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supporting each other, which seems to make up the main part of Fellbufn"

He was smiling at her now. here is always Brampton Hill, and the houses there have lovely gardens, some of them two to three acres, and six to eight bedrooms, servants' quarters, butler's pantry, the lot;

"Well, I could aford one of those, Mr Sarcas. And I just might, if you can't find me anything decent in the town or near you. -. well, not in the town proper, you know what I man."

He came to her again saying, "Yes, old lady, I know what you meai And now, as we have to wait for dear Aunt Ada to come back with the special something for my lunch, do you think, in the meantime, I might have drink of tea or coffee? A drop of the hard stuff wold be even better."

She hobbled froirt hi now towards the kitchen, saying, "It's going to be tea. Doctors shouldn't drink not hard stuff, in ttie mornings. You should have learned that already from your partner. By the way, how is he?"'

"When he's not ptting it on he's bad, when he's! putting it on, for soine reason or other, he's on the point of death. But sriously, that leg of his is going

to be the finish of hin if he doesn't watch out." be

"Well, then you cod buy the practice." be

"Mother!" He sounded shocked. "Give over, wish-be

ing him dead! He's a decent old fellow really."

He's a selfish old devil. Don't talk to me about j people being decent. The majority only do what suits j them: if they go out of their way they want soine j thing." J 'I don't know who you take after Mrs Falconj

cynicism is bitter. Grandma and Granddad were V less-than *1 couple."

ili I know, and everybody loved them and n they were a pair of old dears. That was in ,!" an when they were being made a fuss of;

J bar just me tell you, like everybody else, they had selfj bar jKi. some broader than an arrow on a convict's and would go for each other, like cat and dog lit I was often woken up by it; all that sweetPeople light business made me sick."

sat down near the kitchen table and started to i as he watched her making the tea. He knew that IJH-TINMMF.. as she called her arthritic pains, were HS right-brace . her gip and that she, herself, was putting act for him. Oh, he was glad she was coming

1 him, for he needed her company even more ir needed his: there was a great emptiness in J if she were available he could see life taking 9iThat) pattern; she was so good to be with. *yet so sensible, and kind. And these qualities i"...tSo very much at the moment.

Oimon Steel stood befor the hall mirror adjusting his cravat. Beatrice was t his side holding a thick overcoat and a tweed hat with side flaps.

She watched her father now wet the end of a finger and rub it along each side of his narrow moustache. He was a handsome man, and she was very proud of him. As she now helped hdm into his coat, she said 'It's very cold out. How far are you intending to walk?"'

"That all depends upon how I feel, Beatrice. If reach town I might stay ad have a bite." "Why don't you take this carriage Father?"' He turned on her now, saying, "I'm not an old man Beatrice: I don't have to ride in the carriage every time I want some fresh sar. I hope that necessity doesn't happen for the next twenty years."

"Of course not Father, of course not. I was only-" "Yes, you were only playing the mother again. An0 you play it very well, dear, very well indeed. You'l to be congratulated." As he took his hat from her wi

"ifl was feeling in his pocket with the other "Oh, have you any loose change?"' change Father?"' ifls what I said. Let me have a couple of

**'iag

i perhaps three."

.ipLITTLE Father' comshe stepped back from him-1- only enough of the housekeeping money through the week, until... until the end of , And then there are the bills Father."

lii his eyes as if attempting to be patient JEI 'allyou needn't remind me of the bills. ll be settled at quarter day and that is in three i Now can I have some small change? the housekeeper; I would have thought that, good housekeepers, you manage to keep a

H the sidest l ather; but it's eaten up with"

comshe had

IL "with your demands for small change." .

she now turned about and walked down "i corridor to the office. Taking a tin box from i she looked down on it in apprehension for a before selecting two sovereigns. A few a later, when she handed them to him, he at them and the only remark he made was i a statement that cast her down: it was, 'allyou ii"" g dgf an old maid." Then he marched the wide hall, pulled open the front door and be it none too gently behind him, the while she be standing where he had left her.

be, her father. She thought she understood S " comvas a wonderful man, kind, generous: he was ping people, wanting money to give away. be he said hurtful things. Yet she understood that as well, because she was the only one in family who took after him: she, too, said hurtfai things when she was annoyed. And she was annoye now, for there was Rosie coming down the stairs, a dressed up for going out, and she cried at her, 'Whe are you going on a bitter morning like this?"'

"Why are you asking the road you know, Beatrice I'm going next door, the ony place have to visit" bar "Well, all I can say is you've got very poor taste I've warned you, haven't I? If ather knew you went there so often there would be the devil to pay. And you know what he has threatened to do with those animals should they stray round that fence. And hel I do it." i Rosie stood at the foot of the stairs. She was half a head taller than her sister and she looked down o her as she said quietly, "If he didn't do it, you would

wouldn't you, Beatrice?"' i

There was a pause before Beatrice said firmly,

"Yes. Yes, I would, because he's on land that doesn't belong to him."

"But it does belong to him; it was his father's..

Grandpapa gave it to his father. He saved...

'Oh, don't go over that again. I'm sick of listening to it. But I'll tell you this much: Father's going to set if something can't be done; there might be a loophol in this deed of gift business."

Rosie fastened the button on the colletter of her coa1 under her chin, as she said slowly, "Oh, you wou like that, wouldn't you? to see them turfed out, to se his livelihood taken away. Well, if that was the cas

and I wasn't going to marry Teddy, I would go 11 ha"

laughed sneeringly at this, saying, Dont

*"i". Anyway, yu cant do anything for tMore ree years: you're under ather's ju-untfl you are twenty-one. He could have j3n back from wherever you were and made were. So, get that out of your head. It's a "* y011 to become engaged to your " was surprised."

jesciisa towards her now and quietly said, yf tell you why he peritted it, it's because in the Ministry, the Diplomatic Service, and f?! of peope in high places, and Father is a

" *"* he first water. And you take after him." *M"- walked towards the door Beatrice gaped liBHW-I, There went someone who had ," changed. Rosie was no longer her favourite, jj one she liked among her sisters.

She had

- little girl who could be scolded, then pam backslash had been the child to whom she could play y But the child had gone; in fact, the young girl lt he rested her hand on the bannister as if bej55Ti She knew what both Helen and Marion f dg ner" Dut Rosie had always been on her side.

be she had chastised her about her visits next t 1i had never turned on her and retaliated as just done.

sudden she felt a loss and she cried out against his had been a kind of companion, with little to , such a good listener. And she laughed easiy. when she had upbraided her she would laugh. , toned her head to look towards the door. It dis.jfjKnowledge on her sister, not loudly, not with a bang, as it had done on her father, but it had just closed a

"I if it had put an end to something, softly. But what?; She told herself she must not go for Rosie any! be

more, at least in connection with those next door. Mo matter what she thought she would keep it to herself, she couldn't lose Rosie, too. Before she had become

.. engaged to Edward Golding, she herself had had fear at times of what might happen between Robbie Macintosh and her, for it made little difference that he was ten years older. She herself had been against " the idea of her becoming engaged to Edward, but the .

alternative was unthinkable. backslash a She gazed about the hall. She should be happy , very happy, for now she was mistress of this house backslash this beautiful, beautiful house.

She'd always loved ha be

home, but now it had become an obsession with bet. She ruled it. She didn't own it, but she ruled it. Now and again, though, a particular thought would frighte her: What if her father decided to marry again?

In her mind she had screamed at what she saw as the conj sequence. She would go mad. She couldn't bear an other woman ruling this house. It wasn't so much se could not think of her father taking another wife, but it was another woman being mistress of this house.

She took her hand abruptly away from the banniste and her skirts seemed to dance from one side to thej other as she briskly made her way towards the draw;

ing-room to check Janie Bluett's work of the morn

ing. *

Instead of taking her usual way by the wall and t;

water to get into me smallholding, Rosie wal;

* the main gateway of the house and proceeded was road.

TO IT strange that by whichever way she [l place it was as if she were moving into world: she took deeper breaths, and she

Ti the desire to sit down, even to lie down

- and stretch her body to its full extent and just. Annie Macintosh hailed her from that part WM where the animal enclosure was railed ltcalled to her, 'Isn't it a snifter!

But I love Mu I'm coming in, don't come down." merely nodded at her, then went into the cotstraight to the kitchen, where immediately met her like a wave.

loosening her coat, she flopped down into the , to the right of the large open fireplace, emitted a long drawn-out sigh. If the kitchen I that of a huge farm it could not have rep? it more fully, for from its oak-beamed ceiling Jl of smoked ham and bunches of herbs. A Igandddii kitchen table ran down the middle beifffi The china-decked dresser stood against IpLike and flanking another was a padded settle, were' of which a door led into the long, cool conF always felt this to be a comforting room, so *

(fae one in the house, and at the present mo-i' was feeling in need of comfort.

disll woman came bustling in and as she be ,S a heavy basket of sprouts onto the table, she

y- finger ends are dropping off."

H Robbie?"'

"Oh, hes gone into town with a load. The cabbage is finished, and the carrots. There's only the sprouts left and the last of the clamped taties."

She stopped in the act of pulling her mittens off

and, looking hard at Rosie, she said,

"What's the mat. ter, girl?"'

"Oh, everything, Mrs. Annie. I've just had word with Beatrice. The house is awful these days.

Oh! 1 wish I was married and away."

Annie Macintosh took off her short coat befor reaching up to the delft rack to lift down two cups and saucers. Then, puttin these onto a tray she asked quietly, You want to be married so much?"'

es. Oh, yes, Mrs Annie."

"You want to be married just in order to leave the house?"'

Rosie did not answer immediately: she stared at ths dear friend of hers vhiie she seemed to consider, then she said hesitantly, " ant to leave the house, but I do like Teddy."

Yo like Teddy? What does that mean, girl, you hke Teddy? You like me, you like Robbie, but if you're going to marry somebody you've ot to more than like them."

'Well...well, yes. Yes, i more than like him, I" very fond of him."

'Very fond of him."

Yes." Rosies voice was loud now. Does that mean you're in love with him?"' In love with him?

Yes, i suppose so." 'allyou suppose so."