Possession Read Online Free PDF Page B

than mere school-girl shyness.
    “Janice must be absolutely thrilled about it all!” She hazarded brightly, probing at random for the sore spot that she knew was somewhere. “She must be so delighted for her sister, they’ve always been so close….” No one could have looked more innocently taken aback than Anna when Janice’s cold, black look seared her for a second, showing her that she had scored a bullseye. Anna looked startled; then tolerant. She shrugged her shoulders.
    “Ah, well, the difficult age,” she murmured smilingly into my ear, but loud enough for Janice to hear; and having thus ensured that for the rest of the evening Janice would be at her sulkiest, Anna then proceeded, very sweetly, to condole with me about the problems of sulky teenagers, and to compliment me on my handling of this particular one. She told Liz how marvellous I was at it; and Liz’s husband Bernard; she called on Simon, over by the fireplace, to bear witness to this marvellousness of mine; soon, it seemed that half the room were having their attention drawn to Janice’s sulkiness; and though Janice was apparently out of earshot, there was no doubt that she was aware of the tenor of the conversation; the look she threw at her aunt as she handed her a drink suggested that it was laced with hemlock at least.
    I scowled reproof at her for this display of surliness; but she pretended not to notice, and continued on her injured way, while Anna explained to everyone what a sweet girlshe was really ; just shy, that’s all. Anna’s own tolerance and good-humour shone like footlights into the situation she had created; she went on and on about the inscrutable virtues of the younger generation, and how one simply had to understand their point of view; and as always, I was mesmerised by some glittering, barbaric quality in her that made it impossible to argue or to answer back. The swinging golden hoops of her earrings, her black shining eyes, the clash of her heavy bracelets as she gestured, driving home some point: they held me in thrall, tamely submitting to one highly controversial opinion after another, until at long last I was released by the ringing of the telephone.
    I leaped to my feet thankfully. Almost certainly it was for one of the girls, but I wasn’t going to miss this chance of escape. I almost ran across the room and out into the hall, shutting the noise of the party behind me as I closed the door.
    “Is that Mrs Erskine? Is there a Mrs Erskine living there?”
    The voice was strange to me; the woman, whoever she was, sounded nervous, a little out of breath.
    “Speaking,” I said; and the voice gave a little breathy laugh. “Oh, that ’ s all right, then; I wasn’t sure if…. That is, have you by chance got a daughter called Sarah?”
    “I have. She’s here now. Shall I call her for you?”
    “No! Oh no—” the voice interrupted urgently. “No, it’s you I want to talk to, I just wanted to make sure you were the Mrs Erskine; there are several in the phonebook, you see, and I wasn’t sure….”
    “No, you were perfectly right,” I said, a little impatiently—she seemed to be making such heavy weather of it all. “I am Mrs Erskine. I am Sarah’s mother. Now, what can I do for you?”
    There was a tiny pause. Then the voice resumed its hesitant narrative. “Well, you see, it’s like this. I’m terribly sorry to bother you, I really am, especially as we’ve never met. You must think it awful cheek from a stranger, just ringing you up like this, but you see….”
    With my foot, I hooked the hall chair towards me so that I could sit down. This was evidently going to be a long business.
    “The thing is”—the voice was working up towards the point now—“The thing is—I hate to bother you, but have you by any chance got my son with you this evening? My son. A Mr Mervyn Redmayne?”
    “ Mervyn !” Light dawned at last. “So you must be Mrs Redmayne? How very nice to hear from you! We really