Probably not to have it thrown at her, Alexandra said with a sigh. I take it that Mother is in one of her moods?
Upstairs, the pounding, which had been going on throughout their conversation, grew more fierce, and Aunt Hortenses voice was sharp as she shouted, Rhea! Unlock this door this instant! Do you hear me?
Nancy nodded, sighing. Yes. Miz Rheas locked her door now and wont let anyone in.
All right. Ill go up and see about her. Dorisyou take Amanda down to the kitchen and get her a cup of tea. See if you can calm her. I am sure that my mother meant her no harm. Perhaps she should take off the rest of the afternoon and go up to her bed and rest.
The maid nodded, put her arm around the other girl and led her toward the kitchen. Alexandra started up the stairs toward Nancy.
What happened?
It was my fault, miss, Nancy admitted with the air of a martyr. I shouldnt have left her alone. But shes been right agitated all day, and I thought a cup of hot cocoa might calm her down. So I went down to make it myself because she likes it just the way I fix it, you know, and I cant get that foreign cook to make it right.
Alexandra nodded sympathetically, resisting the urge to point out to Nancy that she was the foreigner here, not the English cook.
But then, when I get down there, they tell me they already sent up a cup of teaand after all the times Ive told them that Mrs. Rhea doesnt like tea in the middle of the afternoon! Not only that, that silly twit Amanda took it, and shes enough to make anyone throw something at her, I say. Always blathering on in that little voice of hers, and you cant even understand half of what she says. By the time I got back up the stairs, I hear a crash, and Amanda comes flying out of your mothers room, crying up a storm, a big wet spot all down the side of her dresswhere that tea was, Ill warrant the pot didnt come anywhere near her headand then Miz Rhea slams the door and locks it. Shes been in there for twenty minutes, refusing to come out, and Miss Hortense cant make any headway with her, it seems like.
Oh, dear.
Shell open it for you, Nancy went on confidently.
Alexandra wasnt so sure. There had been one or two times since theyd been in England that her mother hadnt even seemed to know who she was.
However, she continued up the stairs and strode with more confidence than she felt toward the door where her aunt stood, red-faced, her hand poised to knock again. When Aunt Hortense saw Alexandra, she let out a sigh of relief and started toward her.
There you are. Thank heavens. Maybe you can get through to her. Rheas locked herself in and wont come out. Its bad enough when she acts like this at homeI dont know what shes thinking, behaving this way in front of a bunch of Englishmen. Her tone invested the term with scorn. Alexandras aunt was a sturdy, middle-aged woman in a sensible brown dress with a plain cap covering her hair, and her features, now frowning, were usually pleasant.
Im afraid she doesnt think about such things, Aunt Hortenseor care, either. Why dont you go down to the sitting room, and I will see what I can do. Oh, and, Nancy, get her some of that cocoa now. It might just do the trick.
Alexandra waited while her aunt and the other woman walked away, giving her mother a moment of silence. Then she tapped lightly on the door. Mother? It is I. Alexandra. Would you let me in?
There was a moments silence, then her mothers voice said faintly, Alexandra? Is that really you?
Yes, of course it is, Mother, Alexandra replied pleasantly. Why dont you unlock the door so we can talk?
After a moment there was the sound of the lock being turned, and then the door opened wide enough for Alexandras mother to peer out. Her face was drawn and worried, her eyes suspicious. Her expression lightened a little when she saw Alexandra. Where have you been? she asked as she opened the door wide enough to allow Alexandra in.
I had business to conduct. I told you that this morning. Remember?
Rhea Ward nodded vaguely, and Alexandra was not sure that she remembered at all. Why do you have on your hat? Rhea asked in a puzzled voice.
I havent had time to remove it, Im afraid. Alexandra reached up, untied the ribbon and pulled the hat off, continuing to talk in the soothing voice she used with her mother. I just walked in, you see, and I came right up. Aunt Hortense was rather concerned about you.
She studied her mother unobtrusively as she spoke, taking in her untidy hair and messy appearance. Several buttons were unfastened or done up wrong, and stray hairs straggled around her face. Remembering her mothers once neat, trim appearance, Alexandra felt her throat close with tears. What had happened to the gentle, sweet woman she had known in her early years? Though she was still a pretty woman, even in middle age, her face was becoming lined beyond her years, with an unhealthy puffiness that was echoed in her once petite figure. The degeneration was due, Alexandra was sure, to Rheas obsessive worries and her unfortunate, secretive dependence on bottles of liquor.
Mother, whats the matter? Alexandra asked, her worry showing through her assumed calm. Why did you lock the door against Aunt Hortense?
Rhea Ward made a face. Hortense was always a bossy soul. Youd think the world couldnt run without her.
Certainly their household had been unable to run without her, at least in Alexandras youth, she thought wryly, but she kept the opinion to herself. One of the things that her mother frequently despaired about was her own lack of ability.
But why did you lock the door? I dont understand. Was Amanda rude to you?
Amanda? Who is that?
The maid who brought your tea.
Her! Rhea scowled. Always sneaking in here. Spying on me.
Im sure Amanda wasnt spying on you, Mother. She was just bringing you your tea.
I dont want tea! I told her that, and she acted like Id grown horns. Nancy had gone to fetch my cocoa. That was what I wanted. Tears were in the womans soft brown eyes, and her face started to crumple.
Yes, dear, I know. Alexandra put her arm supportively around her mothers shoulders and led her to a chair. Shes getting you some right now.
I dont know whats taking her so long. Rheas mouth turned down in a pout.
She heard the commotion and came running upstairs. You know how loyal to you Nancy is. She was afraid you needed help.
She was right. I did. Theyre always watching me, and I know they laugh at me behind my back.
Alexandra thought with an internal sigh that her mother was probably right about both the laughter and the curiosity, after the odd things she had been doing since they got here. Was it possible that her mother had been drinking this early in the day? It had proved more difficult to keep liquor out of her mothers hands since they had been in London, where it was always easy for Rhea to find a street urchin or some peddler who would fetch her a bottle for a few extra shillings.
Dont worry about them, Alexandra told her mother firmly. Why, we dont even live here. You wont see them again after a few more weeks.
Rhea did not look much encouraged by Alexandras words. She sat for a moment, frowning, then jumped up, went to her dresser and opened a drawer. She took out a small cherry-wood box that lay within and caressed it, then carried it to her chair and resumed her seat, holding the box firmly in both her hands. Alexandra suppressed a sigh. Her mothers fascination with this box had grown worse the past few weeks, too. She had had the box for as long as Alexandra could remember, and she kept it locked, the key on a delicate chain around her neck. No one, not even Aunt Hortense, knew what was inside it, for she adamantly refused to discuss it. When Alexandra was young, her mother had kept the box hidden away on a shelf in her wardrobe. The mystery of it had so intrigued Alexandra that she had on one occasion stacked books on a chair and climbed up them in order to reach the box on its high shelf. She had been discovered trying to pry the thing open, and it had been one of the few times her mother had ever spanked her. Alexandra had never tried to open it again, and it had remained inviolate on its shelf. But in recent years her mother had taken the box down and kept it in a drawer beside her bed, locking the drawer, as well. She had brought it with her on the trip, and nowadays she seemed to have it in her hand most of the time.