Homework“The Landlady”

Summary

Billy Weaver comes from London to Bath for the first time in his life. It is a cold night and he wants to

find a place to stay. The porter from the station suggests him to go to “The Bell and the Dragon”. The seventeen

year-old boy has to pass to the Branch Manager in order to announce his arrival in Bath, as Mr. Greenslade has told

him.

The teenager walks on a very strange street where old and neglected houses seem to be abandoned. But

there is one house that grabs his attention as it has the windows lightened and an announcement is propped up of one

window and says: BED AND BREAKFAST. He is hot sure if it is a good idea to come in or not, although the room

he sees on the window looks comfortable and homey. He decides it would be better also to visit The Bell and

Dragon and then decide where to stay for the night.

Without thinking too much a queer force makes him ring the bell and a woman appears just as he touches

the bell. She is far too kind and the price she wants for her services is also incredibly low: five and sixpence a night

including breakfast. Another strange thing is the fact that on the hall there are no umbrellas or walking-sticks that

could belonged to other visitors. Furthermore, the woman is looking at the boy as she is on the verge of eating him

with her gentile blue glance. The room on the second floor that she gives to Billy is ready for its guest – one more

thing to add on the list with suspect details that captures Billy`s attention. The landlady leaves the boy to unpack just

after she asks him to come down in the living and sign the book where all the other customers wrote their names.

Billy does as the lady says and downstairs he finds only two names in the book: Christopher Mulholland from

1

Cardiff and Gregory W. Temple from Bristol. The names look familiar to Billy but he doesn`t remember where he

heard about them.

The landlady enters the room with a tea-try in her hands. She invites the boy to seat down next to her

and have a cup of tea and some biscuits. While Billy is sipping his tea, the woman tells him about the last and the

only two visitors she have had: Mr. Mulholland was of the same age but not as tall as Billy is; Temple was twenty-

eight but very beautiful and looked much younger than he actually did. Billy observes that the parrot and the dog

which he thought they were alive they really were not. He is amazed of how well preserved the animals are and the

woman tells him she has done the alas. Billy finally wants to know if the landlady has received other guests in the

last three years. The answer she gives him is another extremely short and gentle smile.

2