The Trouble with Polly Brown (49 page)

“No, sir. Sadly, we are not.”

“Very well, gentlemen. Allow me the privilege of helping you out, for as a result of this act I am under the strictest legal obligation to send a very detailed report to the head offices of the social services. Failure to do so will find me standing in the docks, something that while I am in charge, I assure you, will never happen. Therefore, I insist that I stay to observe all that takes place and make sure that no rules are broken or slightly bent, so to speak.”

With a show of annoyance, the gently spoken man in the immaculate suit had little choice other than to give in to Boritz's incessant demand to stay.

“Very well then, sir,” the willowy and white-haired man sighed. “Although I have to say it is not normal to have any audience when we conduct interviews of such a highly sensitive nature.”

The high-cheekboned man in the smart suit moved aside to allow his much-heavier colleague the space he needed in order for the test to begin.

“Right, then. Let's start. Are you Polly Esther Brown?”

“What sort of ridiculous question is that?” Polly queried, already feeling most offended.

“Please just answer the question,” the corpulent, dark-haired man in the crumpled flamboyant purple suit ordered.

“Are you Polly Esther Brown?”

“Of course I am. Who else could I be? Besides, you are the ones who decided to do this, so if you think you have the wrong person, well then, just say so, for I won't rub your nose in it,” she sniffed.

“Just answer the question.”

“Yes.”

“Do you live here at the castle?”

“Yes, sadly for both my brother as well as myself, we do,” she mumbled almost under her breath.

“Look here, young lady, please do as I request and just answer with a simple yes or no,” the rotund man with the disheveled hair and stubbly chin exasperatedly ordered.

“Yes.”

Sadly the meeting had taken off to a very bad start due to Polly's serious misgivings as to the fairness of this strange and very disturbing interview. She had never been treated fairly before, and so naturally from the outset she was on the defensive.

Equally true was the sad fact that the two important-looking gentlemen could not fail but take offense, as they mistakenly mistook her over-the-top defensiveness for blatant rebellion and rudeness.

“I'm sorry, gentleman. As you can see, she really is an out-of-control rebel who, rather sadly, has always shown utter contempt toward those in authority. Truth be known, she is just like her mother, and I can tell you now that this mental madness runs throughout her family.”

“Really!” said the shocked, overweight gentleman, who was recording all that was taking place.

“Oh, indeed. Her brother Thomas was a fine example of this. Hmm. Sadly, he was about to be assigned to a secure unit when he chose to run away. He is still on the national list of missing children.”

On hearing all these lies, Polly inhaled sharply.

“Hmm, and most of them who run away to London are never ever seen again. Polly was caught running away just days ago, and the poor police officers who caught her and brought her back to the safety of our bosom, well, put bluntly, they were quite frankly very shocked by her outward aggression toward them.”

“Don't worry, sir. We've seen her type before, so we know how to handle her.” The overweight, oily-skinned gentleman with chin stubble sniffed as he began to wipe away continuous beads of sweat that were now forming on his forehead.

Polly continued to listen, feeling highly emotional and upset at the outrageous lies coming directly from the mouth of her so-called uncle, and once more she felt utterly powerless, so much so that she began to rock backward and forward in her chair in her sad effort to prevent herself from screaming and vomiting at the same time.

Why was Uncle Boritz saying such wickedly horrible things? she wondered. She refused outrightly to believe that her mother had been this terrible person he was making her out to be, and as for Thomas, he knew full well that Thomas had never been a runaway but had died from being sick because no one had cared or shown him any love or proper care.

As she considered these blatant lies and atrocious contradictions, Polly began to feel crazed inside her head, as strong, painful emotions began to well up inside and now threatened to engulf her. Quaking with fear, she began to quietly moan, her torso rocking back and forth as she tried to stifle the intense and mounting inner anguish. But in the space of a very short time, she could no longer hold back the black, ugly feelings that were threatening to overwhelm her as they sought to remind her of just how feeble and powerless she truly was when up against intimidating, powerful-looking strangers who cared nothing about truth and might even want to harm her.

Polly suddenly began to breathe too intensely and erratically, and then without warning she let out the most terrible, piercing scream, which seemed to spew forth from her deepest innermost parts. Boritz instantly rushed forward to restrain her.

“Polly, this is your uncle. Now please calm down,” he ordered, using both arms to force her to stop rocking back and forth. He then quickly plunged his hand into his trouser pocket and produced a small bottle of pills. Quickly unscrewing the cap, he emptied a small quantity into the palm of his hand. “Here, take one of your calming down tranquilizers,” he instructed, as he then forcibly pushed a number of pills into her mouth before placing his hand over her mouth to ensure that the pills were swallowed down.

“Sorry, gentleman. This may seem brutal, but I have to do this; otherwise, I assure you now, that she will spit them out.”

“Polly, do I have to once more remind you that such rudeness and hostility is grossly unacceptable? You have always shown utter contempt toward those in authority, and I will not allow you to hijack this interview with any further displays of insolence. Do you hear me, young lady?”

“Yes, sir, I hear you,” Polly limply replied, tears of inner rage and years of pent-up frustration hurtling down her burning cheeks like Roman chariots on the rampage.

“If you fail to comply with this order, then the rest of this week will be spent in splendid isolation, away from all your foster brothers and sisters, and I assure you now that James will certainly not be getting his model planes back until you begin to cooperate fully with these nice gentlemen.”

Polly hung her head in shame, privately wishing for the floor to open up and swallow her. She knew that if nothing else, both gentlemen would be forgiven for thinking, if not fully believing, that she was a crazed lunatic who essentially needed to be locked away forever.

“You will therefore answer all questions without any further fuss; otherwise, young madam, I assure you now that you will pay dearly for your rebellion.”

“Yes. All right, Uncle Boritz,” Polly lamely whimpered as, with her head still hung low, she continued to experience the deepest sense of sadness. Once more she found herself mourning the loss of her mother, as well as her dear, sweet absent brother.

“I'm sorry to say this, Mr. Scumberry, but sadly, giving her those pills—even though it was done as an act of mercy to calm her down— was a mistake, for it has made it impossible to continue on with our test.”

“You must be joking,” Boritz rather rudely challenged.

“I'm sorry, but it would be a clear and most serious utter violation of her human as well as her legal rights.”

“Well, gentlemen, I wasn't aware that she had any rights,” a now furious Boritz raged.

“Oh, I assure you, Mr. Scumberry, she does, and so I warn you now that legally speaking, you, my dear man, are treading on our patch! I need to advise all parties concerned now that to carry on would be a blatant infringement of those rights. With Polly in such a highly charged and volatile state, we think it best that we adjourn for the day and start the test first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Uh! Well, what about my rights?” Uncle Boritz angrily snorted.

“Sir, may I remind you that you are not the one being forced to take the test. With any drugs in her system, Polly is no longer allowed to take the test, so we will resume this test tomorrow. I hope this sits well with you, dear sir?” said the tall man with the kind and gentle smile.

“Oh, dear. Tut tut tut. This does not suit me at all, for this will surely mean further personal expense,” Boritz moaned.

“Yes, I'm afraid so, but to continue on now would, I believe, be most futile and perfunctory, for it will also result in us being on the receiving end of very inaccurate information,” the tall man firmly stated. “Besides which, may I once more remind you, Mr. Scumberry, that Polly has taken some form of tranquillizer, making it legally impossible to carry on with the test.”

“Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear that.” Boritz lamented.

“Yes, Mr. Scumberry, I wonder if you are fully acquainted with our rather somewhat tedious judicial system,” the tall man said, very tongue in cheek. “Oh, in many ways we have the same common law, but still it may well differ from that of the British judicial system. Yes, I do believe we have the nerve to most brazenly call it a system of justice,” the American muttered under his breath, “And I would so hate to fall foul of our laws.”

“Now, look here, gentlemen. I am certain that if Polly downs a nice cup of hot tea, she will immediately find herself feeling so much better. After all, was it not a famous gentleman of French persuasion who so aptly stated: ‘There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea'? Gentlemen, if this be the case, then all we need do is add a nice couple of chocolate biscuits into the equation, and she will surely calm down to the point of obtaining enough newfound serenity that we will be able to move forward and thereby give things another try.”

Boritz watched as both men quickly shot a most concerned glance at each other.

“Really, I do think we must give this one more shot before we surrender and give up the ghost. Don't you agree?” Boritz pleaded as he tried hard to hide his anger and disappointment at the thought of putting things off yet another day and of the horrific extra costs this would incur, which he alone would have to bear.

The men from the bureau were given no time to answer his question.

“Right. I will go to the kitchen and get Miss Scrimp to make us all a lovely pot of hot tea, accompanied by the finest Belgian biscuits as well as some fresh fruit scones and preserve.”

“Well, sir, we think it best if we—”

“Now then, gentlemen, don't say another word, for you are most definitely going to have some well-deserved refreshments, and that is the end of the matter,” Boritz forcefully stated as he then headed out of his private sitting room to go in search of Miss Scrimp and a highly desirable pot of tea, complete with sweet treats.

In no time at all Uncle Boritz returned to the sitting room with Miss Scrimp following on behind with a tea trolley filled to capacity with luxurious-looking refreshments.

“Miss Scrimp, kindly pour these gentlemen a nice cup of tea, and then take a glass of milk over to Polly,” he calmly ordered. “Then please give the gentlemen a generous selection of scones and biscuits.”

“Yes, sir,” she quietly and graciously replied.

“Please do as I ask and pour the tea, Miss Scrimp.”

Miss Scrimp nodded her compliance by quietly setting about doing all that her employer had commanded.

With everyone now served, Boritz quickly dismissed Miss Scrimp from the room to send her back to her cleaning tasks.

As for Polly, just as her uncle had suggested, she perked up considerably when she was offered some rather scrumptious-looking chocolate biscuits.

“Polly, dear, feel free to take as many as you like,” Uncle Boritz chirpily stated as he placed the plate right under her nose. Polly cautiously picked one up and then quickly devoured it.

“Now, we all know that you like these biscuits, so Polly dear, don't hold back. Please take a couple more,” Uncle Boritz so generous-heartedly ordered with a hearty smile, for it was of the utmost importance that he appear kind and benevolent.

However, much to his annoyance, Polly happily obliged by instantly helping herself to a large number of his favorite ones. Uncle Boritz immediately sent her a disapproving scowl as she readily helped herself to yet more biscuits, but Polly failed to notice anything untoward, as she was far too busy consuming the deliciously unexpected treat.

With all concerned suitably refreshed, Boritz believed it was now time for the polygraph to be resumed; however, the two gentleman stuck to their guns by still refusing to continue on. Boritz argued on for some time, but eventually he realized that he was getting nowhere, for these men were adamant that the polygraph would have to wait. Sadly for him, he was forced to yield to their wishes. As a result he was left with no choice but to pay for yet a further night's hotel accommodation for both gentlemen, with yet another three-course dinner and full English breakfast now being added to his ever-increasing bill.