Danger Point

Chapter 17

THE events of the evening were to be picked over, sorted out, strained through a sieve, set aside to clarify, and strained again. At the time they seemed quite ordinary, everyday, and dull.

Dinner was at eight, and over at twenty to nine. Rafe and Alicia talked. She was brilliant with a new brilliance. Her beauty shone. She wore a green jewel at her breast. Dale drank rather more than usual. Lisle made a pretence of eating. At a quarter to nine when they were having their coffee on the terrace she was called away to see Cissie Cole. Afterwards she was questioned and re-questioned about this visit of Cissie’s, but at the time it was just two girls talking, and both of them unhappy.

Lisle broke the ice by bringing down the green and red checked coat. Even a girl in the throes of an unfortunate love affair can usually extract at any rate a surface pleasure from a new garment. All Mrs. Jerningham’s things were expensive and beautifully cut. The coat had only been worn three or four times. Cissie put it on, looked at herself in an eighteenth-century mirror crowned with a gold shell and broke into a wavering smile. The too vivid checks suited her a good deal less than they had suited Lisle. They took the last shade of colour from her face and turned the pale blue of her eyes to a watery grey. But all she saw was the coat itself, quite new, and smarter than anything she had ever possessed.

“Oh, Mrs. Jerningham – it’s lovely!”

She took it off carefully and folded it inside out. She wouldn’t want to be seen walking away in it, not by that William anyway, but she could slip it on as soon as she got clear of the drive. Some such thought may have been in her mind.

Lisle for her part was thankful for the change in her expression. Cissie had so obviously been sent to see her and was resenting it. But now that reluctant look had gone. She kept one hand on the coat and said,

“It’s ever so kind of you. Aunt said you wanted to see me.”

There was nothing Lisle wanted less. Her heart was heavy with a sense of Alicia’s triumph. She felt beaten and inadequate, but she had to find something to say to Cissie. She said,

“I think she’s very unhappy about you.”

Cissie sniffed and tossed her head.

“She hasn’t any call to be! And if she is she’s not the only one.”

“You mean you are unhappy too?”

Cissie nodded, gulped, and fished a handkerchief out of the front of her dress.

Lisle put a hand on her knee.

“Do you think you would like to go away for a little? A friend of mine is looking for a children’s maid. She has two little girls, and she wants someone to take and fetch them from school and sew for them. Do you think you would like that?”

Cissie choked into the handkerchief and shook her head.

“You don’t think it would make it easier if you went away for a little?”

“And never see him no more?” said Cissie with a sob.

Lisle felt the tears come into her own eyes. Cissie’s “never no more” had touched some secret spring of pain.

“What’s the good of seeing him?” she said.

“Nothing’s any good, ” said Cissie with another sob. She swallowed her tears, stuffed the wet handkerchief inside her dress, and got to her feet, clutching the red and green coat. “It’s no good talking about it anyhow, and I must be getting along. You’ve been very kind, I’m sure – and thank you for the coat.”

Lisle went back to the terrace. Only Rafe was there. He looked over the evening paper and said in his lightest voice,

“Dale’s gone off to do a spot of night flying. Alicia’s driving him. I’m going for a walk. Why don’t you go to bed? You look played out.”

She had picked up her coffee-cup. She drank from it now. The coffee was cold and bitter.

“Did you know he was going to fly?” she said.

He shook his head.

“A sudden idea. He rang up just now.” He went back to his paper. “I think there’s going to be a European war, my sweet.

Birds in their little nests agree

Til old enough to fight.

The big uns kick the little uns out.

Sarve the little uns right.

Blessings of civilisation!”

Lisle put down her cup.

“How long is Alicia going to stay here?”

Rafe let the paper fall.

“That sounds as if you thought she had been here too long.”

“Hasn’t she?”

“Too long – or not long enough.” His voice was still light.

Lisle said, “What do you mean by that?” And all of a sudden he was looking at her hard and full.

“Do you want me to say?”

“Yes, please.”

His eyebrows went up.

“Have it your own way then. You want Alicia to go. You might have outed her last week. I don’t say you could have, because she’s in a very strong position. This is her old home, and it doesn’t look too good for the newcomer to try and put her out. Then, she had been the unattainable, and is still the unattained. That cuts quite a lot of ice, you know. Still, a week ago you might have had a sporting chance, though I’d always put my own money on Alicia, because she hasn’t any scruples, and she’s definitely a lot tougher than you are. Anyhow that’s neither here nor there. Last week has gone and it won’t come back again. Now you’ll have to wait till the glamour wears thin, and that may be a good long time. Alicia’s a very fascinating woman, and she’d give her eyes to get Dale.”

Lisle stood there and listened. His voice was as cold as an east wind. She was so hurt that she felt as if she was bleeding to death, only what was draining away was not blood but hope, and youth, and love. She heard him say,

“It may last a good long time, but it won’t last for ever. You don’t want to stay and watch it going on, do you?”

He got up and came to her.

“Did you ask my advice, my sweet? Never mind, here it is. Europe ’s going to be a fairly unpleasant place for the next few months. If I were you I’d go whilst the going’s good. Get along out to the States. If Dale wants you he’ll come after you, and if he doesn’t, well, it’s quite a handy country to get a divorce in.”

She stood quite still and looked at him, face colourless, eyes dark and wide. After a moment she said in a quivering voice,

“Why do you all hate me? Why do you want me to go?”

His hands came down on her shoulders.

“Isn’t hate a good enough reason in itself? Why, what more do you want? Isn’t hate enough? Nasty explosive stuff, you know – liable to go off and blow us all sky high. Don’t you know when you’re not wanted, my dear? Better clear out whilst you can.”

She stepped back with a blind shrinking look. His hands fell from her shoulders. She said,

“Do you hate me – like that?”

Rafe Jerningham laughed.

“Oh, like the devil, my dear,” he said, and ran down the terrace steps and across the lawn.