Page 117 of Prelude To You

“You are in the wrong wing,” she said with a voice that could bend steel. “This is the south wing, and no one unauthorized is allowed here, do you understand?”

“I forgot to take my map, so if you could point me—”

“Come with me, I’ll take you,” she continued. “There will be repercussions if you come to this wing again.”

“Well, it wasn’t like I did it on purpose,” I mumbled, and pretended not to see the harsh look she cast my way.

By the time we arrived at the staffroom, I was exhausted. How did I get so far off the trail? Miss Leyland was there, adjusting some staff schedule or something. Naturally, my crabby escort immediately told her of my criminal trespass.

I went straight for the coffee, desperate for a few sips before Miss Leyland could blow her top over my unforgivablefaux pas. But Miss Leyland, ever-gracious soul she was, smiled tersely at my crabby escort. “I’m sure it was a simple mistake, Gladys. Isabel is new here, after all.”

Gladys left the staffroom in a small huff, and Miss Leyland’s smile softened when she looked at me. “I’ve made my staff very paranoid and protective of this house. So, I apologize.”

I breathed relief. “It’s okay, thanks. Heaven forbid the scary monster who lives in the south wing gets wind of my existence here. I mean it sounds like that’snotthe wing to mess with.”

Miss Leyland’s smile morphed into an elegant little laugh. “I’ll be sure to let the scary monster know of your existence, in case you and he cross paths.”

This was getting interesting. “Oh, so there is someone living there?”

“Yes,” is all Miss Leyland said.

“I take it this someone is very important for everyone to be walking on eggs around the south wing.”

“Yes, he’s extremely important.”

Miss Leyland’s tone indicated that the conversation about the south wing had concluded. “Just before you came in here, I was sent a picture of Henry’s room by one of the nurses,” she said.

I’d had enough of the tattletales and shrugged. “I’ll take the stuff down, no problem. Just thought it might make the room a little happier, you know.”

“I didn’t ask you to take anything down,” Miss Leyland said. “In fact I quite like it. And I agree, it does make the room more cheerful.”

And then she continued with her work., I finished my coffee, admiring the view from one of the large French windows, happy there was at least one other person who wasn’t staff living in this house. Hopefully he was family, and at the very least visited Henry regularly.

Miss Leyland said she’d see me at six, when it was time for me to leave. According to her, that was when her duties as head of staff ended, and she went to keep Henry company. I thought her loyalty as an employee went above and beyond.

During the rest of the afternoon, I read a couple of short stories to Henry. When it was Edith Piaf’s turn on the playlist, I translated some of the song lyrics for him. Piaf was still crooning when Miss Leyland walked into Henry’s room at six on the dot. It was the first time she’d seen the room since the grumpy nurse sent her a pic.

She took it all in and when she noticed the small, patched-up teddy bear I put next to Henry’s pillow, she looked at me questioningly.

“It’s a bear my mom gave me as a toddler,” I explained. “She named him Francis and he always brought me great comfort as a child, and even now. I carry him around everywhere. I know he looks pretty shabby but he’s clean.”

Miss Leyland smiled, and it was a smile that reminded me of my mom. “That’s very kind of you, Isabel, thank you. How was your first day here?”

I wanted to say it was my saving grace, the only reason why I didn’t go mad and tear the hair out of my head. But instead I smiled placidly, my voice steady.

“It was great. I keep track of everything we do on the wall planner so you know exactly what’s going on at all times.Sometimes I read, and sometimes Henry and I just chat. Which brings me to the board games I saw in the library. What do you say we alternate reading with playing games. Henry seems like he’d love Monopoly.”

“Oh, I don’t even know how that would work,” Miss Leyland said, clearly surprised at all the entertainment I had planned.

“It’s just something to stimulate his mind. I’ll talk him through it.”

This seemed to intrigue her. “He was also quite an avid chess player,” she noted.

“If it’s okay with you,” I said, “I’ll go to the library after morning coffee and get a board game or two.”

“Of course, you can go to the library any time you want.”

I folded my leg blanket neatly and put it over the back of my chair, then pecked Henry on the cheek and grabbed my bag. I squeezed Henry’s hand. “Good night, Henry. Have a great evening. Good night, Miss Leyland. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

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