Part II

Trixie Belden walked towards the Manor House enjoying the sun on her face.  She moved her arm and was thankful again that the cast was off at last. Her arm still felt a little weak, but she knew that within weeks she would be able to go back on active duty at the police station instead of just doing a desk job. She was looking forward to her brother Mart coming back sometime during the day.  She had missed him and his wife Di more than she realised.  They had gone away two weeks before the accident had occurred to attend an agricultural college to do a short course before the school opened. Trixie sighed. Whenever that would be.  She was glad she had persuaded them to stay away when the accident had happened, but she was glad they were coming back. She needed her other older brother because, at the moment, it was so hard.

As she neared the house she saw Honey appear. She went to wave to her, but stopped. She watched as Honey put her arms around herself and run down the steps and head in the direction of the clubhouse. Trixie looked at the house and then towards Honey's fleeing figure. She hurried after her.

She could hear her sobs before she reached the door. She hurried inside.

Honey sat at the table with her arms on the table and her head buried in them.

Trixie sat beside her and put her arm around her. "I am here Honey," was all she said.

It took Honey a while for her tears to be spent. Then, she sat up and Trixie handed her a handkerchief.

"Wanna talk?" asked Trixie.

Honey nodded. "It’s getting too hard, Trix."

Trixie sighed. "So, then I assume he’s no better?"

Honey shook her head. "I thought that after he got out of hospital and had his casts removed he would start to become himself again. It was so hard watching him in hospital for those four weeks just staring blindly at the ceiling, but now he is home and he’s no better.  He hardly talks to any of us and he still spends most of his time in his room. I want my brother back."

"I want Jim back, too, but the doctor said that we just have to be patient. Jim has lost his sight and he must feel lonely and scared at the moment. We all take our sight for granted until it’s gone."

"You should be planning your wedding now, Trix, and not sitting for hours with a man who only talks to you in monosyllables."

"He will come back to us eventually," Trixie reassured her. "It’ll just take time."

"You’re so brave and strong."

Trixie laughed. "You didn’t see me last night when I threw a book across my bedroom and then threw myself on the bed and cried for an hour."

"I hope that Mart can knock some sense into him. When does he come home?"

"Some time this afternoon. I’ve missed him so much. And Di, too."

Honey stood up. "We’d better go back. Dad wants you to sign some more papers so he can authorise some more of the work on the school. The staff housing area is just about competed and I’m so looking forward to being in my own home instead of living with Mother and Daddy."

"Mart and Di will have to stay with us for a while too. And I don’t know how long before Jim and I get married so I told your dad to leave our house until last."

Honey linked arms with Trixie and they headed for the house.

"Stay for lunch. Otherwise it will be just Jim and me. Mother and Daddy are having lunch with the Lynches."

"I already told Moms not to expect me back for lunch."

Honey laughed and Trixie was glad to see her happy again.

"Do you remember all the times that you would ring you mother and ask to stay over for a meal or to sleep?" asked Honey.

"And Moms was always telling me how hard I had worked and deserved a holiday and I always felt guilty because I was usually complaining about all the work I did."

"Especially the dusting."

"I still cringe when I have to do it."

As they neared the house Trixie stopped. "Jim has become reliant on us to cut up his food since he came home and take him up and downstairs. Maybe the best thing for him is to let him become self-reliant again."

"Daddy said the same thing this morning after breakfast."

They headed up the steps. "Daddy is in his study," Honey told her. "I just have to pop upstairs for a moment and then I will meet you in the dining room."

Trixie walked towards Mr Wheeler’s study. She knocked on the door and he called her in.

"Ah Trixie," he said. "I thought that I might miss you. There is some more papers to sign."

Trixie smiled. "If anyone found out I was forging Jim’s signature, we would be in big trouble."

"Well," Mr Wheeler told her, as he handed her a pen. "I have tried many times to get Jim to sign, but he has lost interest in the project. But I’m determined that it will get finished."

Trixie signed J. W. Frayne with a flourish.

"Quite a counterfeiter aren’t you, Miss Belden?"

"All those years ago I showed Honey how to copy someone's name I became more interested in it and about a year ago I tried to copy Jim's. It took me a while, but now I have it perfected, Mr Wheeler."

"I would prefer Dad," he told her as he gave her a hug. "You are becoming as much a daughter to me as Honey is. And don’t you worry. Jim will come around and you will be married before you know it."

"I hope so."

"Well, I have to go now and I will say I don’t envy you eating with Jim."

"Someone has to."

He laughed. "I will see you soon."

Trixie walked slowly to the dining room. Honey was the only one there.

"Where is Jim?" asked Trixie.

"I told him lunch was ready and if he wanted it, then he had to come downstairs on his own."

"Not taken too well, I assume."

"Not at all."

But then they heard a click click behind them and Jim appeared with his white cane before him. Trixie longed to see his eyes, but dark glasses concealed them.

"Satisfied," he snapped. 

Honey smiled. "Yes, now we can eat."  She sat down and rung a little bell.

Celia walked in and smiled.  "Well, hello, Trixie. Honey told me you were staying for lunch."

"Trix, I didn’t know you were here," Jim spoke to her and Trixie was surprised. It was the longest speech she had heard him say in a while.

She waited while he sat down and then sat beside him. She reached over and took his hand.  "Honey invited me to lunch. Is that all right?"

He shrugged and she let go of his hand.

Honey and Trixie kept up a steady stream of conversation during lunch. It was hard for either of them to not help Jim, but both knew he would recover quicker if he helped himself.

"Mart and Di come home today," Trixie told Jim.

He nodded. "I know."

"Mart will be pleased to see you," Honey told him.

"Well, I certainly won’t be able to see him," Jim snapped, abruptly standing.  He walked out of the room.

"Go and sulk," Trixie called after him.

"You go, girl," Honey giggled.

Trixie stood up. "Maybe I should go and apologise to him."

Honey shook her head. "He is the one that should apologise to you."

*     *     *

Later, as she again headed for the Manor House for another visit, Trixie was still thinking about the incident.

She had been so pleased that Mart and Di were visiting Honey and Jim.  Now, Di had gone home to visit her parents, while Mart remained at Manor House.

She saw Regan standing outside the stable and she walked over. Regan saw her coming and put his finger to his lips.

She looked at him questioningly.

He took her hand and led her to the stable door. She heard voices and looked inside.

Mart was there and he stood with his hand on Jim's shoulder. Jim had his face buried in old Jupe's neck. From where she stood she could hear the loud gulping sobs coming from him. She made a move to go inside but Regan shook his head. He led her away and then turned to her.

"Let Mart help, Trix. I think that Jim is starting to heal."

And the only sobs that Trixie heard now were her own.

To Be Continued

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TBH Main