CHAPTER SIX

"What is wrong with you?" she asked as she came around from the front of the house. Her face was red now and she was breathing very heavily.

I waited for her to get closer before speaking, "Wrong? Does something seem wrong with me?"

"You look terribly frightened. Your face is white as a ghost!"

I thought for a moment before speaking. I could no longer keep my fear a secret in order to protect her. I had to tell. I held out my hand to her and she took it in her own. It felt safe having her so near me. "I know that we have planned to go to church this evening, but I'm afraid that I can no longer go."

"Something's wrong?" she asked.

"I must tell you why I look so strange now."

"My goodness, you really frightened me when I saw you in the window!"

"Well, the same thing happened to me only a few minutes before. What I saw, however, was much more frightening than what you saw!

Her hand took a stronger hold of mine. "What did you see?"

"I saw a stranger. A man ... "

"A man?"

"I did not recognize him."

"Well, where has he gone?"

"I have no idea."

"Was this the first time you'd seen him?"

"No. I saw him once before. He was standing up in one of the towers."

"And you're sure you don't know who he is?"

"I'm certain I've never met this man."

"Why didn't you mention this before?"

"I just decided it would be best not to say anything."

"And you've only seen him in the tower?"

"And at this window, of course."

"Why was he up in the tower?" she wondered.

"Who knows? He was just watching me."

Mrs Grose stood thinking for a moment. "Could he have been a gentleman?"

"I'm pretty sure that he is not," I answered right away.

"Could it be someone from the little nearby town?"

"He does not seem like anyone I have met either around here or in town."

"I can't imagine who it would be?"

"He ... he's terrible, whoever he is!" I said, beginning to get angry.

Once again, Mrs Grose became silent and looked about the yard. She then turned back to me and said, "Well, you and I ought to go to church now."

"Oh, I really don't think that I can go now. I'm not in the mood."

"It might make you feel a little better."

"But the children!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that he might try to hurt them!"

"You really think so?"

"I don't know anything about this man. But I do know that he's strange enough to come walking onto our property without any permission. He can look into our windows as though it's his own home! There's no way I can just walk away now and put the children in possible danger."

I then saw something in Mrs Grose's face that seemed to indicate that a new idea had come to her. I did not know what this idea was, but it seemed she might be willing to share her thoughts with me. She then asked, "When exactly did you see him before?"

"About a couple of weeks ago, at the same time of day as today."

"So there wasn't much light then for you to see clearly?"

"No, the sun had not gone down yet. I could see him very clearly."

"But I can't see a way for him to have entered our property."

"Nor can I see a way for him to leave our property without anyone knowing ... but he did."

"So it seems that he limits his behavior to just watching."

"So far, yes. But that could very easily change."

Mrs Grose no longer held my hand in hers. She had released it and begun to look around the yard again.

"You go ahead to church," I suggested, "I'll stay here and protect the house."

She stood very still. "Are you really afraid that he might hurt the children?"

I looked into her eyes for a moment. "Don't you have the same fear?" She did not reply, but walked over to the window and looked inside.

"Was he here for very long?" she asked.

"He was standing there when I walked into the dining room. I don't know how long he had been there, but he left as soon as I came running to meet him."

She then turned around and, looking at the ground, said, "I wouldn't have been able to leave the house like you did."

"Normally, I wouldn't either, but I so feared for the safety of the children, I had to do it."

"I should feel the same way. Can you describe him to me?"

"Yes, of course. He's quite strange-looking."

"How so?"

"Well, first of all, he never wears a hat." I immediately noticed a change in Mrs Grose's face then. She seemed to recognize something. I then continued, "He has a long, white face, and his hair is red and curly. It's, however, his eyes that I remember most clearly. They're small but very serious. And above them are thick, dark eyebrows that seem to be very expressive. He looks like he could be an actor."

"That's interesting!" said Mrs Grose.

"He seemed quite tall and strong. He's definitely not a gentleman, though."

Mrs Grose had once again turned white while listening to my description and her eyes had grown quite large. She did not seem to know what to say.

"You seem upset. Does he sound familiar to you?" I asked.

"Would you say that he is an attractive man?" she asked.

It seemed that she wanted me to think he was, so I answered, "Oh yes, very!"

"And how was he dressed?"

"I could see that the clothing he wore did not belong to him. They were nice clothes, but they were clearly someone else's."

"Of course! They belonged to the master of the house!" she cried out.

"Ah! So you do recognize him!"

She seemed almost helpless to speak. But, after a few moments, she managed to say, "It's Peter Quint! The master's former servant!"

"When was this?"

"He worked here last year. I remember some of the master's clothing disappearing at times. And Quint did not own a hat. The master left for India and that meant that Quint was the boss of the house."

"The boss? But why didn't the children's uncle mention him to me? As far as I know, I'm meant to be the boss here."

"Yes. You are. Quint left."

"Where did he go?"

"Who can know? Death took him."

"What?" I cried. "You say he died?"

She then looked up into the air above me at nothing, seeming thoughtful. "Yes. He's quite dead."

(end of section)