The Blue Castle (Encore) | Part 4 of 16

Andrew Bond (0:00)

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SPEAKER_2 (1:22)

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Andrew Bond (2:51)

Welcome to Send Me To Sleep, the place to find relaxing stories for a good night's rest. My name's Andrew. Thanks for joining me. Tonight, I'll be reading The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapters 9 and 10

In the previous chapters, Valancy received a letter in the mail from Dr. Trent, very bluntly explaining that she had a terminal heart condition and that she would not live longer than a year. Keeping this information a secret from her mother and cousin, she spent the rest of the evening ruminating over her dull and faint-hearted existence so far. Eventually, she resolved to spend her remaining life not pleasing others, but pleasing only herself and doing nothing she did not want to do.

Now that we're caught up with the story so far, let's get ourselves ready for sleep.

Start by taking a deep, relaxing breath.

And settle your body in whatever way feels most comfortable.

Now, let any thoughts of the day drift away from your mind.

And simply follow the sound of my voice.

So, let your eyes fall heavy. And your breath soften. As we settle in for a peaceful night's sleep.

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

Not for the 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 had ejaculated. She's dippy, I tell you, she is dippy. And was only excused because of the outrageousness of Valancy's conduct at the aforesaid wedding dinner.

But Mrs. Frederick and Cousin Stickles had noticed a few things that made them uneasy before the dinner. It had begun with the Rosebush, of course, and Valancy never was really quite right again. She did not seem to worry in the least over the fact that 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 ferns bitters. She had announced coolly that she did not intend to answer to the name of Doss any longer. She had told Cousin Stickles that she wished she would give up wearing that brooch with Cousin Artemis Stickles' hair in it. She had moved her bed in her room to the opposite corner. She had read Magic of Wings Sunday Afternoon. When Cousin Stickles had rebuked her, Valancy had said indifferently, Oh, I forgot it was Sunday, and had gone on reading it.