to express my feeling about the castle. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. There was a picture of Windsor Castle in Miss Brent parlor and that was beautiful. But this was different. This was real. I could see the September sunshine picking out sharp bits of flint in the walls and making them sparkle.

She was waiting for me to answer.

t beautiful. It real.

h, it real all right,answered Miss Anabel. t been standing there for seven hundred years.

even hundred years!I echoed.

long time, eh? And think, youe only been on this earth for six. I glad you like it.

oes anyone live in it?

h yes, people live in it.

nights I whispered. erhaps the Queen.

ot the Queen, and they don have knights in armor these days even in seven-hundred-year-old castles.

Suddenly four people appeared girl with three boys. They were riding across the stretch of grass before the castle moat. The girl was on a pony and I noticed her particularly, for she seemed to be about my age. The boys were older.

Miss Anabel caught her breath sharply. She laid her hand on my arm and drew me back into the bushes.

t all right,she whispered, as though to herself. Theye going in.

o they live there?I asked.

ot all of them. Susannah and Esmond do. Malcolm and Garth are visitors.

usannah,I said. hat a bit like my name.

h yes, it is.

I watched the riders pass over the bridge which crossed the moat. They went under the gatehouse and into the castle.

Their appearance had affected Miss Anabel deeply. She took my hand suddenly, and I remembered Aunt Amelia injunctions not to speak unless I was spoken to.

Miss Anabel started to run through the trees. I tried to catch her and we were laughing again.

We came to a clearing in the woods and there Janet had undone the hamper, spread a cloth on the grass and was putting out knives and forks and plates.

el wait awhile,said Miss Anabel.

Janet nodded, her lips tight as though she were holding back something she wanted to say which was not very pleasant.

Miss Anabel noticed, for she said: t none of your business, Janet.

h no,said Janet, looking like a hen with ruffled feathers, know that well enough. I just do as I told.

Miss Anabel gave her a little push. Then she said: isten.

We all listened. I could hear the unmistakable sound of horseshoofs.

t is,said Miss Anabel.

ou be careful, miss,warned Janet. t might not be.

A man on horseback came into sight. Anabel gave a cry of joy and ran towards him.

He jumped off his horse and tied it to a tree. Miss Anabel, who herself was a tall lady, looked suddenly very small beside him.

He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her for some seconds. Then he said: here is she?

Miss Anabel held out her hand and I ran to her.

his is Suewellyn,she said.

I curtsied as I had been taught to do to people like the squire and the vicar. He picked me up and held me in his arms, scrutinizing me.

hy,he said, he is a little thing.

he only six, remember,said Miss Anabel. hat did you expect? An Amazon? And she tall for her age. Aren you, Suewellyn?

I said that I was taller than Clara Feen and Jane Motley, who were older than I.

ell,he said, hat a mercy. I glad you surpassed those two.

ut you don know them,I said.

And they both laughed.

He put me down and patted my head. My hair was loose today. Miss Anabel did not like it in plaits.

ee going to eat now,said Miss Anabel. anet has it all waiting for us.She whispered to the man: ost disapproving, I assure you.

don need to be assured on that point,he said.

he thinks it was another of my mad schemes.

ell, isn it?

h, you know you wanted it as much as I did.

He still had his hand on my head. He ruffled my hair and said: believe I did.

At first I was rather sorry that he and Janet were there. I should have liked Miss Anabel to myself. But after a while I began to change my mind. It was only Janet I wished to be without. She sat a little apart from us and her expression reminded me of Aunt Amelia, which in its turn recalled the unpleasant truth that this magical day would come to an end and I should be back in the house on the green with only memories of it. But in the meantime it was Now and Now was glorious.

We sat down to eat and I was between Miss Anabel and the man. Once or twice she called him by his name, which was Joel. I was not told what I was to call him, which was a little awkward. There was something about him which made it impossible not to be aware of him all the time. Janet was in awe of him, I sensed. She did not speak to him as she did to Miss Anabel. When she did address him, she called him Sir.

He had dark brown eyes and hair of a lighter shade of brown. There was a cleft in his chin and he had very strong white teeth. He had white, strong-looking hands. I noticed them particularly, and there was a signet ring on his little finger. He seemed to be watching me and Miss Anabel; and Miss Anabel was watching us both. Janet, sitting a little distance away, had brought out her knitting, and her needles were clicking away, registering disapproval as clearly as her pursed lips did.