Changeling

After the performance the singers came into the hall; my stepfather made a little speech of thanks; and all were served with hot punch and mince pies, which were handed round by the children, supervised by Celeste.

After that we dined … the children at the small table with Leah, and the rest of us at the great oak one in the center of the hall. There was a great deal of laughter. I watched my stepfather at the head of the table being very charming to his guests and I asked myself: Why cannot he be like that with his family? Celeste, at the other end of the table, was trying to do what was expected of her. I found myself next to Oliver Gerson. I think he had arranged that, but I was not displeased. It meant that I could enjoy a certain amount of lighthearted conversation.

Every now and then he would glance over to the little table. I saw him catch Belinda’s eye and lift his hand in acknowledgment. A smile immediately lightened her face. I warmed towards him. He had succeeded admirably in making hers a happy Christmas.

How different from my stepfather who was so completely immersed in his own ambitions that he had no time to spare for others.

I said: “It looks as though all is set fair this afternoon.”

“It must be. Otherwise we should have to devise some other entertainment.”

“It must keep fine. There is so much enthusiasm for the treasure hunt. Belinda and Lucie had been talking of nothing else since they heard of it. Even the excitement of Christmas gifts has taken second place.”

The meal seemed to go on for a long time but at last it was over.

All the children had been told of the arranged treasure hunt and were all eager to be there.

“It’s always a trial,” Mrs. Emery had said, “knowing what to do with them. They’re wide awake and everyone else is half asleep. It’s a fine way of getting them from under our feet. That Mr. Gerson knows what’s what. To see him with those two girls makes you think he should have some of his own.”

At last they were assembled and Oliver gave them the first clue.

He told them: “Miss Rebecca and I will be in the summerhouse. The first one who brings us the six clues will be presented with the mystery treasure. Here it is.” He held up the parcel which was tied up with red ribbon.

“We shall need six little pieces of paper like this one. Now … wait for the signal. Ready. Steady. Go!”

As we made our way to the summerhouse I said to him: “Don’t you think Belinda and Lucie have an unfair advantage? They know the garden so much better than the others.”

“Life is full of unfair advantages,” he replied. “It is impossible to avoid them.”

“Well, I suppose one or two others might be a little older. I know William Arlott is.”

“There, you see. One has it one way … one another.”

There were two chairs in the summerhouse and we seated ourselves.

“Do you think we shall wait long?” I asked.

“No. The clues were easy. Someone will triumph before long, never fear.”

“Belinda desperately wants to.”

“I hope she does,” he said. “Poor child.”

“You say that with real feeling.”

“She’s an interesting little girl. Bright too … oh, very bright. She is not entirely happy, is she?”

“No. She is often very difficult.”

He nodded.

“But,” I went on, “she is better lately. You have done a lot for her.”

“I think she misses her parents.”

“Yes. It is sad when a child is left as she has been. The most important person in the world to a child is its mother and she lost hers before she knew her.”

“What of Leah?”

“There couldn’t be anyone better in the circumstances. She has done everything for the child. I think she may have indulged her too much. Sometimes I’m worried about Lucie because there is a decided preference …”

“Lucie is a friendly child, isn’t she? Does it worry her?”

“I don’t know. Children are so secretive about some things. They don’t always tell you their innermost thoughts. Belinda reminds her now and then that she is the daughter of the house. Lucie’s birth was mysterious. Her mother was half crazy and no one knows who her father was.”

“And strangest of all … you adopted her.”

“It was my grandparents actually. I was only about fifteen at the time. But I just had this conviction that I couldn’t leave her. I could not have done it, of course, if my grandparents had not been so good. If it had not been possible for me to take Lucie with me they would have looked after her at Cador. But when we came to London my stepfather made no objection to her being with us … and she has been here ever since.”

“If there had been a reason for a child’s lack of feeling of security, one would have thought Lucie might have felt it rather than Belinda.”

“Lucie accepts what she is. She knew that she came into the family in an unconventional way but she accepts me as a mother-sister as a family relationship, I am sure; and she and Belinda are as close as two sisters. There are naturally occasional quarrels, but fundamentally they are fond of each other.”

He took my hand and held it tightly: “I think it was wonderful of you to take the child in,” he said.