"Let's be honest," Lady Isabel said, "he doesn't want any of us, but you know more about him, so let's at least be playing on the same field... It's not like it would hurt you to tell me what you know."
"I only know what I was allowed to see," Madam Tracy replied in a stern voice. She was standing in the middle of the bedroom with her arms folded.
The two were over ten years apart in age, Madam Tracy was approaching her mid-thirties, whilst Lady Isabel was in her early twenties. It was clear that Madam Tracy was still angry about the disturbance, she didn't want to leave Mr. Junior afterward, but in his usual state of indifference he showed her the door without saying anything.
"So all the time that you've served in this house you haven't gained any information about him?" Lady Isabel asked.
"Why are you so bothered about him? It's not like he's exactly the talking type, as you well know, and anyway, when Mr. Senior was here, things were different."
"How were they different?"
Madam Tracy stood there reluctant to respond, her eyes darted around the room as she tried to avoid Lady Isabel's gaze. "Over the past year, things have changed. Mr. Senior worked with a psychologist, they worked with Mr. Junior in the basement, nobody knows what happened down there, but from what we saw of him... Mr. Junior used to have strange episodes... he was only young and over the years he... well, he clearly turned into to what he is now. Apart from that, nobody really saw him."
The two sat in silence for a few moments. Lady Isabel looked like she was processing the new information, but she glanced at Madam Tracy with an inquisitive look. "What was the house like before?" She asked.
"Well, except for the colour change and a lot of the rooms being empty now, the house was used in exactly the same way, but when the psychologist came everybody would have to stay in their rooms, sometimes for hours."
"Was he locked down there when the psychologist wasn't here?"
"No. He was never seen unless he wanted to be seen, though. I do remember Mr. Senior saying he spent a lot of time on the land, but it was like living with a ghost... you never knew where he was but you knew he existed."
"So why did Mr. Senior bring the psychologist? There must have been a reason, right?"
"That's a question that I truly can't answer," Madam Tracy said, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of it.
"When did that start, then? The psychologist, I mean," Lady Isabel asked.
"As soon as they had moved in here. I was one of the first maids to work in this house."
"Who occupied the other floors, then?"
"The third floor used to be occupied by Mr. Junior's mother, but when she died earlier on, it was turned into a guest wing."
Lady Isabel was feeling more optimistic now that she was actually speaking to somebody. Her questions came in full flow and she had so much more to ask.
"Do you remember any of the guests? Were they also here for Mr. Junior?"
"A few times a physician stayed over up on the third floor. We were told not to disturb him outside of his most necessary needs, though. I don't remember anybody else coming specifically for Mr. Junior, there was many people who came and went, but they were all acquainted with Mr. Senior."
"Do you know about what he inherited?" Lady Isabel said as she shuffled along her bed and offered Madam Tracy a seat, the latter looked appalled by the question and didn't move.
"So that's what your interested in," Madam Tracy said, her blue eyes fixed on Lady Isabel now. "And no, of course I don't know his situation."
"That's not how I meant it to come across. It's just my mother said that they were wealthy people. This big house feels so empty, so much space to be used... do you not feel bored? Especially now that you only serve one person."
"I never get bored," Madam Tracy said confidently. "We always entertain ourselves. There's a lot of freedom here. But it does feel more ghostly than it did. We'll just have to see what the future brings, I guess. Right now, we just need to see what Mr. Junior turns his life into now that he's his own man."
The two women seemed to have understood the situation that they were in. The man they were chasing was a hard target to pin down, and he only showed himself to them in a certain way. Madam Tracy went and sat down on the bed next to Lady Isabel, but then a knock on the door, along with the twist of the door handle interrupted them from any further discussion.
Another maid appeared and stood under the door frame, door open wide. "It's time for lunch now, if you would like to join us," she said. "We're a bit behind schedule," and her eyes darted to Madam Tracy.