Free Searching for Shona by Margaret J. Anderson Page A

loomed up like a huge castle with its turret and sharp roof etched against the sky. The branches of a tree rubbed together in the wind, and drops of rain falling from the wet laurel bushes made a pattering sound like the feet of little animals. Marjorie tiptoed up the driveway.
    When she reached the back of the house, she saw that the coal cellar hatch was open. Now she was sure that Anna must be inside. It was so dark in there, so much darker than outside, that it took every ounce of Marjorie’s courage to drop down into the cellar and feel her way across to the door. It was open, and still feeling her way, she went into the kitchen. She bumped against a door and it slammed shut. With a pounding heart, she listened to the dreadful sound echoing through the empty rooms. Did Anna hear it upstairs, and was she, at this moment, crouching there terrified, wondering who was creeping through the house? It was the thought of Anna’s fear that forced Marjorie to go on.
    She crossed the hall and climbed the curved staircase. Silvery light from the upstairs landing windows enabled her to see her way, but she had trouble remembering which door opened into the spiral stair. Finding the right door, she climbed the stairs and then hesitated again, afraid of frightening Anna.
    “Anna! Anna! It’s Shona,” she whispered softly as she slipped through the door. “I came to find you.”
    There was no answer.
    For a moment Marjorie felt panic. Had she come so far, only to find no one there? She went over to the window and pulled back the heavy velvet curtains, letting moonlight shine through the curved windows, so that she could now see the shadowy furnishings in the room. At the sound of the rattling curtain rings, something stirred on the couch, and Anna poked her head out from under a quilt, asking sleepily, “Is it time to get up already?”
    Marjorie ran over to the couch, stumbling over two dolls, which were lying on the carpet, and knelt down beside Anna.
    “Anna! Anna Rae! What are you doing here?’ she asked.
    Although she was immensely glad to have found Anna, she was, at the same time, angry to find her asleep and not trembling with fear as she had imagined her.
    Anna sat up and looked around, blinking. Then, fully awake, she remembered the events of the day before and cowered back down under the quilt, asking, “Are you still angry with me?”
    “Of course not!” Marjorie answered. “I wouldn’t have come looking for you in the middle of the night if I was still angry. I thought you’d be frightened when you heard the sirens and planes.”
    “I didn’t hear anything,” Anna said.
    She had scarcely finished speaking when the wailing note of the siren sounded, and she asked nervously, “Is it the first one or the second one?”
    “It’s the second one,” Marjorie answered. “Can’t you tell the all clear from the warning by now? The planes have gone over, but they might come back.We’ve got to get home before they do.”
    “I’m not going home,” Anna wailed. “I’m going to stay here.”
    “Don’t be silly! What about food?”
    “You could stay here, too,” Anna said eagerly. “We could light a fire in the fireplace—there’s still some coal in the cellar, and you could do the cooking.”
    “But we’ve no money or ration books,” Marjorie pointed out.
    “Then you’ll just have to bring me food because I’m not going back—not ever.”
    “Listen, Anna,” Marjorie said patiently. “The Miss Campbells aren’t angry any more. They like you, Anna. They were so worried when they found you’d run away that they called the police, even though they didn’t want to.”
    Anna let the quilt slide to the floor and sat bolt upright, her eyes wide with fright. “They told the police!” she shouted. “I’m never going back!”
    “They wanted the police to help them find you,” Marjorie explained. “They were worried about you.”
    “The police to find me!” echoed Anna, and Marjorie saw that