New Boss at Birchfields (17 page)

‘
You
’
re a bit too late with the heroics!
’

And feeling incredibly foolish, she saw that he was pulling up at the gate of Amulree.

He reached in and lifted her out of the back seat. Light blazed from the little cottage windows as he carried her along the narrow short path. Immediately the door was thrown open and in the burst of light, Briony saw that the bright Highland colouring had faded from Hettie
’
s cheeks, and that her face looked grey and aged.
‘
What happened?
’
she cried as Briony was carried into the living-room.

‘
It
’
s quite all right,
Mrs.
Gillies,
’
Blane answered quietly.
‘
There are no bones broken, and apart from a few bruises and the fact that she
’
s quite worn out, she
’
s all right. But she
’
s had to spend the night in the open, and I think you should send for the doctor right away. Now tell me, where does she sleep?
’

Hettie pointed up the narrow stairs and he carried her up, and with great difficulty managed to negotiate the narrow strip of hall and to get Briony into her bedroom and lay her down on the soft mattress.

And now Briony made an attempt to thank him.
‘
You
’
ve been really wonderful to me. I don
’
t know how to thank you. I
’
m so sorry about everything and—’

But he interrupted her stumbling efforts to make amends.
‘
Cheer up,
’
he said.
‘
The night is over at last, and it
’
s not likely you
’
ll have to go through anything like this again—at least, I hope, not for a long time.
’
With a wave of his hand he turned away and she heard his footsteps run down the stairs.

But the night was not over yet—at least not as far as she was concerned, for, to her horror, she could hear Hettie
’
s voice quite clearly, raised in battle.

‘
And now, if you
’
re quite finished with my godchild,
’
she was saying belligerently,
‘
you can get out of this house!
’

Whatever Blane replied to this was inaudible to Briony, because his voice was low and measured. But once again she could hear Hettie
’
s voice raised shrilly,
‘
I
’
ve made up my mind about one thing—she
’
ll never work for you again. When she
’
s recovered I
’
ll make it my business to see that she keeps away from the Lennox Riding School!
’

CHAPTER NINE

For
the
next few
days Briony felt too ill to care much about anything.

Hettie proved a tower of strength. She did not spare herself, but laboured up the narrow stairs to Briony
’
s room with hot-water bottles and bowls of nourishing soup.

But rapidly Briony recovered—she had youth and good health on her side, and soon she was receiving visitors. Annie Skinner arrived to survey the invalid and to assure her that she looked terrible. Hettie
’
s friends from the dressmaking class called, with little presents and words of sympathy. A gift she valued especially was a bedjacket of quilted apricot-coloured fabric edged with white fur. She got a flood of get-well cards from her young pupils and two very comic ones from Johnny and Andy. But not a single word from Blane.

Sometimes in the afternoons, as she dozed off after one of Hettie
’
s nourishing meals, she would wish wistfully that Blane might come to see her, but in her clearer moments she realised he would not come. He was not the kind of man who would tolerate Hettie
’
s insulting words.

Then one day she had a very unexpected visitor.

She had fallen asleep after lunch, and woke up to the sound of Senga
’
s voice in the sitting-room. She raised herself on her elbow, straining her ears to hear.

From what she gathered, Senga was in an affable mood. There was the clink of tea-cups and she could hear her say,
‘
Everything I
’
ve been told about your baking is quite true,
Mrs.
Gillies. Your sultana scones are absolutely terrific!
’

Briony heard Hettie
’
s deep chuckle—always a sign that she was pleased.
‘
Oh, there
’
s nothing to them, I can assure you. It just happens I have the knack.
’

The next words Briony heard were,
‘
Then you
’
re quite sure that Briony feels up to seeing me?
’

‘
Och yes,
’
came Hettie
’
s voice.
‘
She
’
s quite on the mend, and I
’
m sure she
’
ll be delighted to see a visitor. Go straight on upstairs. I shan
’
t come with you, if you don
’
t mind, because the stairs are very steep and I have to make so many trips up and down these days—and as you know, I
’
m not as young as I used to be.
’

So Senga was coming up to see her! Briony slid out of bed and quickly ran a comb through her tousled hair. Then from the wardrobe she took her new bedjacket and slipped it on. Yes, the deep apricot shade lent a glow to her complexion and complemented the russet of her hair.

As she was getting into bed again she could hear Senga
’
s footsteps lightly running up the stairs. But what could Senga have to say to her? Briony wondered, and had a sudden dread of this coming interview. Somehow it boded no good.

There was a short knock on the door and Senga
’
s head appeared.
‘
May I come in?
’
she enquired sweetly.
‘
Am I disturbing you?
’

‘
No, of course not,
’
Briony answered.

Senga settled herself on the end of the bed, crossed her legs and regarded the invalid,
‘
Well, your godmother
’
s right—you definitely look as if you
’
re coming round. You
’
ll be up and about in no time, I expect.
’
Briony nodded, regarding the girl warily. There was something almost too self-possessed about her manner.

‘
I suppose you
’
ve gathered by this time that I
’
m really not the type to pay visits to sickbeds with jellies and sweet words, so I
’
ll get straight to the point.
’

Briony looked at her wide-eyed, wondering what was coming next.

For a moment Senga regarded the tips of her elegant sandals, then with a tight smile said abruptly,
‘
I
suppose you remember the evening Sandra was lost. You should—after all, you have good reason to remember it. Well, that evening, when I rang to Blane to tell him Sandra was missing, I discovered you were at the house. Now why was that? After all, I think I
’
ve a right to know, considering how things are between Blane and myself.
’
She fixed Briony with a bleak eye.

‘
I—I
—’
To her annoyance Briony was aware that
she sounded quite guilty.
‘
I was there because Blane asked me to come,
’
she said shortly.
‘
He wanted me to come back after tea.
’

‘
Indeed!
’
Senga
’
s eyebrows rose.
‘
And why on earth did he want that?
’

‘
Because we hadn
’
t decided on a hiding-place for the prizes—at the end of the treasure hunt, you see. And
I
knew of a hollow in the oak tree, and
—’

But these details didn
’
t interest Senga. She jumped to her feet, her face contorted with anger, and began to stride up and down Briony
’
s small room.

‘
That treasure hunt!
’
she cried.
‘
I
’
m sick of the very sound of it! I wish I
’
d never thought of it! All day long I hear nothing else from the children at school, and now Blane is all wrapped up in it—madly keen to make a success of things. He
’
s the kind of man who throws his whole heart into anything he tackles. That
’
s his way. People don
’
t exist for him when he
’
s taken with one of his enthusiasms. But as far as I
’
m concerned, I
’
ve had more than enough of it!
’

So that was what was troubling Senga, Briony thought. She was not getting enough attention. She wanted Blane
’
s full concentration fixed on her, and would be content with nothing less.

As Briony gazed at her in amazement, Senga seemed to become aware of how irrational her behaviour appeared. With an effort she pulled herself together and
sat down on a chair beside Briony
’
s bed.
‘
But that
’
s not really what I came to speak to you about,
’
she continued.

She opened the large black leather handbag she was carrying and took out something loosely wrapped in brown paper. She handed it to Briony and fixed her with an accusing glare.

Briony parted the brown paper and gasped as she saw the book of Scottish ballads which Blane had given her, but stained and discoloured almost beyond recognition. The once beautiful pale green cover was faded and muddied and some of the pages were to
rn
.

‘
But—but—what happened to it? Where did you get it?
’
she gasped.

‘
So you recognise it!
’
Senga accused tightly.

‘
Why yes, of course,
’
Briony told her.
‘
It was in the pocket of the jacket I was wearing when I found Sandra.
’

‘
The jacket which you so nobly wrapped around her,
’
Senga remarked.
‘
Quite the little angel of charity, weren
’
t you?
’

‘
I
’
m sorry,
’
Briony said weakly.
‘
I
’
d forgotten it was in the pocket. I mean, it
’
s not the kind of thing you
’
d think about at a time like that.
’

‘
It was found when they went to pick up her cycle. With her usual genius for mischief she
’
d let it fall in a patch of damp heather.
’

‘
I wouldn
’
t have had this happen for the world,
’
Briony said miserably.

‘
I
’
m quite sure you wouldn
’
t,
’
Senga agreed sardonically.
‘
But as it
has
happened, perhaps you
’
d be good enough to let me know how it got into your hands in the first place. As you can see, it was a present from me to Blane.
’

‘
We were talking about the clues, and—and—as I
’
m not very good at making up verses, he thought it might give me ideas, and
—’

‘
He
gave
it to you?
’

‘
But not to keep, of course,
’
Briony told her quickly.
‘
But he let me have it for a day or two—and he warned me to take good care of it,
’
she added placatingly.

‘
I
see,
’
Senga replied.
‘
And what exactly do you intend to do about it? As you were responsible for its safekeeping, I assume you have some ideas about its replacement.
’

Briony looked at her in dismay.
‘
But how could I? I can see it
’
s a beautiful old book. How could I ever get one like that again?
’

‘
You
’
re right,
’
Senga snapped,
‘
I don
’
t think you could. I bought that in an auction of rare books. There
’
s not the remotest chance you could lay your hands on one like it. Not unless you
’
re prepared to scour the booksellers—and pay through the nose as well!
’

Briony felt her heart beat faster with dismay.
‘
Then what on earth can I do? I can
’
t give it back to him like this! He
’
d be simply furious, especially as it
’
s a gift from you!
’

Senga could not restrain a slight smile of satisfaction.
‘
Yes, indeed! But that
’
s exactly what I think you should do—face up to it and hand it back.
’

Briony looked at her pleadingly.
‘
You couldn
’
t give it back to him yourself? I mean, he wouldn
’
t mind so much if it were you.
’

‘
I wouldn
’
t consider it for a moment,
’
Senga told her coldly.
‘
You got yourself into this mess and you can get yourself out of it. We
’
re in love, you know. Very much in love! I think it might be as well for you, Briony, if you kept that strictly in mind. And I suggest you return that book as soon as possible. You
’
re perfectly well now and you
’
re not going to escape your responsibilities by skulking in bed. I
’
ll leave you now to think of a few excuses—that
’
s if you can find any convincing enough.
’
And without waiting for Briony
’
s reply she ran lightly down the stairs.

When she heard the door of the cottage shut behind Senga, Briony turned the book over in her hands. She was shocked anew by its look of dilapidation. This was a book that had been precious to Blane because it had been a present from the woman he loved. How was she going to face him? She flinched at the thought of what he would say to her when she returned it. But Senga had been right—it would have to be done! And she had no possible excuse for delay. She was fully recovered, and the sooner it was done the better.

On the following morning she got up very early, tiptoed into the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea. Hettie was a light sleeper and Briony dreaded the thought of awakening her and of having to face the angry scene which would undoubtedly take place. Hettie was determined she should not return to the Lennox Riding School, and Briony was equally determined to do all in her power to keep her job there. Better to encounter Hettie
’
s anger later, when she had got this unpleasant chore over.

To her relief she was able to slip out of the house without awakening her godmother. As she trudged along in the gloomy morning light, the book of ballads in the shoulder-bag she usually carried to work, she had plenty to think about.

Apart from Hettie
’
s stinging remarks to Blane and her emphatic statement that Briony would never work for him again, she had to consider whether Blane was prepared to keep the job open for her. When she arrived at Birchfields would she be met with an abrupt dismissal?

Even if he disregarded Hettie
’
s remarks as too contemptible to be taken seriously, there was still the matter of the book. No amount of patching and smoothing and fixing pages with plastic tape had been able to disguise that it had received very rough treatment indeed.