Charlotte heard footsteps ascending the stairs. The sound from the lowest flight reverberated in the cavernous stairwell. Her eight-year-old heart began to leap around inside her chest, ignoring the directive to be brave.
What had she to be afraid of? she chided herself. Nurse Dixon couldn’t be the ten-foot high Amazonian figure that had infested her nightmares for years, but try as she might to talk sense to herself, Charlotte couldn’t shrink her former nanny’s image to a realistic size.
By the time the footsteps had gained the top floor and the handle of the door turned, Charlotte’s heart threatened to somersault into her neck and choke her.
The figure that appeared in the doorway looked old, diminished and ridiculously overdressed for a country visit.
Charlotte repressed an urge to laugh with relief. To think such an insignificant creature had terrorised her childhood.
Elizabeth Dixon’s smile faltered when she saw the amused, slim, tall, simply dressed woman standing in front of her.
“It’s good to see you again, Charlotte, or should I call you Mrs Carmody?”
Charlotte, noting the hesitancy, answered, “Mrs Carmody would be appropriate.”
“You’ve grown into the striking young woman I knew you would,” Dixon continued as smooth as silk, ignoring the snub and recovering her poise. “I’m so glad you were amenable to this meeting.”
I’ve nothing to fear, Charlotte realised. Her heartbeat slowed. I’m glad I came.
As Dixon approached, Charlotte stepped behind the low table to avoid the possibility of any social physical contact, the thought of which made her feel sick. The change of accent was noted, as was the use of the word “amenable”. Very different from the grunts and barks that had punctuated Dixon’s speech when she reigned over the nursery and Charlotte’s early years.
“It’s strange seeing the old place again,” said Dixon, correctly interpreting Charlotte’s movement and staying out of handshake range to make it look as if it were her decision. “Nothing’s changed except the addition of dust and cobwebs. We might as well make ourselves comfortable.”
You’d think the Park belonged to her family, not mine, the way she’s orchestrating this meeting, thought Charlotte.
Dixon used a handkerchief to remove the dust from her old rocking chair and sat on the edge, her back straight, her knees and ankles together and her hands resting on her lap. She took off her gloves, one finger at a time, then reached up to take out the hatpins before removing her hat in a most affected manner.
Quite a performance, thought Charlotte.
“Before I free you from the curse I have two startling pieces of information to give you. Won’t you take a seat?” In her impatience to tell her story, hints of her old hectoring tone broke through, making the question sound like an order.
“I’d prefer to stand,” said Charlotte.
“Suit yourself.” Dixon switched back with an effort to a milder tone. “Though I’m sure you’ll change your mind when you hear what I’ve come to say. But before I get started, I’d like to tell you about my successful life after I had the good fortune to leave the Park. You’ll hardly credit that I was manageress of an ho–”
“I’m sure I won’t credit it at all so you may as well save your breath. Even if you managed to tell the truth for a change I’m not in the slightest bit interested.”
Dixon flushed crimson all over her face and neck and blinked four times before she responded. “If that’s your attitude, I might think twice about removing the curse even though I’ve come twelve thousand miles to oblige you.”
“I hope you don’t expect me to believe you came back to do me a good turn. I don’t believe you would travel one mile, let alone twelve thousand, to give a helping hand to anyone, let alone me, and I couldn’t care less about your curse, but if it would make you feel better, don’t let me stop you from chanting ‘Abracadabra’ and dancing around the room waving a stick.”
Dixon’s face changed to chalk white. “You’ll live to regret saying that.”
“I have a lot of regrets in my life, but I doubt if saying that will ever be one of them.”
“I wouldn’t mock if I were you. You’ll be smiling on the other side of your face by the time I’m finished with you. I know for a fact my curses work.”
“They may do, but not for the reason you think.”
Dixon didn’t understand the insinuation in the remark, but presumed it was an insult. “Why did you come here, then?”
“To tell you how much I hate you. That’s the only reason.” And to keep you at a distance from Mary Anne. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
“Hate me? What do you have to hate me for? I only ever did what was best for you.”
“Who are you trying to fool? You call the way you treated me the best?”
“Most definitely. Life is hard for the likes of me and even for rich folk like you. Look at your poor mother crippled for life. I was doing you a favour, being hard on you to prepare you for it. And all I got for my troubles was ingratitude.”
“Now I’ve heard everything. So that’s how you justified yourself? You expect me to be grateful for being a victim of your cruelty and laziness.”
“Laziness? On duty twenty-four hours a day and you call that laziness? That’s laughable coming from the likes of you who never had to do a hand’s turn in your life.”
Charlotte clutched her bag containing the doll close to her side and made as if to move off. “I’m sorry that’s how you see things but I for one don’t have the time to stay around listening to your self-pity or your mumbo jumbo.”
“You haven’t heard yet the main reason I came.”
It is definitely money she’s after, Charlotte thought. She has developed expensive tastes by the look of those clothes she is wearing. How could anyone afford them on an ordinary wage?
“I don’t want to hear it, so you can save your breath. I’m going over to Sid’s cottage to talk about old times with Miss East now that I’ve said what I came to say.” She walked around the perimeter of the room to stay as far away from Dixon as was possible and made her way to the door. “I’ll let you see yourself out.”
“Don’t you dare turn your back on me when I’m talking to you!” Dixon screeched, standing up and making a forward movement.
Charlotte stopped at the sound of that well-remembered tone and turned around. “I can’t believe you said that. You seem to have forgotten you have no authority over me any more. And you have forgotten your place. I’m the daughter of the Lord of the Park, and you are an unwelcome and uninvited presence. Seeing as that’s the way you choose to speak to me, I command you to leave the demesne immediately, and forbid you ever to return. I will consider it trespassing and will have you removed by force.”
“You won’t be talking to me in that superior tone after I’ve said what I came to say.”
“I’ve already told you I don’t want to hear anything that comes out of your mouth. And I haven’t said half of what I could say about my hatred of you. All that put-on sweetness in front of my mother and Manus and Teresa Kelly would make anyone’s stomach turn. And the way you treated little Victoria was unforgivable. She was only an infant.” Charlotte was forced to pause, as she couldn’t control the trembling in her voice.
“You told about that, didn’t you, and had me thrown out by that old witch?”
“I never said a word to Miss East.”
“I don’t believe you. You were quick enough to go running to your mother telling tales.”
“That was years earlier and they weren’t tales. They were the truth. But because of that angelic act you put on in front of her she didn’t believe me, and I knew there was no point in telling her anything else, so you won in the end. She never knew you mistreated Victoria. But I knew and I’ve never forgotten and I’ve certainly never forgiven you.”
“It would make a sick cat laugh to hear you telling me how Victoria was treated. At least I didn’t murder her, which is more than can be said for you, you high and mighty hypocrite!”
Charlotte put her hand to her heart as if she’d been stabbed.
“You thought your secret was safe, didn’t you? No one would think a child of eight could be guilty of such a crime unless they saw it with their own eyes, and Teresa Kelly did, and she told me personally, and I was the only one who knew as she didn’t know herself what she saw. The only one who knew apart from you, of course, and Lily Cooper who only found out twenty minutes ago.”
“Miss East?” Charlotte stumbled her way to the low table, feeling behind her like a blind person to guide herself into a sitting position. “You told Miss East?”
“Didn’t I say you would need to sit down before I was finished? Yes, Miss East to you and Lily Cooper to me was the first to be told. You won’t be surprised to hear she didn’t believe me. Oh no. Her angelic little Charlotte wouldn’t do a thing like that. It will be interesting to see if the others will believe me.” Dixon opened her handbag, took out a letter, and waved it in front of Charlotte’s face. “It’s all here. All written down in detail. This one’s for . . . couldn’t remember his name for a minute . . . Dr Lochlann Carmody. Yes, that’s it. Dr Lochlann Carmody. I was hoping to get his address from you.”
Charlotte reached across and snatched the letter from Dixon’s hand.
“Go on, keep it if you want to. I can write a new one without any bother. You already know what’s in it, anyway.”
Charlotte tore open the envelope and read the first few lines that described her as a child murderer who was a threat to the safety of her own offspring.
“And I’ve one here for your mother. I’ll be delivering it by hand.”
Each word on the page activated the blade of the dagger slashing around inside Charlotte’s chest. Imagine Lochlann reading those words and turning to ask her if they were true. She thrust the letter into her bag.
Fireworks were combusting inside her head and creating red sparks behind her eyes.
Imagine Mary Anne growing up and hearing of her mother’s wicked act.
She turned towards Dixon. “What did you say just then?” Her vision was now pulsing in and out of focus.
“I said I’ve written a letter to your mother as well. I’ll deliver it by hand tomorrow.”
Letter to her mother?
Delivering it by hand tomorrow?
If only it had been money she wanted.
“Then there’s Manus. It was because of you I didn’t marry him and have his children.” Dixon’s face showed a look of hatred. “It was because of you I ended up with nobody to call my own when I was already an orphan without a family. Here am I now with no husband and no children. I’ll really enjoy telling Manus about you. Unless . . .”
“Unless?”
“I’m prepared to make a deal with you. I am prepared to destroy these letters and never tell anyone what happened to Victoria.”
“But you’ve already told Miss East.”
“Yes, pity about that. I couldn’t resist wiping that smug, superior look off her face. But you don’t have to worry about her. She didn’t believe me. And even if she did you could trust her never to utter a bad word against you. Your secret is safe with her. As I was saying, I will destroy these letters and keep my mouth shut from now on if you pay me twenty thousand pounds. No one will give me a job at my age and I find myself a little short. After all my hard-earned success I lost my life savings on a bad investment. You have to admit twenty thousand pounds is little to ask to prevent Mary Anne being taken away from you. Cheap at the price if you ask me.”
Charlotte let out a primeval howl and launched herself at the unprepared Dixon, pushing her out onto the landing. “How dare you speak her name! How dare you mention her name and money in the same breath? Hand over those letters, you vile woman!”
Dixon twisted her body to keep the bag containing the letters out of Charlotte’s reach while trying to shoulder her way back into the nursery.
Charlotte blocked Dixon’s movement and shoved harder, slamming her against the banister. It was the eight-year-old inside the raging thirty-four-year-old Charlotte who grabbed Dixon’s neck with both hands and squeezed hard and bent her over the banister before Dixon had time to register what was happening. Dixon tried to struggle but after Charlotte applied more pressure, cutting off her air supply for too many seconds, she remained still, angled so far over the handrail that her head hung upside down. She couldn’t lash out with her feet for fear of changing the distribution of her weight and toppling backwards. The hand holding her bag was flailing around in the void, while with the other she tried without success to grasp the rail. Charlotte had no hope of retrieving the bag without removing her hands from Dixon’s throat.
“I told you a lie,” Dixon whispered. “Teresa Kelly didn’t see you push Victoria into the river.” Breath. “I made that bit up.”
And I gave myself away by my reaction.
Charlotte loosened her grip but kept her hands in position. “What did she see exactly?”
“You carrying Victoria around behind the stables. That’s all she saw. As God is my witness, I’m telling the truth. She presumed I was walking in front of you. I swear that’s what she thought.” She coughed. “I take back what I said. I only said it to get back at you. Let me go. I’ll burn the letters and never say a word to anyone. Your daughter is safe with you. You can trust me. Cross my heart and hope to die.”
“Then do it.”
“What?”
“Cross your heart and hope to die.”
Dixon made a feverish cross over her left breast.
Charlotte squeezed tighter. “Now hope to die,” she said, ramming her body tightly against Dixon’s to prevent her from struggling.
“Don’t, Charlotte dear. Don’t do it. Let her go.”
The voice came from the second-floor stairs straight underneath.
“Miss East, is that you?”
Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes and, distracted, she loosened her fingers a little.
Energy surged into Dixon’s body. “You heard her. Let me go,” she pleaded. “Trust me. I won’t say anything to anybody.”
“That’s one true thing you’ve said at last.”
Charlotte kept Dixon’s body balanced over the void. Her fingers, tightening and loosening alternately, stayed on either side of Dixon’s windpipe.
The door downstairs banged shut.
“That’s Manus, Charlotte dear.”
“Thank God,” whispered Dixon, relaxing.
“He’s coming to help you.” Miss East’s voice was closer. “Stay still until he gets here.”
Charlotte wanted to look down to see her old protector’s beloved face, but she couldn’t chance taking her eye off Dixon even for a second.
The clatter of ascending footsteps filled the stairwell.
Lily stood on the lower landing. Manus, who had taken the steps four at a time now stood beside the old housekeeper.
“Leave her to me, Miss Charlotte.”
It was Manus’s soft, beautiful voice.
Dixon smiled.
She thinks I’m going to let her go. That I won’t dare do anything to her while Manus is watching.
Charlotte tightened her grip and Dixon’s smile switched off.
“Let go of her, there’s a good girl,” Miss East pleaded. “Let Manus deal with her.”
“I’m coming up, Miss Charlotte. Stay steady.”
Manus was moving up slowly towards the entangled pair. Miss East stayed where she was, clasping her hands together in an attitude of prayer.
Manus was on the second-last step when Charlotte pushed hard on Dixon’s chin with one hand and gave Dixon’s shoulder a shove with the other, stepping to one side to allow Dixon’s legs to flip over, and her body to fall unhindered into the dark stairwell and crash onto the flagstones three storeys below.
Manus’s outstretched arms, ready to grab a hold of Dixon, closed on emptiness. He leaned over the banister and stared down into the stairwell, and then looked back at Charlotte, uncomprehending.
“Are you all right, Charlotte, dear?” Lily asked tenderly.
Manus took off down the stairs, the sound of his boots echoing around the stairwell.
“I’m truly sorry, Miss East, but I can’t stay. There’s something urgent I have to do.” Charlotte darted back into the nursery, and picked up her bag and secured it under her arm. Then, without looking at Lily, she rushed past her to follow Manus down the stairs.