Open Writing

Saturday February 5th, 1853

Rebecca was pleased that her daughter Rachel was home for the weekend. But Rachel wanted to spend time with some of her friends, and Rebecca's Saturday afternoons were always given over to playing whist.

As she waited for her whist companions to arrive she mused on how much she could tell them of the events of the previous weekend. She could hardly wait for the coffee-and-cake break so that she could then share some of her news. As soon as the coffee was poured she began her narrative.

"Last Saturday, after you you had all left me, I had felt restless, so I went out for a walk to clear my head. I hadn’t gone very far when I saw something in the bushes at the side of the road. It was a young woman. She had been struck by a tree branch which was lying on the ground beside her. She had been unconscious but was beginning to open her eyes. Apart from a graze on a leg and a cut on her forehead she did not seem to be seriously hurt. The blood from the cut was no longer flowing, so I assumed she had lain there for some time.''

“Oh, that was very brave of you Rebecca,'' said Hannah. "I wouldn't have know how to help someone who was hurt, so I probably would have gone on my way.''

"With my help she was eventually able to stand,'' said Rebecca, resuming the flow of her story. "She seemed very confused and worried. She said she lived on High Street. She became very agitated when she saw that the flood waters had risen and she could not get back to her house.

"I invited her into my house for a cup of tea. I had already decided that if I found her acceptable, I would invite her to stay the night. The flood waters would be sufficiently down the next day for her to get home, and I expected a very wet and muddy house would be her lot.”

“You brought her in here? A complete stranger? I am not sure if that was very wise of you, Rebecca,” said Judith. “She might have been pretending to be hurt as a ruse to steal some of your beautiful things.''

“I wasn’t in the least bit frightened of her,'' Rebecca replied. "I warmed to her in a strange and inexplicable way. Though she did look strange. She was wearing what I took to be a man's clothing and she spoke in a strange dialect. English, but not as we know it round here. She had a good vocabulary, so I presumed that she was educated but there was something peculiar about both her looks and her manner.

“When I got her indoors she took off her jacket, revealing that she was wearing strange trousers and a bulky knitted garment. Very ugly and unfeminine. I told her so too. She said she thought my clothing equally strange and impractical. Very forthright she was, but then, I am rather like that myself. She was outspoken and did not give me the deference I would have expected considering my age and status.

“She said she had walked past this house. She admitted that she was living in a rented house and had not been here very long. She got all the names of the village shopkeepers wrong, then she contradicted me when I tried to correct her. She talked of buildings where none exist. She mentioned strange vehicles and some instrument used to talk to people some distance away. I became convinced that the blow from the branch had addled her brain.''

“How dare she treat you like that, questioning your knowledge of Cley,'' Anna Marie interjected. "You have lived here all your life, and she admitted she is a newcomer. I really think you were unwise to take her in Rebecca.''

“When she took off her outer clothing, I noticed that she was expecting. But then she boldly told me all about it. Saying intimate things to me, a stranger! She said she could feel the baby kicking inside her. I was shocked. I surprised myself by insisting that after the baby had been born she should bring it here for me to see. There seemed to be a bond between us. As though our fates were linked. Am I getting silly in my old age?''

“Yes, I think you are,” said Hannah sourly.

"Do you know I almost felt as though she was a relative. I can't explain it. I could talk to her more easily than I have ever talked to anyone, even my daughter whom I love dearly. We chatted like long lost friends, telling each other about our families and our lives.

“Eventually it was time for her to go to bed. I had arranged for Polly to light a fire in the best guest room for her. I put out my fine silk and lace nightgown for her to wear. She asked me the oddest question. 'What year is this?' When I told her she said she was from another time, a different century. Then she began to cry.

"I thought that a good night’s sleep was what she needed. I told her I would get my dressmaker in the following day to make her something decent to wear. Then I went to bed, feeling more pleased and excited than I have done in many a year.”

“Is she still here?” asked Judith. “Surely not. The flood waters were well down by Monday. Have you seen her again?''

“If you would stop interrupting and let me get on with my story, you would soon know all about it,” said Rebecca crossly. “I slept well, not hearing Mr. McGilivry when he finally made his way home in the early hours. I had asked Polly to make a special breakfast for our guest, bacon, eggs, kidneys, porridge, toast, jam and tea.

"After it had gone nine there was still no movement from her room. I wondered if she was shy about facing me again after all the strange things she had said. I went to her room and knocked on the door. There was no reply. I knocked a bit louder. Still nothing. I opened the door. The room was empty. My nightgown was on the bed, neatly folded, just as I had set it out for her. The bed had been fresh-made.

"There was not a sign of her. I then noticed that she had taken writing materials from a drawer. A pen, blotting paper... Perhaps she had written me a note. I looked around the room but found nothing.''

“You mean she just went off like that without so much as a thank you? What a selfish woman. I hope you won’t have anything more to do with her, Rebecca,” said Anna Marie.

“I agree with you. That is just what I thought. How rude she was to leave without word. Without thanking me for my care of her. I had offered her my food, my bed, my fire, my friendship, and how had she repaid me? By sneaking off before I was awake. My impression of her had changed. She was selfish, inconsiderate and no one that I wished to know. I decided to put the whole experience from my mind.”

“About time, if you ask me,” said Judith.

“Of course, I couldn’t do that. I questioned Mr. McGilivry about whether he had locked the door when he came in. He swore he had. It was still bolted when I got up. How had she got out? She must have left before he came home at 4 am, or the door would have been unbolted. And it would have been pitch black and still badly flooded at her home. What could she possibly accomplish by leaving at that time of night?”

“So that was that then. Is that the end of the story?” asked Hannah.

“Well not quite. During the week, as the flood went down and things returned to normal, I still couldn’t get her out of my mind. I went and knocked on the door of Mallard Cottage where she said she lived. The woman who answered looked nothing like her. When I asked for Mary Gardner the woman said she had never heard of such a person.

“Perhaps I had imagined the whole thing. But no, my maid, Polly backed me up in the facts as they happened that night. We had had a young woman for tea and she had spent the night with us. Polly had never seen her before, and has not seen her in the village since that night.''

"And what does Rachel think of all this?” asked Hannah.

“I told Rachel all about it when she got home last night. She dismissed the story as a figment of my imagination. She had to admit that something had happened because Polly verified that a woman had come in that night, but she thought I had confused the details. She wondered if I should go to the doctor to get something for my nerves.''

“Seems a good idea to me too. You are not getting any younge Rebecca. You have years to go before you are as old as I am, but at least I have all my wits about me,” said Judith.

“Well, I have my wits about me now, and I must get the cards and scorers out so we can begin. Now let’s see who will be partners, and who will be the first to deal.”