The Burning Read online

  “Oh—!” she whispered when she felt something move against her bare leg.

  It must be a wrinkle in the sheet, she told herself.

  She shut her eyes again. She was so sleepy. She hoped she could fall asleep quickly.

  “Oh-!” Hannah froze.

  What was that?

  Did something move? Is something in my bed?

  She tried to cry out, but her voice caught in her throat as she felt something slither up her leg.

  Chapter 14

  Too frightened to scream, Hannah felt the warm creature slide over her leg. She forced herself not to move. Not to breathe.

  It curled itself around her ankle. Then she felt it uncoil.

  “Ohhh.” She uttered a low, terrified moan and leapt from the bed.

  In the flickering light from the dying fire she tossed back the bedclothes and searched the shadows of her bed.

  She heard a hiss, then saw the flash of dark eyes.

  “A snake!” she cried in a tiny, frightened voice.

  Rising up on the wrinkled sheet, the snake arched its head and bared its pointed fangs, preparing to attack.

  Hannah stood frozen in terror. “How did a snake get into my bed?” Hannah asked aloud. “How?”

  Then, with a short cry, Hannah sprang into action and threw the covers over the hissing creature. And started to scream for help.

  Hannah’s brothers were blamed for the prank. They had been riding in the woods. They must have captured the snake and hidden it in Hannah’s bed.

  They all denied it. But Simon ignored their protests and punished them. He had little patience for jokes and pranks. “They do not lead anyone closer to success,” he warned sternly.

  The next evening Hannah was in her room dressing for dinner. Having pulled on a simple white linen frock, high-collared with a delicate red velvet ribbon at the throat, she brushed her long blond hair and tied it back with a matching red ribbon.

  She heard a scrabbling at the door and turned to see Fluff, her tiny white terrier, prance into the room, a red ball clamped in his teeth.

  “Not now. No ball playing,” Hannah told the dog. “You will make me late for dinner, Fluff.” She gave the disappointed dog a gentle shove toward the door.

  Then she pulled open her wardrobe door to search for her white shoes. “Where are they?” she said, bending to search the bottom shelf.

  Lucy had straightened Hannah’s room that afternoon. She must have moved the shoes, Hannah thought.

  She finally found them on the floor at the foot of her bed.

  Holding on to the bedpost, Hannah balanced on her left foot and slid her right foot into the low pump.

  “Ohhh!” she cried out as a sharp pain shot up her leg.

  Looking down, Hannah was horrified to see bright red blood trickling over the white heel of the shoe.

  As the sharp pain shot up from her foot, Hannah dropped to her knees on the bedroom floor and pulled off the shoe. Blood had already stained the inside of the shoe.

  Hannah bent to examine her foot. Wiping away the bright trickling blood with her fingers, she found a deep cut nearly an inch long on her heel.

  Stuck in the cut was a shard of clear glass.

  “Oh!” Grimacing with pain, Hannah pulled the piece of glass from the cut with trembling fingers.

  The blood flowed more rapidly from the open cut. Balancing on one leg, Hannah screamed for help.

  Mrs. MacKenzie appeared a few seconds later. She guided Hannah to the bed. Hannah hopped on one foot, leaving a trail of blood. Then the housekeeper hurried out for gauze bandages.

  “Hannah, what has happened?” Julia entered the room breathlessly, a frightened expression on her face. Seeing the trail of blood across the floor, Julia gasped.

  “I’m all right, I believe,” Hannah told her, watching the blood flow from her heel. “I—I cut my foot.”

  “How?” Julia demanded, stepping over the blood-covered shoe to get to Hannah’s bedside.

  Hannah held up the piece of glass that she had kept tightly gripped in her hand. “It was in my shoe,” she said, grimacing from a shot of pain that traveled up her leg.

  “How dreadful!” Julia declared, staring at all the blood.

  “Lucy cleaned my room today,” Hannah added darkly. “I believe you may be right about her, Julia. She—” Hannah stopped as Mrs. MacKenzie returned with the gauze bandages.

  Julia watched as the housekeeper expertly cleaned and then bandaged Hannah’s injured foot. “The bleeding will stop soon,” Mrs. MacKenzie assured Hannah, patting her shoulder as if she were still a little girl. “You will be able to come down to dinner in a few minutes. But I would not advise any long hikes for a few days, Miss Hannah.”

  Hannah thanked Mrs. MacKenzie. As soon as the housekeeper had left the room, Hannah turned back to Julia. “Lucy cleaned my room and moved my shoes. I believe you were right about her. She deliberately—”

  Julia raised a hand to stop her sister’s accusation. “Are you really sure that Lucy put the glass in your shoe?”

  “Who else could have done it?” Hannah demanded impatiently, staring down fretfully at the bandaged foot. “We must tell Father at once. That girl must go. She must be dismissed today. She is a menace! Ow!” She cried out, feeling another stab of pain.

  Julia lowered herself to the bed beside her sister and put a comforting arm around Hannah. “Try to calm yourself, sister,” she said in a whisper. “We do not want to accuse Lucy if she is innocent.”

  “Innocent?” Hannah cried shrilly.

  “We have no proof,” Julia said, playing with Hannah’s blond hair, soothingly braiding and unbraiding it as she had done when they were younger. “We do not know that Lucy put the glass in the shoe.”

  “No one else was in my room!” Hannah exclaimed.

  “But the glass may have fallen from Lucy’s dustpan,” Julia said. “It may have been an accident, a bit of carelessness.”

  “But, Julia—”

  “I have my own suspicions about Lucy, as you know,” Julia continued, ignoring her sister’s protest. “But I do not think we should accuse her in front of Father until we have proof.”

  Hannah stared hard at her sister. Father is right about Julia, she thought with some sadness. Julia is too timid. She has no backbone. She is reluctant to stand up even to a servant girl.

  But Hannah decided to back down. “Very well,” she said softly. “I will give Lucy one more chance.”

  “Can you walk down to dinner, or will you need help?” Julia asked, getting to her feet.

  “I can walk,” Hannah replied softly. “Go ahead. You know Father hates to be kept waiting for his dinner.”

  “Mother has actually left her room and is joining us tonight,” Julia announced.

  “How nice!” Hannah declared. “I shall be right down. Give me a few moments to brush my hair and straighten my dress.”

  As soon as Julia had left the room, Hannah gingerly climbed to her feet. She found that if she stepped lightly on her cut foot, standing nearly on tiptoes, she could walk with little pain.

  Putting most of her weight on the uninjured foot, she made her way across the room to her small dresser mirror and began to brush her hair.

  She had finished and set down the brush when she felt another presence in the room—someone to the side of her, staring at her.

  Hannah spun around quickly and cried out in surprise.

  Lucy was standing in the room, her cheeks bright red, a frightening wild-eyed expression on her face.

  As Hannah shrank back against the dresser, Lucy darted forward quickly to attack her.

  Chapter 15

  Her cheeks scarlet, her eyes wild, Lucy stopped a few feet in front of Hannah, breathing hard.

  What is she going to do to me? Hannah wondered, pressing against the dresser, her hands raised as if to shield herself from the maid’s attack.

  “Mrs. MacKenzie t-told me—” Lucy stammered, pointing down. “About your foot, I mean.”
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  “Yes?” Hannah managed to utter in a tight, frightened voice.

  “Well, I came up to see if there was anything I could do. To help, that is.”

  “I think you’ve done quite enough,” Hannah replied coldly.

  Lucy appeared stung by Hannah’s words.

  Hannah immediately felt sorry.

  Lucy was red-faced and breathing hard because she had hurried up the stairs to help me, Hannah realized. I have become so frightened of her, so suspicious of her, that I really believed she had come to attack me!

  “I am sorry you are in pain, miss,” Lucy said, lowering her eyes to the floor. “If there is anything I can do for you …”

  “Thank you, Lucy,” Hannah replied, softening her tone. “You may clean up the floor. There was quite a lot of blood. Then take that shoe down to Mrs. MacKenzie. Ask if there is any way it can be cleaned.”

  “Yes, miss,” Lucy said, still avoiding Hannah’s gaze.

  Limping gingerly, Hannah made her way past Lucy and headed downstairs to dinner.

  The picnic was Hannah’s idea. She had been cooped up in the house for three days nursing her injured foot. Now the foot was nearly healed, and she was walking normally.

  “What an excellent idea,” Julia said brightly. “I shall have a basket lunch made up. We shall go out to the woods and enjoy this beautiful day.”

  Joseph, Brandon, and Robert begged to come along. “I promise we won’t be any trouble,” begged Robert. “And I shall watch Brandon and Joseph carefully.”

  Fluff also seemed excited by the idea. The little dog leapt eagerly at the pantry door, whimpering to go out into the sunshine.

  “Go get dressed,” Julia instructed her sister. “I shall go speak to Lucy about preparing our lunch basket.”

  The mention of Lucy’s name gave Hannah a chill. She had avoided the maid for three days. Hannah realized that she was perhaps being unfair. Lucy couldn’t be deliberately trying to hurt the two Fear sisters. What reason could she have?

  Just the same, Hannah had decided to avoid Lucy and to have as little to do with her as possible.

  Pushing Lucy out of her mind, she hurried upstairs to get changed for the picnic.

  “Why do they call it Indian summer?” Brandon asked.

  “I am not sure,” Hannah told him. “But today is certainly the most beautiful Indian summer day.”

  The sun was high, seeming to float above tiny puffs of white cloud. Leaves shimmered brightly on the tall trees at the back of the lawn. They were still summer green although autumn was here.

  Despite the sunshine, the air carried a chill. Hannah wrapped her light blue shawl around her as she watched Fluff scamper through the tall grass.

  “Joseph, don’t chase Fluff!” Julia ordered. “You’re getting the poor dog all excited!”

  “I am afraid that Fluff is already excited,” Hannah told her, laughing as the dog rolled onto its back and frantically kicked at the air with all four paws. Joseph rolled on the ground, imitating the dog.

  “Robert, hold the picnic basket straight. You are going to spill everything!” Julia cried.

  “But it is so heavy!” Robert complained. “What did Lucy pack in here—an elephant?”

  “The flowers are beautiful,” Hannah said, pleased to be out of the house. “Look, Julia, we still have roses.”

  Julia didn’t reply. She was distracted by Fluff and Joseph. “Joseph!” she called. “Look out! Do not let the dog fall into that hole!”

  At the edge of the woods they all stopped to watch Fluff as he neared a burial plot.

  With Joseph close behind, the dog ran to the edge of the freshly dug grave, sniffed along the sides at the moist, dark dirt, then came trotting back toward Robert, Brandon, and the girls.

  “Why is there a new grave?” Robert asked, shifting the heavy picnic basket to his other hand, his eyes on the deep hole.

  “Did you not hear about Jenkins, the gardener?” Julia asked. “He passed away in his sleep two nights ago. He is to be buried this afternoon.”

  “Such a kindly man,” Hannah said softly. “And look at his fine work all around.” She gestured to the flower garden that stretched along the back of the house, bordered on one side by tall rose trellises.

  Hannah stepped closer to the grave, staring down into the deep rectangle of dark earth. How strange to think that Jenkins was walking around in our yard just two days ago, she thought with some sadness. And in a short while he shall rest in this underground hole—forever.

  “Remove that solemn frown from your face, sister,” Julia urged, stepping up beside Hannah. “Let us not allow this to spoil our fun today.”

  Hannah forced a smile and turned away from the grave. “Yes, you are right. Into the woods, everyone!” she called brightly and started to run toward the trees, her blue shawl flapping behind her gingham dress.

  The woods behind the Fear mansion seemed to stretch on forever. The five picnickers ran into the shadows of the tall trees. Their heavy shoes made the twigs on the ground crackle and snap.

  “It’s almost cold here under the trees!” Hannah exclaimed.

  “How far do we have to walk? This basket is heavy!” Robert complained.

  “We can set it down when we come to a clearing,” Julia told him.

  “Look at Fluff!” Joseph cried, pointing.

  The dog had chased a squirrel up a tree and was now trying to climb the trunk after it.

  “Does he not know that dogs cannot climb trees?” Julia asked her sister.

  Hannah laughed. “Fluff does not know that he is a dog,” she replied.

  They continued through the woods, enjoying the cool pine-scented air, watching for squirrels and chipmunks. Joseph chased after Fluff, running and jumping and barking as if he, too, were a dog. Robert shifted the basket from hand to hand, complaining about its weight. Brandon picked up stones and threw them on the path.

  “Does Father know we are having a picnic in the woods?” he asked Julia.

  “I wanted to tell him,” she replied, brushing a white burr from the front of her long gingham skirt. “But he was upstairs in Mother’s room. She was having another one of her spells, I am afraid.”

  “Mother and her spells,” Hannah said, rolling her eyes.

  “Here is a nice clearing,” Robert said happily. A circle of tall grass appeared like an oasis among the trees. “Can we have our lunch here?”

  “Very well,” Julia agreed brightly. “This shall do fine.”

  “Freedom!” Robert cried, setting the basket down, then stretching his arms.

  Julia and Hannah spread a red wool blanket over the grass. Fluff immediately leapt onto the blanket, tracking dirt and leaves over it. Hannah brushed the little dog away. Julia opened the lid of the basket and began to pull items from it and set them down on the blanket.

  “Look! Is that a deer?” Robert cried.

  “Where?” Joseph spun around wildly, searching all directions at once.

  “Follow me,” Robert instructed his brothers. “But keep silent. Let’s track him!”

  The boys headed off at a run toward the trees. “Do not go far!” Julia called after them. “It is almost lunchtime!”

  “Mmmmm. Those little pies look good,” Hannah told her sister, dropping to her knees on the blanket. “I am suddenly starving.”

  “Fresh air makes me hungry, too,” Julia replied. “Let’s see … Lucy packed a little meat pie for each of us. And there are raisin cookies and a jug of fresh lemon water.” She handed a meat pie to her sister. “Let’s eat. We need not wait for the boys.”

  Hannah raised the small doughy pie to her mouth and was about to take a bite when Fluff leapt into her lap. “Oh!” she cried out, startled.

  The dog raised himself on his hind legs and sniffed the pie in Hannah’s hand noisily.

  “You little beggar!” Hannah cried, laughing. “Down, down! Get off me, and I shall give you a taste!”

  Ignoring her, Fluff leapt high, trying to get his teeth on
the meat pie.

  “Here. Here is a piece for you,” Hannah said, using one hand to shove the dog off her lap. She broke off a tiny wedge of pie and held it out to Fluff.

  The dog yipped and slurped it up eagerly, licking Hannah’s hand clean. “Stop! Stop! You’re tickling me!” she cried, laughing. “What a scratchy tongue you have, doggy!”

  “You do spoil that dog,” Julia grumbled good-naturedly.

  Hannah gave Fluff another piece of the pie.

  “Where are the boys?” Julia asked. She climbed to her feet, shielding her eyes with one hand, and searched the woods for them.

  “I hope they have not wandered far,” Hannah said, following her sister’s gaze. “Robert has no sense of direction at all. He can get lost inside the house!”

  Hearing a strange sound, Hannah turned back to Fluff.

  To her surprise, the dog was whimpering loudly, his head lowered, his tail tucked tightly between his legs.

  As Hannah watched in alarm, the dog’s entire body began to convulse. Fluff coughed, then his stomach heaved, and he began to vomit, his legs trembling, his entire body quivering.

  Then all at once the dog crumpled to the blanket, dropped onto his side, and was still.

  “Fluff!” Hannah cried. “Fluff! Fluff! Oh, Julia—what has happened?”

  Chapter 16

  Hannah carefully lifted the dog from a puddle of dark vomit and held him tightly against the front of her dress. “He’s dead,” she muttered.

  “No!” Julia cried in horror. “Hannah, he cannot be! He—” Tears formed in the corners of Julia’s gray eyes.

  “Poor Fluff. Poor Fluff. Poor Fluff,” Hannah repeated quietly, still hugging the dead animal to her.

  “No. I do not believe it!” Julia cried, shaking her head. “The dog was perfectly fine until—until—”

  Both girls had the idea at the same time.

  “The meat pies!” Hannah cried. Her eyes widened in horror, and she gaped at her sister. “Julia, did you—?”

  Julia lowered her eyes to the pie beside her on the blanket. “No. I did not touch mine. You?”