The Little One [Quick Read 2012] Read Online Free PDF Page B

not make out what she was saying. Then came
lighter steps and a door slamming shut. She only just made it back to the armchair by the fire before Margaret returned.
    For a moment there was silence, then both of them were aware of a hissing noise coming from the Aga.
    ‘You didn’t check on the rice,’ Margaret said angrily, taking the pan to the sink.
    ‘I’m so sorry. Let me clean up.’
    ‘No, I’m doing it.’
    Barbara sat back in the chair. She was beginning to think that perhaps there was something wrong with her host. She was so hostile all of a sudden.
    ‘I need to use the bathroom,’ Barbara said, standing up.
    ‘Use the one on this floor, please, and check the water flushes properly when you pull the chain.’
    Barbara made her way into the dark hall. Just as she was opening the door to the bathroom she heard the click-click and then the high-pitched song:
    ‘Bunny bunny, hip hop.
    Keep moving, don’t stop.’
    It was the clockwork rabbit, slowly hopping from one stair to the next. The toy gradually wound down and fell on its side. Its highpitched voice became distorted as it repeated ‘hop, hop,
hop’.
    Barbara picked up the rabbit. It was worn in places. Its ears were minus bits of fur and its white tail was decidedly the worse for wear. It was also heavier than she’d expected. It had a
frilly blue dress with a tear where the key poked through.
    Barbara went into the lavatory and stood the rabbit on the floor. Its bright beady eyes looked at her and it held up its front paws as if ready to dance. After flushing as instructed, Barbara
returned to the kitchen with the rabbit.
    ‘Look what I found on the stairs,’ she said.
    Margaret dropped the glass bowl in her hands. It broke into a hundred pieces on the stone-flagged floor. She snatched the rabbit from Barbara’s hands and ran out of the kitchen.
    Barbara could hear her footsteps on the landing. Doors slammed and there was shouting.
    Not sure what to do, she found a brush and pan and swept up the broken glass. As she tipped the pieces into the bin, Margaret came back. Her cheeks were flushed and she was obviously
distressed.
    ‘Are you all right?’ Barbara asked.
    ‘No, I’m not, but please don’t talk to me. I have to go out for a while.’
    Margaret grabbed her big coat and, even though it was snowing heavily, she went out into the garden. From the window Barbara could see her, standing with her back to the house, hunched up. She
was clearly crying, because her shoulders were heaving up and down.
    Barbara fetched her own coat. Buttoning it up against the chill, she went out to join Margaret.
    ‘Please, whatever is upsetting you, share it with me.’
    ‘No. Leave me alone.’
    ‘It’s freezing out here. At least come back inside.’
    ‘NO!’
    Barbara put her arms around Margaret, who resisted at first but then leaned against her and started to speak.
    ‘If you only knew how much I want to share what is happening in this house. But I can’t. I’m so scared. If I tell you I would be sent back to that place. I’m not mad,
I’m not. I so badly want it to end, but I promised.’
    Barbara said nothing. She simply held her, until Margaret had calmed down, and then together they returned to the kitchen. She helped Margaret off with her wet coat and settled her into a chair
by the fire.
    Margaret sat staring into the flames, her hands clasped together. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with weeping, but she was calmer. Shaking her head, she apologized for the way she had
behaved.
    Barbara found a half-bottle of brandy and poured a big measure.
    ‘Here, drink this. You must be so cold.’
    ‘You have no idea how cold I am. Thank you.’
    As Barbara busied herself finishing their supper, Margaret sat silently sipping her brandy. Barbara wondered again if there was someone else living in the upstairs rooms. It could be a mad
relative. Perhaps they were violent . . . Again she remembered that push down the