out of them."
"A turnip then."
A twig poked Lucy in the eye. She straightened the branch
atop her bonnet that kept dipping and sourly faced Elizabeth. "Why are you
lurking in the hallway?"
Elizabeth scowled. "I can do as I please. This is my
house." She added as an afterthought, "Miss Turnip."
"But why are you scuttling around on all fours?"
"I dropped an earring, Miss Turnip."
"Shall I help you look for it?" Lucy asked
witheringly.
"No, Miss Turnip."
"Are you certain?"
"Go away."
"Truly?"
"Yes."
"Don't be shy."
"I do not," Elizabeth snarled, "want your
help."
"I never offered to help you."
"You did."
Lucy stuck her tongue out. "Liar, liar, chicken little
vampire."
"What?"
"What, what?"
"Leave," Elizabeth fumed.
"Not leave but leaves, I have leaves stuck all
over."
"That is not what I meant and you know it."
"Do I?"
"Yes, you do."
"I do what?"
"Aaaargh"
Lucy smirked and turned away to look towards the main
entrance. Elizabeth had been trying to rile her up by calling her all sorts of
vegetables. Hah! Now that same pestering snoot looked ready to explode into a
number of angry pieces.
Her grin widened as the angry snorting noises continued
behind her. She ignored them and instead focused on what was going on
downstairs.
Hodgson was standing with the door open. Lady Sedley
appeared to be giving him some instructions while he was nodding vigorously in
response.
Lucy arched her neck like an inquisitive flamingo. A moment
later, just as she had expected, Lady Sedley, wrapped in a scarlet coat with a
small black hat perched atop her blonde head, walked out into the sunshine.
Lucy gathered her skirts and stepped out from behind the
statue.
Elizabeth, too, stood up, and after throwing Lucy a final
disgusted look pelted down the stairs.
Lucy frowned. Was Elizabeth planning to shadow her mother as
well?
There was only one way to find out. She shuffled her way to
the top of the stairs.
The next part was more difficult. Her makeshift costume
would allow her to blend in with nature easily enough. Once out in the open she
could mingle with the trees and the buds, flit about the garden like a wood
nymph and call upon sparrows, squirrels and bees.
But inside Rudhall manor she stood out like a dog with two
tails, a bird with teeth or a skinny elephant.
Lucy had been right to be fearful. A person wearing twigs
and things did stand out when walking down a grand oak staircase whose fifth,
seventh and twelfth step creaked under stress.
And Susan, the upper housemaid who had a remarkable talent
of efficiently transforming from a lady's maid into a washerwoman at a moment's
notice, was no exception. She swooned at the sight of Lucy drifting down the
stairs.
But before the maid had entirely collapsed in dead faint,
she managed to let out a blood curdling scream that seemed to imply that Aunt
Sedley's ghost had sprouted from the ground like a living shrub.
Lucy was annoyed. She would have preferred if the woman had
likened her to a majestic tree rather than a shrub.
Another squawk from the maid echoed around the manor.
Lucy frowned harder. She had no time to waste. The full
throated cry the woman had let out before draping herself on the sofa was
blasted inconvenient. And the squawk that followed would no doubt bring the
other servants whizzing into the room at any moment.
She hitched up her skirts and flew down the stairs uncaring
of the fact that the carefully attached leaves had unglued from her skirts, the
twigs detached from her bodice, and the tiny white flowers that she had so
prettily arranged in her hair tangled together to form an unattractive lump.
Once outdoors, Lucy lurched towards the nearest tree and hid
behind it. Parting the branches, she peeked down the lane.
She spotted Lady Sedley's scarlet cloak flash around the
corner.
Elizabeth was nowhere in sight.
Breaking off two leafy branches from the tree, she held them
in front of her face and scuttled forward from bush to shrub until once
"A turnip then."
A twig poked Lucy in the eye. She straightened the branch
atop her bonnet that kept dipping and sourly faced Elizabeth. "Why are you
lurking in the hallway?"
Elizabeth scowled. "I can do as I please. This is my
house." She added as an afterthought, "Miss Turnip."
"But why are you scuttling around on all fours?"
"I dropped an earring, Miss Turnip."
"Shall I help you look for it?" Lucy asked
witheringly.
"No, Miss Turnip."
"Are you certain?"
"Go away."
"Truly?"
"Yes."
"Don't be shy."
"I do not," Elizabeth snarled, "want your
help."
"I never offered to help you."
"You did."
Lucy stuck her tongue out. "Liar, liar, chicken little
vampire."
"What?"
"What, what?"
"Leave," Elizabeth fumed.
"Not leave but leaves, I have leaves stuck all
over."
"That is not what I meant and you know it."
"Do I?"
"Yes, you do."
"I do what?"
"Aaaargh"
Lucy smirked and turned away to look towards the main
entrance. Elizabeth had been trying to rile her up by calling her all sorts of
vegetables. Hah! Now that same pestering snoot looked ready to explode into a
number of angry pieces.
Her grin widened as the angry snorting noises continued
behind her. She ignored them and instead focused on what was going on
downstairs.
Hodgson was standing with the door open. Lady Sedley
appeared to be giving him some instructions while he was nodding vigorously in
response.
Lucy arched her neck like an inquisitive flamingo. A moment
later, just as she had expected, Lady Sedley, wrapped in a scarlet coat with a
small black hat perched atop her blonde head, walked out into the sunshine.
Lucy gathered her skirts and stepped out from behind the
statue.
Elizabeth, too, stood up, and after throwing Lucy a final
disgusted look pelted down the stairs.
Lucy frowned. Was Elizabeth planning to shadow her mother as
well?
There was only one way to find out. She shuffled her way to
the top of the stairs.
The next part was more difficult. Her makeshift costume
would allow her to blend in with nature easily enough. Once out in the open she
could mingle with the trees and the buds, flit about the garden like a wood
nymph and call upon sparrows, squirrels and bees.
But inside Rudhall manor she stood out like a dog with two
tails, a bird with teeth or a skinny elephant.
Lucy had been right to be fearful. A person wearing twigs
and things did stand out when walking down a grand oak staircase whose fifth,
seventh and twelfth step creaked under stress.
And Susan, the upper housemaid who had a remarkable talent
of efficiently transforming from a lady's maid into a washerwoman at a moment's
notice, was no exception. She swooned at the sight of Lucy drifting down the
stairs.
But before the maid had entirely collapsed in dead faint,
she managed to let out a blood curdling scream that seemed to imply that Aunt
Sedley's ghost had sprouted from the ground like a living shrub.
Lucy was annoyed. She would have preferred if the woman had
likened her to a majestic tree rather than a shrub.
Another squawk from the maid echoed around the manor.
Lucy frowned harder. She had no time to waste. The full
throated cry the woman had let out before draping herself on the sofa was
blasted inconvenient. And the squawk that followed would no doubt bring the
other servants whizzing into the room at any moment.
She hitched up her skirts and flew down the stairs uncaring
of the fact that the carefully attached leaves had unglued from her skirts, the
twigs detached from her bodice, and the tiny white flowers that she had so
prettily arranged in her hair tangled together to form an unattractive lump.
Once outdoors, Lucy lurched towards the nearest tree and hid
behind it. Parting the branches, she peeked down the lane.
She spotted Lady Sedley's scarlet cloak flash around the
corner.
Elizabeth was nowhere in sight.
Breaking off two leafy branches from the tree, she held them
in front of her face and scuttled forward from bush to shrub until once
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