Blindfold Read Free Page B

there’s a place all ready for me to step into, and a pound more than I’ve had yet.’ Kind of proud and independent Ivy is, and she was all worked up. See?”
    Miles said he saw.
    Flossie was feeling better every moment. She went on eagerly.
    â€œThat was yesterday, and this afternoon she come round and told me they’d made it up. You could have knocked me down with a feather—you could reelly. Seems he went down on his knees and said he’d drown himself—and of course she didn’t want him to do that. So then she put it to me, what about me taking the place instead of her? And I said, ‘Well, I might, but I haven’t got a reference only as a general, and I’ve been out best part of a year because of Aunt being ill and wanting me to help at home.’ And she says, ‘Well, dear, why not go as me? It’s no odds to anyone what you call yourself that I can see.’ And so that’s how we fixed it up.” A slightly dubious tone came into Flossie’s voice. “It wasn’t hurting anyone, you see.”
    â€œYou might have got into rather a mess,” said Miles.
    Flossie shivered.
    â€œI s’pose I didn’t ought to have done it—but I’d had a row too—with Aunt. Threw it up at me she did that I hadn’t been earning. And how she’d the face, when it was her that made me leave because she’d fell downstairs and broke her leg! Well, I didn’t feel like staying after that, so I told Ivy I’d take her place for her, and I put my brush and comb and my night-things in a parcel and my coat over my uniform, and I went round to 16 Varley Street and said I was Ivy Hodge. Just about nine o’clock in the evening it was, because Ivy’d let me have her black dress and I’d had to take it in.”
    â€œNine o’clock to-night?” said Miles.
    Flossie nodded. He could feel the movement against his arm.
    â€œJust about,” she said.
    â€œYou didn’t stay long,” he said in a bantering voice.
    She shivered again.
    â€œOoh—it was awful, Mr Miles!”
    â€œWhat happened? Don’t shiver like that—you’re all right.”
    â€œI can’t help it, Mr Miles. I’m frightened to tell you.”
    â€œThen don’t tell me. But there’s nothing to be frightened of.”
    â€œThat’s all you know. But I got to tell someone.”
    â€œAll right then, tell me.”
    â€œI’m going to—I got to.”
    â€œGo ahead then.”
    Flossie pinched his arm hard.
    â€œThere was a cook there—a fat woman—name of Green. She said I’d got to take up the old lady’s Benger’s, and not to go into the room on no account and the nurse would take it at the door. There’s a nurse, and the cook, and the house-parlour-maid. So I took it up, and when I was coming down, the drawing-room door was open and I went in, just to have a look round as you might say. Ooh! Mr Miles!”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œI dun no — reelly . There was a curtain looped crooked in the back part of the room and I went to pull it straight, and there was a great big mirror on the wall, taller than me and a handsome gold frame all round it. I noticed it pertickler. And when I’d put the curtain straight, I turned round, and— ooh!”
    â€œGood gracious, Flossie— what?”
    Flossie dug her fingers into his arm.
    â€œOoh!” she said again. “There wasn’t any glass in the mirror any more. There was the frame, but there wasn’t any glass—there was only a most awful black hole. Ooh—it was awful! And there was a man’s head all over blood!” She caught at him with both hands and dissolved into hysterical sobs upon his shoulder.
    â€œOh, I say!” said Miles. “I do wish you wouldn’t do that! Look here, someone will think I’m murdering you.”
    Flossie choked, gulped, and said in a