LITMIR.BIZ

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close to home now,” said Grandpa. “This is Swansea. Used to be a village, but it’s pretty much a part of Toronto now.”

      “Are there any kids in your neighbourhood, Grandpa?” asked Laura.

      “Kids? Well, not really. Let’s see, who’s in the neighbourhood? Now that I think of it, I’m afraid it’s not a very exciting lot.”

      The taxi began to wind up a steep hill, past thick bushes and trees, and for a moment it seemed to Laura that they were out in the country.

      “That’s the Humber River, down there below all those bushes,” said Grandpa, pointing.

      At the top of the hill, houses appeared on both sides of the road. “Here we have the Hastings,” said Grandpa, pointing to the one on the left. “They’re a family that’s very private. And over there are the Norberts. Their kids are grown and off to school. Right across the street is the Macdonalds’ place. The Reverend Ewan Macdonald, a retired Presbyterian minister. Poor man.”

      Laura felt dejected. What was she going to do here with no one but old people and retired ministers?

      “Why is he a poor man?” she asked.

      “I’ll explain later. What’s more interesting is that his wife is—” But before he could finish, the cab came to a stop in front of a white house shaded by oak and maple trees.

       Chapter Two

      Opening the car door, Laura noticed there were tiny green shoots on the trees, unlike in Rocky Falls where the trees were still bare even though it was past the middle of April.

      “Let’s see if Sam is around,” said Grandpa, breaking into her thoughts as he came around the side of the taxi, Laura’s suitcase in his hand. He opened the gate. “Aha! Here’s the official welcome.”

      A brown and white spaniel bounded toward them, his big ears flapping. Laura put down her knapsack to stroke him as he jumped up at her.

      Inside the front door of the house, she stopped and looked around. The house seemed larger and more grand than their house in Rocky Falls. One wall was lined with bookcases. In the living room, which was furnished with brocade sofas and soft white lamps, she spotted a familiar photograph on the mantelpiece. She and her mother were sitting side by side, smiling into the camera. Laura was dressed in her best blouse and skirt. Long braids hung down over her shoulders, with two big bows. Her mother had had the photograph taken for her father and had sent it to Grandpa as well. Laura hated the picture. She had wanted to wear her hair down, to look more grown-up. But her mother had been firm, saying, “I want your father to see you as you are now.”

      “My two favourite ladies in all the world,” said Grandpa as Laura gazed at the photograph. “Now come, I want you to meet Bobbie, my housekeeper.”

      At the back of the house, the kitchen was bright with gleaming linoleum on the floor, the walls lined with clean white cupboards. Standing at the stove was a slim, pretty woman, about the same age as Laura’s new teacher, who had come to Rocky Falls straight out of Teachers’ College. She wore bright red lipstick, and her curly brown hair was tied back with a yellow bow. She wore a white housedress splashed with brightly coloured flowers.

      “Bobbie, this is the long-awaited Laura,” said Grandpa. He turned to Laura and said, “Bobbie does the cooking and house-cleaning for me. She has supper ready for us and will soon be going home for the day. But first, she’ll show you your room.”

      Bobbie wiped her hands on a towel and came toward Laura. “Well, it is lovely to meet you. Here, give me your knapsack.” Her smile was warm, and she smelled of perfume.

      Upstairs, Laura gasped with surprise as Bobbie opened the door to her bedroom. The room was filled with white wicker furniture. On the bed was a bedspread patterned with pink roses and festooned with pillows. Best of all was the window across from the bed. White muslin curtains covered the window and in front was a window seat, just like Laura had seen in movies. She ran to the window seat, knelt on the padded cushion, and pulled aside the curtains to look out.

      Beyond their trees, on the other side of the street, Laura could see a house with timbered beams. The dark wooden front door gave the house an impenetrable look. It made her think of Grimms’ fairy tales and gingerbread houses. Laura shuddered but remained kneeling on the window seat and gazed at the house. Who did Grandpa say lived there?

      “Let’s get you unpacked,” Bobbie said, and Laura turned back to the room. Bobbie set down an armful of towels and smoothed out the bedspread. She lifted Laura’s suitcase and set it on the bed. “May I take your things out?” Laura nodded, and Bobbie began putting her clothes on hangers. Laura noticed a small diamond ring on her left hand.

      “What a shame for you, you poor dear, that there’s no one your age here,” said Bobbie. “I was saying to your grandfather the other day that you might be bored in this neighbourhood. He’ll not be much company, having to be at his office all day. His medical practice is much too big for a doctor in his late sixties, if you ask me. Patients are always hounding him for one thing or another. I hope you won’t get lost in the shuffle. Goodness knows, you won’t find much entertainment in me. I just go around all day cooking and cleaning and minding my own business.” She gave Laura a mournful look. “Even the old folk aren’t all that friendly in this part of the city if you ask me—your grandfather excepted, of course,” Bobbie went on. “He’s a gentleman if there ever was one. Do you have things to keep yourself amused?”

      Laura opened her knapsack. “I’ve got a book to read,” she said, “and maybe Grandpa can take me to the library.”

      “Maybe so,” said Bobbie. “Come to think of it...” She put her hand to her mouth. “No, no, why would I even think of suggesting it? It’s none of my business.” She opened a bureau drawer, a pile of clothes in her hand.

      “What?” asked Laura.

      “Well, not being much of a reader myself, I really wouldn’t know,” said Bobbie, folding Laura’s things and placing them in the drawer. “But Mrs. Macdonald across the street—the poor old Reverend’s wife—they say she writes books. If you like to read—but no, as I say, it’s not my affair. She’s awfully cranky, anyway.” She closed Laura’s suitcase. “But who wouldn’t be, looking after that man all day and all night?”

      Laura pulled The Story Girl from her knapsack and began to leaf through it, trying to find the place where she had left off reading it on the train. She was now only half-listening.

      “Well, I really don’t know,” Bobbie continued. “But the poor woman is a real case. I’d avoid her.”

      “Who’s a case, Bobbie?” Grandpa asked, at the door.

      “Mrs. Macdonald. Oh, I know you have a soft spot for her, Dr. Campbell, but she seems a strange one to me. I can’t figure her out.”

      “Maud Macdonald? Well now, I knew her as a girl. She wasn’t always like she is now. She was—but look at that!”

      Laura looked up to see her grandfather pointing to the book in her hands.

      “I’ll be!” he exclaimed. “That’s one of her books, one of Maud’s books! Look at the name of the author. ‘L.M. Montgomery.’ That’s Maud Macdonald!”

      Laura looked at the book, confused. Grandpa went on: “Lucy Maud. Montgomery was her name before she was married. She’s the pride of Cavendish.”

      “What do you mean, Grandpa? Where’s Cavendish?”

      “Why, that’s where I lived for a short while, back in Prince Edward Island.”

      “And?”

      “And little Maud was one of the girls in the school there. Funny little thing was Maud. Talked to herself a lot. They said she believed in fairies and such creatures. A fine lass all the same. High-spirited and jolly. And very clever.”

      Laura

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