The Marriage Wheel

CHAPTER ONE

Frederica f
elt that the woman behind the desk was regarding her a trifle dubiously, and she said anxiously that she was quite sure she could satisfy Mr. Lestrode if he would only have the courage to engage her. After all, she had driven Lady Allerdale for two years, and as Lady Allerdale
’
s testimonial proved, she had given excellent service. She had been responsible for the care and maintenance of an old-fashioned Daimler car that would have tested the temper of a good many men with more actual driving experience if they had been entrusted with the charge of such an unwieldy vehicle.

But still the woman behind the desk looked unconvinced.

“
And Lady Allerdale,
”
she said,
“
has gone abroad? That is the only reason why you are not now working for her?
”

Frederica nodded eagerly.

“
That is the only reason. She has gone to live with her sister in the South of France, and it wasn
’
t very convenient to take me with her. Besides, the car was getting a bit too old
...
and it used up petrol like a thirsty horse. Lady Allerdale decided to sell it.
”

It would have been more strictly accurate if she had stated that her recent employer had parted with the Daimler without receiving very much for it
... It was that kind of car.

The woman in the agency nodded.

“
Of course, we are quite familiar with Lady Allerdale,
”
she admitted.
“
We have supplied her with staff for a number of years. But Mr. Lestrode is rather a different matter ... I mean, you would find him a very different type of employer from Lady Allerdale. He,
”
she hesitated for a few moments, groping for words,
“
he is a business gentleman with interests on the Continent, and in addition he travels about quite a lot in this country. He has just bought Farthing Hall in Gloucestershire and is in the process of settling down there at the moment. You would be required to drive him and look after any other cars he owns.
”

“
And you say he has just bought a new Daimler V-8?
”

“
Yes.
”
Once again the dubious expression.
“
But apart from anything else, I
’
m sure Lady Allerdale disliked travelling at speed, and Mr. Lestrode is entirely the opposite ... I mean, I can
’
t imagine him crawling along at twenty miles an hour, or even being particularly considerate,
”
with honesty.
“
He is a slightly impetuous gentleman with a very dominating personality.
”

“
If he
’
s impetuous,
”
Frederica argued persuasively,
“
he might be willing to take a chance on me. And I don
’
t always drive at twenty miles an hour,
”
she added.
“
I
’
ve touched a hundred and twenty in my sister Rosaleen
’
s boy-friend
’
s car.

“
Yes, but—
”

Frederica leaned across the desk towards her.

“
Please,
”
she urged.
“
It
’
s so difficult for a girl like me, who can only drive, and can
’
t even do shorthand, to get a job I know I
’
m going to like. And Mr. Lestrode can always give me the sack if I don
’
t suit him
...
And I
’
m not in the least likely to smash him up, or anything like that!
”

Her face was eager, and vivid as a flower, framed in long bright hair. It was such wonderfully bright hair that it could have been chestnut in one light and deep gold in another. But it made her look very young, and her eyes were a clear green that affected anyone who gazed at her for long with the impression that they were swimming about in light green water.

She used make-up sparingly, but it increased her air of being extremely feminine—and rather a useless female type at that. She was slenderly built, and her bones were small
... Her hands, on the wheel of a car, would look like a couple of pale butterflies come to rest there. Try as hard as she would the woman in the agency simply could not see her lying under a car with grease dripping on her, or jacking up a wheel in order to change a tyre.

But Lady Allerdale had given her a wonderful reference, and was even willing to enter into correspondence with any prospective future employer on the subject of the chauffeuse she had been forced to dispense with.

“
I
’
ll tell you what I
’
ll do,
”
the agency clerk said with unusual impulsiveness, because Frederica Wells occasionally affected otherwise rational and somewhat conservative people in that way.
“
I
’
ll take a chance on you, because Mr. Lestrode has made it rather easy for me to do so. He doesn
’
t want to interview prospective employees, and he does want someone in rather a hurry
...
and at the moment we
’
re rather short of suitable applicants. He has said nothing about objecting to a member of the opposite sex driving him, and he has entrusted us with the power to engage a qualified chauffeur on his behalf. You have had two years
’
experience, and if you honestly think you can cope
...”
an extremely doubtful note in her voice nevertheless.

“
I
’
m absolutely certain I can cope,
”
Frederica assured her, thrusting the long bright hair back with her hand.
“
In fact, I know I can!
”

“
Despite the fact that you
’
re accustomed to an old-fashioned car?
”

“
Despite that.
”

“
You may find Mr. Lestrode... a difficult employer!
”

“
I don
’
t mind!
”

“
Certainly an exacting one.
”

“
I don
’
t mind,
”
Frederica repeated happily.
“
Lady Allerdale was not always easy to handle, and she was very fussy about the way the car was kept.
I had to maintain it at the pitch of perfection
...
And I
’
m a pretty good mechanic, although I say it myself.
”
She enquired a trifle more breathlessly:
“
You did say there
’
s a cottage that goes with the job, didn
’
t you? I need somewhere for my family to live. In fact, I
’
ve
got
to have somewhere for them to live!
”

“
Your family?
”

“
My mother and sister. They
’
re living in a flat in Notting Hill at the moment, but it isn
’
t at all satisfactory, and the rent
’
s much too high. That
’
s why it
’
s so important that there should be a cottage.
”

“
There is a cottage,
”
the clerk agreed,
“
but whether it
’
s furnished or not I
’
m afraid I can
’
t tell you. However, the salary Mr. Lestrode is offering is extremely generous—
”

“
How much?
”
Frederica enquired in a whisper.

Her curiosity was satisfied, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“
Marvellous! I
’
ve simply got to get this job.
”

Her interrogator felt a return of her nervousness.
“
In connection with the cottage,
”
she began.
“
Is it likely that your mother and sister would be willing to help in the house if Mr. Lestrode
’
s housekeeper required extra help?
”

Frederica seemed definitely taken aback by this suggestion. If the woman on the other side of the desk had been able to appreciate why she would have felt even more uneasy than she did feel.

“
Well,
”
in a distinctly dubious tone,
“
I suppose they
could,
in an emergency.
”

“
Your sister hasn
’
t already got a job?
”

“
No.
”
Frederica looked as if this was strange language to her.
“
She
’
s never had a job in her life.
”

“
Then she
’
s much younger than you?
”

“
No, older.
”

The clerk decided to give it up, and to hope for the best. She was doing a very unwise thing, she felt reasonably certain, and it was quite possible it would recoil on herself. She had been at the agency for fifteen years, and she thought she was a fairly shrewd judge of character
... but there was something about this young woman that defeated her, and made her feel a little helpless at the same time.

She wanted to help her
...
and she quite liked her. She felt sorry for that wide-eyed, curious innocence of hers, and her confident belief in her own ability. It was quite likely that Mr. Lestrode would be absolutely furious when he found himself saddled—very likely very temporarily indeed!—with a female chauffeur, and would telephone the agency in a fury, demanding that a substitute be sent along without delay.

But at the moment there was no substitute, and there was always the possibility that the girl would prove satisfactory. But it might be wiser if she refrained from making a precipitate move into the cottage ... at any rate until she had had her first interview with Humphrey Lestrode.

“
How soon do I start?
”
Frederica asked, longing to get home, and break the news to her family.
“
And is there someone at the other end who can get the cottage ready for us? If there isn
’
t any furniture that goes with it we have some—
”

The other woman spoke to her very gently.

“
If I were you, my dear,
”
she said,
“
I
’
d wait until you get there and find out exactly what your duties are before you think about moving into the cottage. There will be plenty of time when you
’
ve decided whether or not you
’
re going to like the job, and whether, if it comes to that, you
’
ll like living in Gloucestershire.
”

“
Oh, but I will,
”
Frederica assured her, with an expression on her face that silenced the other woman
...
and surprised her at the same time. For Frederica
’
s chin was resolute, and her light green eyes that sparkled as if sunshine was shining on ice
-
green water were almost equally intent and determined.
“
I
’
ve had a similar job before, and I know what to do. I shall do my best to prove to Mr. Lestrode that you did the right thing when you engaged me!
”