The India Fan Read Online Free PDF Page A

must therefore have been twelve, and as I was not yet seven, he seemed very mature.
    Lavinia went to him and hung on his arm as though to say, this is my brother. You can go back to Miss York. I shan need you now.
    He was looking at me oddlyemembering, I knew. I was the child whom he had thought was his. Surely such an episode must have left an impression, even on someone as worldly as Fabian.
    ill you stay with me?pleaded Lavinia. ill you tell me what we can do? Drusilla has such silly ideas. She likes what she thinks are clever games. Miss Etherton says she knows more than I do about history and things like that.
    he wouldn have to know much to know more than you do,said Fabian remark which, coming from anyone else, would have thrown Lavinia into a temper, but because Fabian had said it, she giggled happily. It was quite a revelation to me that there was one person of whom Lavinia stood in aweot counting Lady Harriet, of course, of whom everyone was in awe.
    He said, istory I like history, Romans and all that. They had slaves. Wel have a game.
    h, Fabian really?
    es. I am a Roman, Caesar, I think.
    hich one?I asked.
    He considered. ulius or perhaps Tiberius.
    e was very cruel to the Christians.
    ou need not be a Christian slave. I shall be Caesar. You are my slaves and I shall test you.
    l be your queen or whatever Caesars have,announced Lavinia. rusilla can be our slave.
    oul be a slave, too,said Fabian, to my delight and Lavinia dismay.
    shall give you tasks which seem to you impossible. It is to prove you and see whether you are worthy to be my slaves. I shall say, ring me the golden apples of Hesperidesor something like that.
    ow could we get them?I asked. hey are in the Greek legends. My father is always talking about them. They are not real.
    Lavinia was getting impatient, as I, the plain outsider, was talking too much.
    shall give you the tasks to perform and you must carry them out or suffer my anger.
    ot if it means going down to the underworld and bringing out people who are dead and that sort of thing,I said.
    shall not command you to do that. The tasks will be difficult but possible.
    He folded his arms across his chest and shut his eyes as though deep in thought. Then he spoke, as though he were the Oracle of whom my father talked now and then. avinia, you will bring me the silver chalice. It must be a certain chalice. It has acanthus leaves engraved on it.
    can,said Lavinia. t in the haunted room.
    I had never seen Lavinia so stricken, and what astonished me was that her brother had the power to drive the rebellion out of her.
    He turned to me. ou will bring me a fan of peacock feathers. And when my slaves return to me, the chalice shall be filled with wine and while I drink it my slave shall fan me with the peacock-feather fan.
    My task did not seem so difficult. I knew where there was a peacock-feather fan. I was better acquainted with the house than I had once been and I could find my way easily to Miss Lucille apartments. I could slip into the room where I knew the fan to be, take it and bring it to Fabian. I should do it so quickly that he would commend me for my speed, while poor Lavinia was screwing up courage to go to the haunted room.
    I sped on my way. A feeling of intense excitement gripped me. The presence of Fabian thrilled me because I kept thinking of the way in which he had kidnapped me, and there I had been, living in the house for two weeks just as though I were a member of the family. I wanted to astonish him with the speed with which I carried out my task.
    I reached the room. What if the Indian were there? What would I say to her? lease may I have the fan? We are playing a game and I am a slave.
    She would smile, I guessed, and say earie dearie me,in that sing-song voice of hers. I was sure she would be amused and amenable, though I wondered about the old lady. But she would be in the adjoining room, sitting in the chair with the rug over her knees, crying because of the past which came