Pilgrim’s Rest

chapter 7

The sun shone for two days. Roger Pilgrim went away up to town. Penny played in the garden. Judy worked harder than she had ever done in her life. Then it poured with rain. Penny had to stay indoors. Judy gave her a little dustpan and brush, and a duster. But when Gloria departed downstairs Penny’s interest in house-work waned. She came and stood in front of Judy and turned a commanding gaze upon her.

“It’s bored of being a little girl. It’s a lion-it’s a very fierce, stamping lion. Make it a tail to go swish, swish!”

Judy pinned on the duster, and for about half an hour all went miraculously well. The lion swished, and growled, and pounced. She got Jerome Pilgrim’s room done, so that was off her mind, and managed to get Penny to the far end of the corridor before he came out of the bathroom.

A few minutes later Miss Janetta called her, and she found herself involved in looking for a ring which had fallen and rolled. Miss Netta, in a pale blue dressing-gown, continued to arrange her elaborate curls, and to say at intervals, “I can’t think where it’s gone,” or, “It must be somewhere.” By the time Judy had found it and emerged into the passage she was hot and dusty, and Penny was nowhere to be seen-not in the corridor-not in their bedroom-not in any of the other rooms whose doors she opened as she passed them. With a feeling of horror she realized that the last door on the left was open-the door of Captain Pilgrim’s room. If the little toad had gone in there-

She had. Before she reached it Judy could hear the growling noise which meant that Penny was still being a lion. She looked round the edge of the half-open door and saw the duster tail being vigorously swished, whilst Penny proclaimed in the hoarsest tone she could manage, “It’s a very fierce lion. It can roar and it can bite. It’s the most fierce lion in the world.”

Jerome Pilgrim sat forward in his chair. He wore a camels-hair dressing-gown, and he looked very large. One side of his face was handsome still, but drawn and haggard. The other, partly screened by a lifted hand, showed a long puckered scar which ran from temple to chin. The eyes which looked from those hollow sockets were dark and moody. The hair above the frowning brows was almost black except for a long white streak which carried on the line of the scar.

Penny stopped halfway through a growl, came a step nearer, and said in an interested tone,

“Did something bite your face? Was it a lion?”

The deep, rather harsh voice said,

“Something like that. You’d better run away.”

Penny advanced another step.

“It’s not a fierce lion any more. It’s a kind lion. It won’t bite. Does it hurt where the bad lion bit you?”

“Sometimes.”

Penny said, “Poor-” in a cooing voice. And then, “Didn’t they kiss the place to make it well?”

Judy heard him laugh. It wasn’t a merry sound.

“Well, no-they didn’t.”

“Silly people!” Penny’s voice was full of scorn. She tugged at the screening hand and stoop on tiptoe. A soft, wet kiss was planted solemnly upon the scarred cheek.

Jerome Pilgrim sat up with a jerk as Judy came round the door. She said in the most matter-of-fact voice she could manage,

“I’m so sorry, Captain Pilgrim-Miss Janetta called me and she got away. She isn’t really used to being in somebody else’s house yet. Come along, Penny!”

As she spoke, his hand had gone up to his cheek. Penny tugged it down again.

“Not come-stay. Man tell story-’bout lion-”

“Penny!”

Judy got a frown, Jerome Pilgrim an enchanting smile.

“It wants a story. ’Bout a fierce pouncy lion.”

Judy could see him slipping. She thought it would be frightfully good for him to take Penny off her hands whilst she finished the rooms. She said in a brisk, friendly way,

“She’d love it if you would-and I’d get on about twice as fast. But not if it would be a bother-”

There was a spark of bitter amusement in the dark eyes.

“She gets her way a good deal, doesn’t she? But you’d better take her away-I don’t want to give her bad dreams.”

He wasn’t prepared for the bluntness with which she came back at him.

“Don’t be stupid! Why should you give her dreams?”

If the words were blunt, she had a friendly smile and a friendly voice. A pleasant-looking young thing-nice brown hair, nice teeth, blue overall-looked at him as if he was a human being and not an object of pity. His hand had dropped. He said,

“Well, I’m not very pretty-am I?”

He thought she looked surprised.

“Because you’ve got a scar? What difference does it make? Men don’t have to bother about their complexions. As for Penny-she kissed you, didn’t she? Will you really take her off my hands for a bit? It would be awfully kind. But mind you turn her out if she’s too much for you or anything like that. I shall be doing your bathroom, and then Miss Janetta’s room.”

She went away without really giving him time to answer, leaving the door as she had found it. She left the bathroom door open too. As she cleaned the bath and tidied up, snatches of Androcles and the Lion came to her-snatches of Penny in comment, argument, appreciation. The story was undoubtedly going down well.

When she collected her, Penny’s eyes were like stars. Jerome received the throttling embrace which was her highest tribute, and the departure was a reluctant one.

To the surprise of the family, Jerome came down to lunch.