“Well, I was nanny to the boys, wasn’t I?”
“You mean Cosmo … Tristan … Simon … ?”
“I do. I was there in the nursery when little Simon was brought in. I remember that day. Never to be forgotten. There he was, handed over to me. Sir Edward said, ” This is Simon. He’s to be treated like the others. ” And there he was… a little scrap of a thing. I could see he was frightened bewildered like, so I took him by the hand and said, ” Don’t you fret, lovey. You’re with Nanny Crockett and everything’s all right. ” Sir Edward was pleased with me and that was something rare, I can tell you. He said, ” Thank you. Nanny. Look after the boy. He’ll feel a little strange at first. ” We took to each other .. Simon and me… from that moment.”
I could scarcely suppress my excitement.
“What a strange thing to do to bring a child into the house like that. Was there any explanation?”
“Oh, Sir Edward wouldn’t give explanations. He was the one who said what was what and that was the end of it. If he said the boy was to be in the nursery, that was where he would be.”
Tell me about the boy. What was he like? “
“A nice little fellow … sharp as they come. Pining he was for someone he called Angel. I could only think it was his mother. I got little scraps from him … but you know how it is with children. They don’t always see things the way we do. He talked about Angel and there was an Aunt Ada who struck terror into his little heart. It seemed they’d buried Angel and he had been brought to Perrivale then. He couldn’t abide to hear the church bells toll as they did for a funeral. I found him once hiding under the bed … hands over his ears, to shut out the noise. He’d thought this Ada was going to take him away … and then Sir Edward had brought him to Perrivale.”
There was nothing I dared say. I wanted to shout out:
He’s innocent. I know he’s innocent. It was hard to stop myself.
I was tired when we reached Trecorn Manor. I had so looked forward to seeing Perrivale Court, but I had discovered nothing and it had been brought home to me what a strong feeling there was against Simon. Of course I had heard only one person’s opinion. But always against him would be the fact that he had run away.
I was having one of my cosy sessions with Nanny Crockett. The twins were having their afternoon nap which, said Nanny Crockett, was good for them. It was Ellen’s free afternoon and she had gone to visit her parents in a nearby village.
I was learning a little about Nanny Crockett’s background. She had come from London to take up her first post in Cornwall.
“It was a bit of a wrench at first,” she said.
“Couldn’t get used to it. Missed all the life. Then you get your little ones and they starts to mean something to you. I got quite caught up with the place, too . the moors and the sea and all that. You want to have a look at the place while you’re here. It’s worth looking at.”
I was telling her I enjoyed my ride.
“We went a long way. Near to a place called Upbridge. Do you know it?”
“Know it!” cried Nanny Crockett.
“I’d say I know Upbridge. I lived in the place at one time. I was close to it before that.”
“Did you know Perrivale Court?”
She was silent for a moment. There was a strange expression on her face which I did not understand. Then she said: “I should think I do.
I lived there for nigh on eight years. “
“You mean … in the house!”
“I do mean in Perrivale Court, Miss.”
“You really lived there!”
“Well, I was nanny to the boys, wasn’t I?”
“You mean Cosmo … Tristan .. Simon … ?”
“I do. I was there in the nursery when little Simon was brought in. I remember that day. Never to be forgotten. There he was, handed over to me. Sir Edward said, ” This is Simon. He’s to be treated like the others. ” And there he was … a little scrap of a thing. I could see he was frightened … bewildered like, so I took him by the hand and said, ” Don’t you fret, lovey. You’re with Nanny Crocked and everything’s all right. ” Sir Edward was pleased with me and that was something rare, I can tell you. He said, ” Thank you.
Nanny. Look after the boy. He’ll feel a little strange at first. ” We took to each other … Simon and me … from that moment.”
I could scarcely suppress my excitement.
“What a strange thing to do to bring a child into the house like that. Was there any explanation?”
“Oh, Sir Edward wouldn’t give explanations. He was the one who said what was what and that was the end of it. If he said the boy was to be in the nursery, that was where he would be.”
“Tell me about the boy. What was he like?”
“A nice little fellow … sharp as they come. Pining he was for someone he called Angel. I could only think it was his mother. I got little scraps from him … but you know how it is with children. They don’t always see things the way we do. He talked about Angel and there was an Aunt Ada who struck terror into his little heart. It seemed they’d buried Angel and he had been brought to Perrivale then. He couldn’t abide to hear the church bells toll as they did for a funeral. I found him once hiding under the bed … hands over his ears, to shut out the noise. He’d thought this Ada was going to take him away … and then Sir Edward had brought him to Perrivale.”
I listened. I was back there on the island and it was Simon’s voice I heard telling me how he had hidden under the table when Aunt Ada came.
“Well, there he was and there was a regular lot of gossip about that, I can tell you. Who was the boy? Why should he be brought in? Sir Edward’s, they all said, and I reckon they were right. But it was strange, because he wasn’t the sort of man to go chasing women. All very proper he was … stern and upright.”
“Sometimes such people have a secret life.”
“You can say that again. But somehow you just couldn’t picture Sir Edward up to that sort of lark. It’s difficult to make you see him.
Wanted everything run like clockwork. Meals on the dot. quite a to-do if anyone was late. You know the sort. There was a footman who’d been in the Army. He said it reminded him of a military camp. So you see. Sir Edward was not the sort who’d go chasing girls. Not like some I’ve heard of, where no young woman in the house was safe. They were safe enough in Perrivale Court . even the prettiest. “
“Was he kind to the boy?”
“Not kind … not unkind. He just brought him in and said he was to be treated like the other two. Then he seemed to forget him. The servants didn’t like it. You know what servants are … afraid someone’s going to get above them selves. They didn’t think young Simon had a right to be; there in the nursery with the other boys . and I reckons they showed it. ” ”
“Did he mind?” i “Who’s to know what goes on in their little minds? But he was a sharp one. I reckon he knew all about it.” $ “But you loved him.” H She smiled reminiscently and tenderly.
“Of all the children;) I ever had, he was my special boy. As for him I reckon I took the place of this Angel. I was the one he’d run to S^ there was any trouble and there was bound to be that | Mind you, he was older than the other two … just a year or two, that was all. But when they were little, it was an advantage. But they soon got to know the difference. They were the sons of the house and he was the outsider. You know what children are? Cosmo … he was the eldest… eave himself airs, he did. He thought he was Sir already, and Tristan could be a little tartar. I’ve often found that with younger sons. You know what I mean? Ah … but Simon … he was my special one. Of all my children, he was the one. I don’t know what it was … perhaps being brought in like that … missing his mother . and then to think that he got himself into that mess …”
“You knew them so well,” I said earnestly.
“What do you think happened?”
“What I think is… no, what I know is … he didn’t do that. He wasn’t the sort. He couldn’t have.”
“He ran away,” I said.
“Oh, that’s what they all say. Well, so he did, but he’d have his reasons. He could look after himself. He was always like that. He’d find a way out of anything. That’s what I remind myself … because I worry a bit. I wake up in the night and think: Where is he? Then I tell myself, wherever he is, he’ll know how to look after himself. I feel better then. He’ll manage. When the two boys played tricks on him, he’d always get the better of them. He was
