A Pearl for Love (8 page)

The wind had whipped high colour into her cheeks and her eyes sparkled.
’
John put his arm round her shoulders, then they walked in single file along the wall, until Catherine began to feel slightly giddy.

‘
But you can
’
t fall off!
’
cried John.

‘
I know, but I get vertigo so easily,
’
she apologized.
‘
Can we go back now, John?
’

‘
Of course, dear. I
’
m glad we saved that last cup of coffee each. I
’
ll buy some chocolate when we get back down to the road.
’

They took their time as they went back through the ancient fort, then began to descend the gentle slope.

‘
It
’
s been fun,
’
Catherine told him.
‘
Thank you for bringing me.
’

‘
We
’
ll do it again soon,
’
John promised.
‘
Not to come here, I mean, but to go somewhere else. You must get to know Northumberland, Kate, if you
’
re going to stay here.
’

‘
I can
’
t stay for ever,
’
she told him.

‘
Why not? Are you only marking time till you go back to Scotland?
’

‘
I
’
ve no plans, and I certainly can
’
t go back to Scotland. But I can
’
t stay with your family for ever either, John.
’

He said nothing for a while.

‘
Are you happy enough with us, Kate? Don
’
t mind Elizabeth if she
’
s a bit sharp at times. She
’
s in love with Mike Rodgers, and can get a bit jealous, especially about a girl as lovely as you.
’

Catherine blushed.
‘
I
’
m sure there
’
s no need,
’
she said stiffly.

‘
It might be none of your doing,
’
John told her,
‘
but Mike might find it hard not to admire you at times. It
...
you would find it easy to encourage him.
’

Catherine
’
s eyes began to sparkle with annoyance.

You
’
re wrong, John. I
’
m sure you
’
re wrong. I have no intention of encouraging Michael, and
...
and Elizabeth, and I
’
m quite sure he ... he isn
’
t the sort of man to forget that he
’
s engaged, and to start showing interest in other girls.
’

‘
Don
’
t fly off the handle coming to his defence,
’
said John mildly.
‘
Only go easy with Michael. You don
’
t know what he is
...
yet.
’

‘
He can
’
t be without integrity or you wouldn
’
t want Elizabeth to marry him.
’

John
’
s face became expressionless.

‘
Perhaps I don
’
t want Elizabeth to marry him,
’
he said, very quietly.
‘
Not now that
...’

‘
What?
’

‘
Nothing.
’

‘
You can
’
t keep your sister in a glass case.
’

‘
Why should I want to? Of course I
’
d like to see her happily married, but I just don
’
t know that it
’
s Michael Rodgers, that
’
s all. Only I
’
m in the minority, and she
’
s over age, so I can only stand by and hope she knows what she
’
s doing.
’

They got into the car, and John busied himself by reaching for the hamper, and pouring out more coffee. It warmed Catherine again, and she began to feel the inner shakiness recede, so that she faced John more calmly. He was very fond of Elizabeth, and no doubt they
’
d been playmates as children. Perhaps all brothers who really cared about their sisters were inclined to want a very high standard from the men with whom they fell in love. She didn
’
t really know.

Yet John had also fallen in love, judging by the pretty ring which was now back in stock. Had Elizabeth been similarly critical of his
fiancée
?

Catherine shook her head. They were a very ordinary brother and sister, and probably only concerned for each other
’
s happiness.

‘
Why don
’
t yo
u feel that Michael is right E
lizabeth?
’
she asked bluntly.
‘
Is it because you feel he doesn
’
t care for her enough?
’

‘
I don
’
t know,
’
said John, more slowly.
‘
We
’
ve known him since he was a boy. He and I never got on, so perhaps I
’
m prejudiced. He took his time before making up his mind to marry Elizabeth and I can never fathom out just how much he cares for her.
’

‘
Perhaps he wanted to be sure of offering her a nice home,
’
suggested Catherine, then remembered that Michael was a partner, and would be just as well placed as John in the firm, with an equally big income.

‘
Perhaps,
’
John was agreeing.
‘
Kate! This is in confidence. I don
’
t want the family to know I feel this way
...
yet!
’

‘
Of course,
’
she said stiffly. Did he think her some sort of telltale?

He was laughing gently as he took her coffee cup and put it away in the hamper, then suddenly he pulled her into his arms and hugged her against the soft wool of his pullover, which smelled of peat.

‘
Don
’
t be such a pincushion, love. Every word I say seems to offend you. We
’
ll kiss and be friends.
’

He kissed her thoroughly, and she broke away, her eyes even more bright.

‘
Don
’
t do that, John! I hate being kissed casually.
’

‘
Do you call that casually?
’
he asked, eyebrows
shooting up.

‘
Well, it wasn
’
t because you care about me. I know about
...’

‘
About what?
’
he asked, very softly.

‘
Nothing.
’

‘
I don
’
t believe you. Only don
’
t go listening to gossip, love. You
’
ll only get hold of the wrong end of the stick. I can tell you all you want to know.
’

‘
I don
’
t! I don
’
t want to hear about your private affairs.
’

John withdrew his arm.

‘
Very well,
’
he said becoming matter-of-fact.
‘
Let
’
s go home.
’

They drove most of the way in silence, and Catherine felt rather lost, as though she no longer had her sense of well-being. But whether it was because she no longer felt at ease with John, or because he had forced her to be wary of Michael, she didn
’
t quite know.

On Monday Miss Pryce returned to work, and smiled rather frostily when Catherine and she were introduced.

‘
How do you do, Miss Lyall. I hope you haven
’
t been finding things difficult taking over at short notice. Especially when your experience is rather
...
limited.
’

‘
I
’
ve enjoyed it,
’
Catherine told her,
‘
and no doubt my experience will improve with time.
’

‘
One is learning all the time. Even I, after so many years, have to be careful what I
’
m about. I
’
ve seen lots of changes in the firm over the years. People come and go.
’

Catherine felt very transient, but she only smiled and nodded.

‘
Mr.
Sheridan must be pleased to have your services,
’
she said politely, and Miss Pryce unbent a little, and smiled on her kindly.

‘
I think he is,
’
she agreed,
‘
though he
’
s lucky to have young Michael. John, too, of course.
’

Catherine noticed that she had put Michael first, and she could see by the way the older woman glanced over at the dark-haired man that she was fond of Michael Rodgers.

‘
You would know his father, of course,
’
she put
in.

‘
Yes,
’
said Miss Lyall, with a small sigh.
‘
I knew his father very well.
’

‘
Hello, Prycey,
’
said Elizabeth, arriving a few minutes late.
‘
How do you feel? Able to cope?
’

‘
As always, Elizabeth,
’
said Miss Pryce.

The day did not go very well. Catherine had taken a string of cultured pearls in for re-threading, and when the customer came in to collect them it was Miss Lyall who looked through the repair envelopes and picked it out.

Opening the envelope, she lifted out the pearls, and spread them on a black velvet pad.

‘
Those aren
’
t mine,
’
the woman said.
‘
Mine was a longer string of pearls than that.
’

Miss Pryce paused and compared the repair ticket numbers. On check-up, there was only one other lot of pearls in for repair and it was a double rope.

‘
I
’
m afraid these must be yours,
’
she insisted gently.
‘
Sometimes they do look different when they are re-threaded, and these ones have been done very carefully, as you can see.
’

‘
With some of the pearls missing,
’
the woman insisted.
‘
I tell you, mine was much longer than that.
’

Miss Pryce
’
s lips compressed a little, then she asked the woman to wait while Catherine served a customer with small pearl stud earrings, then she asked her to come over, after her customer had gone.

‘
Did you take this necklace for repair, Miss Lyall?
’

‘
Yes, I did,
’
said Catherine readily.
‘
You had broken it, hadn
’
t you, madam? Doesn
’
t it look nice now?
’

‘
Now it
’
s practically a choker,
’
the woman said coldly.
‘
I brought in a decent necklace of graduated pearls. A great many of them seem to be missing.
’