Rachel's Story

Chapter 18

“It was as if the day my father was placed in his coffin, I woke up from a deep sleep and realized that in my desire to please him, I was left a forty-six year old woman without accomplishments of any kind, and with no chances of marriage. I had the house; that was one blessing. My sisters were both established in their own paths of life by then, and I certainly did not grudge them their independence; but truly my dear,” she finished with a small smile, “I was most relieved when first Agnes and then Maud came to live with me after retiring. Life became much more…fulfilling, I should say. Family always makes such a difference, don’t you agree?”

Patting Rachel’s cheek, she softly added, “And now it is more exciting than ever! Thank you for bringing purpose back to the mundane lives of us old women. You are like a breath of fresh air that has stirred our stale existence, Rachel.”

The middle sister Agnes was a handsome and most active woman, who well understood Rachel’s irritation at being confined to the living room settee while the sun was shining tantalizingly outside the window. After all, her love for the environs of Headley Down was what took her away prematurely from her lucrative job in smoke-ridden London. She seldom had time for heartfelt talks with Rachel like her other sisters; and yet, it was Agnes who ordered a regular supply of books from the little parish library for the invalid’s pleasure, and faithfully brought back daffodils from her country rambles for Rachel as a taste of the outdoors. Once the young woman got well enough to move about on her own Agnes took her along on her walks, introduced her to the neighbours and involved her in sundry parish activities, overlooking all her sisters' protests about the need for secrecy and caution.

"Oh stop being so short-sighted all the time, Maud," she finally snapped in exasperation. "Think about it rationally. The news has already been spread across the village that we have the daughter of our third cousin Amelia visiting us for a spell. Some of them have already been to the house and seen her, rosy with health and laid up with a paltry sprain. They will wait for her to recover, but only for a while. What will everyone think if Miss Warren hides in the house indefinitely like an invalid or leper? Their curiosity will only be whetted and the villagers will become suspicious of her. But if she interacts with everyone normally, no one will pay her any mind and her novelty will wear off."

None could oppose the sound common-sense of this speech, and so Rachel was unleashed on to Headley Down society as soon as she was able to hobble around safely. Agnes even coaxed the girl into teaching at the Sunday school. She knew that with her gregarious nature, Rachel was certain to interact with the children in depth and as a result, mix with the locals and garner their sympathies. And things worked out exactly as she had expected; Rachel Moreland made an instant hit with their acquaintances, young and old alike. Within a few days, it was as if Rachel was a native of their small locality. She made sure that Rachel was so tired out by night-time that she had no strength left to brood over anything – other than her bed, that is.

                                                             Xxxxx

A mental breakdown had occurred on the second day of Rachel’s stay. Her tension had not found a release till then as she always had to keep control over her emotions on the run, deferring her fears and pains for ‘later’ to be scrutinized in detail after everything was ‘over’. The peaceful atmosphere of Thrush Cottage, and more importantly Andrew’s absence, signified the end of her incredible adventure and finally allowed her turbulent emotions to surface.

Rachel cried in her bed the whole day, and kept on crying till all the stress, fright and unrequited love had run themselves out of her system.

She could not correspond with her family or anyone at Denbries even now, though she had sent a couple of letters to her mother earlier from small hostelries when she was supposedly on the road with the girls and Brian for his health. She forbade her family from writing to her since her address was not fixed, and her last letter stipulated that she would not be communicating with them for a long time as she was too busy in nursing Brian to health to write. But the long nights painted vivid scenarios in her head about all the loopholes which remained in this story. Her family would surely try to track her down, and may even communicate with the Hall to get her present address some day. And, oh dear, Alicia and Diana might write to her at Lucy’s address after some weeks, thinking that the quarantine would have been lifted! Then of course, the fat will be in the fire! Each side would know that she was not with the other. Her house of cards based on lies would fall down at the first breath of investigation.