The Cottage in the Woods Read Online Free

and feeling that I owed it to him to say something, I screwed up my courage. “I just wanted to ask you … don’t you worry about making the cub fearful?”
    “Me?” she jeered. “Me make him fearful? Why, it wasn’t me came running in here as if the hounds of Hell was on my tail, was it? And what a sight that was!” she snickered. “What a sight!”
    Here she began the “Heesh heesh hee” again, her paws clapping together, her head and shoulders bobbing up and down with each breath.
    I endured her insufferable laughter in silence, and was mentally casting about for a suitable response when I realized that there was none. She was right. I had allowed Teddy to see me giving in to fear. The knowledge stung, but it only served to make me even angrier. What had I done, compared with her drinking spirits and purposely trying to scare Teddy? What would the master think of her conduct? I’m sure my expression was mutinous, and, as if she had somehow read my mind, she drew the flask from her pocket and wiggled it back and forth in front of me, a look of cunning in her eyes. “And don’t you be getting any ideas about telling tales on me, chickie, or I might have to tell the master about this little flask I had to take away from you!”
    “You had to take away from
me
? What can you mean?”
    “Why, your flask.” She smirked. “Right here. The one I caught you drinking from.”
    I bit my lip, fighting back the tears of rage and frustration that threatened to appear. “That’s a lie!” I cried.
    “A lie, is it? Supposing you tell the master your story and I tell him mine. Who do you think will be believed? The new young chickie, or the trusted old family retainer? Eh? Who do you think will be sent packing?”
    Her question hung in the air like the blade of a guillotine. I could feel the bite of the cold metal as I silently faced the answer.There was no one here to speak for me. Even Teddy had been busy looking through the keyhole, and had not seen her with the flask. I was the stranger. I would not be believed. I would be, as she said, the one sent packing. Perhaps if I had been older, less diffident, I would not have been so easily intimidated, but having never personally encountered such villainy, I was unprepared to deal with it. While my spirit rebelled at the gross injustice of the situation, I exclaimed, “I had no intention of going to the master!”
    “Oh, well, ain’t that a MARVEL? Very big of you, I’m sure. Very SMART too, if ye take my meaning. I wonder if I can be so generous? Perhaps I owe it to the master to shed light on the character of his new employee!” Nurse wiggled the flask again and laughed her hateful laugh.
    The door clicked open, and the flask was whisked into Nurse’s pocket just as Teddy’s father walked in. The badger’s expression changed in a trice from malicious glee to the most agreeable tranquillity. “Good evening, Mr. Vaughn,” she intoned sweetly. “I was just talking to the new governess. Tryin’ to get her off on the right foot, you know.”
    My own thoughts were turbulent, and I was afraid it must show on my face. What were her intentions? Would she carry out her threat? Before I could think of a word to say, little Teddy piped up from the other side of the room. “Papa! There were FOOTSTEPS in the hall! Real ones! Uncle Ruprecht was after us! So we RAN. We ran all the way. Did you hear them?”
    Mr. Vaughn picked Teddy up and held him close. His countenance grew dark and serious. “Who has been filling your head with such nonsense?” he asked.
    “But it was REAL, Papa. Miss Brown heard them too. We heard them behind us in the gallery. So we ran.”
    “That they did, sir,” drawled Nurse. “I didn’t like to tell you, but they did come running in here mighty wild, sir. I was just having a bit of a talk with Miss Brown about scaring the child, sir.” She turned to me with a little half smirk, as if daring me to contradict her, and I knew I was caught.