‘There is nothing wrong with me.’ Joss rubbed the palms of her hands up and down her face several times, hard. ‘For God’s sake, why will no one believe me?’
She was conscious of Lyn and Luke exchanging glances. It was Janet who came up to her and gave her a hug. ‘I believe you, Joss. I think there’s something funny in this house. And I think you should all leave. Come and stay with me. We’ve plenty of room. I’d love to have you.’ She glanced at them all again. ‘Please.’
‘That’s kind of you, Janet.’ Luke spoke firmly before Joss had a chance to reply. ‘But there is no need. There is nothing odd about the house which isn’t in my wife’s imagination. She has been scared by a lot of silly stories and the sooner we admit that, the better. I’m sure she’s fine. All she needs is to rest. I’ll get Simon to come over tomorrow and prescribe something.’
‘Luke!’ Joss stared at him. ‘How dare you! It’s me you’re talking about. You sound like a Victorian patriarch! I am not imagining things, and I did not take Tom upstairs and leave him in the ice cold attics to gratify my lurid imagination. And where did those toys come from, is any one going to tell me that? I’ve never seen them before. If they were Georgie’s, how did Tom Tom know? Oh, Luke, how could you think that I would terrify my own child like that!’
‘He wasn’t terrified, Joss,’ Janet said quietly. ‘Whatever happened and however he got up there, he wasn’t terrified. He was having a good time with those toys, and that’s the main thing, surely. There is no harm done.’
‘There’s a great deal of harm done.’ Lyn’s hands were shaking. Sitting down abruptly, she chewed her lip, trying to stop herself sobbing out loud. ‘When will someone realise that the children are in danger?’
‘I agree.’ Joss met her eye steadily. ‘The children are in danger. But not, for God’s sake, from me!’
‘There is no danger.’ Luke gave a deep dramatic sigh. ‘My God, this is what happens when you have a house full of hysterical women. For heaven’s sake pull yourselves together. This is the twentieth century. The nineteen nineties. Lyn, let’s have supper. Please! We’ll forget all this for now. Tom Tom is asleep and safe and the alarm is on, so there is nothing for us to fret about for now.’
There was a moment’s silence as all four of them looked towards the dresser where the small white plastic box of the baby alarm sat between a bowl of fruit and the coffee jug. From it came the sound of gentle snuffling snores.
26
‘Tom Tom, are you awake?’ Joss lowered the side of the cot gently and touched the little boy’s cheek with a cautious finger. ‘Tom Tom, can you hear Mummy?’
He mumbled and stirred slightly in his sleep.
‘Tom Tom, who was it that took you upstairs to play with Georgie’s toys?’ she whispered.
There was no reply. The little boy began to breathe deeply and evenly again, his eyes tight shut, his thumb in his mouth. Joss watched him for a few minutes in silence. Across the passageway Ned, fed and changed had snuggled back into his own small crib and both rooms, lit by the gentle glow of night lights were warm and safe. The sound of the wind playing amongst the gables of the house emphasised the silence and the gentle breathing of the sleeping child.
With a sigh she turned away from the cot. Lying on the chest of drawers, just within the pool of light thrown by the night light lay a white rose.
She stared at it, feeling suddenly sick. It had not been there when she walked into the room.
Don’t scream.
Don’t wake them.
Taking a deep breath she clenched her fists, then slowly she turned round to face the window. There was always a pool of deep shadow there, where the faint candle light never reached. The room felt the same as usual. It wasn’t especially cold; there was no strange half echo in her head. A stronger than usual gust of wind blew and she saw the curtains move slightly. Her palms were sweating. Stepping closer to the cot she gripped the rail on the side. ‘Go away,’ she mouthed silently. ‘Go away. Leave us alone.’ She was aware suddenly that Tom’s eyes had opened. He was watching her, his thumb still in his mouth. He caught her eye and gave her a big smile. Withdrawing the thumb he held out his arms. ‘Kiss Mummy good night.’
She smiled at him and bent over the cot, stroking his hair. ‘Good night little chap.’
‘Tin man take Tom to play with Georgie’s toys,’ he murmured sleepily. Already his eyes were closing.
Joss felt her heart do a somersault with fear. Stepping away from the cot she studied the room again. There was no one there. Even the shadows were empty.
The rose was fresh, velvet to the touch and sweetly scented. It did not fall to pieces. She carried it into the bathroom, and for a moment she was tempted to try and flush it down the lavatory. Instead she threw open the window, and leaned out into the wind. As she dropped it, it vanished out of sight into the darkness like a puff of thistledown. When she closed the window again she found her finger was bleeding where she had caught it on one of the thorns.
‘Joss? What time did you get up?’ Luke came into the study, rubbing his eyes at about six thirty. ‘Ned’s crying. You said you wanted to do his morning feed.’ He groaned, running his fingers through his hair. ‘God, it’s cold in here. Why on earth haven’t you lit the fire?’
She stared at the hearth blankly. It had been about half past two when she gave up all attempts to fall asleep and, careful not to wake Luke, had crept out of bed and come downstairs. She had lit the fire then and wrapped in a rug, had curled up in the arm chair, cradling Kit on her knee and gazing into the flames. Obviously she had fallen asleep in the end. The room was freezing.
With a groan she tried to straighten her legs. ‘I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to disturb you. Can you make us a cup of tea while I get his bottle ready?’
He nodded. ‘Of course. Five minutes.’