The Secret Woman by Victoria Holt

see her get out of bed to look at the cabinet?”
    â€œI don’t think we should talk about it. People can do these things. I tell you I’ve seen it. And quite clearly it’s what she did.”
    â€œChantel,” I said, “I believe you’ve saved me from something…very unpleasant. Perhaps it might have been proved… Suppose I walked in my sleep…”
    â€œWhat nonsense. You don’t walk in your sleep. You were half awake when you got out of bed. You were upset about her. I expect she had been particularly beastly that day. Listen to me, Anna. You’ve got to put the whole thing out of your mind. You’ve got to concentrate on pulling the business together. You’ve got to forget the past. It’s the only way to go on.”
    â€œOh Chantel, the best thing that has happened to me has been your coming here.”
    â€œI’ve enjoyed the job,” she said. “You’ll be all right. You’d have stood up to them all if it had come to the court. I know you would. But you have to stop working yourself up about the whole thing. It’s over. Finished. You’ve got to start living now. Something wonderful might be happening in a few weeks’ time.”
    â€œTo me?”
    â€œThat’s the wrong attitude. Wonderful things can happen to us all. That’s how I’ve lived my life. When I’ve had the most horrid cases I’ve said to myself: It won’t last. Soon it’ll be over.”
    â€œWhat should I do without you?” I asked.
    â€œYou don’t have to…yet.”
    She was right when she said that nothing remained static. She came to me one day and told me that Dr. Elgin had a post for her.
    â€œYou’ll never guess where. Castle Crediton.”
    I felt stunned. First she was going to leave me and secondly she was going to the Castle.
    â€œIt’s good news,” she said. “I have to work for my living and just think we shan’t be far apart. I’ll be able to see you…frequently.”
    â€œCastle Crediton,” I repeated. “Is someone ill there? Lady Crediton?”
    â€œNo, the old lady’s as strong as a horse. It’s Mrs. Stretton I’m going to nurse. The Captain’s wife.”
    â€œOh,” I said faintly.
    â€œYes, she’s delicate. Our climate I expect. Some lung infection. It wouldn’t surprise me if she is going into a decline. There’s a child, too. I couldn’t resist the job when Dr. Elgin suggested it.”
    â€œWhen do you…start?”
    â€œNext week.” She leaned over and taking my hand pressed it firmly. “I’ll be near at hand. We’ll see each other often. And don’t forget there are our journals. Have you written in yours recently?”
    â€œI couldn’t, Chantel.”
    â€œYou must start at once. I’ll tell you all about Castle Crediton and the strange life of its inhabitants and you must tell me everything that happens here.”
    â€œOh Chantel,” I cried, “what should I do without you?”
    â€œTo repeat oneself is a sign of encroaching age, I’ve been told,” she said with a smile. “But I must say I found such repetition endearing. Don’t be morbid, Anna. You’re not alone. I’m your friend .”
    I said: “Everything has changed so abruptly. I have to make plans. The business is rocky, Chantel. I shall have to see so many people—Aunt Charlotte’s lawyer and the bank manager, among others.”
    â€œIt’ll keep you busy. Write it all in your journal. I’ll do the same. We’ll make a pact, we’ll tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And we’ll both have the comfort of knowing we are not alone. We can live our own lives and that of the other.” Her green eyes were enormous. “You must admit, Anna, that that is a very exciting state of affairs.”
    â€œWe must never lose