The Girl From Over the Sea (29 page)

As had become customary Lesley spent a sleepless night, her thoughts ve
r
y much on Steve
’
s revelations of Blake
’
s plans for the twins. So far as Ricky was concerned, they caused her no surprise. The group with Tim Drage in charge were moving to London in October and Lesley had already sadly accepted the fact that Rick would go with them.

And as to Rita and herself, Blake had evidently decided they were to go back over the sea. He had informed Rita, but as yet, no word to her. It was as if these days they were unable to communicate at all.

He was still working himself and her at a savage pace. Bookings at the hotel continued high and true to
Mrs.
Piper
’
s forecast the autumn weather was perfect. Misty mornings sometimes, but followed b
y
days as warm as in July,

Blake spent very little time in recreation. Once or twice when she got up early because she couldn
’
t sleep, Lesley would see him riding on the beach, deserted at that hour. It was too early for Sorrel to be with him, and Lesley
’
would stand well hidden at the top of the cliffs watching the raking stride of the mare and the man who sat her so perfect
l
y.

He had not mentioned again that night of the Revel dance and she concluded that he still believed she had returned with Dominic at dawn. On the day after she had dined with Steve he had come to the Reception Desk and said,
‘
I hope everything was satisfactory last night, Miss Trevendone
.’
She had met for a moment his ironic glance and then her attention had seemed fixed on something far above his head.

‘
It was a lovely meal and the service was excellent
,’
she said in a colourless voice.

‘
And now the surfing and life-saving is over
!’
It was a
c
omment rather than a question, and more Irony, she thought, but
again her voice was colourless.

‘
Steve leaves for Scotland today. His father
’
s people came from there and he has
several relatives to look up.’

‘
Romantic, isn
’
t it
,’
he smiled,
‘
to come from over the sea to look up one
’
s own people. To find
...
who knows what?
’
One dark eyebrow was raised and his mouth was curved in mocke
r
y. Did he guess that one girl who had come over the sea had found only
...
heartbreak?

There was that constricted feeling in her throat again and she was conscious as so often these days of the unending battle between herself and Blake.

The Harvest Festival weekend came and went, with a misty Sunday morning but brilliant sunshine by the time she and Mis
s
Piper and Ricky and Rita drove in her
m
ini to the mo
rn
ing service. The lovely little church was beautifully decorated with flower arrangements of sophisticated design and the simpler tributes of fruit and vegetables.

Second from the front were the Trevendone pews, one on either side of the aisle. The twins and
Mrs.
Piper and Lesley sat on one side, while on the other were old
Mrs.
Trevendone and her companion, Dominic and Sorrel. Jennifer, glowing like a rose, sat with Rod Drew and his fa
mily
just behind. And then at the last minute, Blake Defontaine himself came i
n
, sliding into the end of the pew next to Lesley.

She kept her eyes averted, trying to still her stupidly racing heart, Ho
w
he
w
ould laugh if he knew
t
hat she couldn
’
t sing the beautiful hymns herself because she was listening to him.

So far as the Harvest supper dance was concerned, Lesley hadn
’
t the slightest intention of repeating her experience of the Revel dance, and it was with heartfelt relief that she found Rod was sta
rt
ing over Monday and Jennifer was anxious to go to the dance with him.

‘
Of course I
’
ll do the reception desk duty, Jen
,’
Lesley said warmly.
‘
Go and have a lovely time
.’
She saw Jen and Dominic and this time even Rita set off.
Mrs.
Piper was sad about her not coming but promised to return home with a full account of all the happenings—something Lesley wasn
’
t at all anxious to hear. To her surprise, however
,
she saw Blake come out of the dining room with the two men who she suspected were interested in taking over the hotel. He would
be seeing them on their way, she supposed, and then joining Sorrell at the dance. Once again, poor Dominic would be left in the lurch, and this time no little Yseult to play second fiddle
.

Mrs.
P
iper had returned home early and was waiting to ask Lesley to have a cup of tea with her in the kitchen when she came off duty
.

‘
Too crowded
,’
was her verdict. Harvest supper was always popular, and with the good weather there were still a lot of visitors crowding in too.

Miss Rita seemed to have had a good time, but she had come home earlyish too and had already gone to bed. Lesley raised her eyebrows at that news. Sir Dominic and
Mrs.
Lang had danced together a lot, and then gone on somewhere else.
Mr.
Defontaine? Well, that was an odd thing, but
Mrs.
Piper had never seen a sign of him tonight.

Lesley was wondering about that as she went upstairs. Rita seemed to be already asleep, so the older girl got undressed quietly and crept into bed, but not to sleep. Blake must have taken those men down to the Lodge to go talking business. How furious Sorrel would be
!
She had had to make do with Dominic all the evening—poor Dominic.

Lesley thought rebelliously, Blake has made his plans, it seems, to send me back to Australia. Sorrel wants to keep Dominic as a second string. Suppose I confound them both? I could do it if I wanted. I could take Dominic and hold him. I could make him love me. In his own way, he is so lovable
...
my dear, dear Tristan.

Life with Dominic would always be gay. One would never need to plumb the depths, but then you would never reach the heights. You could always mould him to your own way of thinking. Her gallant Tristan. In a way even, they could have a romantic love life.

How different would life be with a man whose harsh
corner
s could wound a woman to the very heart of her. There would be no moulding
him
to any woman
’
s will. He would always be dominant, ruthless even perhaps, though he loved her.

Lesley turned restlessly. How soon would it be morning?

This particular morning she was working in Blake
’
s office
—
Still working against time. She hadn
’
t seen him as yet and
thought he must be over at the hotel. That was why it was a surprise to see Sorrel. The dark girl
’
s face had a particularly vindictive look.

‘
You impudent impostor! I suspected it right from the beginning,
’
she burst out.
‘
If it
’
s left to me you
’
ll be put in charge for false pretences
!’

Lesley gave her a quick look from her long dark lashes and then bent again to the page she was checking.
‘
I
’
m very busy,
Mrs.
Lang. If you
’
re looking for
Mr.
Defontaine, I think he
’
s probab
l
y over at the new Manor.
’

‘
Don
’
t try to talk yourself out of it, you impudent slut! Young Rita let the cat out of the bag last night. She didn
’
t mean to—it was just a slip, but I noticed it, though luckily for you no one else did
.’

‘
Mrs.
Lang,
’
Lesley said deliberately,
‘
I think you know as well as I do that
Mr.
Defontaine is determined that this work shall be finished by the beginning of October. It won
’
t be if I
’
m taken off
it ...
or if I
’
m continually interrupted
.’

‘
Blackmail
!
It
’
s just what I might have expected of you
,’
Sorrel
’
s dark face was still furious, but there was a calculating look in her eyes. It was obvious that Lesley had struck the right chord.

‘
All right
,’
she said, pacing about the office, one clenched fist beating into the other open palm.
‘
I
’
ll keep quiet about it and not mention it to Blake, but on one condition—that you leave here the day the hotel closes. Blake isn
’
t the sort to Stand for the deception you
’
ve practised on all of us. He
’
ll be out for your blood once he knows, so for your own sake pack up and don
’
t let either Blake or Dominic know you
’
re going. Understand
?’

‘
I don
’
t suppose Dominic would mind. He
’
d only laugh
,’
Lesley couldn
’
t resist the thrust.

‘
Don
’
t dare to inveigle Dominic. I
’
ve told you before that Tristan and Yseult caper isn
’
t on. Get back to Australia to your precious Steve. Blake is sending Rita back so you can go together.
’

‘
How kind of him
,’
drawled Lesley tantalisingly,
‘
but
I
might want to stay.
’

‘
If you attempt to stay I
’
ll see you go to jail
,’
Sorrel threatened wildly, and rushed out of the room. Something
had
upset her, and Lesley didn
’
t really think it was because
she had discovered that Lesley Trevendone was really Lesley Arden.

‘
Les, I didn
’
t mean to tell her,
’
Rita was sobbing stormily.

‘
It just sort of slipped out, and she latched on to it and got me
into a
corner
. I wouldn
’
t say any more, but she said she could guess. Don
’
t tell Rick, will you? He
’
ll never forgive me
.’

Lesley shook her head and Rita went on,
‘
Sorrel and Dominic were quarrelling. I think she was upset because Blake didn
’
t come to the dance and because he sat next to you in church on Sunday. Dominic said he wished you
had
come because you
’
d both had a smashing time at the Revel dance. But they made it up afterwards
.’

‘
Yes
,’
said Lesley thoughtfully.
‘
They always do
.’

‘
Les, they won
’
t put you in prison or anything, will they, like she said? She won
’
t tell Blake, she promised, as long as you leave the very day the hotel closes
.’

‘
Well, why not?
’
Lesley asked calmly.
‘
There
’
ll be no need for us to stay any longer. We want to go to London and see Ricky settled there. Then we can go
back to Australia, you and I. I hear Blake has made arrangements to cover your passage back
.’

Rita shifted from one foot to the other uneasily.
‘
I
feel awful about that too, Les, but he told Ricky and me not to mention it to you. He said you
’
d enough on
y
our mind with all this work you
’
re doing for the hotel and for him. He said he
’
d got arrangements lined up for you too. But
,’
she added doubtfully,
’
that was because he thought you too were a Trevendone. If Sorrel splits, it may be different
.’

Lesley
’
s green eyes were brilliant.
‘
It won
’
t be in the least different, darling. Blake Defontaine will be making no arrangements for me once I
’
ve finished working here. Ho won
’
t be my slave-master any longer
.’

‘
Don
’
t call him that, Les
,’
Rita pleaded.
‘
I
’
m ashamed I ever thought of the name. Rick and I have both realised how mistaken we were about him. We both wish you could alter your mind too
.’

Lesley smiled rather oddly. How long ago was it that she had realised that the first look he had taken at her on a February night of snow and sleet had dealt a glancing blow at
her heart—a blow from which she had never recovered.
‘
No, I haven
’
t altered my mind, and I don
’
t suppose
I
ever shall
...
now
.’