A certain melancholy set up on the master for he dismissed me from serving him food and only Mr. Eugene was sent from time to time to tend to his wishes. Mr. Howard saw no one, went out no more, and the extra help was dismissed from Stanley Hall leaving the house empty to its echoes and ghosts. The rest of the staff was drained of its enthusiasm expecting orders to close the house would soon come and Mrs. Hall sent me to clean a room which was a tucked away on a floor above the bedchambers in a tower facing east.

"Tidy it up as best as you can, do not let it be known that you were there to anyone else, I fear we should be going back to the sea shore soon if the master does not recover from his spirits," she gave me a key to the room though I was curious what sea shore was Mrs. Hall mentioning but I did not have the boldness to pry.

"Yes Mrs. Hall."

The stoned steps were a narrow way up with small windows to illuminate the darkened climb and the long rusty key unlocked the chamber. The door's hinges creaked as the door swung open and revealed a mess of rugs thrown on the floor and the linen covered objects which I could not guess what they were for I cleaned around them. The fireplace was not so bad as the patting of the curtains and when I saw the view of the roaring blue sea, the faint morning glow, and the wind blowing against the trees made the beauty of the room insurmountable. So I sat by the closed window and wondered how could the master be depressed here and how right Mrs. Hall was of when she talked of Stanley Hall's glory. Then a pang of family memories brought me down and I wondered how Daniel, Joan and mother were doing while I enjoyed the beauty of Stanley Hall as they did their best in London in our small little crowded home.

"What are you doing here?" The master walked in on me sighing at the view and I got up immediately from the window.

"Mr. Howard, sir, I..."

"Why are you sitting on that window looking at me like that?" He looked confused almost dazed as if he had lost sense of himself. "Did my father put you up to this? I told you I would not change my mind! Get out! Out with you, you wretched, wretched..." Unknowing whether he recognized me or was shouting for having come up to the room I walked towards the door to calm him down.

"Forgive me master, yes master," just then he took a great fall to the rug which lifted the settled dust.

"Sir? Sir! Mr. Howard wake up!" I tapped his face afraid he would wake up and shout at me if I smacked him then shook his shoulders yet nothing, "Help! Someone help! No, no, no, no, no!" I put my ear to his hear and it was beating very fast and then I noticed his dry lips.

"Oh God I need help!"

The tower was a long way from everyone and afraid of leaving I opted for the water in a vase I had brought flowers for and threw away the flowers then lifted his mouth up to drink it.

"Drink this sir please," I tried to talk to him but nothing so I splashed some water on his face and prayed while dropping the liquid into his throat. "Dear Lord you must help him, do not let him die, not like this, not with me, not in this unhappiness please."

The answer to my prayers came as Mr. Howard after drinking most of the water he began to choke on it.

"Mr. Howard?" I waited to see what he would say after he finished coughing but he spilled the rest of the water on the rug.

"What the bloody hell Miss Stewart? Are you trying to poison me?"

"No sir I gave you water sir," I regained half a mind to leave his side at once and grab the flowers from the floor as if his soul had not almost just left his body.

"Well then I shall never thirst again, not around you anyways," he sat up still not well but well enough to reproach me and looked as if he had somehow sleep walked in there.

"Why am I here? Who brought me up?"

"No one sir."

"Then how did I get here?"

"I have no idea sir, I have not seen you in weeks," my hands trembled violently holding the flowers so I faced away from him to disguise my shock.

"Weeks? I... Right, then why are you here? Who sent you in here?"

"Uh... I did sir."

"You on your own? You decided and you came?"

"Yes master."

"Do you dare insult my intelligence?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I know you very well and you are simply not capable of going off on your own Miss Stewart so it must have been Mrs. Hall or Mr. Bert. Those two always think they know what's best but they do not and I will go put them in their place right now," he got up from the floor but I could not get my feet to move to stop him so I used my voice.

"Mr. Howard," I asked loudly and he turned around to watch my impertinence while holding on the furniture still feeble yet decided to go down. "It was not them, I was curious and came to clean the room so please do not fault them, I will hand in my notice and be gone as soon as you wish me to sir."

The words were true and right, I did not want to be in this house any longer, the secret room, the worries, the master, the nightmarish nights, I did not own the nerves to keep working at Stanley Hall or if something similar should befall the master again. I had seen my father, my youngest brother and countless other victims meet their end in London, their dead cold bodies in my arms scarred my mind and I could not or at least did not want to go through the same here.

"No," he came back to where I was on the floor holding the flowers and knelt in front of me but I had my head down looking at nothing as if out of my body.

The master's words held no authority or weight the only thing in front of me was my father purple's lips and my brother's little lifeless body covered in white, both dead, both gone and all of it felt colder than any winter I faced.

"Miss Stewart are you hearing me?" He said it louder and I looked up at his face yet I couldn't see him and still there was my father and brother who would never know the rest of a life. "Miss Stewart?"

"Hmmm."

"Get up and go tell them to bring me proper water and food, there is no need for you to do anything else here today," his hand was on my arm.

"Yes master."

"Go," he said it again to remind me to get up from the floor using my legs to get out of the room.

As soon as I stepped out of the room I ran down the stairs while the petals of the flowers flew on the path behind me and then threw my back in a corner for a minute for some kind of shelter.

"Our Father art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name," I could not finish the prayer as the tears got in the way until my full equanimity had been reestablished to carry on with the day's work.

The master called for dinner the same night in the dining room which boasted the longest table and endless chairs in a row as he sat alone at the helm of it. He looked better with a change of clothes, something about him looked different but I did not dwell on it. My mind was somewhere else more important and he waited for the food with a cup of port almost empty by his hand.

"Miss Stewart," he acknowledged me as I set his food down unhappy like a bird without wings to fly off so not a bird at all.

"Yes master."

"Shall we discuss our earlier event?"

"Discuss sir?" I wished we would not discuss anything at all but he insisted on it and he was the master so who I was to stop him?

"The doctor who came to see me said I had been in dire need of liquids, I believe there was a hidden threat if I were to ever get so dehydrated again, so I congratulate you on your quick thinking."

"If you say so master."

"Mr. Howard you mean, that is how I wish to be called Miss Stewart."

"Forgive me Mr. Howard," I stood there hearing him talk but it was still decided in my heart I should leave Stanley Hall at any costs and get back to my family in London.

"Miss Stewart what is the matter?"

"Nothing sir."

"I see," he sighed though I had not said anything, "the country has gotten the best of you," he did not eat instead he stared and drank but I did not answer him or let him into my thoughts and plans.

"Am I right Miss Stewart?" He waited and I did not know how frank to be as he grew impatient with the lull...

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Copyright: All Rights Reserved to A. Sena Gomes.