Chapter 6 second quarter

Patridge was always gloating. Early the next morning, she went to Joanna's room and told Joanna in a cheerful tone that Mrs. Symmington had committed suicide yesterday afternoon. Joanna, who was having a sweet dream, sat up on the bed in fright when she heard her words. "Oh, Patridge, that's really terrible." "Dreadful indeed, madam, poor soul! Evil took her life." Joanna felt a little sad when she realized the truth of the matter. "Couldn't it be—?" She looked at Patrige questioningly, who nodded. "That's right, miss, it's that kind of dirty letter that hurt her."

"What a disgrace!" said Joanna. "What a shame! But I still don't understand why she should kill herself for a letter like that?" "It appears that what is said in the letter may be true, miss." "What did the letter say?" But Patrige couldn't answer her either. Joanna came to my room pale and shocked.It was all the more regrettable that Mrs Symington did not seem to think of tragedy at all. Joanna suggested that we might as well invite Megan to stay at Little Foz for a day or two.She said that it was enough to have Elsie Holland to take care of the two boys, but someone like Helan might drive Megan crazy.

I agree with her too, I can imagine her repeating those same old lines over and over again, asking Meghan to drink cup after cup of tea.She was a sweet person, but not for Meghan. After breakfast, we drove to Symington's house.We were both a little nervous because people might think we were just gloating and curious. Fortunately, we ran into Owen Griffey who had just come out at the door.He greeted us kindly, with a slightly happy expression on his sad face. "Oh, hi, Burton, good to see you. How despicable it has happened that I feared would happen sooner or later!" "Morning, Dr. Griffey," said Joanna, as if speaking to one of our hard-of-hearing aunts.

Startled, Griffey replied blushingly, "Oh—er, good morning, Miss Burton." "I think," Joanna said, "perhaps you didn't see me." Owen Griffey blushed even more, and said in a very shy manner: "I...I'm sorry...absent...I didn't..." Joanna continued mercilessly: "After all, I'm the same size as everyone else." "Don't be fooling around," I said to her in a low, stern voice, and then I added: "Griffey, my sister-in-law and I don't know if it's appropriate to invite Megan to live in the house for a day or two. What's your opinion? I don't want to be troublesome, but that poor child must be having a hard time. Look at it, Xin Ming How will Ton react?"

Griffey thought for a while in silence, then said: "I think they've done a great job. She's a nervous weird girl. It's good to let her get away from it all for a while. Miss Holland is doing well, but those two boys and Symington are enough for her. He Completely broke -- lost composure." "Yes—" I asked hesitantly, "suicide?" Griffey nodded. "Yes, definitely not homicide. She wrote on a piece of paper: 'I really can't live anymore'. The letter must have been delivered by the postman yesterday afternoon. The envelope fell on the ground next to her chair, and the letter was crumpled and thrown away. In the furnace."

"above--" I was taken aback by my own question. "Sorry," I said. Griffey forced a quick smile. "It doesn't matter, don't mind. The police also have to read it during interrogation. There is nothing to be seen from the letter. It is no different from other anonymous letters. What is more special is that her second boy, Colin, is not Symington's son. " "Do you think that could be real?" I asked him in disbelief. Griffey shrugged. "I can't judge. I've only been here five years. I've seen the Symingtons treat each other with respect and love their child. It's true that the child doesn't look much like his parents. For example, he has red hair. Fat, but there are a lot of children who are atavistic, like their grandfathers or grandmothers."

"Maybe it's because he's not like his parents that's why the writer said that. What nonsense." "It's a pity that the blind cat met a dead mouse, and he was right." Joanna said: "And, if it weren't for this reason, she wouldn't commit suicide, would she?" Griffey said in a skeptical tone: "I don't know, she's been very ill for a long time--very nervous, and I've been in charge of her nervous illness. I think the stimulus to this letter, combined with the vile words, may have caused She was psychologically panicked and depressed, which is why she decided to commit suicide. She may have thought that even if she denied it, her husband might not believe it, and under the strong psychological pressure of shame and anger, she temporarily lost her judgment."

"So she committed suicide in a mentally disturbed situation," Joanna said. "Excellent, I think, if I put it forward during the police interrogation, it will be confirmed." Joanna and I went inside. The front door was open and we didn't have to ring the bell, which relieved a little tension, especially since we just heard Elsie's voice inside. She was talking to Mr Symington, who was huddled in a chair, looking dazed. "No, but to be honest, Mr. Symmington, you must eat. You didn't eat breakfast, and you just stuffed two casual bites for lunch. You didn't eat anything last night. If this continues, you will have to eat." I fell ill. The doctor told me before leaving that you must eat to maintain your strength."

Simmington said flatly: "I'm fine, Miss Helan, but..." "A good cup of hot tea." Elsie Holland put a cup of tea firmly in his hand. My words would have given the poor fellow a whiskey-and-soda, as he seemed to need it.Still he took the cup of tea, looked up at Elsie Holland and said: "I really don't know how to thank you for everything you have done in the past and now, Miss Helan, you are so kind." The girl blushed and seemed very happy. "You are too kind, Mr Symington. I will do my best to help you, don't worry about the children, I will take good care of them, and I have calmed down the servants. If there are other letters or phone calls or the like Just tell me, don't be shy."

"It's very kind of you," Symington said again. Elsie Holland turned around just in time to see us and walked quickly into the hall. "It's terrible!" she said in a voice that was almost a whisper. As I looked at her, I thought, what a nice girl she is, kind, competent, and able to handle emergencies.Her beautiful blue eyes, with a ring of pale pink, showed that she had a good heart too, and had shed many tears for the death of her servant. "May I speak to you alone for a moment?" said Joanna. "We don't want to disturb Mr. Symmington."

Elsie Holland nodded understandingly and led the way across the hall to the dining room. "It was a terrible shock to him," she said. "Who would have thought that this could happen? But I also realize now that she has been very strange for a long time, very nervous and crying. Although Dr. Griffey always It means that there is nothing wrong with her, but I think it must be because of her body. She just gets angry easily, and sometimes I really don't know what to do with her." "We were wondering if it would be possible to invite Meghan to stay at the house for a few days to relax -- I mean, if she wanted to," Joanna said. Elsie Holland looked very surprised. "Meghan?" she said in a questioning tone, "I don't know, really. I mean, thank you very much for your kindness, but she has always acted very strangely, and no one knows what she is thinking or what she will do." Say something." Joanna said in a vague tone: "We thought this might help her a bit." "Oh, that's true, I have to take care of two boys (they're with the cook now) and poor Mr Symington - he's so needy, and there's so much more to do Do, don't really have time to talk to Meghan. She's probably upstairs in the old nursery right now, looking like she's trying to avoid everyone. I don't know..." Joanna gave me a dismissive look, and I hurried out of the room upstairs. The old nursery was on the top floor, and I opened the door and went in. The downstairs room faced the garden, so the curtains were not drawn, but the curtains in this room were all drawn. I saw Megan sitting on a couch in the corner of the dark gray room, and I couldn't help but think of frightened animals hiding in the corner. She looked as if she had been dazed with fright. "Meghan," I called. The man stepped forward and subconsciously spoke to her in a tone intended to comfort a frightened animal. I wondered that I hadn't offered her a carrot or a candy, because that was exactly what I had thought. She stared at me, but she didn't move, and the expression on her face didn't change. "Megan," I said again, "Joanna and I came together to ask you if you would like to live with us for a while." A hollow sound came from the dim light! "Live with you, live at your house?" "yes." "You mean, you're going to take me away from this place?" "yes dear." Suddenly, her whole body trembled, looking a little scary, but also touching. "Oh, take me away! Please take me away quickly. It's dreadful to be in this place." I walked up to her and she grabbed my sleeve tightly. "I'm a nasty coward, I never thought I'd be so cowardly." "It's all right, little fool," I said, "it's a real shock, let's go." "Can we go right away? No need to wait any longer?" "Oh, I thought you might need to pack something." "Why? Is there anything to pack?" "Dear silly girl," I said, "we can provide you with a bed, a bathroom, etc., but I'm afraid we can't lend you a toothbrush." She smiled feebly. "I understand. I'm really stupid today. Don't mind me. I'll just go and clean up. You—you won't slip away, you'll wait for me, right?" "I will wait for you." "Thank you, thank you very much. I'm sorry I'm so stupid, but you know, it's a terrible thing when someone's mother dies suddenly." "I know." I said. I patted her on the back friendly, she smiled gratefully at me, walked into her bedroom, and I went downstairs too. "I found Megan," I said, "and she's willing to go." "Oh, that's really great," said Love You Xi Holland, "to let her relax for a while, you know, she is a very nervous girl, and it is very difficult to get along with. I don't have to worry about her anymore, It's like taking a great burden off. Thank you, Miss Burton, I hope she won't be a nuisance. Oh, the phone is ringing, I have to answer it, Mr Symington is not well." She hurried out of the room. Joanna said: "What a guardian angel!" "You sound very disapproving," I said. "She's a nice, kind girl, and obviously very capable." "Excellent! She knows it herself." "You shouldn't have said that, Joanna." "You mean, why can't she do her part?" "Exactly." "I can't stand smug people," said Joanna. "Reminds me of the worst of humanity. How did you find Megan?" "She has been hiding in the dark room, looking like a frightened lamb." "Poor child, does she really want to come?" "She jumped for joy." There was a thumping sound outside, and Megan must have come downstairs with the box, and I went over to get it. Joanna said eagerly behind me: "Come on, I've already turned down two good cups of hot tea." We got to the car and Joanna had to struggle to throw the suitcase into the back of the car. I can walk now with a cane, but not yet. "Get in the car," I said to Megan. She got in the car first, I followed, Joanna started the car, and we were on our way. Back in Little Foz, as soon as she entered the living room, Megan sat on a chair and cried loudly, like a sad child.I left the living room, looking to see if there was any remedy, and Joanna stood helpless. Suddenly, Megan said in a low, choked voice, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm really an idiot." Joanna said kindly: "It's okay, this handkerchief is for you." I guess she handed her the handkerchief, and I went back into the room and handed Meghan a goblet. "what is this?" "Cocktail," I said. "Really? Are you telling the truth?" Megan stopped crying immediately, "I've never had a cocktail." "Everything has to have a beginning," I said. Meghan carefully sipped her drink, then smiled happily, threw her head back, and drank the rest of the cocktail in one gulp. "That's great," she said, "Can I have another drink?" "No." I said. "why not?" "In ten minutes, you'll almost know." "Oh!" Megan turned her attention back to Joanna. "I'm really sorry, I was so obnoxiously crying and screaming, and I don't know why. I'm so happy to be here, it looks so funny." "It's all right," said Joanna, "you're welcome." "You are so kind, I am so grateful." "Don't be thankful," said Joanna, "or I'd be ashamed. You're our friend, and we're glad you came to play, nothing more..." After speaking, she took Megan upstairs to store her luggage. Patridge came in with a displeased face, and said that she had only prepared two servings of pudding for lunch, what should she do now?