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She was in a single white chemise, or rather a chemise that used to be white once upon a time and was now ripped in places and incredibly shabby.
“I won’t let you!” Mary yelled at the help. Then she turned and spotted Robert at the door. “Please, don’t let them!” she screamed at him. Robert took in the room with an all-encompassing look, then quirked a brow at Julie.
“She doesn’t want to bathe,” she clarified, something he had already deduced, while shaking some water off her hands.
“I can see that.” He stepped closer to her. “But why?”
Julie threw up her hands in frustration. “I don’t know.”
“You bad!” Mary screamed at her sister. “You hurt me!” Tears sprung to her eyes and streaked down her dirt-smudged face.
“I would never hurt you, honey! I love you,” Julie pleaded with her.
“You lie!” Mary looked at her defiantly.
“Nobody will ever hurt you here.” Robert moved closer to Mary. “I told you that, remember?” he asked in gentle tones.
Mary nodded slowly, as if unsure.
“Remember, I told you, you’ll have your own horse to ride?” he reminded her and saw her face light up. “Right, but you can’t ride a horse until you bathe. You need to be clean.”
Mary looked at the bath in horror, then at Julie, and back to Robert and shook her head. Robert had an ugly suspicion settle in his head.
“You don’t like the bath, do you?” he asked.
Mary shook her head again.
“Why not?”
“Bad!” Mary practically hurled the word in his face.
“No, it’s good, see?” He walked toward the bath and placed his hand inside.
Mary instinctively stepped away.
“Right.” Robert turned to the housekeeper. “How about we try a different approach? What if you scrub her with wet towels instead and wash her hair over a basin? I think she’ll need some time to get used to the bath.”
Mary unconsciously stepped away again. Mrs. Post nodded and hurried to get the towels and washed them in the bathwater. She took the pitcher and got everything ready next to the washbasin.
“I think we should leave them to it,” he told his wife, who still regarded the proceedings frozen in the middle of the room. He took her by the arm and started leading her away.
“You stay!” the girl said from behind him. “She go, you stay!”
“I can’t stay, love,” he said gently. “You need to be washed. These nice women will take care of you. And I will wait just outside the door, all right?”
Mary looked around at the women uncertainly.
“If you are frightened, or need anything at all, just call for me,” he reassured her. “Do you remember my name?”
Mary shook her head.
“My name is Robert,” he said with a gentle smile.
“Rob?” Mary asked quietly.
“Right, you can call me Rob if you like.” Robert nodded at her. “So, if you want me to enter, you just say my name.”
Mary nodded more confidently this time, and he walked away, drawing his wife with him. When they stopped outside the bedroom doors, she collapsed against the wall.
