the counter, with its two buttons, one of which glowed when either of the telephone lines was in use. Then she saw Tracy silently daring her to challenge her words.
“I’ll speak to Miss Carolyn about it,” she said, deciding there was no point in calling the lie. The girl already knew she’d been caught, and didn’t care.
“That won’t be necessary,” Tracy said, her voice petulant, though her eyes glowed with her apparent victory. “Grandmother’s going to talk to Carolyn. And if Grandmother says it’s all right to change the party to Saturday, then it is. So just do it.”
“Now see here,” Hannah began, but her words were suddenly cut off by a scream coming from outside.
Turning away from Tracy, Hannah squinted out the window into the brightness of the morning.
Beth was charging across the lawn, her face pale, and her hair streaming out behind her.
“Hannah!” the little girl shouted. “Hannah! Mr. Smithers! Come quick! It’s Mom! Something’s happened to Mom!”
6
Carolyn opened her eyes, and for a moment thought she was in her room in the little house on Cherry Street. But that was impossible. She’d been on a trail below Hilltop, hiking with Beth. And then—
Then what? She searched in her mind for details, and as she probed the recesses of her memory, her eyes fixed on the ceiling of the little room.
A hospital room, painted the same pale green that her room on Cherry Street had always been.
Hospital green, Beth had always called it, and now Carolyn had to admit she was right.
Something in her mind clicked.
She’d fainted.
They had been on the path leading down from the mausoleum, and then they’d turned off to the left, along a steep side trail. After a few yards, they’d come to a little clearing, and while Beth explored, Carolyn had sat down to rest.
She’d been looking out over the village, enjoying the view, and then, gradually, she’d begun to notice something at the far side of town. It seemed to her that it had crept slowly into her consciousness, but then, as she’d become aware of it, she’d found herself staring at the mill.
It was burning.
Clouds of smoke were billowing from it, and flames licked out from the windows.
And even though the entire village separated her from the mill, she could hear screams, as if people were trapped inside.…
The memory seemed to wobble in her mind, and Carolyn found herself struggling to keep it in focus.
Struggling.
That was it.
She had struggled to her feet, and called out to Beth, and then the whole sky had seemed to turn black, as if smoke were covering it.
And she had felt dizzy.
After that, there were only fragments.
Beth, calling to her, begging her to wake up.
Then Hannah’s face, a mask of worry, looming above her.
How had Hannah gotten there?
Then hands, lifting her, carrying her.
And now she was in the hospital.
For the first time since waking, she tried to move, and immediately felt a warm pressure on her hand.
“Don’t, honey.”
At the unexpected sound of a voice, the memories faded out of her mind.
Phillip’s voice. Why hadn’t she been aware that he was here? Had he been holding her hand all along? She turned her head slightly, and saw him, sitting by the bed, his blue eyes clouded with worry.
“Phillip? How … how did I get here? What happened?”
“You fainted. Hannah and Ben managed to get you back to the house, then had you brought down here.”
“Hannah and Ben?” Carolyn repeated. “How did they—?”
“You helped. You were half-conscious, and you kept talking about a fire. They said you seemed to think there was a brush fire or something.”
Carolyn frowned. “No … no, it was something else.” Her hand tightened on Phillip’s. “It was the mill. I saw the mill burning.”
“The mill? What on earth are you talking about?”
Carolyn hesitated. Now that she thought about it, it seemed much more like a memory from a dream than something that had actually happened. “I … I don’t know. It was all so strange …” Her voice trailed off, and she glanced around the room. “Where’s Beth?”
“Right outside,” Phillip replied. “I’ll get her.”
A moment later her daughter appeared at the bedside, her eyes wide with worry. “Mom? Are you okay? I … I was afraid you’d—”
“Died?” Carolyn chuckled, managing to lend her voice a strength she didn’t feel. “Not quite yet. Your old mother has a few more years in her.” She smiled, and hitched herself a little higher in the hospital bed. “But let me tell you, if that’s your idea