morning was not completely wasted.
That was when she discovered that the house was no longer in sight. It should have been. She had been walking in a straight line, she thought, and the house should have been directly behind her, but it wasnât. At least, it was not visible through the trees and the brush that surrounded her.
âI am not going to let myself become terrified again,â she insisted. She looked about, but nothing seemed particularly familiar. One tree looked pretty much like another, and she had failed to watch for any landmarks as she walked; her attention had been concentrated on looking for food.
Just to her right was a clump of bushes she had come through, she was certain. She held the branches apart and made her way through the growth, but instead of a small clump it proved to be a fair size patch. She found herself entangled in clinging branches and cutting thorns that added to the scratches on her arms and legs.
She was through it at last, and beyond it was a clearing; not much, but it did look familiar. If she went around that big tree...she did, without achieving anything. Her apple tree, and her little pile of apples, ought to be in sight, right in front of her there, but they were not. In fact, there was a stump there, and she didnât remember any stumps at all. And she was lost again.
She sat down on the stump, dropping her head wearily into her hands. She wanted to cry, or scream, or some such thing. She seemed unable to manage anything. It was as if Kelsey House, and even the grounds around it, deliberately set out to frustrate her efforts to leave, even her efforts to survive. They seemed to have minds of their own, minds that were set against her. Even now, lost in the woods, she did not feel alone, she felt as if she were in the presence of something that watched her and brooded, something that would not let her escape, that never meant for her to leave here.
She held her breath, listening. Was she imagining things again, or was that something moving nearby. No, this time she was definitely not imagining anything. There was somebody close at hand, someone moving about through the dense growth; someone, or something. Twigs snapped, and branches scraped against one another.
It could be someone from the house. By now they might have discovered that she had gone. She had not come down for breakfast, and undoubtedly they would have come to her room to investigate. Finding her gone, they might very well be searching for her now.
In that case, she ought to call out and tell them where she was. It was all well and good to want to be out of Kelsey House, but being lost and alone in the woods was not any better so far as she could see.
But she did not call out just yet. What if it werenât a person at all, she asked herself, listening to the noises coming closer? What kind of animals lived in woods like these? She really did not know, but it was not hard to imagine any number of wild creatures prowling about.
The noises were closer, definitely coming in her direction. Should she run, or maybe try to climb a tree?
In the end, she did nothing but sit in fear and shiver, and watch in the direction of the crashing and crunching that moved steadily closer until the bushes parted and there in front of her was the hired man, the one who had found her on the road the night she had arrived at Kelsey.
He stopped, exactly as he had done that night, and stared at her. Whatever relief she might have felt at seeing a human being instead of some wild animal disappeared almost at once in his cold stare. It was not a pleasant look that he gave her, but one of unspeakable violence and ugliness, a look that combined dark thoughts with a bitter, just-beneath-the-surface laughter. He was amused at finding her here, she thought, amused and for some peculiar reason angry at the same time.
As for herself, Jennifer sat quietly on the stump and returned his stare for as long as she was able, which was
That was when she discovered that the house was no longer in sight. It should have been. She had been walking in a straight line, she thought, and the house should have been directly behind her, but it wasnât. At least, it was not visible through the trees and the brush that surrounded her.
âI am not going to let myself become terrified again,â she insisted. She looked about, but nothing seemed particularly familiar. One tree looked pretty much like another, and she had failed to watch for any landmarks as she walked; her attention had been concentrated on looking for food.
Just to her right was a clump of bushes she had come through, she was certain. She held the branches apart and made her way through the growth, but instead of a small clump it proved to be a fair size patch. She found herself entangled in clinging branches and cutting thorns that added to the scratches on her arms and legs.
She was through it at last, and beyond it was a clearing; not much, but it did look familiar. If she went around that big tree...she did, without achieving anything. Her apple tree, and her little pile of apples, ought to be in sight, right in front of her there, but they were not. In fact, there was a stump there, and she didnât remember any stumps at all. And she was lost again.
She sat down on the stump, dropping her head wearily into her hands. She wanted to cry, or scream, or some such thing. She seemed unable to manage anything. It was as if Kelsey House, and even the grounds around it, deliberately set out to frustrate her efforts to leave, even her efforts to survive. They seemed to have minds of their own, minds that were set against her. Even now, lost in the woods, she did not feel alone, she felt as if she were in the presence of something that watched her and brooded, something that would not let her escape, that never meant for her to leave here.
She held her breath, listening. Was she imagining things again, or was that something moving nearby. No, this time she was definitely not imagining anything. There was somebody close at hand, someone moving about through the dense growth; someone, or something. Twigs snapped, and branches scraped against one another.
It could be someone from the house. By now they might have discovered that she had gone. She had not come down for breakfast, and undoubtedly they would have come to her room to investigate. Finding her gone, they might very well be searching for her now.
In that case, she ought to call out and tell them where she was. It was all well and good to want to be out of Kelsey House, but being lost and alone in the woods was not any better so far as she could see.
But she did not call out just yet. What if it werenât a person at all, she asked herself, listening to the noises coming closer? What kind of animals lived in woods like these? She really did not know, but it was not hard to imagine any number of wild creatures prowling about.
The noises were closer, definitely coming in her direction. Should she run, or maybe try to climb a tree?
In the end, she did nothing but sit in fear and shiver, and watch in the direction of the crashing and crunching that moved steadily closer until the bushes parted and there in front of her was the hired man, the one who had found her on the road the night she had arrived at Kelsey.
He stopped, exactly as he had done that night, and stared at her. Whatever relief she might have felt at seeing a human being instead of some wild animal disappeared almost at once in his cold stare. It was not a pleasant look that he gave her, but one of unspeakable violence and ugliness, a look that combined dark thoughts with a bitter, just-beneath-the-surface laughter. He was amused at finding her here, she thought, amused and for some peculiar reason angry at the same time.
As for herself, Jennifer sat quietly on the stump and returned his stare for as long as she was able, which was
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