"Offer hope to the Untouchables, for they must have hope. Travel on, far beyond the lotus blossoms. Follow the path. Yes, stick to the path, maidens. For they can lead you astray, away, with false promises. Beware the Poppy Warriors. The Poppy Warriors steal your strength. They will gobble you up. Gobble, gobble!"
This makes everyone laugh. Several of the patients repeat "Gobble you up" to amuse themselves. They are like chickens clucking until they are shushed by the nurses into quiet again. The hair at the back of my neck stands at attention. It is as if Nell is
pantomiming for my benefit, speaking in a code I must decipher--or else she has slipped into total madness.
"Do not leave the path, for it is hard to find again once lost. And they will take the song to the rock. Do not let the song die. You must be careful with beauty. Beauty must pass. There are dark shadows of spirits. Just beyond the Borderlands, where the lone tree stands and the sky turns to blood . . ."
A few of the ladies flap their fans, uncomfortable with the mention of blood. ". . . in the Winterlands they plot and plan with Circe. They will not rest till the army is raised and the realms are theirs to rule."
There is unrest in the crowd, a sense that Nell has been indulged too long. Tom makes his way to the front. No! Not until she tells me where to find the Temple! Tom is already there.
"Thank you, Miss Hawkins. And now . . ."
Nell doesn't sit. She grows more agitated."She wants in! She has found me and I cannot keep her out!"
"Nurse, if you would please . . ."
"Go where no one will, where it is forbidden, offer hope. . . . Jack and Jill went up the hill, the sea, the sea, came from the sea . . . go where the dark hides a mirror of water. Face your fear and bind the magic fast to you!"
"Come along now, Miss Hawkins," the nurse says, grabbing hold. Nell won't budge. She fights against the nurse with a brutal fierceness. Her shirt rips along the arm seam so that the whole of the sleeve pulls off in the nurse's hand. The crowd gasps. Nell's beside herself.
"She means to use me to find it, Lady Hope! She will use us both, and I will be lost, lost forever! Don't let her take me! Do not hesitate! Set me free, Lady Hope! Set me free!"
Two burly orderlies have arrived with a straitjacket.
"Come with us, miss. No trouble now."
Nell kicks and screams, showing that surprising strength again, but she is no match for them. One hooks her slender neck in the crook of a beefy arm, while the other forces Nell's grasping hands into the jacket's arms and tightens the laces at her back. Her body sags against the men, who half carry, half drag the limp girl till all that can be heard are her whimpers and the dull thud of her heels against the floors.
The crowd is loud with shock over the spectacle. Tom asks the musicians to resume playing. The music works to quiet the room, and soon some of the braver souls are at the dance again. I'm shaking all over. Nell's in danger, and I've got to save her.
I push my way to Felicity and Ann."I've got to slip away and find Nell," I say.
"What did she mean, 'Beware the Poppy Warriors'?" Ann asks.
"It seemed like madness," Felicity adds, "what do you make of it?"
"I think it was a code for us, for finding the Temple," I say. "And I'm certain Miss McCleethy was listening too."
Felicity scans the crowd."Where is she?"
Miss McCleethy is gone from her place near the pillar. She is not among the dancers, either. She has vanished.
Felicity looks at me, wide-eyed."Go to her at once!"
I steal from the room as quickly as possible, running for the women's ward. I've got to reach her before Miss McCleethy does. She has found me! Right. Well, I'm not about to let her take you, Nell. Don't you worry.
The corridor is busy with the comings and goings of the nurses. When the last nurse leaves, I hike up my skirt and fly to Nell's room, as fast as I can.
Nell sits in a corner. They've taken off the straitjacket. The beautiful corsage has been damaged, the petals torn and flattened. Nell rocks back and forth, banging her head each time against the wall just slightly. I take her hands in mine.
"Miss Hawkins, it's Gemma Doyle. Nell, we haven't much time. I need to know the location of the Temple. You were just about to say it when they took you. It is safe now. You may tell me."
A thin stream of drool works its way out of the corner of her mouth. An odor like overripe fruit scents the tiny gusts of her breath. They've given her something to sedate her.
"Nell, if you do not tell me how to find the Temple, I fear we are lost. Circe will find it before us, and then there is no telling what could happen. She could rule the realms. She could do this to another girl and another." From far below us, the music changes tempo as another dance begins. I do not know how long I can be gone before they begin searching for me.
