No Time For Love (Bantam Series No. 40) (6 page)

The man did as she asked, wiping his feet carefully on the mat. He was rather large and it was difficult for him to squeeze past her in the narrow Hall, but he managed it and waited while she closed the door.

“Will you come upstairs to the Drawing-Room?” she asked. “It is on the first floor.”

He put his hat down on a chair and waited at the bottom of the stairs for her to precede him.

Larina led the way.

As they entered the Drawing-Room, despite the faded curtains and the worn carpet it looked quite attractive in the late afternoon sunshine coming through the narrow windows.

“Will you sit down?” Larina asked politely.

“My name is Donaldson, Miss Milton,” the man said as he seated himself on the edge of the sofa while Larina took an arm-chair opposite him.

“You have heard from Mr. Farren?” she asked eagerly.

“Mr. Farren asked me to call on you,” Mr. Donaldson said. “I understand, Miss Milton, from what he said in his cable that you wish to see him.”

“Yes, I want to see him very much,” Larina answered and added, “... if it is possible.”

“Mr. Farren has suggested that you should meet in Sorrento.”

“In Sorrento?” Larina ejaculated. “In Italy?”

“Yes, Miss Milton, his family have a Villa there and Mr. Farren suggested that I arrange for you to go there immediately.”

Larina looked at him in astonishment.

“Did he suggest that I should travel... all that
...
way to see him?”

“He will be coming a great deal further from America,” Mr. Donaldson said, “and I imagine that he thought it would not be too much to ask you to make the journey from here.”

“No, no, of course not!” Larina said. “It is not that it is too much to ask, it is just that it was such a surprise!”

“You know where Sorrento is, Miss Milton?”

“Yes, of course,” Larina answered. “It is near Naples. My father has often spoken to me of Naples. He was very interested in Pompeii and Herculaneum.”

“They have made some great discoveries there, I believe,” Mr. Donaldson said.

“So I have read.”

Larina was talking automatically because her brain was dazed with the idea that had been presented to her.

She had naturally supposed that if Elvin was able to keep his promise he would come to London.

He had told her once that when he stayed in London he went to a hotel called Claridges, and Larina had imagined she would be able to visit him in his Sitting-Room there and perhaps he would be well enough to come to her house.

But Sorrento!

She felt as if she could not take it in.

“Mr. Farren was not, of course, expecting you to travel alone,” Mr. Donaldson was saying. “He asked that I should either escort you there myself or engage a Courier for you.”

Larina did not speak and after a moment he went on:

“Perhaps I should explain, Miss Milton, that I look after Mr. Farren’s interests in London where he has an office.”

“An office?” Larina asked in surprise. “Why would he need an office?”

There was a pause before Mr. Donaldson answered:

“Mr. Farren has various business interests not only in his own country but also in Europe, which we look after for him.”

“Oh, I see,” Larina said.

She had thought that Elvin must be fairly rich, otherwise he would not have been able to afford a chalet by himself. She knew also that apart from herself and her mother, Dr. Heinrich’s fees were very high.

But an office to look after his business affairs suggested considerable wealth and it did not seem like Elvin somehow to be concerned with material things.

Yet Mr. Donaldson was continuing in a brisk, businesslike way:

“What I am suggesting, Miss Milton, is that you leave everything to me. I’ll make your journey as comfortable as possible. All I want to know is how soon you can leave.”

“How soon?” Larina questioned in a bewildered manner.

“Mr. Farren seemed to think it was important that you should go to Italy as soon as possible. I am not quite certain how quickly he can be there.”

There was a moment’s pause and then Larina said:

“H ... have you any
...
idea how much it would
...
cost?”

She felt embarrassed as she asked the question.

“I’m afraid I’m explaining myself very clumsily,” Mr. Donaldson answered. “If you go to Italy, Miss Milton, it’ll be as Mr. Farren’s guest. He made that very clear in the cable. I’ll see to all the expenses.”

“But I do not
...
think I could permit...” Larina began, then her voice died away.

What was the point of protesting?

If Elvin wanted her to go to Sorrento the only way it would be possible for her to get there would be at his expense.

She knew quite well that she had not enough money left in the Bank to buy her ticket.

It was ridiculous to make difficulties or to argue about anything when Elvin was being so kind, so overwhelmingly kind in responding to her cry for help.

She had wondered after sending the cable if she could have worded it better. But somehow she thought he would understand what she was trying to say, and it was quite obvious now that he had done so.

He was coming to her aid; he was helping her as he had promised he would; she must agree to anything he suggested.

Mr. Donaldson was watching her from the sofa.

“All you have to tell me, Miss Milton,” he said after a moment, “is how soon you can be ready.”

Larina looked rather helplessly around the room, then she answered:

“I would be ready at once, if it were not for one thing.”

“And what is that, Miss Milton?”

“I shall have to sell the contents of this house,” Larina replied. “I need the money ... I must have some new clothes if I am going to Sorrento.”

She felt Mr. Donaldson looked surprised and she explained:

“You see, I have been living in Switzerland, which is where I met Mr. Farren. We wore thick clothing there as it
was very high up and even in the summer it could be very cold in the evenings. But Sorrento will be warm.”

“It will indeed,” Mr. Donaldson agreed. “In fact I should think it will be getting really hot as soon as we move into April.”

“That is what I thought,” Larina agreed.

“I can quite understand that you need some summer dresses,” Mr. Donaldson said.

He smiled and it gave him a humanity which had been rather lacking before.

“I have a wife and three daughters who seldom talk about anything else. So I am well aware how important they are.”

Larina smiled.

“Then as you understand perhaps you will help me. I have no further need for anything in this house, and so I want to sell everything it contains.”

“You will be leaving this house then, when you come back from Sorrento?” Mr. Donaldson asked.

“Yes ... I will be
...
going away.”

“Well we could put the furniture up for auction, or even try to find a buyer among the dealers, but it is going to take time.”

He looked around him, then said:

“I wonder if you could show me the rest of the house, Miss Milton?”

“Of course,” Larina agreed.

She rose to her feet and led Mr. Donaldson over the house.

There was not a great deal to see.

The mahogany bed and the matching furniture in her mother’s room, while attractive, were not valuable.

There was nothing in her own room which was worth more than a few pounds, but the Dining-Room table was good and so were the chairs which her father had said were Hepplewhite.

They were however not fashionable at the moment and there were some pictures on the walls which seemed to interest Mr. Donaldson more.

Finally they went into the tiny Study, and he glanced round quickly, apparently not interested in the books.

“I am afraid that is everything!” Larina said apologetically. “There is practically nothing downstairs in the kitchen. You see, since my father died we have not been able to afford a maid.”

She blushed as she spoke, thinking he would find it strange that she had lied to him on his arrival.

“You are living here alone?” he asked.

She nodded.

“I do not like to think of your doing that Miss Milton,” he said. “I should not permit it if it was one of my own daughters. It seems to me that the sooner you get to Sorrento the better!”

He paused, then added with a smile:

“Naturally you cannot go without something to wear and I think I can solve the problem.”

“How can you do that?” Larina asked.

“I am going to advance you a hundred pounds, Miss Milton, and while you are away I will sell the contents of your house. It if comes to more than a hundred pounds then I will let you have the balance when you return.”

“Supposing it is less?” Larina asked apprehensively.

“I do not think it will be,” Mr. Donaldson replied. “It is just a question of finding the right purchasers and that takes time. Some of the things, like the desk in the Sitting-Room, are quite valuable and the sideboard in the Dining-Room is worth perhaps fifteen pounds!”

“Perhaps you should get further advice before you commit yourself,” Larina suggested nervously.

“I’ll take a gamble on it,” Mr. Donaldson smiled.

He sat down as he spoke at the desk in the Study which Larina had used.

It was a sturdy piece of furniture and had none of the elegance of her mother’s upstairs.

“If I write you a cheque,” Mr. Donaldson said taking a cheque-book out of his pocket, “you’ll be able to cash it tomorrow. Could you buy all the clothes you need in three days?”

“Yes, I am sure I could,” Larina agreed.

“That will give me time to make the reservations on the boat from Dover to Calais and on the trains that will take you first to Rome and then on to Naples.”

“I can hardly believe it is true,” Larina exclaimed.

“I’ll let you know what time I shall be calling for you on Thursday morning.” Mr. Donaldson said. “I have a feeling it will be early.”

“I will not mind that.”

Mr. Donaldson blotted the cheque.

“If there is anything you want to ask me in the meantime,” he said, “you can get in touch with me at this address.” He made as if to take a card from his pocket—then changed his mind and wrote the address down on a piece of paper.

“Just call a messenger,” he said, “and I’ll come round as quickly as possible.”

“I am sure I shall want nothing,” Larina replied. “I shall be too busy shopping.”

“That’s right,” Mr. Donaldson smiled. “You enjoy yourself, Miss Milton. I don’t think you will want anything very elaborate. Since Mr. Farren has been ill I don’t suppose he will be entertaining extensively.”

“No, of course not,” Larina answered.

“The gardens of the Villa are very beautiful,” Mr. Donaldson said. “In fact people say they are the most beautiful gardens in the whole of Southern Italy, and the Villa itself is superb! It was originally the house of a famous Roman Senator, but I expect Mr. Farren will want to tell you about it himself.”

“I feel I am dreaming!” Larina said. “This cannot be happening. If you only knew what it meant to me
...
”

She stopped suddenly. She had been on the verge of revealing too much of her private feelings to a stranger.

“I can understand,” Mr. Donaldson said. “I often feel like that when I am dealing with Mr.—”

He checked himself and seemed to stumble over the name as he finished: “—Farren and his brothers.”

He moved towards the door.

“And now, Miss Milton, if you will excuse me,” he said. “I have a lot to do before I call for you on Thursday, and there is not much of today left.”

Larina saw him to the door and held out her hand.

“Good-bye, Mr. Donaldson,” she said. “Thank you, thank you very much indeed!”

“Good-bye, Miss Milton,” he replied gravely.

As he walked away, she saw that he had a motor-car driven by a chauffeur waiting for him a little way down the street.

She stared in surprise.

A motor-car!

There were only a few of them in London and the public looked at them in surprise and even consternation.

Elvin had never mentioned anything about motor-cars when they had been talking together, and she could not imagine him driving one of those ugly vehicles which caused so much dust and frightened the horses.

“The day I have to visit my patients in a motor-car,” she had heard her father say often enough. “I will give up my practice! Why, to come hooting up to the door would frighten anyone with a bad heart into having a seizure!”

“They are so nasty and smelly!” Larina’s mother had complained.

“Everyone is crazy for speed,” Dr. Milton had gone on, “faster trains, faster ships, motor-cars rushing along the roads, running over children and dogs—where will it all end?”

“Where indeed?” his wife echoed with a sigh. “I know of nothing more delightful than driving quietly and with dignity in a comfortable carriage.”

But secretly Larina had often longed to go in a motorcar. Then peeping round the door, as she saw Mr. Donaldson drive off she half wished she could be sitting beside him.

Even the noise the car made as it journeyed down Eaton Terrace had something exciting about it.

But as she closed the door she told herself that for the moment everything seemed exciting.

How could it be possible that she was going to Italy in three days’ time?