The Mask of the Enchantress (41 page)

We loved the castle for a hundred reasons, not only because it had been the family home for generations but because of the spell it cast on us so that we would lie and cheat for possession of itnd some of us would do murder.

I did not go down to dinner. I pleaded a headache. I could not face Malcolm yet.

Janet brought up my supper on a tray.

don want anything,I told her.

ome on,she retorted as though I were two years old. hatever the trouble, it best not to face it on an empty stomach.

She was watching me anxiously. Sometimes I thought Janet really cared about me.

The night brought me no comfort.

When finally I reached what should have been blessed oblivion I was haunted by dreams of terror in which Esmond, Malcolm, Susannah and myself were involved.

In the morning I got up early and went down and tried to eat a little breakfast. While I toyed with the food, Chaston came in to tell me that Jack Chivers had come to see me. He was waiting outside and seemed very upset.

told him, Miss Susannah, that I would not disturb you at breakfast,said Chaston, ut he said it was so important and about his wife, so he prevailed on me to come to you.

is wife!I cried. h, certainly you should disturb me. Il see Jack Chivers at once.

ery good, Miss Susannah. Should I bring him in?

es, please. Immediately.

Jack came into the hall. I took him at once into one of the small rooms. I thought he had come to tell me that Leah pains had started, and I was worried because the baby was by no means due.

hat is it, Jack?I asked.

t Leah, miss. She quite upset.

he baby

o, not the baby, miss. She says she must see you. She says will you come as soon as you can.

ertainly I will, Jack. What is it about?

he wants to tell you herself, Miss Susannah. If you could come

I was dressed for riding so I said we should go at once, and I rode over to the cottage with him.

Leah was sitting at the table looking very pale and frightened.

hy, Leah,I asked, hat has happened?

t my father,she told me. e got it out of me.

ot what, Leah? What do you mean?

e threatened to beat me, Miss Susannah. I would never have told particularly now I wouldn have. But I was frightened not so much for me as for the baby. I told him everything and he said he get even.

hat did you tell him?

told him about you and Saul.

hat about me and Saul?

iss Susannah, he said he just about kill me if I didn tell. I had to tell, miss. I had to because of the little n.

f course you had to but what?

can make it out, miss. It like someone else come in her place. It like you ain Miss Susannah any more. Youe good. I can see it, miss. It must have been a devil what possessed you. It been drawn out now, ain it, miss? I know they can do that. Youe good now, miss. I ain never going to forget what you done for me and Jack and the baby. Nor will Jack. But I had to tell him I had to tell him what you was while you had them devils in you.

ut what did you tell him, Leah?

ll I knew. My Uncle Saul was tormented, he was. He said his soul was lost. He go to hell. He used to talk to me. He always talked to me. He saved me many a beating. He was good, Uncle Saul was but there no standing against the Devil, miss and you had the Devil in you then.

lease, Leah, will you tell me what you told your father.

t was what Uncle Saul had told me. I seen you I seen you go in the barn together and stay there and then you come out and you be all laughing. It was the devils laughing, I know now, but then I thought you were just a wicked wicked witch. And Uncle Saul would be all shining in the face and looking as though he been with the angels till he remembered and then he was well nigh fit to do away with himself.

h, God help me,I murmured.

e used to talk to me. He talked to me the night afore he did it. He was in the field working and I took out his cold tea and bacon sandwich. We sat by the hedge and he said to me: 1 can stand it, Leah. Il have to get outIe sinned. Most terrible Ie sinned. I can see no way out. The wages of sin is death, Leah, and Ie earned them wages.That what he said to me, miss. The Devil tempted me,he said. And I said, es. Miss Susannah. She is the Devil.Then he started to tremble and he said, 1 can turn away from her, Leah. When she not there I know it wicked and when she there it only her.I said to him, sk forgiveness and don sin again.He said, ut Ie sinned, Leah. Ie sinned as you don know.I said, es, youe sinned, but people do sin like that. Look at Annie Draper. She got a baby and after that she married Farmer Smedley and she goes to church regular now and she reckoned to be quite good. It what they call repenting their sins. You can repent, Uncle Saul.He kept shaking his head. Then he said it had gone too far. I had to find some comfort for him. I kept saying, t the same thing, Uncle Saul. Whether it was with Miss Susannah like you or a passing peddler like Annie Smedley.But he wouldn have it. Then he said this terrible thing. He said, t worse than that. It worse than fornication and that enough to send me to hell. It murder. Leah, that what it is. She asked me to help her do away with Mr. Esmond. She can abide him. She not going to marry him. You see, she wants the castle but not him.I said, hat do you mean? What castle folksaffairs to do with you?And he said, t Miss Susannah. Ie got to do what she asks. You don understand. Ie got to. Ie done it. And there only one way out.I didn know quite what he meant, miss not until next day when they found him hanging in the barn.

I said faintly: nd this is what you have told your father?

wouldn have told, miss. Not after what you done for Jack and me. I wouldn have told but for the baby. I know it was devils in you, miss. I know it now. I know that without them youe good and kind. I wouldn have told but for harm coming to the baby. But I had to tell you what I done.

hank you, Leah,I said. hank you. I grateful.

iss Susannah,she said earnestly, t was the devils in you, wasn it? Youe not going to be wicked again. Youl always be your own true self, won you kind and good so as we can all feel safe with you?

will, Leah,I cried. will.

iss Susannah, my father he can do terrible things. He too good a man not to fight what he thinks is evil no matter where it is. He says hel not let this rest. He going to avenge Saul. He going to do something I don know what. But he a terrible cruel man when he has to set wrong right.

eah,I said, ou mustn get upset. Think of the baby.

h, I do, miss. I think of all youe done for us. It was terrible when he come here. But I was frightened, miss, not for myself but for the baby.

on fret. Everything will be all right,I said. I wanted to get away to think what this meant

I left the cottage and went into the woods. I was trapped now. I had thought to take on the custodianship of the castle and in doing so I had put on the mask of a murderess.

I was numb with fear, unable to plan. I did not know which way to turn.

Revengeful Jacob Cringle knew why his brother Saul had committed suicide. He knew that murder had been planned at the castle, and it had later been carried out.

He would not let the matter rest. He was going to pursue the murderers and bring them to justice. He was going to have vengeance for his brother death.

I knew that murder had been planned. I had proof in the letters which I had found in the secret drawer. It was all beginning to fall into shape.

Unwittingly I had taken on the part of the murderess.

I was trapped in Mateland Castle.

As Cougaba had said: at ole Debilhad been at my elbow. He had tempted me. He had spread out the glory of the castle before me and promised me it should be mine in return for my allegiance to him.

And I had succumbed to temptation. Now I was here in a position growing hourly more dangerous. Caught in a trap of my own making.

I don know how I got through the day. I could eat nothing, so I stayed out, pretending to be on estate business and that I had eaten at one of the inns.

I came in late in the afternoon. I would have to plead another headache. I could not face them that evening. I did not want to see Malcolm. He was as much involved in this as I was and when I thought of the letters I was nauseated. It was clear from them what his relationship with Susannah had been and what I could not understand was why he was leading me on to believe he accepted me. He must have known from the very beginning that I was an impostor. What game was he playing? I needed time lots of itto try to make sense of this.

Janet came in with a tray. heye concerned,she said. hat two nights youe not been down to dinner. What wrong.

ust a headache.

t not natural for young girls to have headaches. You better see a doctor.

I shook my head and she left me.

When she came back for the tray she saw that I had eaten nothing.

She came and stood at the foot of my bed looking at me.

ou better tell me,she said. n a bit of trouble, Il be bound.

I did not answer.

ou better tell me. I might be able to help. Ie helped you quite a bit, I believe, right from the start when you came here pretending to be Miss Susannah.

anet!I cried.

hink I didn know? Think you could fool me? You might deceive poor Mrs. Emerald with her sight being like it is and her not taking much notice of anything but herself. But you don fool me. I knew you were Miss Anabel girl from the moment I saw you.

ou knew!

uewellyn!she said. saw you once when you were a little thing. Anabel and Joel came. They were a reckless pair. Yes, I guessed who you were. You look that little bit like Susannah but there a world of difference in you two. I had to do my best for Anabel girl. I was really fond of her. She was a lovely young thing. It was just what she would have done herself, I reckon. Oh yes, I knew who you were.

All I could say was: h, Janet!

She came round to me and put her arms about me. The show of emotion and affection was all the more effective because she was usually so undemonstrative.

She said: here, little n. Il do what I can. You shouldn have tried to be Susannah. It like a dove pretending to be a hawk. She had the Devil in her, Susannah did. There was them that saw it and knew it and yet couldn resist her.

t gone so far I began.

was bound to. You can do that sort of thing and not meet trouble sooner or later. Life not a game of masks and pretends.

I said: don know what to do. Il have to go away.

es,she agreed. o away and start something fresh. Theyl look for you, though. Mr. Malcolm would want to know where you were, wouldn he? You seem to have become fond of each other.

lease I whispered.

ll right. All right. It funny. He couldn abide Susannah. It was the same with Garth. I reckon they were just about the only two men who didn fall into her arms. And they might have done with a bit of beckoning from her. Oh, she had all the wiles at her fingertips, that one. But she had the Devil in her and I said it from the first.

I could not tell Janet about the letters. I could not tell her of Leah confession.

It was enough that she knew who I was.

It gave me a little comfort.

I could feel disaster in the air. I was uncertain what to do, what to say. I had been totally deceived in Malcolm. All the time he knew. What was he planning for me? He had pretended to believe I was Susannah. Why? He had acted superbly. But perhaps I had too.

I was in a daze. I even thought of running away, hiding myself, going to Australia working my passage over going to Laura or the property and asking for sanctuary.

No, I would talk to Malcolm. I would say: es, I am a cheat and a liar and you do well to despise me. But you are a murderer. You planned with Susannah to kill Esmond and then she went away and you did it. At least I did not kill. I only took what would have been Susannah if she had lived. And I am her half sister. I know what I took is legally yours now but you murdered for it.

I could not go yet. I had to see Malcolm first. I had to explain to him why I had done what I had and I wanted to know why he had pretended to believe I was Susannah.

The day passed uneasily. It was just before dinner when the blow fell.

We were going to dine in the small dining room as we did except when there were visitors. As I came down the stairs I saw a man in the hall.

When he saw me he stood very still. Then he came bounding towards me.

usannah!he cried. Then he stopped short.

ello,I said, smiling. He was evidently someone I should know.

He merely stared at me.

I took a step down the stairs. He took my hands and his face was close to mine.

t nice to see you,I stammered.

Just at that moment Emerald came to the top of the stairs.

glad youe back, Garth,she said.

So now I knew.

haven seen Susannah since she went to Australia,said Garth.

o, you haven, have you?I said feebly.

et go to dinner,put in Emerald. h, here Malcolm. Malcolm, Garth here.

o I see,said Malcolm.

I looked at him warily. He was the same as ever. None would have guessed that he could be capable of planning cold-blooded murder.

I tried to remember what I had heard of Garth. He was the son of Elizabeth Larkham, who had been companion to Emerald when Anabel lived at the castle. He paid periodic visits to the castle still.

We went in to dinner.

ow did you like Australia?Garth asked me,

I told him I had enjoyed it till the tragedy.

he tragedy?Of course, I thought, he wouldn have heard.

I said: he island where my father lived was destroyed by a volcano which erupted.

hat was rather dramatic, wasn it?

t was tragic,I said; and I was aware of the tremor in my voice.

nd you escaped luckily.

was in Australia when it happened.

rust you,said Garth.

ow, Garth,said Emerald, o sparring. I know how you two are when you have been together five minutes.

el behave, won we, Susannah?

el try,I added.

He asked several questions about the island and I answered with an emotion which I could not suppress. Then Malcolm changed the subject to that of the castle and we all joined in. I gathered that Malcolm did not like Garth very much, and I fancied the feeling was mutual. Once or twice I caught Garth eyes on me and he looked as though he were puzzled.