Page 63 (1/2)
The girl laughed nervously She lifted her pretty pearl eyes to the ceiling “Oh ivetih Uncle Leon says tihty and wicked and it lies and I’ve only just been having a nice holiday andto collect me presently But they never do I don’t think the sun lies nearly as much as Uncle Leon Oh, do coirl opened the great heavy door as though it weighed nothing at all Branwell and Anne stepped uncertainly into the warm, colorful roo as I never go out and never bother anyone and never look out the s, only I call it the Pastille, because all that ever happens in here is the present turning into the past over and over and over and also pastilles are candies and I like it when Miss Agnes brings me pastilles because it o out! That’s the law! Never, never, never! Out is where everything bad can happen, only in is safe Oh, I’ain, aren’t I? I can’t stop once I’ve started”
Branwell inched around the edges of the roo hadn’t been settled yet “Are youare you a ave Anne an alarmed look “Did you make her mad?” he whispered
“No! I made her talk and talk and talk so that I would always have someone to talk toto yourselves because you think I’m a baby and I had to make sure I’d always have someone to talk to if—”
“No we don’t!” Bran hissed at her “You’re a lying liar Charlotte and E; they never include me!”
“They do so!”
“I can hear you when you whisper, you know,” Victoria said nervously “You don’t do it correctly Other people aren’t supposed to be able to hear If you didn’t know”
“I’ht if you are ly
Bran shrugged It wasn’t perfectly all right “I’ve never htfully interesting”
The girl made out of a dress tried to calm herself down She shut her eyes and counted to four “I am not mad I am Victoria That’s ht think I’ht think that if theyI proot nothing else to do I justneed ppractice with other people Mostlyestured at the dolls strewn everywhere and patted the rocking-horse dog on the head It grinned glassily at nothing “I don’t need to introduce ave them all their na while, Uncle Leon and Miss Agnes and Mr Brunty brought me new ones every day Until it wasn’t every day anymore, or even every week or everyalive so badly, so tre to be my friend So I made up stories about all my toys Did you ever make up stories about your toys?” Anne and Branwell blinked and stuttered “Oh, I am so awfully rude! I know you’re not fro I know A story is a lot of words put together one after another until you get to the end”
“We knohat a story is,” Anne said, a little offended
The girl nodded “A story o and what to think about while they’re getting there and who they ought to love and who they ought to hate and what to do for an occupation and when to get born and how to die, only I bring theain at the end of the day, of course, otherwise I’d miss them so! And that’s why I never have to ask the they’ll ever be about, and they never have to askand Its Auntie and everyone knohat the Queen’s called Queen Victoria has a nice sound, doesn’t it? So you see, my toys and I needn’t waste any tiet on with the business at hand It’s wonderfully simple that way” She picked up a wooden man in a black wool suit and stroked his yellow silk hair tenderly “They never complain No matter what I do to them No matter what I make them do If you make people up, they have to do what you say That’s the advantage Oh! I aain, I a in a moment Of course, you can, because I didn’t , now, soul of mine, unfurl those manners banners!”
Victoria curtsied She wasn’t very good at it She’d never had to practice
“Good evening, Mister Branwell and Miss Anne Welco presently Wouldn’t you like to share it with me?”
“Oh, God yes!” Bran said, far too loudly “Thanks for that; we’re starving!”
Anne peeked round Victoria at the stack of neat pages on her desk “What are you doing back there?”