She was sitting on Mrs Chartrain's lap, she was smiling and was happy. Mrs Chartrain was smiling, she was happy and would probably never speak again.
Mrs Chartrain thought that Betty was the best thing that happened to her since she got rid of her husband. Betty thought that Mrs Chartrain was soft and cuddly, but her mind was full of junk. She also knew the truth about Mrs Chartrain's husband.
Betty looked back into her childhood – after dancing lessons at the carnival club, all the girls went to Pony's house. Mrs Chartrain, Pony's mother, always prepared something good for them – sausage rolls, buttered currant buns, sardine and tomato sandwiches, in the winter toasted tea-cakes.
There was always much to talk about, though Betty said nothing as usual, Betty was rather odd, she was very small, as if she had stopped growing. However everybody liked Betty, she was the best dancer, she was gentle and kind and helped everybody, especially with the dancing. And Betty knew about boys, girls too, and everyone remembered what she had done to the last mayor of Bigtown.
But time moved on, Pony got married and had three children. Betty kept on dancing. She remembered the day she had that wrong feeling, something was wrong with Mrs Chartrain. Betty ran to Mrs Chartrain's home – screams – she entered the living room and saw Mrs Chartrain standing on the postman trying to pull his arm off.
What to believe? The postman said that Mrs Chartrain had thrown him to the ground and screamed that she would pull all his arms and legs off. “She's mad. Lock her up!” Mrs Chartrain said that the postman was trying to rape her. “He's mad. Lock him up!”
The postman was given a desk-job and Mrs Chartrain put into a home.
Betty was sitting on Mrs Chartrain's lap, she was smiling and was happy. Mrs Chartrain was smiling, she was happy and would never speak again.
Pony was standing with a nurse and watching her mother and Betty. “She started being funny after her husband died.” She did not tell the nurse that she thought that her mother had killed her father.
“She is certainly odd, only when Betty is here is she a bit normal. You know, sometimes Betty spends the night with her.”
“The more I look at them, the more I think that both of them are quite mad.”
“I think you are right there.”