CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Mrs Grose did not seem very impressed with my story. I then added one other comment that Miles had made just before I left his room.

"He said to me, 'If I can do this, imagine what other bad things I could do!' Even though he was joking around with me, I could not help thinking that those 'other' bad things might be the things that got him dismissed from his school."

"My goodness! Listen to what you're saying!" said the housekeeper.

"I only speak the truth, Mrs Grose. If you had been up last night with me, you could have seen it all yourself. There's no question that the children see these people quite often. Just think about how neither child ever mentions Peter Quint or Miss Jessel. These people were a part of their past, why should their names never once be said aloud? It doesn't make sense, unless they're hiding something from us. Look at them down there. They act as though they are reading a story to each other, but the truth is that they're discussing the dead friends who come each night to pay them a visit. I realize that my talk sounds terribly mad, but I'm quite the opposite, actually. I'm clearer about things now than I've ever been before."

Although she must have thought my words were terrible, her concern for the children kept her listening. "What exactly are you more clear about?" She asked.

"I'm clearer about the children, about why they seem so perfect, sweet, and beautiful. At first, I fell in love with them, but now I realize that it's all a lie!"

"You think the children are cheating us?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but yes, I think they are." As I spoke these words, I felt that I understood things even more clearly. "They've been so sweet to us because we are like strangers to them. They do not belong to you or me. They belong to them, to Quint and the horrible woman."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying what I said before. They want the children."

Mrs Grose looked down toward where the children were playing. "But why?"

"They want to finish the evil they started when they lived and worked here."

"My goodness!" Mrs Grose cried softly. I could see now that bad memories of Quint and Miss Jessel were coming back to her. And it seemed like she doubted my words less, for she said, "Oh! Those two people were truly terrible. But I don't see how they could harm the children now."

"You don't see?" I shouted a little too loudly. The children suddenly stopped their playing for a moment and turned their heads up toward us. "Haven't they been hurting them all this time?" I said more quietly. The children, meanwhile, lost their interest in us and returned to their storytelling. "They could take their lives!"

Mrs Grose looked at me suddenly with wide eyes, but said nothing.

"Think about it," I continued, "So far, they have only been able to approach the children from far away. They call them from outside the children's windows, from the opposite side of the lake, but it's obvious that they want to get closer and closer. That's why I found Quint walking up the stairway that night. He was coming for Miles. It seems that something prevents them from coming directly to the children. Therefore they are trying to get the children to come to them. And it's only a matter of time before they succeed."

"And what happens then?"

"They'll die! So we must do everything we can to protect them."

"Why don't we call their uncle and have them moved to another house?"

"Why do you think he'll agree to that? What do you think he'll think if he receives a letter from me saying that Miles and Flora are crazy?"

"But they might be!"

"He made it clear to me in my interview that I was to deal with all problems with the children myself. He clearly does not want to be bothered."

Mrs Grose took hold of my hand, and looked me in the eyes. "Write to him anyway. He should help us."

I suddenly rose from my chair. "Do you think I could really do that?" I asked.

It was clear from her face that she did not think I could. She understood my fear of disappointing him, of being considered a failure. However, she did not realize just how strong this feeling really was inside of me. And it was with great fear and surprise that she heard me say, "I warn you now, I will leave this house immediately, if I ever find out that you have written to him yourself. I promise you that."

(end of section)