9 The Blue Castle - Read By Stephanie Poppins

Valancy Stirling is 29, unmarried, and has never been in love. Living with her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt, she finds her only consolation in the "forbidden" books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle. This is the place she can be who she truly wants to be.

After getting shocking news from a doctor about her state of ill health, Valancy decides to rebel against her family in true heroine style and live the life she was always meant to have.

In this episode, Valancy begins her rebellion.

Transcript

Welcome to sleep stories with Steph.

It is time to relax and fully let go.

There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go.

Close your eyes and feel yourself sink into the support beneath you and let all the worries of the day drift away.

This is your time and your space.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.

There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go.

Happy listening.

Chapter 9 Uncle Herbert and Aunt Alberta's silver wedding was delicately referred to among the Stirlings during the following weeks as the time we first noticed Paul Valancy was a little.

.

.

You understand?

Not for worlds would any of the Stirlings have said out and out,

At first,

That Valancy had gone mildly insane or even that her mind was slightly deranged.

Uncle Benjamin was considered to have gone entirely too far when he ejaculated,

And was only excused because of the outrageousness of Valancy's conduct at the aforesaid wedding dinner.

But Mrs Frederick and Cousin Stiggles had noticed a few things that made them uneasy before the dinner.

It had begun with a rosebush,

Of course,

And Valancy never was really quite right again.

She did not seem to worry in the least over the fact her mother was not speaking to her.

You would never suppose she noticed it at all.

She had flatly refused to take either purple pills or red fern spitters.

She had announced coolly she did not intend to answer to the name of Doss any longer.

She told Cousin Stiggles she wished she would give up wearing that brooch with Cousin Artemis Stiggles' hair in it.

She moved her bed in her room to the opposite corner.

She read Magic of Wings on Sunday afternoon.

When Cousin Stiggles rebuked her,

Valancy said indifferently,

Oh,

I forgot it was Sunday,

And had gone on reading it.

Cousin Stiggles had seen a terrible thing.

She had caught Valancy sliding down the banister.

Cousin Stiggles did not tell Mrs Frederick this.

Poor Amelia was worried,

Half as it was.

But it was Valancy's announcement on Saturday night that she was not going to the Anglican church any more that broke through Mrs Frederick's stony silence.

Not going to church any more.

Doss,

Have you completely taken leave?

Oh,

I'm going to church,

Said Valancy airily.

I'm going to the Presbyterian church.

But to the Anglican church I will not go.

This was even worse.

Mrs Frederick had recourse to tears,

Having found outraged Majesty had ceased to be effective.

What have you got against the Anglican church?

She sobbed.

Nothing.

Only just you've always made me go there.

If you'd made me go to the Presbyterian church,

I'd want to go to the Anglican.

Is that a nice thing to say to your mother?

How true it is that it's sharper than a serpent's tooth to have a thankless child.

Is that a nice thing to say to your daughter?

Said unrepentant Valancy.

So Valancy's behaviour at the silver wedding was not quite the surprise to Mrs Frederick and Christine Stiggles than it was to the rest.

They were doubtful about the wisdom of taking her,

But concluded it would have made talk if they didn't.

Perhaps she would behave herself,

And so far no outsider suspected there was anything queer about her.

But by a special mercy of Providence,

It had poured torrents Sunday morning.

So Valancy had not carried out her hideous threat of going to the Presbyterian church after all.

Valancy would not have cared in the least if they had left her at home.

These family celebrations were all hopelessly dull.

But the Stirlings always celebrated everything.

It was a long established custom.

Even Mrs Frederick gave a dinner party on her wedding anniversary,

And Cousin Stiggles had friends in to supper on her birthday.

Valancy hated these entertainments because they had to pinch and save and contrive for weeks afterwards to pay for them.

But she wanted to go to the silver wedding.

It would hurt Uncle Herbert's feelings if she stayed away,

And she rather liked Uncle Herbert.

Besides,

She wanted to look over all her relatives from her new angle.

It would be an excellent place to make public her declaration of independence if occasion offered.

Put on your brown silk dress,

Said Mrs Stirling,

As if there were anything else to put on.

Valancy had only the one festive dress.

That snuffy brown silk Aunt Isabel gave her.

Aunt Isabel decreed that Valancy should never wear colours.

They did not become her,

She said.

When Valancy was younger,

They allowed her to wear white,

But that had been tactically dropped for some years.

Valancy put on the brown silk.

It had a high collar and long sleeves.

She had never had a dress with a low neck and elbow sleeves,

Although they had been worn even in Deerwood for over a year.

But she did not do her hair pompadour.

She knotted it on her neck and pulled it over her ears.

She thought it became her,

Only the little knot was so absurdly small.

Mrs Frederick resented the hair,

But decided it was wisest to say nothing on the eve of the party.

It was so important Valancy should be kept in good humour,

If possible,

Until it was all over.

Mrs Frederick did not reflect that this was the first time in her life she thought it necessary to consider Valancy's humours.

But then Valancy had never been queer before.

On their way to Uncle Herbert's,

Mrs Frederick and Cousin Stickles were walking in front and Valancy was trotting meekly along behind them.

Roaring Abel drove past just then.

Drunk as usual,

But not in the roaring stage,

Just drunk enough to be excessively polite.

He raised his disreputable old tartan cap with the air of a monarch saluting his subjects and swept them a grand bow.

Mrs Frederick and Cousin Stickles dared not cut Roaring Abel altogether.

He was the only person in Deerwood who could be got to do odd jobs of carpentering and repairing when they needed them to be done,

So it would not do to offend him.

But they responded with only the stiffest,

Slightest of bows.

Roaring Abel must be kept in his place.

Valancy,

Meanwhile,

Far behind them,

Did a thing they were fortunately spared seeing.

She smiled gaily and waved her hand to Roaring Abel.

Why not?

She had always liked the old sinner.

He was such a jolly,

Picturesque,

Unashamed reprobate that stood out against the drab respectability of Deerwood and its customs like a flame-red flag of revolt and protest.

Only a few nights ago,

Abel had gone through Deerwood in the wee smars,

Shouting O's at the top of his stentorian voice which could be heard for miles.

He was yelling and blaspheming like a viand,

Shouted Cousin Stickles at the breakfast table.

I cannot understand why the judgment of the Lord has not fallen upon that man long ere this,

Said Mrs Frederick petulantly,

As if she thought Providence was very dilatory and ought to have a gentle reminder.

He'll be picked up dead some morning.

He'll fall onto his horse's hooves and be trampled to death,

Said Cousin Stickles reassuringly.

Valancy had said nothing,

Of course,

But she wondered to herself if Roaring Abel's periodical sprees were not his futile protest against the poverty and drudgery and monotony of his existence.

She went on dream sprees in her blue castle.

Roaring Abel,

Having no imagination,

Could not do that.

His escapes from reality had to be concrete.

So she waved at him today with a sudden fellow feeling,

And Roaring Abel,

Not too drunk to be astonished,

Nearly fell off his seat in his amazement.

By this time they had reached Maple Avenue and Uncle Herbert's house.

It was a large pretentious structure,

Peppered with meaningless bay windows and excrescent porches,

A house that always looked like a stupid,

Prosperous,

Self-satisfied man with warts on his face.

A house like that,

Said Valancy solemnly,

Is a blasphemy.

Mrs Frederick was shaken to her soul.

What had Valancy said?

Was it profane or only just queer?

Mrs Frederick took off her hat in Aunt Alberta's spare room with trembling hands.

She made one more feeble attempt to avert disaster by holding Valancy back on the landing as Cousin Stickles went downstairs.

Won't you try to remember your lady?

She pleaded.

Oh,

If there were only any hope of being able to forget it,

Said Valancy wearily.

Mrs Frederick now felt she had not deserved this from Providence.