Ink Stains, Volume I
Page 22
Elwood Addington Thrush sought neither the aid nor counsel of his servants but retired straightaway to the salon to contemplate the unfortunate and disappointing visit of his daughter and how he could have ever been so foolish as to hope that, after so long a time, there was any reason to hope at all. He noted that the dishes had all been cleared away and the table swept of crumbs and now, there was no longer the slightest evidence that Violette had even been there, besides the pain and disappointment that filled the old man’s heart.
He sat down at the table and absently regarded the playing cards carefully arranged at his usual place on the table. His eyes narrowed as he picked up the cards and considered his hand as well as a variety of possible stratagems. His opponent was very shrewd and could be quite merciless at times and delighted at besting him at every turn. But he enjoyed certain other advantages.
“I told you she wouldn’t believe you,” Thrush’s opponent said triumphantly as she eyed her own cards with a satisfied smile. “She was never very imaginative!”
Augusta Clarice sat before him exactly as she had looked on that Christmas Eve so many years before: the precocious twelve-year-old who had tumbled from the second floor observatory mezzanine into the snow and died there. But let it never be presumed that the dead do not progress in other ways besides their appearances.
“I had to try!” Thrush protested sharply. “They’re all gone now, really…gone,” he muttered sadly.
“No matter! I’m here, you’re here, and we have Mattie and Fredreich to take care of us. He’s such a dear, Fredreich is. He brought in my favorite blue roses for the breakfast. Wherever did he find them this time of year?” she said brightly. “Fredreich and Mattie believe in me,” she continued. “They love me, and you of course, Father,” she said with a smile as she pretended to stretch and peek over at his cards.
“Oh, my darling Augusta, perhaps I am truly mad after all,” Thrush sighed.
“Why Father! Of course you are. Really and truly mad. Just as I am really and truly here. But you can be so silly at times. Whatever would you have done all these years without me and Mattie and Fredreich to take care of you?” she said, shaking her head. Then she got up and walked to the double doors, which opened silently before her.
“Fredreich, could you be a love and bring father another pot of coffee?” she called out.
“Very good, madame. And you, will the young miss be requiring anything special herself today?” Fredreich inquired from the kitchen.
“No, I am perfectly fine,” she replied, resuming her place at the table. “I have everything I need right here in this house, Fredreich. Thank you,” she called out as she picked up her cards and eyed them narrowly. “Go on, Father. I do believe it’s your turn.”