The Black Swan

“But that makes it so convenient, doesn’t it?” I said. “Roland and I have been talking about where we would live, and this seems ideal. There is plenty of room. And then there is your little place in London when Roland is there on business. He can get there so easily from here.”

“We decided we would try it like that and see how it worked,” put in Roland.

“And you won’t mind my being here... ?”

“My dear Phillida, of course I want you to be here. How could it be otherwise? Do you understand that?”

“Yes ... I think I do. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“This reminds me,” said Roland. “I shall have to go to London in the morning ...just for the day ... to see how things are.”

“There’s something I have to tell you,” said Phillida, a little shamefacedly. “I’ve brought Kitty here.”

“Really!” said Roland.

“Who’s Kitty?” I asked.

“She’s a woman who works for us in London. We have a Mr. and Mrs. Gordon who live in the basement there and Kitty who comes in every day to help. She’s been like a personal maid to me and I did miss her. So I’ve brought her here. I hope you don’t mind.”

Fire!

“What do you mean ... to work?”

“Well... only for me. She does all sorts of things with my clothes... sewing and all that. She’s very handy. I missed her... and, of course, with my being down here and Roland on his honeymoon, there really wasn’t anything for her to do in London. She got restive, so ... I brought her down here. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” I said. “What is she like?”

“Middle-aged... very clever with her hands... needlework and all that. She’s really a treasure. I am sure you will find something you’d want her to do for you.”

“Well, I can’t think of anything at the moment,” I said.

Phillida went on. “She was getting a bit worried... with all this change. I knew she relies on what she earns. I couldn’t let her go ... and as we shall be here such a lot ...”

“I understand, of course.”

Phillida looked immensely relieved. “I didn’t want you to think I was interfering ... or behaving like the mistress of the house.”

“Of course I wouldn’t do that!”

“Phillida is rather impulsive, I’m afraid,” said Roland. “Perhaps it would have been better, Phillida, if you had waited to ask Lucie.”

“I knew it would ... as soon as I’d done it. But the poor woman was so worried ...

I just had to tell her it would be all right. Forgive, Lucie?”

“Of course it’s all right. Have you met many people round here yet ... in the village for instance... while we’ve been away?”

“I haven’t. I have been too busy... exploring the house for one thing. Isn’t it fascinating? I’m so excited because I’m going to live here ... at least until other plans are made.”

We retired early.

“Traveling is more exhausting than one realizes at the time,” said Roland. We had not been in our room for more than a few minutes when there was a knock on the door. It was Phillida. She was carrying a tray with two glasses on it.

 “I want you to try this,” she said. “It’s really very nice. It’s what they call a nightcap. There is a shop in St. James’s where they sell it ... a health shop, they call themselves. They have all sorts of herbs and things. I bought this and tried it. It’s a sort of gruel... only much nicer. You take it in hot milk every night and it gives you peaceful sleep.”

“And you believe it?” asked Roland.

“My dear brother, I know it. I would not suggest you take it if I had not first tried it out myself.”

She set the tray on a table while Roland and I sat side by side on the bed.

“You stir it,” she said, “and there it is. Lucie ...” I took the glass she offered.

“And Roland.”

“I always have it last thing before I get into bed,” she told us. “Now drink it.”

She watched us while we obeyed.

“It’s rather pleasant, isn’t it?”

We agreed that it was.

“Now... I’ll go.” She kissed both of us. “Good night, my precious ones. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you home,” she said. “I was rather worried about you... wandering about in foreign parts.”

She smiled at us rather tremulously and, taking the tray, went out. The next morning Roland went off early to catch the train, promising he would be back in the evening.

I remembered that I had an appointment with Mrs. Emery, so I went to her sitting room where she asked me if I would like a cup of her Darjeeling, and, knowing that she might be even more put out if I declined, I said that I should like that. There followed the somewhat ceremonial ritual of making the tea and when we had our cups before us, she came to the point.

“I’ve been in this house a good many years, Miss Lucie,” she began. “And I trust I know my place and do my work well.”

“But of course you do, Mrs. Emery.”

“There have never been any complaints that I have known of.”

“Certainly there have not. Everyone, including my father, had nothing but praise for all you did.”

“I’ve run this house for more years than I care to recall.”

I was getting uneasy. This long preamble suggested something more serious than I had imagined.

“Do tell me what has upset you, Mrs. Emery.”