The Girl From Over the Sea (11 page)

She
ought to
have remembered, Lesley told herself bitterly, how keen, once they got to England, he had been to stay in London. That was his
‘
scene
’
as he had kept saying, the place where he might develop his talents. He had been
depressed
and uncooperative all the way down to Cornwall and while they were at the King
’
s Arms in St Benga Town. Then all at once he had changed and she had been too dim to suspect anything.

Lesley sought for words, knowing both of them were eyeing her closely.
‘
What about this place
...
and your inheritance here?
”
she asked, and even to herself the question seemed absurd.

Ricky shrugged and took the sandwich she was offering him.

‘
You know I
’
ve never
been
dead keen on this
,’
he replied.

Lesley looked around the room, taking in all its elegant
comfort
and luxury. What was the use of arguing, at least at
this
stage?
‘
How
...
how did it happen?
’

‘
Why don
’
t you start from the beginning?
’
Rita put in languidly.
‘
Les will see then how in
...
inevitable it all seems
.’

‘
Go
on,
Rick
,’
Lesley prompted, starting to eat her own sandwich.

‘
I
’
d have told you
before,
Les
,’
the boy said contritely,
‘
but I didn
’
t want to
w
orry you. You
’
d got enough on with looking after Rita. Actually it was that same day when she
collapsed.
I
’
d
got Dingo
in
the courtyard
when he slipped the lead
and
dashed off down the drive. I went after him as far as the
Lodge
gates,
but
I couldn
’
t see him anywhere. As I was standing looking
about,
this van drew up and this fellow asked me
‘
if I
w
a
nted
a lift. He said he was going only as far as Penpethic Harbour, so I asked him how far that was.
He
said about
two
miles, so I thought I
’
d go with him, looking out for
Dingo on the
way, and hop off if I saw him. I guessed I
could easily walk
back.

‘
Well, we got talking
and I found out he was the drummer in a
group that
worked in this disused cinema in Penpethic.
There
’
s a coffee bar and at
first they had sessions at the week
ends
just
for free,
but they
had
such cro
w
ds they
’
re charging now. In
the season
they
’
ll
be
on every night non-stop, and
that means forming another group of which I
’
m one.
’

‘
Tim Drage is the man who runs it. He
’
s a great guy, Les, and he
’
s sure going places and I
’
m going with him. He
’
s giving himself this coming season down here, and then he
’
s going to be London based. They
’
re getting loads of publicity down here now. There was a bus-load of kids from the other end of the county last Saturday night.
’

‘
Isn
’
t it madly exciting, Les?
’
Rita broke in, her blue eyes blazing like her brother
’
s.
‘
Imagine a discotheque down here. Les, as soon as I
’
m up we must go.
’

‘
We
’
d better wait till you
are
up,
’
Lesley warned, and for the moment added nothing else. They were no different from most of their age in being obsessed with the pop music scene. She
’
d had a phase herself, but it had passed. But Ricky especially seemed more obsessed than most. How often she had tried to talk him out of it, warning him he would be courting disappointment and even heartbreak if he went on dreaming that once he was in England fame might be round the
corner
.

‘
You
’
ve been going down to this discotheque place every day?
’
she asked.

‘
Yes, I
’
ve always managed to thumb a lift from somebody,
’
he replied.
‘
It
’
s only properly open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays just now, but the boys are always there, some practising, some lounging around, because of course there are hangers-on. They drink coffee and talk about the way success has come overnight to some groups.
’

Lesley bit her lip. She could see the attraction only too well. The discotheque seemed like an exciting new world to the boy from the Outback and far more interesting than what he had already called
‘
stuffy old Trevendone Manor and this dreary
old inheritance.
’

What
w
as it like, this place? She shivered, imagining the sleazy atmosphere of a would-be night spot.

‘
I
’
m almost dazed by my sensational luck,
’
said Ricky.
‘
All that I
’
ve been looking for is here, right on the doorstep of Trevendone Manor.
’

Lesley thought, it
’
s no good my saying much at this stage. I
’
ve just got to meet these Trevendones as soon as possible and get Rick
’
s future settled here. He
’
ll see it differently when it
’
s established that he owns this place.

‘
Look
,’
she said,
‘
I
’
ve had quite an afternoon while you two have been making plans for Rick to win fame and fortune as a pop star. Not only did I run into the Enemy—that was when I was trying to untie poor old Dingo—but also his girlfriend
.’

‘
His girl-friend?
’
The two spoke together in tones of disbelief.

‘
And a bit later
,’
Lesley swept on,
‘
surprise, surprise, surprise, I met that pin-up boy with the sports car. Remember, Rita, he was at the King
’
s
Arms
.’

‘
I
’
ll say I do
,’
Rita replied enthusiastically.
‘
He was quite something. How come you met him, Les? Did you speak to him?
’

‘
As a matter of fact I did. Also his girl-friend, that sultry
-
looking brunette who owned the Borzoi. Remember?
’

‘
I
’
ll say I do
,’
Rick put in with a mischievous grin, echoing his sister
’
s remark.
‘
She was quite something, too
.’

‘
She
’
s quite gypsyish on nearer view
,’
Lesley went on.
‘
Very handsome, but
my
first impression was the right one. She
’
s not at all nice. She wasn
’
t with the dark young man this time but with her
real
boy-friend, the Enemy
.’

‘
No!
’
This came in a chorus from the twins.
‘
Lesley, you
’
re making it up
,’
added Rita.

Lesley shook her head.
‘
No, she was with Blake Defontaine this morning when Dingo went for their horses and she came this afternoon when I was trying to untie him. It was she who said he ought to be put down
.’

‘
She didn
’
t!
’
Rita didn
’
t speak, but her shocked white face and blazing eyes were reflected in Ricky
’
s and in his startled exclamation.

Then Rita turned on her twin.
‘
Rick, you beast
!
Eve
r
y day you said you were taking Dingo with you.
’

Lesley looked silently from one to the other. So Rita, even though she had been lying here really ill, had known what Ricky was up to.

‘
I did take him most times and he loved it
,’
Rick answered.
‘
But this morning he just disappeared and I hadn
’
t time to look for him. I
’
d been promised this lift
.’

‘
It
’
s no good bothering about that now,
’
Lesley broke in.
‘
We
’
ve just got to keep an eye on him all the time from now on. That girl is as much our enemy as Blake Defontaine is.

‘
Now one more thing. He didn
’
t tell me so himself, but I
’
m pretty sure, Rita, that your pin-up boy is also your cousin Dominic.
’

That startled them, and there were further exclamations and remarks. Lesley began to put the cups back on to the tray.
‘
We
’
ve had enough excitement for one day,
’
she said briskly.
‘
Rita, I think you
’
d better lie down now. Rick, take this tray down and then go and get Dingo. Take a knife to cut the rope. We
’
ll keep him close to us from now on.
’

Much later, Lesley stood by the window in the darkened bedroom. Behind her Rita was sleeping peacefully, but tonight Lesley felt wakeful and depressed. She stared absently out of the window at the glittering stars and the clouds scudding across a cold moon. She shivered, though the room itself was warm enough.

She had problems enough with the twins and that meeting with the Trevendones, but she could tackle those. She was
n’
t the sort to be cowed by difficulties. It was something else. Surely though her depression had nothing to do with Blake Defontaine and the girl whom old Wonnacott had called
‘
his lady
’
. It was stupid to be like this. The sooner she went back to bed the better.

On a bright morning two days later, Lesley hurried into the great hall. She had just taken Dingo for a run and was smuggling him upstairs to Rita
’
s room while she helped the girl to dress. Rita was getting up now, but so far she had not been out of doors.
Just as Lesley crossed to the second staircase the door of the small drawing room where old
Mrs.
Trevendone usually sat with her companion opened and Dominic Trevendone came out.

He stared at Lesley and she smiled back. He made a gesture.
‘
We
’
re both caught out, I think,
’
he said easily.
‘
I
’
m Dominic Trevendone and you
’
re one of our visitors from
“
down under
”
. I guessed who you were the other day, but I don
’
t know your name.
’

‘
I
’
m Lesley
...
Trevendone,
’
she added as if on an afterthought,
‘
and I guessed who you were too. This is an unconventional situation, isn
’
t it? I
’
m more than grateful for your hospitality while my sister Rita has been ill.
’

‘
How is she, by the way?’ he queried, his sea-blue eyes telling her that he found her most attractive with her flushed cheeks and her windswept hair
.
‘
Bad luck that she went down with
‘
flu as soon as yon arrived
,’
he went
on
smoothly.

‘
She’s almost better
,’
Lesley replied,
‘
Which brings me to the question as to when we can talk to you and your sister. I don’t want to say anything now, because Rita and Richard and I are all together in this...’

She felt
she
was putting it badly, but he skimmed lightly and expertly over the awkwardness.

‘
Are you now?’ he said, and his lips still smiled, but Lesley was all at once conscious of his dark reserve.

She said impatiently,
‘
Oh, be quiet, Bingo!’ The puppy had begun to bark and jump up and she looked round distractedly.

‘
Let’s get him outside
,’
D
ominic suggested, and when they were out in the courtyard, Lesley asked,
‘
When do you expect your sister home?’

‘
She came ba
ck
last night
,’
he said briefly. He made a gesture towards the house,
‘
She’s in there right now, sitting with Great-grandma while M
i
ss Yelland changes some library books
.’

‘
I think perhaps we ought to go back to the King’s Arms tomorrow
,’
Lesley said slowly.
‘
Perhaps you and your sister could meet us there
.’

‘
Why do that?’ he demanded. Again his eyes were full of admiration as they wandered over her face.
‘
This cold weather seems to suit you, though it’s no great advertisement to Cornwall. Often we get a mild February, though I suppose it’s stupid talking to you in terms of “mild
”.’

‘
At least you aren’t short of water
,’
Lesley said with a little shrug.
‘
That’s our problem, particularly in the Outback. But tell me, Mr. Trevendone...’

‘
Oh, come off it
,’
he entreated with a grin.
‘
You can’t he as formal as that... Lesley. Aren’t we claiming each other as
cousins?’