CHAPTER EIGHT

Afterward, I went to find Mrs Grose. I couldn't remember how I passed the time between sitting by the lake and finding her. I just remembered putting my arms around the housekeeper as soon as I found her and shouting: "The children have seen them! It's terrible!"

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I was with Flora just now, near the lake. I watched her and ... I know that she could see the stranger!"

"Did she say anything to you about it?" she asked, suddenly looking very upset.

"No! That's what upsets me most of all! She acted like she didn't see anything! My God, she's just a little eight-year-old child ... and she's keeping such secrets!"

"But ... if she didn't say anything about it, how can you be sure that she saw it?"

"It was obvious. I could see very clearly that she knew she was there!"

"'She'? Don't you mean 'he'?"

"No. It was a woman!" I cried. "Oh she looked so frightening! Her skin was terribly white and she wore all black clothing! She stood watching Flora from the opposite side of the lake! I can't tell you how horrible she looked!"

"But where did she come from?"

"Who knows? From the same place I suppose that man comes from!"

"Did she walk any closer to you?"

"No. But she did not need for me to be so frightened."

The housekeeper seemed to become troubled for a moment. "Is she someone you've seen before?"

"I've never seen her, but it's obvious that the child knows her. And, therefore, you must be familiar with her, as well! I can only guess that it's Miss Jessel, the teacher I replaced!"

"What? How ... !"

"Why is this so unbelievable to you?"

Mrs Grose did not seem to know what to do at that moment. She looked all around her as though she wanted to go somewhere, but she did not move. "How do you know it's her?"

I became upset with her then. "If you don't believe me, then go and talk with Flora about it!" I yelled. Then, after taking a moment to calm down, I said, "I suppose that would be a bad idea. I don't think she would tell you the truth. She would pretend to have not seen anything."

"But why would she lie?"

"So she can continue to hide it from us. It's quite bad behavior, I must say."

"But ... " Mrs Grose looked even more troubled and confused. "Is it such a problem that the children aren't bothered by it? Maybe they actually like seeing them!"

"How can they like it? Especially Flora, who's so young!"

"But doesn't that just show how little she understands? If she doesn't understand it, then she must not mean to be bad."

"Yes! I hope that what you say is correct. I pray that it is! That woman is truly terrible!"

"Explain to me how you knew it was Miss Jessel," said Mrs Grose as she looked down at the floor.

"You believe me then? You think it was her too?" I asked.

"Just explain to me, please," she said again.

"I just knew by looking at her that it was Miss Jessel. I just knew it!"

"Did she look at you?"

"No. Her evil eyes never looked away from Flora!"

"Did it seem like she hated Flora?"

"It was different from hate. Much worse than hate!

"What can be worse than hate?"

"Her look seemed to show some kind of plan."

"Plan?" Mrs Grose repeated, turning white.

"I think she wants Flora. I think she wants to take her! And I think that Flora knows this!"

"Oh! How terrible! Take her?" Mrs Grose then walked over to the window and, looking outside, asked, "So she wore all black?"

"It seemed like the type of clothing people wear to remember someone who has recently died. And, although she looked terribly evil, she was also extremely beautiful! She seemed like she had been a very special woman."

"Yes, in fact, she was. She and Peter Quint were both very special, but not in any good way."

"Mrs Grose," I said, walking over to her and putting her hand in mine, "I understand why you did not say anything about this before. There was no need to. Now, however, things are different and I feel that you must share with me everything that you know about this house and its history."

Mrs Grose seemed to agree to this, but she still remained silent.

"Please. Tell me. How did Miss Jessel die? Did she have a romantic relationship with Quint?"

"Ha! Of course there was!"

"But they were from different social levels."

"They were completely different. She was well educated ... a proper woman!"

"I knew that about her when I saw her," I said.

"He, however, was nothing compared to her. He was only a servant!"

I felt a little uncomfortable saying anything now, for Mrs Grose was also a servant and from the lower end of society.

"He was an absolutely bad man!" she continued, "I'd never met anyone else like him. He did not feel the need to behave properly. He did whatever he wanted."

"He did what he wanted with Miss Jessel?"

"With everyone!"

I remembered that look in Miss Jessel's eyes that had so frightened me. "She must have let him do what he wanted. She must have wanted it, as well"

"Yes. That's true. And, my goodness, what a heavy price she paid for wanting it."

"So it seems that you know exactly what happened to her."

"No. In fact, I know nothing about what happened. I wished to know, but I never found out. In the end, I was just happy that she had decided to leave the house and get away from it all."

"So you must have known something of her life here? Of her relationship with Quint?"

"I only knew that they had a relationship. I knew nothing more about it. It was clear to me that she was not happy. That was all. I can only guess as to how horrible it had been for her!"

"I guess it was even more horrible than you imagine!" I said. My whole body showed at that moment how sad and helpless I was feeling. Mrs Grose could see this sadness in me and she came over and put her arms around me. Tears came to my eyes and I began to cry loudly into her shoulder, "There's nothing I can do to help them! They are already gone from us!"

(end of section)