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The school books arrived by carriage the next afternoon. Opening the crate and inspecting each volume carefully, Mary and Colin were so thrilled with their new text books that Miss Edmonds had to hand them all out immediately. This was much different than her organized plans and lessons had called for, but she saw no harm in it.
That night Colin acted out the words of Robinson Crusoe as Miss. Edmonds read to them. The end of the evening found poor Robinson Crusoe firmly stranded on a strange island while Mary and Martha applauded the young master’s vivid portrayal of the event.
“That was wonderful!” declared Mary.
“Yes, it was! I can hardly wait until tomorrow evening,” Colin agreed, panting from his dramatic exertions.
“Well, tomorrow is Saturday, and as there are no lessons on Saturdays, what shall we do?” Miss Edmonds asked, placing the volume of Robinson Crusoe in her lap.
“We can go to the garden again. You can meet Dickon and see all his creatures,” Mary suggested.
“Who is this Dickon?” Miss Edmonds asked.
“He’s Martha’s brother, at least one of them. Twelve children live in their little cottage on the moors. Dickon is an animal charmer. He can make anything grow, too, and talk to birds and everything.” Colin’s words tumbled out in happy excitement.
“He talks to animals?” Miss Edmonds asked, surprised.
“Oh, yes. I’ve heard him talk to the robin in their special robin twitter. He knows all the animals on the moor, and he helped me make the garden alive again,” Mary explained..
“I would very much like to meet this Dickon,” Miss Edmonds said.
She began to realize that Misselthwaite Manor held just as many interesting people as there were miles of beautiful moor.
However, it was with crushing disappointment that Mary and Colin woke the next morning to find rain running in thick lines down the glass of their windows.
Mary huddled sadly in her window seat looking with pinched lips at the dismal weather.
“Don’t fret so, Miss Mary. Your plans’ll keep for another day,” Martha said as she swept the hearth.
“But I wanted to go out today! Miss Edmonds was going to meet Dickon and all his animals.” Mary got up and stomped her foot in frustration.
“Eh, none can rule the weather, Miss Mary. Perhaps tomorrow will look better. Dickon’ll come tomorrow sure as today.” Martha said soothingly.
A knock sounded at the door and Martha opened it. Colin stood glumly in the hall.
“It’s raining.” He stated this obvious fact looking pinched and much like the unhappy boy he had been before.
With heavy feet he entered the room and joined Mary at the window.
“I suppose we must just wait until tomorrow.” Mary sighed deeply.
Unknown to the children, Martha had slipped out of the room and was tapping on Miss. Edmonds’ door. A quick conversation told the governess about the gravity of the situation. Miss Edmonds followed Martha back to Mary’s room where Mary and Colin still sat in the window seat, staring out at the heavy sky.
“For Heaven’s sake!” the governess said. “You’d think someone died by the looks on your faces. It’s just a bit of rain. Tomorrow will do just fine for our outing.”
“But what shall we do today?” asked Mary.
“Will you read to us some more?” asked Colin eagerly.
“No, that must be saved for evenings. Surely in a place as large as Misselthwaite Manor there is something to do on rainy days.” Miss Edmonds said, joining them at the window as Martha carried away the breakfast dishes.
“When it rains we usually explore the house. It has a hundred rooms and lots of interesting things like paintings and secret doors.” Mary suggested, feeling an idea forming.
“Oh, yes! Why don’t we take Miss Edmonds exploring today?” Colin said, turning away from the window.
“That sounds like fun,” Miss Edmonds replied. “Perhaps we can play a game of hide and seek, also.” She smiled at the children, whose faces were brightening with the possibility of an adventure.
“Oh, let’s do! We can start with a tour right now, and then we can play a game of hide and seek after teatime!” In her eagerness, Mary jumped from the window seat and grasped Miss Edmonds’ hand, pulling her toward the door.
Soon, the trio embarked on a “Grand Tour.” They walked down many halls, up many stairs, through countless doors and rooms, looked over many fine tapestries, and eventually reached the portrait gallery.
“These are all your ancestors?” Miss Edmonds asked, admiring one after another.
“I suppose they are,” Colin replied without much interest.
“Do you know any of them?” Miss Edmonds was studying a large painting of a man in an elegant coat sitting atop a large gray horse, which had its hoof raised as if just about to stomp heavily down to earth in a loud thump.
“No. They are just old pictures to me. Perhaps Father knows who some of them are.” Colin answered slowly as if thinking things through. “I shall ask him. When I look at them then staring at me in their funny stiff way, I feel odd. Perhaps if I knew who they were, it would not seem so odd to me,” Colin mused, slowly walking the length of the gallery.
“I just want to know who the little girl is with the parrot,” Mary said. “Her picture is in another room above a mantle. She reminds me of myself when I first came to Misselthwaite; she looks a bit as if she had been ill. Perhaps she did not have a garden to work in,” Mary said, almost to herself.
The morning hours seemed to run by on hurried feet. Before they knew it, their stomachs were grumbling for food, so the three of them traced their way back to the library and enjoyed small cakes and warm tea. Not long after their refreshments, Miss Edmonds was alone in a long hallway, leaning against a darkly paneled wall, counting to fifty. By the time she had reached the final number, the children had long since scampered away, their laughter trailing after them.
“Here I come, ready or not!” Miss Edmonds said loudly into the quietness that now surrounded her.
Most of the house was still unfamiliar to her and soon she was lost. As she searched, she peeked behind tapestries and turned door handles. Many were locked, but the ones that weren’t produced rooms she carefully searched. Every room was furnished with neglected and apparently forgotten items. Heavy, dark furniture, intricate tapestries sewn with fascinating scenes of fantasy and fact, knick-knack cases with abandoned baubles, curtained beds dusty and forlorn. It made the governess sad to think these items were once used and loved, but now abandoned. She couldn’t help thinking it was a waste. A house this grand should be opened and used. She tried to imagine the lonely rooms filled with voices and laughter. It was difficult because she felt an palpable sadness everywhere.
Just as Miss Edmonds was beginning to think she wouldn’t find either child, or the way back to her own room, she opened a door and found Colin sitting on a faded velvet couch in a neglected dressing chamber.
“Ha!” said Miss Edmonds triumphantly. “Now you can help me find Mary.”
“All right. I’m glad you found me. I was getting bored.” he said, as they continued the search.
“Well, I got a bit lost, and there are so many rooms.” Miss Edmonds chuckled ruefully.
“There are a lot of rooms,” Colin agreed. “Mary got lost when she first went exploring too. It can be confusing.”
“Like a maze,” Miss Edmonds agreed.
“I’ve never been in a maze, but I’ve seen pictures of ones made of shrubs.” Colin replied, trying another door.
It was locked so they continued down the hall, chatting comfortably as they went.
“It might take us a bit to find Mary. She could be anywhere,” Colin said as they finished searching another room. “She could even be somewhere even I have never been before.”
It was interesting Colin should say this, because at this moment, Mary was making a strange discovery. She had wandered up and down many halls, climbed up and down countless steps, and eventually found herself in a hallway she could not remember having seen before.
She walked slowly up the dim hall, looking curiously at the things around her. A chair sat nearby, its seat dusty from not having been sat in for many years. A painting of a dark forest with a small stream running through it hung a bit further down. Its large gold frame tried to catch the faint light through the layer of dust coating it. Mary blew on it, trying to clean it off. It seemed to her like a nice painting, one that should be admired. Her only reward was a large sneeze.
As she continued down the hall, Mary noticed an especially large and heavy tapestry hanging nearly to the floor. She stopped to look at it. Intricate designs covered its broad surface. Ropes and leaves twisted and wove their way into a fascinating pattern. Mary studied it for a moment, wondering what the peculiar pattern was. As she leaned forward to look more closely, she noticed the cloth had a musty, old smell. Carefully Mary reached out to trace the intricate design with her fingers. The tapestry was heavy like a thick quilt. She had seen many tapestries in Misselthwaite Manor, but this one intrigued her. Her fingertips pressed the thick cloth against the wall behind, but there was something peculiar about it. The wall was uneven, recessed behind the covering. Mary pulled the tapestry forward and peeked behind it.
Her breath caught. Excitement tightened her grasp on the heavy hanging. There was a door hidden behind the tapestry! Mary pulled the hanging back further. The door had a handle, tarnished with neglect. Mary reached out and grasped the cool metal. Would the door be unlocked? Holding her breath, Mary tried the knob. It turned.
