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The Little Princess Chapter 9 - Melchisedec · The Frances Hodgson Burnett Library

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  Speaker 1: CHAPTER IX. MALCHIZEDEK The third person in the trio was Lottie.
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  Speaker 1: She was a small thing and did not know what
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  Speaker 1: adversity meant, and was much bewildered by the alteration she
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  Speaker 1: saw in her young adopted mother. She had heard it
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  Speaker 1: rumored that strange things had happened to but she could
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  Speaker 1: not understand why she looked different, why she wore an
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  Speaker 1: old black frock and came into the schoolroom only to
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  Speaker 1: teach instead of to sit in her place of honor
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  Speaker 1: and learn lessons herself. There had been much whispering among
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  Speaker 1: the little ones when it had been discovered that Sarah
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  Speaker 1: no longer lived in the rooms in which Emily had
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  Speaker 1: so long sat in state. Lottie's chief difficulty was that
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  Speaker 1: Sarah said so little when one asked her questions. At seven,
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  Speaker 1: Mysteries must be made very clear if one is to
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  Speaker 1: understand them. Are you very poor now, Sarah? she had
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  Speaker 1: asked confidentially the first morning her friend took charge of
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  Speaker 1: the small French class. Are you as poor as a beggar?
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  Speaker 1: She thrust a fat hand into the slim one and
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  Speaker 1: opened round, tearful eyes. I don't want you to be
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  Speaker 1: as poor as a beggar. She looked as if she
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  Speaker 1: was going to cry, and Sarah hurriedly consoled her. Beggars
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  Speaker 1: have nowhere to live. she said courageously.' I have a
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  Speaker 1: place to live in.'' Where do you live?' persisted Lottie.'
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  Speaker 1: The new girl sleeps in your room, and it isn't
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  Speaker 1: pretty any more.'' I live in another room,' said Sarah.'
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  Speaker 1: Is it a nice one?' inquired Lottie.' I want to
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  Speaker 1: go and see it.'' You must not talk,' said Sarah.'
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  Speaker 1: Miss Minchin is looking at us. She will be angry
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  Speaker 1: with me for letting you whisper.' She had found out
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  Speaker 1: already that she was to be held accountable for everything
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  Speaker 1: which was objected to. If the children were not attentive,
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  Speaker 1: if they talked, if they were restless, it was she
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  Speaker 1: who would be reproved. But Lottie was a determined little person.
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  Speaker 1: If Sarah would not tell her where she lived, she
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  Speaker 1: would find out in some other way. She talked to
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  Speaker 1: her small companions and hung about the elder girls and
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  Speaker 1: listened when they were gossiping, and acting upon certain information
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  Speaker 1: they had unconsciously let drop, She started late one afternoon
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  Speaker 1: on a voyage of discovery, climbing stairs she had never
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  Speaker 1: known the existence of until she reached the attic floor.
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  Speaker 1: There she found two doors near each other, and opening one,
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  Speaker 1: she saw her beloved Sarah standing upon an old table
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  Speaker 1: and looking out of a window.' Sarah!' she cried aghast.'
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  Speaker 1: Mama Sarah!' She was aghast because the attic was so
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  Speaker 1: bare and ugly and seemed so far away from all
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  Speaker 1: the world. Her short legs had seemed to have been
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  Speaker 1: mounting hundreds of stairs. Sarah turned round at the sound
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  Speaker 1: of her voice. It was her turn to be aghast.
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  Speaker 1: What would happen now? If Lottie began to cry and
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  Speaker 1: anyone chanced to hear, they were both lost. She jumped
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  Speaker 1: down from her table and ran to the child. Don't
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  Speaker 1: cry and make a noise, she implored. I shall be
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  Speaker 1: scolded if you do, and I have been scolded all day. It's...
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  Speaker 1: it's not such a bad room, Lottie. Isn't it? gasped Lottie,
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  Speaker 1: and as she looked round it she bit her lip.
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  Speaker 1: She was a spoiled child yet, but she was fond
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  Speaker 1: enough of her adopted parent to make an effort to
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  Speaker 1: control herself for her sake. Then somehow it was quite
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  Speaker 1: possible that any place in which Sarah lived might turn
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  Speaker 1: out to be nice. Why isn't it Sarah? she almost whispered.
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  Speaker 1: Sarah hugged her close and tried to laugh. There was
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  Speaker 1: a sort of comfort in the warmth of the plump,
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  Speaker 1: childish body. She had had a hard day, and had
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  Speaker 1: been staring out of the windows with hot eyes.' You
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  Speaker 1: can see all sorts of things you can't see downstairs,'
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  Speaker 1: she said.' What sort of things?' demanded Lottie, with that
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  Speaker 1: curiosity Sarah could always awaken, even in bigger girls.' Chimneys,
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  Speaker 1: quite close to us, with smoke curling up in reeds
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  Speaker 1: and clouds and going up into the sky, and sparrows
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  Speaker 1: hopping about and talking to each other, just as if
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  Speaker 1: they were people,' and other attic windows where heads may
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  Speaker 1: pop out any minute and you can wonder who they
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  Speaker 1: belong to. And it all feels as high up as
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  Speaker 1: if it was another world. Oh, let me see it,
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  Speaker 1: cried Lottie. Lift me up. Sarah lifted her up and
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  Speaker 1: they stood on the old table together and leaned on
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  Speaker 1: the edge of the flat window in the roof and
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  Speaker 1: looked out. Anyone who has not done this does not
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  Speaker 1: know what a different world they saw. The slate spread
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  Speaker 1: out on either side of them and slanted down into
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  Speaker 1: the rain gutter pipes. The sparrows, being at home there,
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  Speaker 1: twittered and hopped about quite without fear. Two of them
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  Speaker 1: perched on the chimney top nearest and quarreled with each
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  Speaker 1: other fiercely until one pecked the other and drove him away.
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  Speaker 1: The garret window next to theirs was shut because the
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  Speaker 1: house next door was empty.' I wish someone lived there,'
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  Speaker 1: Sarah said.' It is so close that if there was
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  Speaker 1: a little girl in the attic—' we could talk to
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  Speaker 1: each other through the windows and climb over to see
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  Speaker 1: each other, if we were not afraid of falling. The
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  Speaker 1: sky seemed so much nearer than when one saw it
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  Speaker 1: from the street that Lottie was enchanted. From the attic
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  Speaker 1: window among the chimney-pots the things which were happening in
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  Speaker 1: the world below seemed almost unreal. One scarcely believed in
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  Speaker 1: the existence of Miss Minchin and Miss Amelia and the schoolroom,
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  Speaker 1: and the roll of wheels in the square seemed a
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  Speaker 1: sound belonging to another existence. Oh, Sarah, cried Lottie, cuddling
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  Speaker 1: in her guarding arm. I like this attic. I like it.
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  Speaker 1: It is nicer than downstairs. Look at that sparrow, whispered Sarah.
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  Speaker 1: I wish I had some crumbs to throw to him.
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  Speaker 1: I have some, came in a little shriek from Lottie.
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  Speaker 1: I have part of a bun in my pocket. I
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  Speaker 1: bought it with my penny yesterday and I saved a bit.
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  Speaker 1: When they threw out a few crumbs, the sparrow jumped
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  Speaker 1: and flew away to an adjacent chimney top. He was
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  Speaker 1: evidently not accustomed to intimates and addicts, and unexpected crumbs
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  Speaker 1: startled him. But when Lottie remained quite still and Sarah
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  Speaker 1: chirped softly, almost as if she were a sparrow herself,
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  Speaker 1: he saw that the thing which had alarmed him represented
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  Speaker 1: hospitality after all. He put his head on one side,
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  Speaker 1: and from his perch on the chimney looked down at
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  Speaker 1: the crumbs with twinkling eyes. Lottie could scarcely keep still.'
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  Speaker 1: Will he come? Will he come?' she whispered. His eyes
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  Speaker 1: look as if he would, Sarah whispered back. He is
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  Speaker 1: thinking and thinking whether he will dare. Yes, he will. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: he is coming. He flew down and hopped toward the crumbs,
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  Speaker 1: but stopped a few inches away from them, putting his
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  Speaker 1: head on one side again, as if reflecting on the
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  Speaker 1: chances that Sarah and Lottie might turn out to be
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  Speaker 1: big cats and jump on him. At last, his heart
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  Speaker 1: told him that they were really nicer than they looked,
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  Speaker 1: and he hopped nearer and nearer, darted at the biggest
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  Speaker 1: crumb with the lightning peck, seized it, and carried it
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  Speaker 1: away to the other side of his chimney.' Now he knows,'
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  Speaker 1: said Sarah,' and he will come back for the others.'
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  Speaker 1: He did come back, and even brought a friend, and
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  Speaker 1: the friend went away and brought a relative, and among
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  Speaker 1: them they made a hearty meal over which they twittered
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  Speaker 1: and chattered and exclaimed, stopping every now and then to
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  Speaker 1: put their heads on one side and examine Lottie and Sarah.
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  Speaker 1: Lottie was so delighted that she quite forgot her first
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  Speaker 1: shocked impression of the attic. In fact, when she was
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  Speaker 1: lifted down from the table and returned to earthly things,
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  Speaker 1: as it were, Sarah was able to point out to
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  Speaker 1: her many beauties in the room which she herself would
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  Speaker 1: not have suspected the existence of.' It is so little
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  Speaker 1: and so high above everything,' she said,' that it is
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  Speaker 1: almost like a nest in a tree. The slanting ceiling
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  Speaker 1: is so funny. See, You can scarcely stand up at
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  Speaker 1: this end of the room, and when the morning begins
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  Speaker 1: to come, I can lie in bed and look right
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  Speaker 1: up into the sky through that flat window in the roof.
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  Speaker 1: It is like a square patch of light. If the
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  Speaker 1: sun is going to shine, little pink clouds float about,
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  Speaker 1: and I feel as if I could touch them. And
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  Speaker 1: if it rains, the drops patter and patter as if
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  Speaker 1: they were saying something nice. Then, if there are stars,
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  Speaker 1: you can lie and try to count how many go
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  Speaker 1: in the patch.' It takes such a lot. And just
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  Speaker 1: look at that tiny rusty grate in the corner. If
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  Speaker 1: it was polished and there was a fire in it,
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  Speaker 1: just think how nice it would be. You see, it's
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  Speaker 1: really a beautiful little room. She was walking round the
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  Speaker 1: small place, holding Lottie's hand and making gestures which described
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  Speaker 1: all the beauties she was making herself see. She quite
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  Speaker 1: made Lottie see them too. Lottie could always believe in
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  Speaker 1: the things Sarah made pictures of. You see, she said,
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  Speaker 1: There could be a thick, soft blue Indian rug on
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  Speaker 1: the floor, and in that corner there could be a
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  Speaker 1: soft little sofa with cushions to curl up on, and
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  Speaker 1: just over it could be a shelf full of books
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  Speaker 1: so that one could reach them easily, and there could
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  Speaker 1: be a fur rug before the fire and hangings on
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  Speaker 1: the wall to cover up the whitewash and pictures. They
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  Speaker 1: would have to be little ones, but they could be beautiful,
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  Speaker 1: and there could be a lamp with a deep rose-coloured
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  Speaker 1: shade and a table in the middle with things to
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  Speaker 1: have tea with, and a little fat copper kettle singing
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  Speaker 1: on the hob, and the bed could be quite different.
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  Speaker 1: It could be made soft and covered with a lovely
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  Speaker 1: silk coverlet. It could be beautiful. And perhaps we could
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  Speaker 1: coax the sparrows until we made such friends with them
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  Speaker 1: that they would come and peck at the window and
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  Speaker 1: ask to be let in. Oh, Sarah, cried Lottie. I
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  Speaker 1: should like to live here when Sarah had persuaded her
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  Speaker 1: to go downstairs again and after setting her on her
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  Speaker 1: way had come back to her attic she stood in
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  Speaker 1: the middle of it and looked about her the enchantment
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  Speaker 1: of her imaginings for Lottie had died away the bed
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  Speaker 1: was hard and covered with its dingy quilt The whitewashed
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  Speaker 1: wall showed its broken patches, the floor was cold and bare,
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  Speaker 1: the grate was broken and rusty, and the battered footstool,
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  Speaker 1: tilted sideways on its injured leg, the only seat in
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  Speaker 1: the room. She sat down on it for a few
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  Speaker 1: minutes and let her head drop in her hands. The
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  Speaker 1: mere fact that Lottie had come and gone away again
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  Speaker 1: made things seem a little worse, just as perhaps prisoners
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  Speaker 1: feel a little more desolate after visitors come and go,
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  Speaker 1: leaving them behind. It's a lonely place, she said. Sometimes
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  Speaker 1: it's the loneliest place in the world. She was sitting
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  Speaker 1: in this way when her attention was attracted by a
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  Speaker 1: slight sound near her. She lifted her head to see
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  Speaker 1: where it came from, and if she had been a
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  Speaker 1: nervous child, she would have left her seat on the
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  Speaker 1: battered footstool in a great hurry. A large rat was
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  Speaker 1: sitting up on his hind quarters and sniffing the air
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  Speaker 1: in an interested manner. Some of Lottie's crumbs had dropped
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  Speaker 1: upon the floor and and their scent had drawn him
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  Speaker 1: out of his hole. He looked so queer and so
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  Speaker 1: like a grey-whiskered dwarf or gnome that Sarah was rather fascinated.
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  Speaker 1: He looked at her with his bright eyes as if
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  Speaker 1: he were asking a question. He was evidently so doubtful
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  Speaker 1: that one of the child's queer thoughts came into her mind.
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  Speaker 1: I dare say it is rather hard to be a rat,
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  Speaker 1: she mused. Nobody likes you. People jump and run away
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  Speaker 1: and scream out, Oh, a horrid rat! I shouldn't like
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  Speaker 1: people to scream and jump and say, Oh, a horrid Sarah,
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  Speaker 1: the moment they saw me, and set traps for me
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  Speaker 1: and pretend they were dinner. It's so different to be
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  Speaker 1: a sparrow. But nobody asked this rat if he wanted
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  Speaker 1: to be a rat when he was made. Nobody said,
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  Speaker 1: Wouldn't you rather be a sparrow? She had sat so
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  Speaker 1: quietly that the rat had begun to take courage. He
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  Speaker 1: was very much afraid of her, but perhaps he had
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  Speaker 1: a heart like the sparrow, and it told him that
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  Speaker 1: she was not a thing which pounced. He was very hungry.
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  Speaker 1: He had a wife and a large family in the wall,
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  Speaker 1: and they had had frightfully bad luck for several days.
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  Speaker 1: He had left the children crying bitterly, and felt he
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  Speaker 1: would risk a good deal for a few crumbs. So
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  Speaker 1: he cautiously dropped upon his feet.' Come on,' said Sarah.'
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  Speaker 1: I' m not a trap.'' You can have them, poor thing.
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  Speaker 1: Prisoners in the Bastille used to make friends with rats.'
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  Speaker 1: Suppose I make friends with you. How it is that
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  Speaker 1: animals understand things I do not know, but it is
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  Speaker 1: certain that they do understand. Perhaps there is a language
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  Speaker 1: which is not made of words, and everything in the
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  Speaker 1: world understands it. Perhaps there is a soul hidden in everything,
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  Speaker 1: and it can always speak without even making a sound
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  Speaker 1: to another soul. But whatsoever was the reason, the rat
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  Speaker 1: knew from that moment that he was safe, even though
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  Speaker 1: he was a rat. He knew that this young human
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  Speaker 1: being sitting on the red footstool would not jump up
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  Speaker 1: and terrify him with wild, sharp noises or throw heavy
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  Speaker 1: objects at him, which, if they did not fall and
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  Speaker 1: crush him, would send him limping in his scurry back
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  Speaker 1: to his hole. He was really a very nice rat
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  Speaker 1: and did not mean the least harm. When he had
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  Speaker 1: stood on his hind legs and sniffed the air with
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  Speaker 1: his bright eyes fixed on Sarah, he had hoped that
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  Speaker 1: she would understand this and would not begin by hating
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  Speaker 1: him as an enemy. When the mysterious thing which speaks
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  Speaker 1: without saying any words told him that she would not,
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  Speaker 1: he went softly toward the crumbs and began to eat them.
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  Speaker 1: As he did it, he glanced every now and then
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  Speaker 1: at Sarah, just as the sparrows had done, and his
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  Speaker 1: expression was so very apologetic that it touched her heart.
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  Speaker 1: She sat and watched him without making any movement. One
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  Speaker 1: crumb was very much larger than the others. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: it could scarcely be called a crumb. It was evident
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  Speaker 1: that he wanted that piece very much, but it lay
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  Speaker 1: quite near the footstool, and he was still rather timid.
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  Speaker 1: I believe he wants to carry it to his family
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  Speaker 1: in the wall, Sarah thought. If I do not stir
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  Speaker 1: at all, perhaps he will come and get it. She
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  Speaker 1: scarcely allowed herself to breathe, she was so deeply interested.
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  Speaker 1: The rat shuffled a little nearer and ate a few
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  Speaker 1: more crumbs. Then he stopped and sniffed delicately, giving a
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  Speaker 1: side glance at the occupant of the footstool. Then he
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  Speaker 1: darted at the piece of bun with something very like
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  Speaker 1: the sudden boldness of the sparrow, and the instant he
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  Speaker 1: had possession of it, fled back to the wall, slipped
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  Speaker 1: down a crack in the skirting board, and was gone.'
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  Speaker 1: I knew he wanted it for his children,' said Sarah.'
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  Speaker 1: I do believe I could make friends with him.' A
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  Speaker 1: week or so afterward, on one of the rare nights
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  Speaker 1: when Ermengarde found it safe to steal up to the attic,
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  Speaker 1: when she tapped on the door with the tips of
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  Speaker 1: her fingers— Sarah did not come to her for two
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  Speaker 1: or three minutes. There was indeed such a silence in
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  Speaker 1: the room at first that Ermengarde wondered if she could
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  Speaker 1: have fallen asleep. Then, to her surprise, she heard her
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  Speaker 1: utter a little low laugh and speak coaxingly to someone.' There,'
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  Speaker 1: Ermengarde heard her say.' Take it and go home, Melchizedek.
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  Speaker 1: Go home to your wife.' Almost immediately Sarah opened the door,
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  Speaker 1: and when she did so, she found Ermengarde standing with
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  Speaker 1: alarmed eyes upon the threshold.' Who?' Who are you talking to, Sarah?
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: she gasped out. Sarah drew her in cautiously, but she
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: looked as if something pleased and amused her. You must
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  Speaker 1: promise not to be frightened, not to scream the least bit,
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  Speaker 1: or I can't tell you, she answered. Ermengarde felt almost
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  Speaker 1: inclined to scream on the spot, but managed to control herself.
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  Speaker 1: She looked all around the attic and saw no one.
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  Speaker 1: And yet Sarah had certainly been speaking to someone. She
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  Speaker 1: thought of ghosts. Is it something that will frighten me?
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  Speaker 1: she asked timorously. Some people are afraid of them, said Sarah.
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  Speaker 1: I was at first, but I am not now. Was
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  Speaker 1: it a ghost? quaked Ermengarde. No, said Sarah, laughing. It
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  Speaker 1: was my rat. Ermengarde made one bound and landed in
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  Speaker 1: the middle of the little dingy bed. She tucked her
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  Speaker 1: feet under her nightgown and the red shawl. She did
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  Speaker 1: not scream. but she gasped with fright.' Oh! oh!' she
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  Speaker 1: cried under her breath.' A rat! a rat!'' I was
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  Speaker 1: afraid you would be frightened,' said Sarah.' But you needn't be.
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  Speaker 1: I am making him tame. He actually knows me and
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  Speaker 1: comes out when I call him. Are you too frightened
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  Speaker 1: to want to see him?' The truth was that, as
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  Speaker 1: the days had gone on, and with the aid of
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  Speaker 1: scraps brought up from the kitchen, her curious friendship had
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  Speaker 1: developed and she had gradually forgotten that the timid creature
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  Speaker 1: she was becoming familiar with was a mere rat. At
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  Speaker 1: first Ermengarde was too much alarmed to do anything but
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  Speaker 1: huddle in a heap upon the bed and tuck up
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  Speaker 1: her feet, but the sight of Sarah's composed little countenance
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  Speaker 1: and the story of Melchizedek's first appearance began at last
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  Speaker 1: to rouse her curiosity, and she leaned forward over the
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  Speaker 1: edge of the bed and watched Sarah go and kneel
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  Speaker 1: down by the hole in the skirting-board.' He— he won't run
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  Speaker 1: out quickly and jump on the bed, will he?' she said.' No,'
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  Speaker 1: answered Sarah.' He' s as polite as we are. He is
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  Speaker 1: just like a person. Now watch.' She began to make
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: a low whistling sound, so low and coaxing that it
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: could only have been heard in entire stillness. She did
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  Speaker 1: it several times, looking entirely absorbed in it. Ermengarde thought
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  Speaker 1: she looked as if she were working a spell. And
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  Speaker 1: at last, evidently in response to it, a grey-whiskered, bright-eyed
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  Speaker 1: head peeped out of the hole. Sarah had some crumbs
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  Speaker 1: in her hand. She dropped them and Melchizedek came quietly
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  Speaker 1: forth and ate them. A piece of larger size than
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  Speaker 1: the rest he took and carried in the most businesslike
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: manner back to his home.' You see,' said Sarah,' that
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: is for his wife and children. He is very nice.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: He only eats the little bits. After he goes back
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: I can always hear his family squeaking for joy. There
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: are three kinds of squeaks. One kind is the children's,
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: and one is Mrs. Melchizedek's, and one is Melchizedek's own.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: Ermengarde began to laugh. Oh, Sarah, she said, you are queer,
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: but you are nice. I know I am queer, admitted
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: Sarah cheerfully, and I try to be nice. She rubbed
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: her forehead with her little brown paw, and a puzzled,
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: tender look came into her face. Papa always laughed at me,
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: she said, but I liked it. He thought I was queer,
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: but he liked me to make up things. I... I
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: can't help making up things. If I didn't, I don't
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: believe I could live. She paused and glanced around the attic.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: I'm sure I couldn't live here, she added in a
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: low voice. Ermengarde was interested as she always was. When
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: you talk about things, she said, they seem as if
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: they grew real. You talk about Melchizedek as if he
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: was a person. He is a person, said Sarah. He
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: gets hungry and frightened, just as we do, and he
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: is married and has children. How do we know he
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: doesn't think things, just as we do? His eyes look
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: as if he was a person. That was why I
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: gave him a name. She sat down on the floor
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: in her favourite attitude, holding her knees. Besides, she said,
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: he is a Bastille rat sent to be my friend.
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: I can always get a bit of bread the cook
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: has thrown away, and it is quite enough to support him.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: Is it the Bastille yet? asked Ermengarde eagerly. Do you
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: always pretend it is the Bastille? Nearly always, answered Sarah.
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I try to pretend it is another kind of place.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: But the Bastille is generally easiest, particularly when it is cold.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Just at that moment, Ermengarde almost jumped off the bed.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: She was so startled by a sound she heard. It
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: was like two distinct knocks on the wall. What is that?
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: she exclaimed. Sarah got up from the floor and answered
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: quite dramatically. It is the prisoner, in the next cell. Becky!
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: cried Ermengarde, enraptured. Yes, said Sarah. Listen, the two knocks meant, prisoner,
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: are you there? She knocked three times on the wall herself,
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: as if in answer. That means, yes, I am here,
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: and all is well. Four knocks came from Becky's side
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: of the wall. That means... explained Sarah. Then, fellow sufferer,
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: we will sleep in peace. Good night. Ermengarde quite beamed
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: with delight. Oh, Sarah, she whispered joyfully. It is like
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: a story. It is a story, said Sarah. Everything's a story.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: You are a story. I am a story. Miss Minchin
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: is a story. And she sat down again, and talked
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: until Ermengarde forgot that she was a sort of escaped
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: prisoner herself, and had to be reminded by Sarah that
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: she could not remain in the Bastille all night, but
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: must steal noiselessly downstairs again, and creep back into her
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: deserted bed.