Will You Love Me in September

The bodice was low cut and her skin looked pearly. She wore garnets at her throat and in her ears. They suited her. I learned afterward that they had been a gift from Uncle Paul to his fiancee, who, when she had broken off the engagement, had returned all the presents he had given her. I thought he must be very fond of Aimee to have given her his fiancee's presents.

Before we dined, there were arrivals at the castle. The nephew who had visited us at Enderby came with his father. Matthew Field was very like what I remembered of my father-tall and commanding. He seemed very pleased to see me.

"You are as pretty as my son Ralph described you," he told me.

Ralph greeted me like an old friend. "It was good of you to come all this way," he said. "I trust the baby arrived in good condition.”

"She did and she is flourishing. I had to stay until she was born. You did understand, I hope.”

"But of course.”

Dinner was leisurely and lavish. There were a great many dishes, some of which I did not know the name.

"We eat heartily up here," my uncle Paul explained. "More so than you southerners.”

"It's due to the climate," said Ralph. "It can be bitterly cold up here, and we need hot soups, black puddings and hot roast beef in abundance to keep out the cold.”

I felt exhausted after the food and unaccustomed wine, not to mention the journey and the revelations which had disclosed the fact that I had a half sister. I must have shown this, because Uncle Paul said, "What Clarissa needs most just now is a good night's rest. Aimee, take her to her room. She might get lost in the castle." He turned to me. "People do, you know. That's until they begin to know the place. It began life as a fortress, but so much has been added over the centuries.

Sometimes I think it resembles a maze more than a dwelling.”

Aimee rose obediently, and smiling at me, asked if I were ready. I said I was, for I felt a great desire to be alone and digest what I had heard. She took a candle from a chest and lighted me up the stairs.

As we ascended them she waved the candle about and turned to smile at me. "It is a little ... what you say? ... eerie by the light of the chandelle." Like Jeanne, she introduced a French word into her speech every now and then. It added a certain charm to the conversation.

"Yes," I said. "Our house is a little like that too.”

She nodded. "But you are not afraid of shadows ... not you.”

"I try not to be.”

"That is all we can do about anything ... try.”

When we came to my room she threw open the door and we entered. A fire was burning in the grate, which gave out a coziness. "I told them you must have a fire," she said. "It is so cold when the wind blows." Heavy curtains had been drawn across the window; the bed quilt was turned back and the fourposter bed looked very inviting.

"They have put in the warming pan ... you will see.”

"They are determined to make me comfortable.”

"We want you to know ... Uncle Paul and I ... that you are with your family.”

"You have certainly made me feel that.”

"Now, is there anything else you want ... for the night?”

"I don't think so, thank you.”

"If you should want ..." she waved her arms in an expansive gesture ..."you will ring the bell. So." She indicated the bell rope. "Or if there is something I can do ... I am not far away. We are both in the turret. I look out to the west ...

over the countryside ... you look out to sea.”

"Thank you. I'll remember.”

"Good night, ma soeur. Sleep well.”

She shut the door quietly and went out. I stood staring at it for a few seconds.

It was a thick oak door with a latch and a bolt which could be drawn across. On sudden impulse I went to the door and bolted it.

Then I wondered at myself. Why had I done that? It was almost as though I were afraid.

Suppose Aimee came back for something and heard me unbolt the door. It would seem very unfriendly. I drew back the bolt and undressed. The firelight threw flickering shadows round the room. It was warm, cozy and yet ... there was something alien here, something which was almost a warning, and I believed that, tired as I was, I should find it difficult to sleep in this room.

I drew back the curtains as though to let in the outside world. There was a half moon and it was a clear night. I could see the sea distinctly in the distance. There was a quietness in the air ... no wind ruffled the grass of the moorlands. I could get a glimpse of the gate of the castle, majestic in moonlight.

I turned back to the comfort of the fire and got into bed.