The Man in Possession (15 page)

Roger even consulted her before he finally engaged Bob Winters, and she herself interviewed a boy to take Andy
’
s place for general duties.

‘Right,
’
said Roger, an excited gleam in his eyes.
‘Frank and his team can start right in on clearing out the shed the yachts have been housed in. There
’
s enough material in stock for the conversion of the two half-deckers and to start the first hull of the new auxiliaries. Meanwhile, you and I have a date for lunch with the man who
’
s going to draw our design.
’

Suddenly life was good, life was exciting, Celia forgotten. Over lunch the special features of the new auxiliary yacht were discussed and rough sketches drawn until a final draft was decided upon.

‘
I
’
ll post it on to you in a couple of days
’
time,
’
the designer promised.

Julia felt a deep sense of satisfaction, and her mind winged back to the past.

‘David would have been pleased about this,
’
she said involuntarily.

‘Who is David?
’
queried the designer.

‘The son of the previous owner of Wingcraft. He and I often discussed a design like this. We put an idea to his father once, but he was reluctant to embark on something which might or might not pay off.
’

‘I should think this will pay off all right, once people know about it,
’
said the designer. ‘But of course it takes time.
’

Roger said nothing. There was a slight frown on his forehead and a thoughtful look on his face.

‘Is anything wrong?
’
Julia asked him, imagining that he had thought of a snag with regard to the new design.

He shook his head, but said wearily:
‘
It
’
s nothing that can be put right by drawing a design, at any rate.
’

Julia wondered what he was driving at, and whether it had anything to do with Celia. She felt sure it had, and her day clouded over. It became more and more evident that he had something on his mind. When they had finished lunch he drove back to the boatyard in silence, and for the next few days Julia had very little conversation with him. She fought against hurt feelings. Her whole life, she supposed, would now revolve around him, but she must try not to feel hurt every time he was in a thoughtful mood and not imagine slights where none were intended.

Slowly, the summer advanced. Each Saturday m
orn
ing saw the boatyard become more and more hectic as the number of craft being taken out increased. Soon there was not a craft which was not hired either for the week or fortnight, and Frank Willis and his team worked steadily on the conversion of the first of the half-deckers, then on building two others for day-hire, and finally making a start on the auxiliaries. Bob Winters was a splendid man to have about the place, pleasant, conscientious, tolerant with difficult holiday-makers and turning his hand to anything which required doing. The engineer, Tony Sheldrake, was not quite so satisfactory, to Julia
’
s mind. He was slow, not a very good worker, and was often moody. If Bob Winters had a fault, he was too lenient. Within the first few weeks that the new engineer was with them several of the cruisers had engine trouble, a most unusual occurrence for Wingcraft. When she talked it over with Bob Winters, he told her not to worry.

‘These things happen in the best of firms,
’
he said.
‘
You sometimes get a run of engine troubles. He seems all right, and he
’
s had plenty of experience.
’

And so Julia said no more at present, but she was determined to keep an eye on the man. It would be only too easy for the firm to lose its good reputation. Wingcraft did have clients who hired their boats year after year, but a ruined holiday could easily mean the loss of a customer in future and she felt responsible to Roger. She felt especially responsible with regard to this man as she had hired him.

Early in June, the fruit buds having formed in the apple orchards, Julia
’
s parents came to stay in the houseboat for a week. Except for Saturday mornings, Roger insisted on her taking some time off to be with them, and one evening he took them all out to dinner himself, where there was dancing. Naturally, he and Julia danced together, and Julia stored up the memory of what it was like to be held in his arms. She sensed a restraint in the way he held her at first, then after a
while he held her more closely and she gave herself up to the sheer pleasure of his nearness.

‘You dance easily
,’
he said once during an encore. ‘Have you done a lot
?
’

‘We—
ll
, on and off, you know, One has spasms. David and I came here once or twice
.’

‘Oh, I see
,’
he said slowly.

She gave him a puzzled look. ‘What do you see?
’

‘Nothing
,’
he said abruptly. ‘Let
’
s sit the rest of this dance out.
’

He led her back to their table, and the next time they danced he held her so lightly and so far away it seemed he was almost afraid to touch her. She wondered why, and was reminded sharply of the existence of Celia.

A fortnight after her parents had gone back home, Celia was due for her stay in the houseboat. Since the night Max had left her in a huff, Julia had barely seen him, but she had wondered once or twice whether he had seen Celia and, if so, whether Roger was aware of it.

Oddly enough Max called at the houseboat one evening about three days before Celia
’
s arrival. It was a pleasant evening, warm enough to take a canvas chair and sit beside the water. Max glanced around at the tubs and troughs of flowers Roger had had placed at intervals along the quaysides and either side of the office door.

‘Hello—whose idea was this? Expecting Royalty?
’

‘
It was Roger
’
s idea—and I think it looks very nice. I wish I
’
d thought of it myself.
’

He dropped on to the grass beside her chair. ‘How are things? Sorry I haven
’
t been round before. The old man
’
s kept my nose to the grindstone. But then I don
’
t suppose you
’
ve even missed me, have you?
’

She smiled. ‘I
’
ve wondered what
’
s happened to you, yes, but of course I
’
ve been busy, too.
’

‘
I
’
m
sure you have. How
’
s work on the new yachts going?
’

‘Making steady progress
,’
she told him briefly.

‘
And the new hands working all right?
’

‘Yes.
’

He glanced up at her.
‘
I did hear that some of your cruisers had been having engine trouble.
’

‘
How on earth did you come to hear of that?
’
she queried in surprise.

‘
Via my grapevine
,’
he answered.

She laughed briefly. ‘It must be an extremely good one.
’

‘Actually, news does tend to travel rather fast on the Broads, but as a matter of fact I was out in one of our launches when I saw your man doing a spot of repair work.
’

‘How did you know he was our man?
’
she asked curiously.

‘
How did I—Well, I know your boats, don
’
t I?
’

‘
I suppose so.
’
She frowned.
‘
You know, I can
’
t quite make that engineer out. He has good qualifications and all that, but we never used to have trouble with our engines.
’

Max pursed his lips.
‘
Can happen,
’
he said laconically.
‘
Anyway, my sweet love, you
’
ve
o
nly had one season here, haven
’
t you? I shouldn
’
t be too hard on the poor man. Maintenance isn
’
t a very enviable job. He
’
d probably be better on those new jobs you
’
re building. Your other man used to be good on maintenance. Thought of swapping them over?
’

Julia said she hadn
’
t.
‘
It
’
s up to Roger, anyway,
’
she added.

‘
Blast Roger,
’
said Max with sudden vehemence.

Julia glanced at him sharply. ‘Max, don
’
t start that
again.
’
He didn
’
t know she was in love with Roger, of course. All the same—

‘Oh, I
’
m sorry,
’
Max said crossly.
‘
But it just seems all wrong somehow that—I mean, the place ought to be yours.
’

‘
Well, it isn
’
t, so there
’
s no point in keeping going on about it. I
’
m perfectly happy as things are, anyway.
’

‘
Are you? I have my doubts,
’
he insisted.

She sighed and to change the subject, she said:
‘
Has your grapevine told you that Celia—Miss Palmer is coming on a visit?
’
It was one way of finding out whether the two had had contact.

Max shook his head, but the fact that he showed no surprise gave her grounds for suspicion. He asked where Celia was staying and for how long.

‘She
’
s coming on Saturday, but I
’
m not sure for how long,
’
Julia told him. Then she asked directly:
‘
Have you seen her or heard from her since the time I saw you in Norwich?
’

‘Er—yes, I have as a matter of fact,
’
he said casually.
‘
She rang me up.
’

‘But why
?
Why should she ring you
?’

‘Why not?
’
countered Max.

‘She
’
s supposed to be engaged to Roger.
’

‘
She
’
s not engaged to him. At least, not at the moment. And even if she were—
’

She
’
s not engaged to him.
If only it were completely true, Julia thought. But there was the indisputable evidence of the doodle, the photograph and numerous other things which told her that Roger was in love with Celia. Added to that, surely no woman would so blatantly pursue a man if she were not reasonably sure she was wanted. At any rate, no woman of Celia
’
s class and undoubted attractiveness.

Roger came out of the house and started towards them, then halted and looked hard at Max before turning and going back
again.

Julia half rose to her feet.
‘
I think he was looking for me. I
’
d better go and see what he wanted.
’

‘Don
’
t be silly,
’
said Max.
‘
If he
’
d wanted you for anything he
’
d have come to you. Anyhow, you
’
re off duty now, aren
’
t you? Or don
’
t you ever get any time off?
’

‘It isn
’
t like that. I
’
m not paid by the hour,
’
she reminded him.

But the next moment she heard Roger
’
s car start up and the roar of his engine as he drove off somewhere.
^;
She sank into her chair again rather uneasily. She felt sure he had wanted to speak to her but had changed his mind on seeing Max. Neither man liked the other and Julia could not really see that they had sufficient reason.