[guide.chat] chapter seven in mysterious ways
- From: vanessa <qwerty1234567a@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "GUIDE CHAT" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:43:23 -0000
IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS
Chapter 7
Eventually we were to discover the real reason Mrs Ashworth invited us to stay
with her. It was fear - Jane had been afraid for her life. And because of my
competence in judo she thought with me around she would be safer. But in spite
of my presence, she was still terrified even now.
We found all of this out a week or two before Christmas, when Jane came to the
kitchen and asked us to join her in a drink. After pouring three large
whiskeys, she put the bottle on the table for further use, obviously wanting to
talk. She appeared agitated, her face pale and drawn and her voice serious and
very anxious. Overnight, Mrs Ashworth seemed to have aged twenty years; she
looked like a woman in her fifties.
Obviously something was terribly wrong, so we waited for her to tell us. And
after taking a deep drink from her glass, Jane pulled herself together
sufficiently to explain why she was in such a state. She came straight to the
point: three years ago she had been stabbed and nearly died. The woman
responsible had been sent to a mental institution, but was due to be released
before Christmas, which could be any time now. Certain this mad evil woman
still intended to kill her, she had no choice anymore but to tell us, in case
-. Unable to finish, her words petered out
At first, neither my friend nor I knew what to make of this, and we probably
looked very doubtful. Not knowing how to respond we remained silent. Jane was
silent too for a while, taking a drink from her glass.
Suddenly and quite abruptly she said to Ilse who sat next to her: "Open the
zip of my dress." My friend looked at me, clearly uncertain, but when I raised
my shoulders and nodded slightly she stood up, and, stepping behind Jane,
opened the zip on the back of her dress. As it fell away from Jane's
shoulders, Ilse gasped. I got up to look, and what I saw filled me with
horror. Deep angry scars covered Jane's shoulders and back.
I was speechless - these wounds must have been terrible. It was a miracle she
had survived.
Ilse shut the zip gently, clearly aghast at seeing such mutilations. She
didn't know what to say, and neither did I. Jane Ashworth said nothing either,
she just took her glass and drank deeply again, and we followed her example.
After refilling our glasses she got up and left the kitchen, to come back with
an old folded newspaper which she handed to me. I opened it and began to read,
with Ilse looking over my shoulder.
'Woman stabbed outside pub," was the heading. There was the picture of a pub
we knew well, having been there with Jane several times. She often went for a
drink there, especially on the way home from shopping, or to buy a few bottles
of whisky if she ran out.
Jane told us now, that on that terrible day, coming out of the pub she had
carried a crate of whisky. As she bent over the open car boot, she was
attacked from behind.
What we read in the newspaper confirmed she was speaking the truth. Apparently
her assailant had been hiding behind the car and took her unawares, attacking
her with a knife and stabbing her, again and again. Hearing her scream, people
came out of the pub, and several men succeeded in restraining the attacker who
turned out to be a woman. The men managed to hold her until the police arrived
and took her into custody. An ambulance brought the victim to the nearest
hospital where she was operated on. She was still in critical condition and
fighting for her life, extremely lucky to have survived such an assault. The
victim knew her attacker, so the article ended, but so far, no motive was known.
I folded the paper, and put it down on the table. I didn't know what to say.
The whole story seemed so unreal - I couldn't believe this really had happened.
But considering the evidence, it must be true. But why would this woman want
to kill Mrs Ashworth? And why was she sent to an institution for mentally ill
people, and not to a prison? What was the motive for this attack?
Jane gave us no reason, but only repeated that her attacker was evil and mad.
But surely there must have been more behind this assault.
During the next few days our employer talked about her ordeal again and again,
and gradually, as we added each new bit of information to what we already knew,
we began to understand a little better.
Relieved to unburden herself, Jane also told us about the time leading up to
the murder attempts - as it turned out, there had been two attempts to kill
her.
Glad to listen, we also wanted to help, but could do little more than to show
that we cared. Jane said she had never really talked about what had happened,
and how she had felt at the time. Even now, she was afraid this woman would
come back to hurt her - in fact, she was terrified. And we could understand
it. But all we could do was to listen, and to assure her we'd keep a vary eye
out and protect her as best as we could.
Each time Jane talked, a new bit of information revealed itself, which we added
to what we already knew. But we still failed to understand what was behind it
all. Why had Mrs P tried to kill Jane? There appeared to be no reason for
this tragedy. Jane only said that this 'mad evil woman' had been staying as a
guest at the Manor. Could there really be no reason, because this woman was
mad?
A giant jigsaw puzzle spread itself out before us, with some parts missing.
However Ilse and I tried turning the pieces around, some parts didn't fit. And
big gaping holes opened up everywhere, so we couldn't make out the whole
picture.
We got nowhere, until we began to take Jane's behaviour into consideration: her
tendency to play games with people, her attitude, and the way she had been
acting with Ilse and me lately, trying to undermine our trust in ourselves and
each other.
With us, her methods hadn't worked because we boosted each other's morale,
supporting each other. But someone alone, already insecure and perhaps with no
one to turn to, would feel very different.
Because of our own experience, we began to understand a little better. If our
hostess had played similar games then as she did now, the motive could well be
hidden in this warren of bizarre behaviour, and especially in Jane's tendency
to manipulate people.
Now we knew which questions to ask and what to look for, the background of the
tragedy became slowly clear, as did the motive.
We saw Jane every day again now, often several times. She was seeking us out,
wanting to talk. And because she was so preoccupied with her past - or perhaps
she was glad of our support and was grateful - whatever the reason, she no
longer made any nasty remarks, or tried putting us down. So Ilse and I put
away any concerns about us and our future. Our relationship with Jane
improved, we were really close at times. There was something very likeable in
this lady, especially now, as she reverted to her 'nice side' again. So we let
bygones be bygones, and, for a while at least, we became friends.
It was obvious, how glad and relieved Jane was to talk, after carrying this
anguish around for three years. We encouraged her to unburden herself, feeling
sorry for her and wanting to help. So we listened, and now we knew which
questions to ask, we got the right answers and could assimilate what we had
learnt, into a whole. Finally, we were able to put all the pieces together,
and could understand the motive behind the attack. We even developed some
sympathy for the assailant - although we didn't approve of her methods, of
course.
The picture was complete. We knew what had happened, and why. Finally we had
the whole story.
After he husband's death, with no other income but her widow's pension, Jane
Ashworth took in in boarders, or paying guests, as she called them. Her staff
prepared the meals and did whatever chores needed doing. This worked well, and
all the rooms in reasonable condition had been let.
One of Jane's staff was Amanda, a plain girl in her late twenties, who never
had a boyfriend and was still a virgin. Jane said she felt sorry for her, so
she took her under her wing, advising her how to make the best of herself and
how to attract men. But in spite of her 'help' Amanda still found no boyfriend.
Among the guests was a young man, who intended to immigrate to Australia, and
would soon be leaving. Probably quite desperate because of Jane's 'help,'
Amanda spent a night of passion with him.
When he left without a forwarding address or even saying goodbye and I'll write
to you, Amanda was devastated. Mrs Ashworth attempted to 'help' her again by
talking to her, but to no avail. Amanda suffered some kind of breakdown.
Staying as a guest at the Manor was Mrs P. She must have observed what went
on, or perhaps Amanda confided in her. There also seemed to have been problems
already between her and Mrs Ashworth, which Jane only hinted at but wouldn't
define. Whatever was behind it all, Mrs P openly blamed Jane for Amanda's
breakdown, claiming she had been undermining the girl's confidence, making her
think she had to get a man - any man - and in any way that she could. Holding
her responsible for what had happened to Amanda; she confronted Mrs Ashworth in
front of the other guests.
Perhaps the woman was already unstable, or Jane had tried to play one of her
games with her too. Jealousy could also have played a part - after all, there
were men among the guests. We never found out all of it, but certain was, this
situation went on for several weeks.
When Amanda suspected she was pregnant, her mental condition got worse, and Mrs
P became even more antagonistic towards Mrs Ashworth. She blamed her not only
for Amanda's condition and the state she was in, but for other things too,
which Jane refused to define.
One night Mrs P crept into Jane's bedroom and put a pillow over her face,
trying to smother her. Jane woke in panic and began fighting for her life.
Eventually she managed to push the pillow far enough away to start screaming.
People came running. They found Mrs Ashworth still screaming, terrified of Mrs
P, who had put the pillow down, but remained by Jane's bed, pretending to calm
her. She said she'd heard the screams and just got here, claiming Jane had
told her that someone had tried to kill her.
Mrs P phoned the police, and when they arrived, she repeated her story.
Though still in hysterics, Mrs Ashworth managed to state what really had
happened, accusing Mrs P of having attempted to kill her.
The officers tried to find out the truth and questioned everyone. But the
other guests knew nothing, and all the staff had had slept soundly until
awakened by the screams - just as Mrs P said, she also had.
The police collected all the information available, but nothing was known about
Mrs P, and the only information they could obtain was about Mrs Ashworth. Most
local people knew her, if not personally, then by reputation. And everyone
said the same: Mrs Ashworth was an eccentric and highly strung woman who drunk
far too much.
Her doctor was called, and he shared this opinion. So the investigating officer
came to the conclusion, as Mrs Ashworth's husband had died recently and she was
left alone with three children - one of them still a baby, which could have
caused postnatal depression - it was not surprising her nerves were in a bad
state and she had hysterics. Perhaps she had a nightmare, and mistook it for
reality.
The police had not believed Mrs Ashworth, and her claim of being attacked was
ignored, explained away as the imagination of a hysterical woman who was
deluded and drank far too much.
Instead, Mrs P's story was accepted, and when she offered to leave the house to
avoid causing further distress, the police took no further action.
Mrs P did leave, and nothing more was seen or heard of her until two days
later, when she stabbed Mrs Ashworth and almost killed her.
It took several months in hospital until Jane's body was healed. But her fear
of Mrs. P. remained. Even now, three years later, she was still terrified.
And Ilse and I could understand it, and sympathized.
At the trial, Mrs P was found guilty. But as the psychiatrist stated in his
report that she had acted whilst not in her right mind, she was taken to a
secure ward in a mental hospital.
Now, three years later, this 'mad evil woman,' as Jane called her, was about to
be released. The police had informed Mrs Ashworth some months ago, assuring
her Mrs P was not allowed anywhere near Highmoor Manor. But in spite of this
assurance, Jane was convinced her attacker would come to finish off what she
had started.
When the last bit of her story had finally been told, Ilse and I didn't know
what to say. We were stunned. Jane was silent too for a while. We all just
sat there, until she picked up her glass and drank deeply, and we followed her
example. Then she looked at me, and although I could still see the fear in her
eyes, there was also some hope.
"Now you know, Trudi, why I needed you to come and stay with me," she said. "I
have felt much safer since you have been here. And if this mad evil woman
should pay us a visit, I am sure you will know how to deal with her."
Our eyes met again, and I could see some leftover fear in them still, and pain
and anguish - and very deep down a flicker of hope and of trust. Just for an
instant I seemed to look right into her soul. Then she lowered her lashes and
picked up her glass. "Cheers, Trudi" she said, and took another deep drink
from her glass.
from
Vanessa The Google Girl.
my skype name is rainbowstar123
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