They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Emmy felt Rose’s hand in hers.
Back at the house, Julia could scarcely wait until what they had brought home with them was put away.
“Just let me get Rose settled with her tea and then I’ll show you,” Charlotte said as she put the kettle on. Emmy took the drawing paper and pencils to her room and laid them on top of the brides box on the bedside table. Back downstairs, she got out the cream and sugar while Charlotte poured Rose’s tea and placed the hot kettle in the tea cozy. She handed Emmy two digestive biscuits.
“Give those to Rose, will you, dear?” she said to Emmy, then turned to Julia. “All right. Let me get a torch.” Charlotte grabbed a flashlight from the shelf near the back door and then headed out of the kitchen. “Come along, Miss Julia.”
Julia skipped after her.
Emmy brought the biscuits to Rose, and the two of them watched as Charlotte and Julia left the room.
“Where are they going?” Rose said, her brow furrowed.
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t want them going in my room. They shouldn’t be going into my room. It’s my room.”
Emmy could hear Charlotte and Julia on the stairs. So could Rose.
“It’s my room. My things.” Rose didn’t sound agitated and she made no move to rise from her chair. Hers was the weirdest opposition Emmy had ever seen. Resistance without effort.
Emmy’s own interest in what Charlotte was planning to give Julia was also piqued, and not just because of Rose. She turned to the older woman.
“Want me to go see what they’re doing?” Emmy asked.
Rose picked up her cup daintily. “For heaven’s sake, yes. It’s my room. And my things.”
Happy to oblige, Emmy made for the stairs.
But Charlotte and Julia were headed into the yellow room, not Rose’s. Charlotte turned to Emmy when she appeared behind them, happy, it seemed, that Emmy had followed them.
“Rose wanted me to make sure you weren’t traipsing about in her room,” Emmy volunteered.
Charlotte just smiled. She turned back to face the far wall and the desk. She lifted the lace tablecloth off the waist-high table next to it, revealing a crawl space door between the wooden legs.
Charlotte sank to her knees and clicked on the flashlight. “Been a while since I’ve had any need to root about in here. Want to make sure no spiders or such have taken up residence.” The door protested as she opened it, the hinges squeaking at the disturbance.
She bent forward and poked her head in the space, shining the flashlight about. “Hmm,” she said. “Fancy that. Just a few cobwebs.” She pulled her head back out. “Julia, you’re young and small. Could you crawl inside and hand me the box with the pictures of canning jars on the sides? And then the bigger one underneath? I promise neither one is very heavy.”
Julia didn’t need to be asked twice. Charlotte moved out of the way and Julia dropped to her knees. Charlotte handed her the flashlight, and then Julia scooted inside the crawl space and disappeared inside it. Emmy heard scraping on wood and then the first box appeared, and then the second one.
“There’s a box of books in here,” Julia called out.
“They’re just old schoolbooks. They can stay,” Charlotte said, brushing her hand across the dusty surface of the first box. Motes took to the beams of afternoon sunlight slanting in the room.
Julia reappeared, her long blond hair mussed about her face.
“Well done, Julia,” Charlotte said as Julia crawled completely out and Charlotte swung the door closed. She took the flashlight from Julia and switched it off.
“What’s in them?” Julia asked, fully intrigued.
Charlotte smiled and opened the first box. Inside were little lumps of thin muslin. Charlotte withdrew one of the lumps. Inside the fabric was a child-size china teacup patterned in autumn leaves.
“Oh!” Julia exclaimed.
“It’s my tea set from when I was a little girl. I want you to think of it as yours for as long as you’re here, all right?”
Julia was speechless with wonder as Charlotte continued to unwrap the pieces. There were four cups with their saucers, four plates, a creamer and sugar bowl, and a squat little teapot with a swanlike spout.
