Southend U3A

What did it mean? Those letters that had suddenly appeared on the mirror. They weren’t written in anything that Elsie could wipe off. They seemed to be inside the mirror. Elsie turned quickly; was there someone watching her?

Every morning, over the last 6 months, Elsie wiped the mirror as part of her job at Oakhill Manor. An Elizabethan building that had been in the Worsley family for many generations. The house had definitely seen better days, now much of it was closed up, furniture under dustsheets. Only 2 very elderly ladies lived there now, apart from the cook, an ancient gardener and Elsie.

Albert, the ancient gardener, had been there since he was a young boy, working in the beautiful, well kept gardens. There were 6 gardeners then, not just him as it was now. He did his best to keep the gardens going, but really all he could really manage was to keep the vegetable garden going and a small flower bed. The rest was getting quite wild. It made him feel so sad but he hadn’t the strength to do more.

Mrs Hindley, the cook, had started at the Manor as a young girl working her way up from kitchen maid. She had learnt a lot over the years from the previous cook, Elsie’s Grandmother. Now she reigns supreme over the kitchen. There used to be a large staff of maids, footmen and a butler, but now just her and Elsie.

Elsie, just 16 and an orphan, had been living with her grandmother in the nearby village but the old lady had died recently. Mrs Hindley felt she should do something to help Elsie. All she was able to offer Elsie was a home and a job. Elsie had been so grateful, as she had been so scared, not knowing what to do or where to turn. So here she was now, standing in the hallway, looking at the letters in the mirror. ‘HELP’. Who had written them and why? She tried once again to wipe them off but to no avail, the letters wouldn’t budge.

Just then there was a faint sound on the staircase. Elsie turned quickly and saw the 2 very elderly ladies, arm in arm cautiously descending, one clutching the banister to steady them.

These 2 very elderly ladies were Jessica and Joanne, the twin daughters of Sir Maurice Worsley, who had died 5 decades ago. In his early day the Manor and estate had been kept immaculately, but due to his debts this was no longer possible. Now the 2 ladies were nearly 90, they had never married, never left the building, had no siblings or immediate family. They were stuck there, with no means of improving their life. The only reason they could keep any staff was because their mother Lady Marjorie had left Mrs Hindley and Albert’s father, the head gardener at the time of her death, just before her husband’s, a small annuity for their sterling service, as long as they stayed there. Albert had inherited his father’s portion.

Elsie tucked the duster into her apron pocket and went over to open the door of the only downstairs room used now, a sitting and dining room, where the ladies spent most of their time. She dealt with the fire to try and get more heat into the cold dreary room, saw them settled at the table and went downstairs to the kitchen to collect their breakfast. Mrs Hindley had it all ready, not that there was much. The old ladies had very poor appetites. Elsie put the plates and cups into the food lift and sent it upstairs, she ran up towards the room to serve the ladies, but as she passed the mirror in the hallway, she glanced at it. Had the letters changed? Were they larger, brighter? No time to check now.

After she had served her mistresses and left them to eat, Elsie went into the hallway again. Yes, the letters were now bigger and more had been added ‘Help Me’. Who was writing them? Who needed help? Elsie was sure she had seen a quick glimpse of white in the mirror. She turned quickly, but no one was there, the walls, the same Grandfather clock silent as it had been for ages. Elsie had been told that it had never worked since the last butler had left the Manor. No one knew where the key was so no one could wind it up.

Suddenly Elsie heard Mrs Hindley’s voice calling her and so scurried downstairs to get on with her jobs.

It wasn’t until much later that Elsie was in the hallway again. It was quite late and dark. She switched on the central light, it flickered into life. There reflected in the mirror was the picture of a young girl, that hung on the wall opposite. Elsie had never really looked at it before but now the young girl looked so sad and her eyes were looking straight out. Elsie noticed ‘Help Me please’ was now on the mirror. Elsie felt a cold chill down her back. What was happening? Who was this girl?

Just as she was about to run downstairs, a door opened and out came the 2 elderly ladies, arm in arm. They were surprised to see Elsie there. Why was she there? They looked towards her and then saw what Elsie had seen in the mirror.

‘Josie,’ they said together, ‘Josie.’ They seemed startled and clung to each other. Elsie quickly went over to them and steered them back into the room where they had been previously. She settled them and hurried to find Mrs. Hindley.

Mrs Hindley and Albert both came up with Elsie and joined the 2 sisters, who were very pale, shaking and quietly crying, their arms around each other. Slowly they calmed down and were persuaded to explain what had upset them so much. ‘Who was Josie?’

Jessica and Joanne started the story of their younger sister Josie. She had been 20 years younger than them, a very pretty girl but rather timid and shy. She found it very hard to understand things when told them. She didn’t progress very well. She was always seeing doctors and was looked after by a nurse.

One day Jessica and Joanne arrived back from a holiday at their Grandparents house. Josie was not there. Sir Maurice had said that she was very poorly and had been taken to a hospital. Their mother Lady Marjorie had been in tears and said nothing. They never saw Josie again. They were told that she had died, but her body never came home, there was no grave for her in the village graveyard or church where their parents were buried. The 2 sisters had often wondered about that. If she had lived Josie would be 70, so why was this happening now?

The next morning, as Elsie was crossing the hallway, she glanced at the mirror. More letters ‘Help Me Please. I am stuck.’ She turned to look at Josie’s picture, the eyes were pleading, it looked like there were tears forming. Elsie hurried to the kitchen to tell Mrs. Hindley.

‘I think we should contact Mr Blackthorn, the family’s solicitor, his address is on the notice board. He always says if we have a problem to contact him,’ Mrs Hindley said.

Mr Blackthorn, a tall, elegant man, arrived 2 days later. Elsie explained about the messages on the mirror, he looked at the letters and agreed it was strange, and that he would try and find out more about the hospital Josie had gone to. Elsie felt relieved that someone was helping them. She told the sisters what was happening and they appeared to be happy about it. The message on the mirror just stayed there, not changing any more but still obvious.

A week later Me Blackthorn was back. He asked everyone to come to the sitting room. Elsie made sure the fire was made up well and the room felt quite warm. The old ladies were on the settee, as usual holding hands. Mrs Hindley, Albert and Elsie were sitting around the table.

Mr Blackthorn explained he had looked through the family papers at his office and found the papers concerning Josie, they mentioned the hospital where she had been sent to. He had contacted them and was concerned to find out that it was a special hospital for the mentally ill.

Elsie noticed how upset the ladies were and moved over to comfort them, they pulled her between them and grabbed a hand each. ‘How sad,’ Jessica whispered, ‘Go on.’

Mr Blackthorn continued saying he had asked if there were any records for Josie Worsley. To his surprise he was told that Josie was still there.

‘Still there, alive, not dead?’ Joanne said and burst into tears. Immediately Jessica and Elsie hugged her.

‘Yes, alive,’ replied Mr Blackthorn, ‘but the Matron told me that the hospital is being closed and all the inmates have to be found new homes.’

‘Here, she must come here, she has to come home. We can look after her.’ The sisters were adamant.

But how could they do that? They were so old and had very little money. Could the staff cope? They looked at Mrs Hindley, Albert and Elsie. Would they be able and willing to do it?

Mr Blackthorn went on to explain that their mother, Lady Marjorie, had left most of her money in trust for daughter Josie’s care. There was still enough left to employ a nurse to live in with Josie. With a sigh of relief, the sisters once again looked towards their staff, who were all nodding.

Another week passed, then the day came. The sisters seemed to have got a new lease of life, they were so excited. A car pulled up, Albert opened the front door and went to help the nurse get a frail but pretty lady out of the back seat of the car. They came into the hall. Josie looked around, saw her picture and smiled. She looked towards the grandfather clock.

‘It’s stopped. Why isn’t it working?’

‘We can’t find the key to wind it up,’ Jessica told her.

Josie pulled away from the nurse and moved to the table in the middle of the hall, found a small knob under the edge and pulled. A drawer came slowly open . . . there was a large key. Albert picked it up, took it to the clock, opened the front, inserted the key and wound up the clock. A lovely deep ticking was heard. Albert moved the hands to the correct time. A super feeling came over the hall, everyone felt something good was occurring.

‘Now I’m safe,’ whispered Josie, ‘for ever.’

The 3 sisters hugged. Back together. A family with their loyal staff.

Elsie looked up at the Mirror. Nothing written there, the letters had gone.