Page 81 of The Curse of Penryth Hall
I pushed the wooden gate open, much as I had when I first came to speak with Nellie. Except this time there was a pall over the house. The only sound was the large sow rooting around in the pen at the corner of the yard. The garden was overgrown again, weeds taking over, and a bucket of slop sat just on the outside of the pen as if whoever had been bringing it was called away in a hurry. Something about the scene gave me pause, but my mind was clouded with memories that refused to be placed in order.
I left Mr. Owen by the garden gate and went to the house. The wooden door was ajar and I could hear voices from inside. All female, though. I nudged it open with my foot and called out, “Hello?”
Another hushed conversation ensued before an unfamiliarvoice called. “Miss Vaughn, come on in. You’ve just missed our Pellar.”
I let out a silent groan and stepped into the main sitting room of the house. Nellie was curled up on a worn sofa beside the fireplace, a woolen blanket over her lap and a fresh basket of wood on the hearth. She looked a hairbreadth from death, if even that far. Her skin held a faint bluish tint, her bones sharp and visible beneath her too-thin flesh.
“I heard that you were taken ill too.” Nellie’s voice cracked as she squinted across the sparsely decorated room to where I stood. “Come. Sit with me for a spell.”
“Now, Nellie,” an older woman protested, likely her mother by the look of her. She wore a simple woolen dress and resembled a wearier version of Nellie. “You need your sleep.”
“I can come back another time. I actually came to find Rua… Mr. Kivell.” I caught myself.
Nellie shook her head, wincing with the effort. Her mother grabbed an earthenware pitcher and refilled the glass before pressing it into her daughter’s outstretched hand. The fire cracked and popped in the hearth. “Sit. Please. I’m tired of being fussed over, it’d be nice to have a bit of conversation for a minute.”
Something inside me told me not to stay. That tarrying would be a mistake, and yet I pitied her. The two of us had survived what should have rightly killed us both. I could spare her a few moments. “What all did they tell you about what happened?”
She shifted and readjusted her blanket. “Only that I was poisoned. They said you were too, but you seem quite hale to me.”
“I certainly don’t feel hale.”
Nellie smiled faintly at that. “Nor do I. Be grateful you are walking. I still don’t have the strength to make it to the chamber pot.”
“Do you remember anything from before?”
She shook her head, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. “You?”
“Nothing. It’s strange. It’s as if part of my life has been scissored entirely out. I can recall the day before, and I recall waking up.” I carefully omitted the fact that I also hadhallucinated. People already thought I was eccentric.
“Can you think of who’d want to do it?” I frowned. “I’ve been racking my brain and I cannot seem to find the connection here between the two of us.”
Nellie whimpered as she pulled herself upright, tucking the blanket tighter around her legs. “If it were just you, I’d say it was Sir Edward’s killer. That—pardon my saying—you’d been nosing a bit too close for comfort.”
A reasonable thought. One that hadn’t struck me, though it ought to have.
“But what do you think now?”
She glanced at me hesitantly, fiddling with the edge of her blanket. She was afraid. Visibly so. Her skin so thin, I could see her pulse fluttering away at her throat, blue veins visible.
“Nellie. It’s all right. If you think you know something. Saw something, suspect something. Please tell me. It’s important. I won’t tell a soul where I heard it. I promise you that.”
She wet her lips and drank a sip of water. “I’d better not. I don’t know for certain and I know how quickly rumors can spread.”
The hair on the back of my neck pricked to attention as I took another step to Nellie and settled myself on the floor by her. I covered her hands with my own, holding them gently against the cup. Her skin was damp and cool. “Tell me.”
Nellie took in a haggard breath. “All I mean to say is I think you should talk toher.”
“Her?”
Nellie nodded, her eyes downcast. “Your friend.”
“Tamsyn? You think Tamsyn would…”
She sighed heavily as the fire cracked again, causing me to jump.
“It’s just that she’s the only one who has a reason to kill me. I’m talking out of place, I know it. And I don’t know anything for certain, but… well, you already know about George and me.”
I nodded slowly, mind racing to keep up with what she was saying.
