With a frown, the attendant took the key and shuffled out the door. You will find them in my room.' He fished in his pocket and thrust a key at the attendant. 'Why is there nothing here for her to write with? Have you not tried to communicate with her?' 'But she can write?' He looked about the room. Knows where they'll put her if she ain't in here.' The smoke inhalation was by no means bad enough to render you mute.' 'You do not wish to recall what happened to you. He was close enough for her to smell him: carbolic soap, cloves.

The attendant sucked in a disapproving breath. She was acutely aware of his eyes, wide and unblinking behind his spectacles. He bent forwards so that his head was level with hers. But they were ghosts, echoes of things that had been. Her ribs ached and her lips tingled with the force of them. Sometimes the shock is so intense that it renders the patient unable to speak. Tucking his papers under his arm, he came farther into her cell. This disturbed her more than the attendant's scowl. In his eyes she saw the gleam of interest. The limewashed walls had not yet leeched the colour from his face or dulled the tone of his voice. Next to the stocky, middle-aged hag of an attendant he looked so vibrant, so alive. She wanted to stand up from where she sat on the edge of the bed, take his arm and gently guide him to the door. To make sure we are giving you the sufficient level of care.'Ĭare. He looked up from his notes, intent upon her. It played like a tune she could only just recall.

She could not remember the last time she'd been given a title. 'This is her? Mrs Bainbridge?' The Mrs was a nice touch. There was a brightness to him that made her eyes ache. New to the profession, as well as the place.

Not that there was anything unusual in his arrival - doctors came and went often enough. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. The residents of the estate are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition-that is, until she notices the figure’s eyes following her.Ī Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear, The Silent Companions is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect-much like the companions themselves. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure-a silent companion-that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. But pregnant and widowed just weeks after their wedding, with her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her late husband’s awkward cousin for company. When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. Laura Purcell's The Poison Thread is now out from Penguin! “ extraordinary, memorable and truly haunting book.” - Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The silent companions book