Demelza (43 page)

The house was very quiet, seemed to lack something. She suddenly realized that what it was lacking was Verity. She stood quite still and saw for the first time that she had robbed this household of its most vital personality. She had been the instrument of a theft, perpetrated on Francis and Elizabeth.

She had never looked on it that way before. All the time she had seen Verity's life as incomplete. She had looked at it from Andrew Blamey's point of view but not from Elizabeth's or Francis's. If she had thought of them at all she had considered them as clinging to Verity from selfish motives, because she was so useful to them. It hadn't occurred to her that everyone in this household might in fact love Verity and feel her personal loss - not until she stood in this hall, which seemed so large and so empty today. She wondered how she had had the impertinence to come.

'Mr Poldark will see ee right away,' said Mary Bartle behind her.

So while Sir John Trevaunance was entertaining Ross at his breakfast table, Francis was entertaining Demelza.

He got up when she went in. Unlike Sir John he was fully dressed, in a buff-coloured morning coat with velvet lapels, a silk shirt and brown breeches. His look was not friendly.

'I'm sorry,' he said shortly, 'Elizabeth is not down. She breakfasts upstairs these days.'

'I didn't come to see Elizabeth,' Demelza answered, flushing. 'I came to see you.'

'Oh. In that case, please sit down.'

'I don't want for you to interrupt your meal.'

'It is finished.'

'Oh.' She sat down, but he stood, a hand on the back of his chair.

'Well?'

'I have come to you to tell you something,' she said. 'I b'lieve you had a quarrel with Ross over Verity leaving the way she did. You thought he was at fault.'

'Has he sent you here this morning?'

'No, Francis; you know he would not do that. But I - I have to clear this up, even if you hate me for it ever after. Ross had nothing to do with Verity's elopement. I know that for certain.'

Francis's angry eyes met hers. 'Why should I believe you when I have disbelieved him?'

'Because I can tell you who did help.'

He laughed shortly. 'I wonder.'

'Yes, I can. For I was the one who helped, Francis, not Ross. He knew nothing about it. He didn't approve of her going any more than you did.'

Francis stared at her, frowned at her, turned sharply away as if shaking her confession aside, went to the window.

'I believed it was... I believe it was for Verity's happiness,' she stumbled on. She had intended to tell him the whole truth but her courage failed her. 'After the Assembly I offered to act as…as a go-between. Captain Blamey wrote to me an' I passed the letters to Verity. She gave letters to me and I gave them to the Mercury man. Ross didn't know nothing at all about it.'

There was silence. A clock in the room was ticking. Francis took a deep breath, then blew it out slowly on the window.

'You damned interfering…' He stopped.

She got up.

'Tisn't pleasant to come here and confess this. I know how you feel for me now. But I couldn't let this quarrel betwixt you and Ross go on from my fault. I didn't wish to hurt you or Elizabeth, please know that. You're right: I was interfering; but if I did wrong twas out of love for Verity, not to hurt you…'

'Get out!' he said.

She began to feel sick. She had not thought the interview would be nearly as bad as this. She had tried to repair a mistake, but it did not seem that she had done any good at all. Was his feeling for Ross any different?

'What I came for,' she said, 'was to take the blame. If you hate me, that's maybe what I deserve, but please don't let this be a quarrel between you and Ross. I should feel…'

He put up his hand to the catch of the window as if to open it. She saw that his hand was trembling. What was the matter with him?

'Will you go,' he said, 'and never enter this house again. Understand, so - so long as I live I never want you to come near Trenwith again. And Ross can stay out as well. If he will marry an ignorant trull such as you then he must take the consequences.'

He had controlled his voice so hard that she could only just hear what he said. She turned and left him, went out into the hall, picked up her cloak, passed through the open doorway into the sun. There was a seat beside the wall of the house and she sat on it. She felt faint, and the ground was unsteady.

After a few minutes the breeze began to revive her. She got up and began to walk back to Nampara.

Lord Devoran was not present, being kept away by an attack of tissick. Mr Trencrom was away also, being still privily occupied with the claims of his suffering employees - those who had had the misfortune to be found with contraband goods in their cellars and lofts.

From the beginning Ross felt there was something wrong. This was a general meeting of the shareholders and as such was not held until after dark. No general meeting had ever yet been held in daylight, since there might always be a spy about watching comings and goings.

A score had turned up. Chief item for discussion was Ray Penvenen's proposal that a rolling and cutting mill should be built at the top of the hill where his land joined Sir John's, he personally to pay half the cost, the company the other half. The project was urgent, for the venturers of Wheal Radiant had suddenly refused to renew the lease on their battery mill. Unless the company put up its own mill at once it would be forced to sell the copper solely in block ingots.

The only debatable point was the selection of site. Nevertheless Ross was for making the concession to Penvenen's amour-propre, for Penvenen had what was at a premium, free money. What Ross expected was opposition from Alfred Barbary. And he got it. The dreary old argument was dragged up about the north-coast shareholders' getting all the plums. Ross listened to the wrangle but noted again that the cross-eyed Aukett sat silent, plucking at his bottom lip. A carpet manufacturer called Fox might have been turned to stone.

Presently Tonkin, who made the perfect chairman, said: 'I should like the opinion of some of the other shareholders.'

After the usual sort of hesitation some views were given, mainly in favour of the mill near the works.

Then Aukett said: 'It's all very well, gentlemen, but where's our half of the money coming from, eh; that's what I'd like to know?'

Tonkin said: 'Well, it was understood by the leading shareholders that additional calls might be expected and we all accepted that. The need is great. If we can't roll and beat the copper we miss nearly all our small markets. And the small markets may just turn the scale. We can't force the Government to buy our copper for the Mint, but we can expect our own friends to buy their requirements from us.'

There was a murmur of agreement.

'Well, that's very well,' said Aukett, squinting worse than usual in his excitement, 'but I'm afraid our mine will be unable to meet any such call. Indeed, it looks as if someone will have to take over the shares I hold.'

Tonkin looked at him sharply. 'Whether you sell the shares is your own concern, but so long as you retain them you're in honour bound to accept the responsibilities we all jointly incurred.'

'And so we'd like to,' said Aukett. 'But you can't get blood out of a stone. Whether we like it or not we shall have to contract out of the undertaking.'

'You mean default?'

'No, there's no question of defaulting. The shares are paid up. And our good will you'll retain, but…'

'What's wrong?' said Blewett. 'You told me on Tuesday that the higher prices at the last ticketing had put the Wheal Mexico venturers in better heart than they'd been for years.'

'Yes,' Aukett nodded. 'But yesterday I had a letter from Warleggan's Bank telling me they could no longer support our loan and would we make arrangements to get it transferred elsewhere. That means…'

'You had that?' said Fox.

'That means ruin unless Pascoe's will take it over, and I have my doubts, for Pascoe's was always on the cautious side and want more security. I'm calling in at Warleggan's on my way home to see if I can persuade them to reconsider it. It's unheard of suddenly to withdraw one's credit like this…'

'Did they give any reason?' Ross asked.

'I had a very similar letter,' Fox interrupted. 'As you know I have been extending my business in several directions and I have drawn heavily during the last year. I went to see Mr Nicholas Warleggan last evening and explained that a withdrawal of their facilities would mean the failure of these schemes. He was not very amenable. I believe he knew all about my interest in Carnmore and resented it. I really believe that was at the bottom of it.'

'It was.' Everyone looked at St. Aubyn Tresize. 'My private business is not for discussion at this table, gentlemen. But money has been advanced to me during the last few years from Warleggan's Bank. They have the best security in the world: land; but it is a security I don't propose to forfeit. If they foreclose at this stage I shall fight them - and they'll not get the land. But they will get most of my assets - including my shares in the Carnmore Copper Company.'

'How the Devil have they come to know all this?' Blewett demanded nervously. 'More than half of us here have some indebtedness that can be assailed.'

'Someone has been talking,' said a voice at the bottom.

Richard Tonkin tapped the table. 'Has anyone else here had word from the Warleggans?'

There was silence.

'Not yet,' said Johnson.

'Well, drot it,' said Trevaunance. 'You should all bank with Pascoe, as I do; then you'd not get into this mess. Get Pascoe's to take over your accounts.'

'Easier said than done,' Fox snapped. 'Aukett's right. Pascoe's want a better security. I was with them and could not get enough free money and I changed to Warleggan's. So there's small hope of me being able to change back.'

Ray Penvenen grunted impatiently. 'Well, that's a matter personal to you. We can't all start confessing our private difficulties or it will smack of a Methody revival. Let's get back to this question of the mill.'

At length it was agreed that the mill should be put up as a separate venture by Penvenen on the site of his own choosing. The Carnmore company should hold only thirty percent of the shares. Unreality had come to sit among them. Very well for Penvenen with his upcountry interests, to dismiss the matter as of no moment. Mines worked on credit, and these were not times for facing its withdrawal. Ross saw the same look on many faces. Someone has let us down. And if three names are known, why not all? The meeting closed early. Decisions were taken, proposals went through; the name of Warleggan was no more spoken. Ross wondered how many of the decisions would be put into effect. He wondered if there was any danger of their stiff fight becoming a debacle.

When it was over he shook hands all round and was one of the first to leave. He wanted to think. He wanted to consider where the leak might have occurred. It was not until he was riding home that a very uncomfortable and disturbing thought came to him.

DEMELZA WAS IN bed but not asleep. When she spoke he gave up the attempt to undress in the dark.

'You're roosting early,' he said. 'I hope this is a sign of a reformed life.'

Her eyes glittered unnaturally in the growing yellow light of the candle. 'Have you any news of Mark?'

'No; it's early.'

'There are all sorts of rumours about France.'

'Yes, I know.'

'How did your meeting go?'

He told her.

She was silent after he had finished. 'D'you mean it may make more difficulties for you?'

'It may.'

She lay quiet then while he finished undressing. Her hair coiled on the pillow. One tress of it lay on his pillow as he came to get into bed. He picked it up and squeezed it in his fingers a moment before putting it with the rest.

'Don't put out the light,' she said. 'I've something to tell you.'

'Can't you talk in the dark?'

'Not this. The darkness is so heavy sometimes… Ross, I b'lieve we should sleep sweeter without the bed hangings these warm nights.'

'As you please.' He put the candle beside the bed where it flung yellow fancies on the curtains at their feet.

'Have you heard anything more of Verity?' she asked.

'I've not stirred from Trevaunance Cove all day.'

'Oh, Ross,' she said.

'What is the matter?'

'I… I have been to Trenwith today to see Francis.'

'The Devil you have. You'd get no welcome there. And certainly no news of Verity.'

'It wasn't for news of Verity I went. I went to tell him he was mistaken in thinking you'd encouraged Verity to elope.'

'What good would that do?'

'I didn't want that blame laid to me, that I'd caused a quarrel between you. I told him the truth: that I'd helped Verity unbeknown to you.'

She lay very still and waited.

Annoyance was somewhere within him but it would not come to a head: it ran away again into channels of fatigue.

'Oh, Heavens,' he said at length, wearily. 'What does it matter?'

She did not move or speak. The news sank further into his understanding, set off fresh conduits of thought and feeling.

'What did he say?'

'He - he turned me out. He - he told me to get out and... He was so angry. I never thought…'

Ross said: 'If he vents his ill-humour on you again… I could not understand his attitude to me on Monday. It seemed just as wild and unreasonable as you say…'

'No, Ross, no, Ross,' she whispered urgently. 'That's not right. It isn't him you should be angry with, it is me. I am in the fault. Even then I didn't tell him all.'

'What did you tell him?'

'I - that I had passed on letters from Andrew Blamey and sent him letters from Verity ever since the Assembly in April.'

'And what didn't you tell him?'

There was silence.

She said: 'I think you will hit me, Ross.'

'Indeed.'

'I did as I did because I loved Verity and hated her to be unhappy.'

'Well?'