LUCY

The man looked up from the letter he was reading as he heard a knock at his study door.

"Come in", he called.   The door opened, and two women came into the room.

"Yes, Mrs. Wilkie", he said.

"This is Sarah, our new parlourmaid, Sir", she replied.

"Welcome to Cardale Hall Sarah, I hope you'll be happy here, although it can be a bit lonely".

"Oh, I shan't mind that Sir", she replied.

"I have just been reading your references, and they're excellent".

"Thankyou, Sir."

"Now you go with Mrs. Wilkie and she'll show you where you are to sleep, and explain your duties".    Sarah gave a small curtsey, and Mrs. Wilkie inclined her head.

When they were outside the room, Mrs.Wilkie said, "Come along Sarah, I'll show you your room and then I'll show you the house".

She took Sarah to a room at the top of the house. It was only small but it was very cosy. "Your a very lucky girl", she said, "you haven't got to share".

"Thank you Mrs.Wilkie, it's a lovely room".

"I'll give you an hour to unpack and freshen up, and then I'll send someone for you and show you the house".

An hour later, Sarah heard a knock on her door. When she opened it, there was a young girl standing there. "I'm Jane", the girl said, "I've come to take you to Mrs. Wilkie".

"What do you do here?", Sarah asked.

"I'm the tweenie", she replied.   She took Sarah down the back stairs to the kitchen. When they went in, Mrs.Wilkie and another woman were sitting at the kitchen table.

"This is Mrs.Foster, our Cook", she told Sarah. "This is Sarah,Cook".

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs.Foster", Sarah said.

"Likewise, but just call me Cook, everyone else does".

"Alright then,Cook".

She told Sarah to sit down and gave her a cup of tea and a slice of cake. "This cake is delicious, Cook", Sarah said.

"Thank you very much".

When Sarah had finished, Mrs.Wilkie said, "Right, I'll show you the house now".

She took Sarah upstairs and downstairs, and into so many rooms that Sarah was bewildered.   "You've mainly only got the parlour, but you need to know about the other rooms", she told Sarah.

Just as they were about to go back downstairs, Sarah noticed a staircase they hadn't been up. "What's up there?" Sarah asked.

"Miss Lucys' room".

"I didn't realise there was anyone else here", Sarah said.

"There isn't now, but we don't talk about it".   Sarah was just going to ask what, when Mrs.Wilkie said,   "Right, I'll take you back to the kitchen for your supper, then you'd better get to bed, you've got to be up early in the morning". She took Sarah back to the kitchen and said goodnight.

"Goodnight, Mrs.Wilkie".

While Sarah was eating her supper they chatted. Sarah told Cook about herself, and Cook told her about the house. "It's time you were away to bed now, Sarah".

"Yes, Cook". As Sarah was about to go, she said, "Cook, can I ask you something?"

"'Course you can".

"About Miss Lucy".

"Oh", said Cook.

"Mrs.Wilkie said you don't talk about it, why not?"

"No we don't but I'll tell you, better to hear the proper story".

"What happened?" asked Sarah.

"Miss Lucy is, was, the Masters daughter, she was killed in a hunting accident".

"When?"

"About five years ago".

"But why don't you talk about it?"

"Because the Master blames himself for letting her go. He didn't want her to, but she could twist him round her little finger".

"How awful, what was she like?"

"She was a lovely girl, mostly serious, but she had a wonderful sense of humour. Sometimes she played pranks".

"What kind of pranks?"

"Never mind, it's time for bed, Goodnight Sarah".

"Goodnight, Cook".

Several weeks passed, and Sarah went about her duties happily. It was hard work but she liked everyone and they liked her. Then one day when she went into the kitchen to have her morning cup of tea, she was startled to see a young girl sitting at the kitchen table.

"Ooh, you made me jump", gasped Sarah.

"Sorry about that", the girl replied.

"Who are you, and where've you come from?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, here abouts" she said "My name's Susie".

There was such an air of self assurance about the girl, that Sarah assumed she lived nearby and had come visiting, so she didn't question her further.   Then remembering her manners, Sarah asked her if she would like a cup of tea.

"No thank you, but I'd love a glass of milk and a slice of Cooks bread, with lashings of butter and jam on".

Sarah brought them for her and watched as she ate and drank with great relish. Just as she was about to ask her where exactly she had come from, the parlour bell rang.

"I'll have to answer that, will you be alright?"

"Yes" replied the girl, "I'll just sit here until you come back".

When Sarah came back to the kitchen, Cook was sitting by the fire with her feet up, but there was no sign of the girl.

"Oh, has she gone then?" asked Sarah.

"Who?" Cook replied.

"The girl who was here".

"There was no-one here when I came in, you must have been dreaming".

"I wasn't, she was sitting at the table, I gave her some milk and a slice of bread and jam". "There's her plate and glass".

But both had gone from the table. Then Sarah noticed that Cook had gone pale, so she made her sit down. Just as she was about to ask her what was wrong, Cook asked,

"What did she look like Sarah, and what was she wearing?"

"She was a pretty girl, about eleven years old.   She had long blonde hair tied back with a blue ribbon and she was wearing a blue dress"

"That was Miss Lucy".

"No, she said her name was Susie, it couldn't have been Lucy".

"That was her middle name, Susan, her full name was Lucinda Susan".

As Cook and Sarah just sat looking at each other, from the passage outside came the sound of girlish laughter.

By Pat Rogers.

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