A Death in the Family - James Agee [129]
Dr. Dekalb and Mrs. Dekalb and Uncle Gordon were no longer in the garden.
Where’s Daddy?
All of a sudden she felt that she could not bear to be alone. She went into the hall and into the East Room, but her mother was no longer in the East Room. She went down the hall towards the dining room and she could hear her grandmother busy in the pantry, but she knew that she did not want to see her or be found by her. She hurried on tiptoe across the corner of the dining room, hiding behind the table, and into the Green Room, but there was nobody there. She looked out and saw her grandfather standing in the middle of the garden, gazing down into the strong spikes of the century plant. She hurried through the dizzying fragrance of the living room and climbed the front stairs as quickly and quietly as she was able; Aunt Amelia’s door was closed.
By now her face felt very hot and she was crying. She hurried along the hallway; shut. Aunt Hannah’s door was shut. Behind it there was a coldly tender waning of a voice; Aunt Hannah’s voice; her mother’s. She set her ear close to the door and listened.
O GOD, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are any ways afflicted, or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them, according to their several necessities ; giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
Her mother’s voice choked. Aunt Hannah’s, with great quietness, spoke what she had been speaking from the beginning, and continued it and brought it to a close. Then, even more quietly, she said, “Mary, my dear, let’s stop.”
And after a moment Catherine could hear her mother’s voice, shaken and almost squeaking, “No, no; no, no; I asked you to, Aunt Hannah. I—I ...”
And again, Aunt Hannah’s voice: “Let’s just stop it.”
And her mother’s: “Without this I don’t think I could bear it at all. ”
And Aunt Hannah’s: “There, dear. God bless and keep you. There. There.”
And her mother’s: “Just a minute and I’ll be all right.”
And a silence.
And then Aunt Hannah’s voice coldly tender:—and her mother’s:
In intense quietness, Catherine stole through the open door opposite Aunt Hannah’s door, and hid herself beneath her grand-parents’ bed. She was no longer crying. She only wanted never to be seen by anybody again. She lay on her side and stared down into the grim grain of the carpet. When Aunt Hannah’s door opened she felt such terror that she gasped, and drew her knees up tight against her chest.