Page 114 of The House of Hopes and Dreams
After a few minutes I pulled myself together and sat up, my back against one wall, and waited for the dizziness to pass. Then I explored with my fingertips for the torch, but it wasn’t there – whoever shoved me in must have taken it … and suddenly I wondered if they’d taken anything else? But no, the mysterious package, which felt like a roll of paper wrapped in stiff fabric, was still tucked into the bib of my dungarees.
I didn’t need evidence to feel totally certain that it was Ella who’d tipped me in there. She must have had a key to the room and had crept in while I was leaning right into the hole, searching the further corners. Presumably she’d thought I’d only just that minute found it and must have been disappointed not to find any hidden treasures once I was out for the count, though at least that meant she hadn’t thought to search me.
She’d managed to shut the panel and then left me there … for ever?
Suddenly a wave of panic swept over me – the ghastly, buried-alive feeling of nightmares. I felt the heaviness of the walls pressing in and wondered how much air I had left to breathe.
Then I remembered that Carey was probably already on his way home and if there was no sign of me waiting for him, he’d surely come looking?
Very, very faint and far off, I heard a sharp yapping. ‘You tell them, Fang,’ I muttered and the panic receded slightly.
I groped my way dizzily upwards and kneeled on the stone shelf, fingering the very thick wooden back of the headboard. I didn’t rap on it, in case Ella was still in the bedchamber – I mean, how horrible would it be if she rapped back … orsomethingrapped back? But I did explore it with my fingertips, to see if there was a way of opening it from this side, though eventually I gave up this fruitless search and slumped back into the corner.
That was when my mindreallybegan to play tricks on me. I was sure I could hear stealthy movements in the room beyond the panel and voices muttering … and finally, a faint, dreadful scream that was quickly and horribly cut off.
I expect I was wide-eyed with terror and pale as a ghost myself when suddenly the panel opened and I found myself looking up into Carey’s beloved and anxious face.
‘Shrimp!’ he exclaimed, his expression changing into one of heartfelt relief. I put up my arms and he reached in and hauled me out, holding me close. This was just as well, since my legs seemed to have turned to jelly.
‘What did I say about waiting for me?’ he said severely, then turned my face up and kissed me, and there was nothing remotely fraternal about it,ormy response.
‘You’re filthy, darling, and also, you’re crackling,’ he said, when eventually our lips parted. My knees were now totally jellified on two counts and Fang was whirling round our feet like a small dervish, yapping.
‘You say the nicest things,’ I murmured, my arms around his neck.
‘I like filthy girls. Not too sure about the crackling, though.’
‘It’s a packet I found in the hole. I shoved it down my dungaree top so I could check if there was anything else in there. But while I was leaning right into it, someone grabbed my feet and shoved me in. I banged my head.’
‘So I see. There’s a graze on your forehead and you might even end up with a black eye. And when I find whoever did this, they’ll be sorry!’ he added grimly.
‘But it must have been Ella – who else is loopy enough to do something like that?’
‘I suppose so, but if it was, how was she to know anyone would find you in there? It was a sheer fluke that I happened to ring you earlier when you were in the kitchen and you told me what you’d found, and then Fang was trying his best to show me where you were, too. When I opened the door from the tower he shot past me, jumped on the bed and barked his head off.’
‘That was very brave of him, because he’s scared of this room.’ I shivered and tightened my grip on Carey. ‘I think I am now, too. And what if Ella’s still lurking about, feeling a bit homicidal?’
‘I’d better check the rest of the wing while you stay here with Fang for a minute,’ he suggested.
‘No way – we’ll wait for you in the tower,’ I said firmly.
It seemed wonderfully bright and warm in the tower room and the lift repair men were back on the job – or at least, having a nice chat about football with the electricians downstairs.
Carey returned quite quickly. ‘I’ve been right through and there’s no sign of her. The front door’s locked, too, so I think she’s long gone.’
‘What are we going to do about her?’ I asked. ‘I mean, we can’t just letthisgo, can we? I don’t think she’s responsible for her actions, and even Clem must agree she needs urgent help now.’
He took my hand. ‘Come on – you need to get cleaned up and changed, and then we’ll discuss it in the kitchen over a good hot cup of coffee.’
‘With all the lights on?’
‘It’s the middle of the day, even if it is a bit gloomy now it’s clouded over, so it’d be a waste of electricity.’
‘This is no time for economy,’ I said sternly, and gave him the package to take down with him.
I felt much better once I’d washed off the dust and the blood from my grazed forehead and changed into clean jeans and a warm knitted tunic. Looking in the mirror, I thought Carey might have been right, and I’d have a black eye tomorrow.
With the memory of that passionate kiss still tingling on my lips, Ifelt strangely shy when I entered the kitchen, though of course, relief can make us do all kinds of strange things …
