Beast and Beatrice

Chapter sixteen- Gilbert

  The woman on the bed was definitely dead. Her eyes were wide open, fixedly staring off at nothing. The pinched face was pasty white and frozen into an eternal expression of agony. There was that distinctive stench of sickness and death in the air. It was obvious from the condition of the bed that the woman had been ill. Gilbert almost pitied her, dying alone here, in her own bed. Sad really. If only she hadn't locked the children out, they might have been able to save her life.

  Beatrice covered her nose and mouth to muffle the smell and simply stood there in the open doorway, no doubt shocked at the gruesome sight. As he watched, she lowered the lamp and moved to step further into the room. Thinking that would not be a good idea, Gilbert quickly reached out and tapped her arm to stop her. Beatrice glanced back in surprise. He shook his head and motioned for her to come back out of the room. Beatrice turned to glance once more at the still body of her sister-in-law. She seemed to hesitate. Then suddenly she tilted her head up with resolve, straightened her shoulders and turned away.

"I don't suppose she needs my help anymore." Beatrice muttered softly as she returned to his side.

  Gilbert patted her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. He guessed that her relationship with her sister-in-law had not been the best, but that didn't mean Beatrice would not morn the woman's passing. If not for herself, at least for her nephew and nieces, who were now orphans. He reached past her as she stepped out of the room and pulled the door shut. Thankfully, just the action of closing the door muffled the noxious smell. When he turned back to Beatrice, he found her staring at him curiously.

"How did you unlock that door?"

  Gilbert shrugged. It wasn't all that difficult. He simply used his knowledge of levers and hinges along with his experience with crafting projects out of wood. Gesturing for her to follow, he led the way back to the hall door. He pointed out the latch and bar lock secured on the inside. The metal was old but strong. In itself a good lock. The door, however had a slight warp and did not fit in the frame properly. It was a simple matter to slide his fingers into the gap and access the bar that pinned the door. He re-engaged the lock and then pulled the panel towards him.  Reaching over the top from the back side, he demonstrated how he had manipulated the bar and unlocked it.

"That's amazing." She exclaimed breathlessly.

  Then she glanced back at the closed bedroom door, nibbling at her bottom lip. Gilbert watched her mull over the idea forming in her mind and wasn't really surprised when she turned back to him and asked, "Can you relock it from the outside?"
Gilbert shrugged and motioned for her to proceed him. Once they both stood in the hallway again, he carefully closed the door and reached up to adjust the lock. They both heard the click as the bar slid back into place and, like that, the door was relocked.

"Thank you." Beatrice nodded solemnly.
"We must go make certain the children are ready." She led the way back to the staircase.

  There they met the three youngsters just coming down. All three were now dressed and wore serviceable, if ill-fitting coats and shoes. Not necessarily what one might expect gentry children to wear, but they were all clean and presentable.

  Teddy's clothes hung off his thin frame and were obviously not new. No doubt they had once belonged to his deceased father. Beatrice's brother had apparently been a tall man but much broader in the chest than the, as yet, undeveloped boy. The middle girl's clothing seemed snug. Even the coat she wore barely covered her. She had obviously outgrown everything. The youngest seemed to be the only one in clothes that actually fit properly, even if the material did seem a bit worn. She carried a small stuffed doll with an outfit that matched her own. Gilbert glanced at Beatrice and it wasn't difficult to imagine she was the seamstress responsible for fabricating them both.