Sister of the Housemaster (23 page)

Her turn came at last, and she thought she must be shaking as much as Oliveri. She gave a smiling shrug to the two boys who were left, and said:

“
Well, here we go. Over the top.
”

“
Good luck, Miss Southbrook,
”
said Lester.

“
You are a sport,
”
said Matthews.

That gave her good heart. Her legs would hardly support her when she reached the bottom, but she would not move from the spot until she saw the two boys safely on the ground. Then, and then only,
she
looked round, and saw Arnold.

“
Is everybody accounted for?
”
she asked.

“
Yes,
”
he replied.
“
Everybody is safe.
”

Then, to her amazement, she saw Patrick. She stared at him, wondering if her eyes were playing her tricks. But it was Patrick. Suddenly, weakness flooded her. Like Oliveri, she had kept up while it was absolutely necessary, but now all her strength deserted her. She felt she would fall if somebody did not hold her, and unwanted tears
pricked the back of her eyes.

“
Oh, Patrick,
”
she said.
“
Patrick.
”

At once, he was by her side, and
his
a
rms were round her. She collapsed against
him
gratefully, her head on his shoulder, tears streaming from her eyes, and he held her closely,
his
cheek on her hair, saying gently to her:
“
There, there, it
’
s quite all right. You
’
re safe now, my dear, you
’
re all right now. What a brave girl you are, Ingrid. There, there.
”

“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
she sobbed,
“
to weep all over you.
”

“
It
’
s just reaction,
”
he said softly, soothingly.
“
Reaction from the shock and the fright. No, don
’
t move, darling, stay where you are. Stay where you belong, where you are at home.
”
His free hand was stroking her hair, soothing her, and as she gradually became comforted, strength flowed back into her again. She sighed.

“
Oh Patrick, what a night
,”
she said.

“
Ingrid darling, what a night,
”
he replied, and took one of her hands, and left a
ki
ss in the
palm of her hand.

She looked up at him in sudden swift alarm, pulling herself together. He smiled down at her, lovingly.

“
You are conscious this time, Ingrid,
”
he whispered to her. She looked into his eyes, and it seemed that she would never have enough of looking. And then Arnold
’
s voice said:

“
All right now, Ingrid?
”

“
Oh,
I’
m fine now,
”
she said, straightening herself. Patrick reluctantly let her go.
“
I
’
m sorry to have been so silly
...
”
Then she broke off, for, facing her from a distance of a few feet, was Laurence, watching the scene with a set face. She had forgotten Laurence! For a few brief minutes, she had
utterly forgotten him. Had he b
een there all the time? Most probably he had, watc
h
i
ng her
re
scue, waiting for her to t
u
rn to him, and she had not even seen him. She had seen only Patrick, had turned to Patrick. She was ashamed of herself.

She would have gone to Laurence, but he turned away, busying himself with on
e of the many jobs to be done.

“
You had better come to bed,
”
said Arnold gently.

“
Where?
”
she asked.

“
Our part of the House is quite all right. You can sleep in your own bed.
”

“
Oh good. And the boys?
”

“
The boys are all provided for. Only two dormitories are out of commission
—
and that is thanks to you, Ingrid
—
and the boys are sleeping in the sanatorium, or in spare beds elsewhere. Everybody is safe, and nobody is hurt.
”

Nobody is hurt, she thought. Is really nobody hurt? What of Laurence? how deeply have I hurt him? But she was too tired, too shaken, to do anything about it now. She wanted to go to bed.

Sylvia was staying away for the night, already warm in a fresh bed. Nora Everton went to a small spare room in Laurence
’
s house. Patrick, Arnold and Ingrid returned to Arnold
’
s house.

“
What you need, Ingrid, is a drink,
”
said Arnold.

“
What I really need is a cup of tea,
”
said Ingrid,
“
and some aspirins. I can
’
t stop shaking. I
’
m not used to this roof-top prowling.
”

“
Then I will get it for you,
”
said Arnold.
“
Sit down for a few minutes, and I
’
ll bring it to you.
”

He went into the kitchen, and Patrick turned to Ingrid. They looked at each other, without words, for a long time. Then Patrick put out a hand towards her, and, after a moment of hesitation, she put hers into it. He drew her into hi
s
arms,
and kissed her on the lips, a long, long kiss that stilled her shaking and filled her with content and wiped away all that old frustration.

Then he pulled her gently towards the settee.

“
Come,
”
he said,
“
you are tired. Come here. Like this. Now put your feet up. There, isn
’
t that nice?
”

“
Heavenly,
”
she admitted, resting in his arms.

He kissed her again, and she relaxed against him, feeling his hand in her hair, hearing his heavy heartbeat under her cheek.
”

“
How your heart is beating,
”
she said idly.

“
Do you wonder, after the events of this night?
”

“
How do you come to be here, anyway?
”
she asked suddenly, remembering how much she had taken for granted.

“
Sheer premonition,
”
he said.
“
I felt you needed me.
”

“
Oh no,
”
she protested,
“
that isn
’
t true.
”

“
It is, actually. I was on my way to the coast. I have often gone to this particular place before, but have always started early in the morning. This time, for no reason at all, I decided to do the journey in two halves, staying in a hotel overnight. And as I was going to bed, in a hotel in this town, and very late because I had
b
een reading some papers that engrossed me, I heard the fire brigade go out to call. The landlord, who was roused, said it looked like the school, so round I came. And now I shall stay here
—
I can double up with Arnold.
”

He kissed her again, and Arnold, coming into the room with the tea, was hardly surprised to find them so.

“
Do you want me to go away?
”
he asked.

“
No
,
”
said Ingrid.
“
Have some tea with us.
”
She g
o
t up to pour it out. 

“
Thank you. Then bed for you, young lady. You have had enough for tonight and if it hadn
’
t b
een for
you, everything might
h
ave been much worse.
”

“
How so?
”
asked Patrick.

“
Ingrid gave the alarm. She discovered the firs in its early stages, fortunately.
”

“
I couldn
’
t sleep,
”
she explained to Patrick. They looked at each other, understanding
e
a
c
h other very well.

“
How do you think it started?
”
Patrick asked Arnold.

“
We have no idea. Miss Everton thinks it was probably a midnight party
—
either one of those infernal little stoves, or a cigarette, or some such thing. The boys probably went off to bed and left something smouldering. We don
’
t know, and as it was no worse, I hope there won
’
t be many repercussions. But I had a bad quarter of an hour about you, Ingrid.
”

“
I had a bad half-hour myself,
”
she admitted.

“
When we followed you, we found flame and smoke roaring up the staircase like a chimney. We knew you could never come down through that
.
”

“
I know, we saw it too. That was why we used the roof. But Arnold, the boys were really wonderful. They kept their head
s
and were quite calm
—
I was really so proud of them.
”

“
I was proud, too. The whole House was calm and quiet. No other House was affected.
”

“
You see,
”
said Ingrid to Patrick,
“
we build here, too. In this Cathedral backwater.
”

“
Ingrid, I love you,
”
he answered, and she was suddenly scarlet from forehead to chin.

“
I must go to bed,
”
she said,
“
I am dropping with fatigue.
”

The men rose at once.

“
Good night, Arnold.
”

“
Good night, my dear.
”
He leaned down and kissed her.

“
Good night, Patrick.
”

“
Good night, Ingrid. Sleep well.
”
He did not touch her, but smiled into her eyes. The scarlet blush had faded now, but the words that had caused it were lying there between them. She went to her own room, almost too tired to wash away the marks of the night
’
s adventure, but filled with a deep happiness.

The following morning, the fire was a nine days
’
wonder for the school, and all the boys were envious of the six who had been rescued from the roof. Ingrid was happy to see Oliveri included in the pack of heroes.

Patrick left early to pick up his possessions at the hotel and go on to
his
appointment. He would be back in the afternoon, and this was something that Ingrid could look forward to. Her meeting with Laurence was hardly a thing to look forward to, but she knew that it must come, and come soon. When she received a note from him, asking her to see him, she we
n
t at once to his House.

“
Come in, Ingrid,
”
he said. He was grave.

She took the chair he offered her.

“
You are none the worse for
la
st night
’
s adventure?
”

“
No,
”
she said, smiling, but she did not evoke an answering smile.

“
Well, Ingrid?
”
he asked, after an awkward pause.