The Girl From Over the Sea (4 page)

‘
The girl holding the Borzoi seemed to have a similar idea, with her dog doing the chasing,
’
Lesley said thoughtfully.
‘
I
’
m sure she intended letting the Borzoi make a meal of Bingo, but her companion dissuaded her. His car was in the drive—it was that one we were talking about at lunch.
’

‘
Oh, that guy. He came in with a girl just as we went out of the dining room,
’
said Rita.
‘
Didn
’
t you notice him, Les?
‘
He was quite fab.
’

Lesley shook her head, but Rick took up,
‘
I saw them. He looked ordinary to me, but the girl was gorgeous. She had long black hair, black eyes and a figure
...’
He made gestures with his hands.

‘
It sounds like the girl with the Borzoi,
’
Lesley admitted with a nod and a grimace.
‘
Quite wild and free, I
’
d guess from her expression when Dingo started his capers. You
’
ll have quite a problem, Rick, if you meet the girl again. I doubt if she
’
d take kindly to the request
“
love me, love my dog.
”
’

‘
Don
’
t be so beastly sarcastic, Lesley,
’
Ricky stormed.

‘
Sorry,
’
she returned.
‘
It
’
s just that I didn
’
t take to the girl. And I do wish you hadn
’
t bought the dog. It may not be convenient for you to keep him at Trevendone Manor.
’

‘
Then we
’
ll take him back to Australia,
’
put in Rita, shivering,
‘
and I vote we start right now. As far as I
’
m concerned,
I can
’
t get back fast enough.
’

Lesley bit her lip, sorry she had precipitated this outburst. The twins hadn
’
t wanted to leave Australia and so far nothing in England had appealed to them sufficiently to make them want to stay.

‘
What about tea?
’
she asked brightly, deciding to change the subject.
‘
Shall we go out to a cafe or ask
Mrs.
Cleaver
for some?
’

‘
Let
’
s have it here
,’
said Rita,
‘
I can
’
t bear the thought of going out in the cold air
.’
And Ricky echoed her remark. It was left to Lesley to take Dingo out again after dinner. The tide had rolled in since this morning and the sands where
‘
the Enemy
’
had talked soothingly to his runaway mare were covered now with long lines of curdled surf. There was a
last hint of sun behind a big cloud raying out over the sky and down to the horizon. And where the sea, back now to its lovely green blue colour, met the sky there was a band of silver, gleaming like a shining pathway. It was a wild scene, with the waves curling white as far as Lesley could see across the turquoise waters, here and there the jagged teeth of the rocks appearing and then disappearing as the curdled waves lashed against them.

Something wild and elemental in Lesley leapt to meet this scene. She had even in this one short day become entranced, bewitched perhaps with the brutality, the wild loveliness that lay before her. She loved it, she told herself and then came the reminder.
She
wasn
’
t going to make her home here. She was going back to Melbourne to Steve ... if he still wanted her. It was the twins whom she must involve in the mystery and romance of the land of Lyonesse.

The wild call of the gulls echoed and re-echoed over her head and she knew she would never forget this passionate lovely coast as long as she lived. But it wasn
’
t for her. It was for Rita and Ricky who had not wanted to come and who up to now were uninterested, even hostile to the idea
of staying here. Perhaps tomorrow they might feel different.

Tomorrow at least brought better weather. The sunshine was only hazy, it was true, a pitiful travesty of that they had known at home, but the wind had dropped and the air was milder.

‘
I
’
m not sure about lunch,
Mrs.
Cleaver
,’
Lesley told their hostess.
‘
We may not be back, or we may. It all depends
,’
Mrs.
Cleaver nodded comfortably.
‘
Not to worry
,’
she advised Lesley, who worried too much about those twins, in
her
opinion.
‘
If the steak and kidney is off, there
’
s always plenty of cold roast beef
.’

Lesley now took a critical look at Rita who was still complaining about the temperature. She was wearing high boots and her suede sheepskin jacket and a college-type scarf draped round her neck. She hadn
’
t slept well and Lesley, wondering whether she had a temperature, had tried to persuade her to stay in bed. They could put off their visit to Trevendone Manor for another day. But Rita would have none of it.
‘
If I don
’
t go today, I may never go at all,
’
she said defiantly.

‘
And I
’
m not letting you two go without me. After all, it
’
s Rick and me who
...’

‘
Careful,
’
Ricky warned.
‘
Remember our pact. The .three of us are in this together. Everything is off if any of us breaks the pact. As to putting it off, let
’
s go and-get it over. If they throw us out on our ears we can begin making tracks back to London. And the sooner the better so far as I
’
m concerned.
’

Lesley said soothingly,
‘
You don
’
t really mean that, Rick. You
’
re coming, Rita?
’

‘
Of
course,
’
the girl sniffed.
‘
Catch me missing the excitement
!’

Lesley hoped there would be no excitement. She said,

‘
Let
’
s go.
’
She led the way out to the Mini.
‘
Did you ever think of trying for a modelling job, Les?
’
Rita queried as, edged by Ricky who was holding the front seat, she folded herself into the back of the car.

Lesley
’
s eyebrows were raised.
‘
When I was a teenager, but I
’
ve had other things to worry about since then.
’

‘
Particularly us,
’
grunted Rick.
‘
Anyway, how long is it since
you
left off being a teenager, Les? Not even a year
.
’

Lesley shrugged.
‘
It
’
s not so much a matter of time as experience,
’
she said dryly.
‘
Remember, you
’
re to leave all the talking to me. And don
’
t either of you dare to say you aren
’
t interested. After all, it
’
s
your
heritage.
’

‘
Well, don
’
t stress too much the
your,
darling. Remember you
’
re in it too. After all, you
’
re supposed to be the eldest
.’

Lesley nodded.
‘
Thanks for reminding me
.’

She drove out of the hotel yard down the high street and then turned off on to a high-banked lane which according to her map ran parallel to the coast. Every now and then a gateway or a lowering of the banks revealed the downs and glimpses of the sea.

Lesley had memorised the route, so she drove steadily though remembering the near-catastrophe of two nights ago, she was careful to slow down at each crossroads. Ricky must have been remembering that incident too, for he said suddenly,
‘
Do you think that fellow took our car number?
’

‘
I shouldn
’
t think so,
’
Lesley said more positively than she really felt.
‘
To change the subject. We
’
re not taking that dog into the Manor
wi
th us.
’

‘
If we ever as much as get in,
’
Ricky finished cynically.

‘
Dingo will howl the place down if we leave him in the car,
’
put in Rita, hugging the puppy, who was on the back .seat with her. Dingo responded enthusiastically by licking her face and then leaping out of her arms to put his paws on Ricky
’
s, shoulders.

‘
Then he must howl,
’
Lesley replied firmly,
‘
for we
’
re not taking him in. Rita, pull him back and hold him on the seat. I can
’
t drive properly with him leaping about behind me.
’

Rita pulled him again into her arms, murmuring commiserations. But there were no protests and Lesley guessed that the twins were no less anxious than she was for the forthcoming meeting at Trevendone Manor to be as amicable as possible. Her thoughts ran ahead. Would it have been better to have written announcing their arrival? Thank goodness these high
-
banked lanes weren
’
t snow-covered this morning. Perhaps inevitably her mind wandered to that encounter of the night before last. How ang
r
y that man had been, and what bad luck to meet him again, and be in the wrong once more. It hadn
’
t been any use explaining that they had owned Dingo only for two days and were really quite unacquainted with his foibles.

But she had the feeling that even if she
had
been able to explain he wouldn
’
t have had much sympathy. He
’
d called her
‘
a menace
’
and in turn for the twins and herself he would always be
‘
the Enemy
’
.

She concentrated agai
n
on the road. There must be a turning soon.
‘
Here it is, I think
,’
Lesley said, her voice suddenly tense.
‘
This place at the entrance must be the Lodge
.’

‘
Do you think we ought to ask here?
’
Ricky sounded uneasy as he stared at the scrolled iron gates which were set wide open. Lesley shook her head and clenched her teeth.

‘
We don
’
t want anybody telephoning that we
’
re coming
,’
she said grimly.
‘
We might just as well have written.
’

‘
As you say, ma
’
am
,’
Ricky made a little bow and
grinned.
‘
It
’
s up to you
.’

Lesley turned the wheel and shot up the drive past the Lodge before anyone could get to the door to ask their business. At first there were trees, beeches with the brown leaves of last year still rustling in their branches, then the drive opened out to a wide courtyard broken by symmetrical patterns of flower beds full of crocuses and snowdrops and spears of daffodils. They would be ready here in time to
’
take the winds of March with beauty
’
, thought Lesley, and something twisted in her heart as it had done when she had stood on the cliffs and reminded herself that the magic land of Avilion was not for her. For her was the long journey back to Melbourne
’
where Steve
might
still be waiting for her.

The house was very large, a black and white structure with three wings giving it the traditional E shape of an Elizabethan mansion. Lesley stopped the car right in front of the great oak door, and none of them spoke as they got out and for the moment even Dingo sat quiet with his tongue lolling out. Still without speaking they walked up the three steps and Lesley pulled the bell rope.

A middle-aged woman with a neat hair style, a neat woollen dress and neat shoes opened the door almost immediately. She must have been very near it when Lesley rang the bell.

She said
‘
Good morning
’
and looked at Lesley enquiringly.

Lesley returned the greeting with more composure than she felt and said,
‘
Could I see
Mr.
Trevendone, please?
’

‘
Mr.
Dominic?
’
the woman queried.
‘
I
’
m afraid he
’
s out somewhere on the estate.
’

‘
Then
Mrs.
Trevendone,
’
Lesley said now.

The
other shook her head.
‘
I
’
m afraid not.
Mrs.
Trevendone doesn
’
t see people these days except the family. I can
’
t take the responsibility of letting her be worried by strangers. I
’
m her companion, so if you care to tell me what your business is
...’

Lesley stood silently for a moment. Then she said deliberately,
‘
I think
Mrs.
Trevendone would wish to see us. As a matter of fact
w
e
are
family
...
from Australia.
’

The other looked shaken.
‘
Family?
’
she repeated faintly.
‘
From Australia. You
’
d better come in. It
’
s too cold to have this door open for long.
’

It was an ungracious welcome, but perhaps no more than
they could have expected. They went through the doorway into a big hall, oak-beamed with two staircases leading from either side up a gallery where Lesley caught a glimpse of pictures. Then her eyes were drawn back to the place where they were standing. The walls were oak-panelled with open shelves at intervals on which stood articles of glass, pottery and china.

The floor was of oak too, dark and shining
and
covered here and there with rugs that glowed in jewel colours. There were large settees and armchairs with some elegant upright chairs near the walls a few small gate-legged tables and at the far end a big oak desk behind which was a glass door leading into what looked like an office.

‘
Wait here,
’
the companion ordered.
‘
I really don
’
t
...’
Her voice died away querulously as she rushed to the far end of the hall and disappeared.

‘
Dominic—he must be the fellow who owns the place,
’
Rick whispered.
‘
It
’
s much bigger and more magnificent than I bargained for. Let
’
s cut and run, Les.
’

She shook her head.
‘
No,
w
e
’
ll see it through now.
’

In a minute or two the woman returned looking smug.

‘
Now, madam, I suggest you tell me your business, or if you prefer you could write either to
Mr.
Dominic or to
Mrs.
Trevendone.
’

Her tone seemed to imply that she was quite indifferent to what they did, and Lesley hesitated. But they weren
’
t going to be chased out just like that, and by a hired hand.

She drew herself up.
‘
Our business is with the Trevendones here and now,
’
she said grandly.
‘
Actually, our name is Trevendone and we have just arrived from Australia to take up our residence here.
’

She paused, highly satisfied with the effect her statement had had on the other, for it was obvious that she had been rendered speechless.

And then one of the doors leading from the hall opened and a small frail figure came out.
‘
Miss Yelland, I gather we have visitors. Please don
’
t leave them on the mat.
’

Miss Yelland rushed over to her.
‘
Mrs.
Trevendone, you shouldn
’
t be out here. I think these young people are students up to their tricks. They
’
ve come with some ridiculous story.
I don
’
t know
...’