Jane Slayre Read Online Free PDF Page A

wont to stir in me a most enthusiastic sense of admiration; and which plate I had often petitioned to be allowed to take in my hand to examine more closely, but had always hitherto been deemed unworthy of such a privilege.
    This precious vessel was now placed on my knee, and I was cordially invited to eat the circlet of delicate pastry upon it. I smiled at it. It smelled sweet, of berries, and the crust glistened with a sprinkling of sugar. No chunk of meat was left bleeding on my plate, no sign of juice or entrails. I took a bite. "Thank you, Bessie."
    Bessie asked if I would have a book. Sun outside my window, sweets, and a book! I felt thoroughly spoiled and not about to question my good fortune, even if it might fade as soon as the apothecary returned to declare me nearly recovered.
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    "Gulliver's Travels?" I suggested. She went to fetch it and returned, reclaiming the seat beside me.
    Yet when this cherished volume was now placed in my hand, I put down the book and begged Bessie to indulge me with one of her fairy stories instead. She spun a tale of forest-dwelling elves while I finished my tart.
    After eating, I began to feel tired again, but a pleasant sort of tired, not weary. Bessie opened a little drawer, full of splendid shreds of silk and satin, and began making a new bonnet for Georgiana's doll. Meantime she sang:
    "In the days when we went gypsying, a long time ago."
    I listened always with lively delight; for Bessie had a sweet voice--at least, I thought so. Usually, I found an indescribable sadness in the Gypsy melody, but now, I heard a new sweetness in Bessie's lovely tones. Her voice seemed higher, clearer, the tone more upbeat and merry.
    "Come, Miss Jane, don't cry," said Bessie as she finished.
    I felt my cheeks. "Was I crying? But I feel so content. Is it possible to cry when one is happy?"
    Bessie smiled. "Yes, Jane. I believe it is."
    She spoke as if she'd had experience with it. I trusted her opinion, for what I felt was far from sadness.
    In the afternoon, Mr. Lloyd came again.
    "What, already up!" said he as he entered the nursery. "Well, nurse, how is she?"
    Bessie answered that I was doing well.
    "She's still very pale. Come here, Miss Jane. Your name is Jane, is it not?"
    "Yes, sir, Jane Slayre."
    "Well, Miss Jane Slayre, have you any pain?"
    "No, sir."
    The good apothecary looked me over, head to toe. I stood before him in my heavy cotton gown, a shawl draped over my shoulders. My strength seemed to increase with his appraisal. I managed to
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    stay on my feet as he fixed his small, grey gaze on me steadily. He had a good-natured face.
    "How did you hurt your head yesterday? And what made those peculiar marks on your neck?" he gestured to where the shawl covered my bite marks.
    "She had a fall," said Bessie, again putting in her word.
    "A fall! That might explain her head, but her neck?" he tugged the shawl and it slipped down my shoulder, revealing the tiny scrapes where the bites had been.
    "John Reed bit me" was my blunt explanation. Let Bessie scold me for making an accusation. "he knocked me down, and then he bit me. Mrs. Reed accused me of provoking him and ignored my bleeding to shut me up in a room."
    Bessie gasped. "Child's play, sir. It did get a bit out of hand. But I tended the girl. She was carefully monitored."
    A loud bell rang for the servants' dinner. He must have known what it was when he turned to Bessie. "That's for you, nurse, you can go down. I'll give Miss Jane a lecture till you come back."
    No doubt Bessie would rather have stayed, but she was obliged to go because punctuality at meals was rigidly enforced at Gates-head hall.
    "You were bleeding and left alone?" Mr. Lloyd asked once Bessie was gone.
    "Bessie checked my wounds, and then I was left alone. In the dark. I saw a ghost."
    I saw Mr. Lloyd smile and frown at the same time. "A ghost! Is that all? Ghosts shouldn't frighten you. You're at least nine years old. I'm wondering what else you might have seen.