The Captive

The Governess

I could not stay at Trecorn Manor indefinitely and I was not by any means looking forward to returning to London. I had come to Trecorn Manor with the hope of discovering something which would help me unravel the mystery; now I was seeing how ridiculously optimistic I had been.

Theresa’s death had temporarily forced that other tragedy into the background of my mind, but my obsession was returning. I sometimes felt that if I could get into Perrivale Court, really become acquainted with some of the main actors in the drama, I might make some progress. I had been foolish to hope that just because I was staying near the house I might accomplish this. I felt inadequate and alone. There were times when I was on the verge of taking Lucas into my confidence. He was clever, subtle. He might have ideas. On the other hand, he could dismiss my belief in Simon as romantic folly. In his realist way he would say, “The man was found with the gun in his hand and he ran away and would not face investigation. That speaks for itself. Simply because he happened to show a certain resourcefulness and helped save our lives does not make him innocent.”

No, I could not entirely trust Lucas, but how I longed to confide in someone . someone who would work with me, join in the search . someone who believed in Simon’s innocence.

There was no help for it. I should have to go home. I had already stayed on two weeks after Felicity had left with James; and in the first place I had only intended to stay one.

When I thought of returning to Bloomsbury and the domination of Aunt Maud I was distinctly depressed. I could not face that. Moreover, I had to consider my future. My fantastic adventure had put a bridge between my childhood and my adult life.

I felt lost and lonely. If only, I kept saying to myself . if only I could prove Simon’s innocence. If only he could return and we could be together.

We had forged a bond between us which it seemed could never be broken.

Lucas had shared that adventure with us but he was not involved as we were. Close as he had been to us during those days, he had never shared the secret and that set him apart. He was very perceptive. I often wondered whether he had guessed anything.

How many times a day I was on the point of pouring out my feelings to him . telling him everything!

He might have helped a great deal in solving the mystery. But dared I tell him?

And so I pondered and as each day drew to a close I knew that I could not go on in this way. I should have to make some decision sooner or later. Should I give up this quest which seemed hopeless? Should I return to Bloomsbury and let myself fall into Aunt Maud’s capable hands?

One of my greatest comforts was talking to Nanny Crockett. She was my strongest link with Simon. She loved him as, I admitted now, I did;

and that was a great bond between us.

She was a compulsive talker and the murder at Bindon Boys was as absorbing a topic to her as it was to me. As a matter of fact, she would return to the subject without my prompting her and gradually certain facts began to emerge which were of vital importance to me.

She even knew something about the Perrivale household at that time.

She said: “I used to go over now and then. That was just before it all blew up. You see, when the boys went to school I took a post in Upbridge … quite close really. A dear little thing she was . named Grace. I got very fond of her. She helped to make up a bit for the loss of my boy. Not that that was a dead loss. Simon wasn’t the sort to let that happen. He used to come over to see me and sometimes I’d go over to Perrivale and have a cup of tea with the housekeeper there, Mrs. Ford … she was a friend of mine. We’d always got on. She ran things over there … still does. Even got the butler under her thumb. She’s that sort of woman … good-hearted though … but knows how to keep things in order. Well, that’s what a housekeeper should do, I reckon. Not that I’d have had her interfering in the nursery. She never tried that on me … and we were the best of friends always … or almost always … and I’d be over there for a cup of tea and it was nice to catch up with the news.”

“So it was only when you came here that you didn’t see them.”

“Oh, I still go over now and then. If Jack Carter’s taking a load of something over Upbridge way he’ll come and pick me up. He’ll drop me at the house and when he’s done his business come for me and bring me home. It makes a nice little outing and it keeps me in touch with them over at Perrivale.”

“So you still go over to Perrivale Court!”

“Well, it’s a month or two since I was last there. And when all this was on I didn’t go at all. It wouldn’t have seemed right somehow ..

and there was the police and everyone prying . if you know what I mean. “

“When was the last time you went?”

“It would be three months ago, I reckon. It don’t seem the same now.

Never has . since Simon went. “

“That’s some time ago.”

“Yes … some time. When there’s a murder in a place it seems to change everything.”

Tell me about the household. I’d like to hear. “

“You’re like everyone else. Miss. You can’t resist a murder.”

“Well, this is a mysterious one, isn’t it? And you don’t believe Simon did it.”

“That I don’t. And I’d give a lot to prove it.”

“Perhaps the answer is somewhere in the house.”

“Now what do you mean by that?”

“Someone must have killed Cosmo and perhaps someone in the house knows who did.”

“Someone somewhere knows the truth, that’s for sure.”

“Tell me about the house.”

“Well, there was Sir Edward, wasn’t there?”

“He’s dead now.”

“Yes. Died about the time of the murder, didn’t he? He was very ill before it happened … not expected to live.”

“And old Lady Perrivale?”

“She was a bit of a tartar. One of them Northerners … different from us. She’d been used to having her own way and Sir Edward … he let her … except when it was something like bringing the boy into the house. She didn’t want that… natural like, but he said it was to be and be it was. Well, there she was, never forgetting that it was her money that saved Perrivale. Mrs. Ford said the woodworm and death watch beetle would have done for the place and pretty quick if she hadn’t come into the family in time. And she had her boys Cosmo and Tristan. She was proud of them. And then Simon comes. It might have been better for the poor little mite if there’d been open ructions, I used to think sometimes, rather than all that snide picking on him. It wasn’t only her ladyship. There were the servants and others. I wouldn’t have had that in my nursery … but I’ve told you all this before.”

“I like to hear it and a bit more comes out every time.”

“Well, as I was saying, up at Perrivale it wasn’t a very happy house.

Things wasn’t quite right between Sir Edward and her ladyship. You can always tell. Mind you, he was always very proper . always treated her like the lady of the house . but you could tell. Her ladyship was one of those women who’d have had her own way with any other man. But Sir Edward, he was a funny one. He was the master but it was her money that had saved the place. She didn’t want anyone to forget that. And Sir Edward, he was that strict. If the girls got up to a bit of malarkey with the men, it would be wedding bells for them before there was the first sign of a bundle of trouble.

It was prayers in the hall every morning and everybody in the house had to attend. “

We were silent for a while. She sat there, smiling into the distance, seeing the past, I knew.

“Then came the day when the boys went away to school and they didn’t want Nanny Crockett any more. But I got this job in Upbridge … a stone’s throw away, you might say, so I didn’t feel quite cut off. A nice little thing, Grace was. Her parents were the Burrows … highly respected in Upbridge. Dr. Burrows was her father. She was the only one. I was with her right till the time they sent her to school.

She used to say to me: “You’ll be nanny to my babies, won’t you. Nanny Crockett … when I get some.” And I used to tell her that nannies get old like everyone else and there comes a time when they have to give a little thought to their own comfort, as they once did to that of their little ones. It’s sad, saying goodbye to them. You get attached. They’re your children while you’ve got them. That’s how it is. “

“Yes, I know. The wrench is very sad.”

“I’ve been lucky with mine. Simon used to come over to see me, and now and then I’d walk over and have a cup of tea with Mrs. Ford.”

“And after Grace Burrows, you came here?”

She nodded.

“It was in my last year at the Burrows’ that it happened.”

“So,” I said, hearing the note of excitement in my own voice as I spoke, ‘you were close when it happened? “

“I saw her once or twice.”

“Saw whom?”

“The widow.”

“What did you think of her?”

She was silent. Then she said: “With a woman like that around, things happen. There’s something dangerous about them. Some said she was a witch. They go in for that sort of thing round here. They like to think of people riding out on broomsticks and cooking up mischief. Well, there was mischief at Perrivale after she appeared on the scene.”

“So you think she was involved in it?”

“Most seem to think so. We hadn’t seen many of her sort down here. She looked different even. All that red hair and them green eyes that didn’t go with the hair somehow. All of a sudden there was this widow among us with a child … and she was almost as strange as her mother. Now her father, he was different. Oh, everybody liked the Major. He was jolly with everybody. Always passed the time of day. A very nice gentleman. Quite different from her.”

“Tell me about the child. You know a great deal about children. What did you think of her?”

“It’s my own I know … all their little ways and habits … I can read them like a book. But that one … well, I never had much to do with her nor should I want to. I reckon she’ll be another like her mother. Kate, her name is, I think. A nice, ordinary sort of name.

Different from her mother’s. Mirabel. What sort of name is that? “

“Hers apparently. And mine is Rosetta. You probably think that’s odd.”

“Oh no. That’s pretty. It’s Rose really and what’s nicer than a nice rose?”

“Tell me what you found out about Mirabel and Kate?”

“Only that they were a peculiar pair. They came with her father and took Seashell Cottage and it was clear that the widow woman was looking for a nice rich husband. So she settled on the Perrivales. They said she could have had any of them and she settled on Cosmo. He was the eldest. He’d get the estates and the title … so it had to be Cosmo.”

“Did the family approve of this woman coming from nowhere? I should have thought Sir Edward, with his conventional tastes, might have objected.”

“Oh, Sir Edward was too far gone. As for Lady Perrivale, she was as taken with Mirabel as any of them. Story was that the Major was an old friend of hers. He’d married her old schoolfriend and Mirabel was the result of that marriage. She had wanted them to come and settle in Cornwall in the first place. I don’t know how true that is but that’s how the story goes. The Major was always up at Perrivale. Oh, she was very taken with him. He’s the sort who’d get on with anyone. Oh yes.

Lady Perrivale was all for the marriage. “

“And then … it happened.”

“They all thought Simon, like the others, was smitten by her. That was where the motive came in.”

“He didn’t do it. Nanny,” I said earnestly.

“Why should he have done?

I don’t believe h& was in love with that woman. “

“No,” she said.

“He’d have too much sense. Besides, it didn’t mean that because Cosmo was dead she would turn to him. No … that was not the answer. How I wish I knew what was.”

“You believe in Simon’s innocence, don’t you. Nanny? I mean, you believe absolutely?”

“I do. And I know that boy better than any.”

“Do any of us really know other people?”

“I know my children,” she said staunchly.

“If you could help him, would you. Nanny?”

“With all my heart.”

And then I told her. I went through the whole story, beginning with our encounter on deck, to the time when we parted company outside the Embassy in Constantinople.

She was astounded.

“And you’ve been here all this time and not told me before?”

“I couldn’t be entirely sure of you. I had to protect Simon. You understand?”

She nodded slowly. Then she turned to me and gripped my hand.

“Nanny,” I said solemnly.

“More than anything, I want to solve this. I want to find the truth.”

“That’s what I want,” she said.

“You know a great deal about them. You have access to the house.”

She nodded.

I said with a sudden upward surging of hope: “Nanny, you and I will work together. We’re going to prove Simon’s innocence.”

Her eyes were shining. I felt happier than I had for a long time.

“We’ll do it,” I said, ‘together. “

What a difference it made to share my secret with Nanny Crockett. We talked continuously, going over the same ground again and again; but it was surprising how ideas occurred to us as we did so. We had convinced ourselves that someone in that house knew who had killed Cosmo Perrivale, and we shared the burning desire to find out the truth and prove Simon’s innocence.

A few days after I had taken Nanny Crockett into my confidence. Jack Carter left a message at the house to say he was taking a load over Upbridge way and if Nanny Crockett would like a lift he’d be more than happy with the company and do her a good turn at the same time, for he knew how she liked the little trip.

It seemed like an answer to our prayers. Nanny Crockett said that if I would look after the children, she would go; and she set off in a state of great excitement.

It seemed a long day. I did not see Lucas, as I spent the whole time with the children. I played with them, read to them and told them stories. They were quite content, but I was counting the minutes till Nanny’s return.

I do not know what I expected she would find out in that short time.

She came back in a mood of suppressed excitement, but she would tell me nothing until the children had had their supper of milk and bread and butter and were safely tucked up in bed.

Then we settled down to our chat.

“Well,” she said.

“It was a blessing that I went. It seems that Madam up there is in a bit of a state.”

“You mean Lady Perrivale?”

“I mean young Lady Perrivale.”

She folded her hands on her lap and surveyed me with great satisfaction, and, like some people who have exciting news to impart, she seemed to derive a certain pleasure in holding it back for a while, savouring the pleasure she was going to give me.

“Yes, yes. Nanny,” I prompted impatiently.

“Well, it’s nothing unusual to them up there. It happens regular, but they are getting desperate. It’s Madam Kate.”

“Do tell me what she’s done. Nanny, and what has it to do with us?”

She pulled herself back in her chair and smiled at me knowingly, which was irritating to me being so very much in the dark.

“Well,” she went on, ‘it’s like this. The governess up there has walked out again. It’s a regular way with governesses up there. None of them can stand young Kate for more than a week or so. But it throws the household in a turmoil. Really, this Kate must be a bit of a demon if you ask me. Well, there’s Mrs. Ford telling me that they’re all

praying to get a governess who gives Kate the education she ought to have . and keeps her out of the way of the grownups, I wouldn’t mind reckoning. And how they can’t, how they’re all in despair and young Kate is laughing her head off because the last thing she wants in the house is a governess. There’s been goodness knows how many . and not one stayed. Mrs. Ford reckons that soon it will get round and they wouldn’t even give it a trial. She’s a little imp, that Kate. Wants her own way. Mrs. Ford said if they don’t get someone to control her sometime, governesses won’t be the only ones who are leaving. Well, that’s how it was up at Perrivale. ” She paused and looked at me steadily.

“I said to Mrs. Ford, ” I wonder. ” and she looked at me sharply and said, ” What do you wonder. Nanny? ” I said, ” Now I don’t know whether I’m speaking out of turn . but an idea has just come to me.”

“Yes, Nanny,” I said, a little breathlessly.

“I said to her, ” Well, I don’t know . I may be speaking out of turn so don’t bank on it,” I said.

“But there’s a young lady staying at the house … a well-educated young lady. Best schools and all that.

Well, she was saying the other day she thought she’d like to do something. Not that she needs to, mind. But she was just feeling a bit restless, like. Well, she’s very good with my two . likes teaching them things. Well . I don’t know, I’m sure. It’s just a thought that came into my head. ” You should have seen Mrs. Ford’s face. I reckon it would be a feather in her cap if she could find them a governess.”

“Nanny, what are you suggesting?”

“Well, we always said if you could get into the house … we reckoned the secret was tucked away in there somewhere. And there’s no way of finding out when you’re outside it.”

As the possibility swept over me I felt enormously excited.

“Do you think they would take me?”

“They’d jump at you. You should have seen Mrs. Ford’s face. She kept saying, ” Will you ask her? Do you think she would? ” I played it very cautious. I wanted to make them think you might need a bit of persuading.

“I can only just mention it,” I told her.

“I can’t vouch for anything … I don’t know, I’m sure.” But she wouldn’t leave it alone. She was on it like a ton of bricks. “

“I’ve had no experience. How do I know if I could do it?”

“Look how you are with the twins.”

“They’re not difficult nine-year-olds.”

“That’s true enough. But when Mrs. Ford told me, I thought it sounded like manna from Heaven, as they say.”

“It does look rather like that. I’ve longed and longed for an opportunity.”

“Well, now here it is.”

“What else did Mrs. Ford say?”

“She did wonder how long you’d stay … if you came. She didn’t understand how anybody particularly someone who didn’t have to work would want to be governess to Miss Kate. I couldn’t tell her that there was rather a special reason. Then she stopped talking like that, being afraid I might put you off. She said, ” Well, perhaps Miss Cranleigh might be able to manage her . perhaps it’s because the others haven’t been much good,” going on like that. Ever so anxious she was to get me to ask you. She’d be in high favour with her ladyship if she was the one to find a governess who stayed. I told her not to hope for too much but I’d have a word with you.”

I had been so astounded by the suggestion that it was difficult for me to take in its implications at first. I was trying to be calm. I should go into a strange household as a sort of higher servant. What would my father think? Or Aunt Maud? They would never allow it.

Moreover, what would my position be with a child who had a reputation for making life intolerable for past holders of the post?

And yet. only a few hours before I had been praying for a chance. I had seen clearly that unless I could get a footing in that house, unless I could learn something about its inhabitants, I should never discover the truth behind the murder of Cosmo Perrivale.

Even while I hesitated I knew I had to seize this God-given opportunity with both hands.

Nanny Crockett was watching me intently; a slow smile spread across her face.

She knew that I would go to Perrivale Court.

It was soon quite clear that I should be very welcome at Perrivale Court. Lady Perrivale must have despaired of ever getting a governess for her daughter and the suggestion that I might take the post was received with enthusiasm.

Lady Perrivale sent the carriage over to Trecorn Manor to take me to Perrivale Court so that we could discuss the matter without delay.

I was relieved that Lucas was not there when I left, my trepidation overcome by the elation I felt at the prospect of making headway in my self-appointed task.

I had sworn Nanny Crockett to secrecy about the project, for I was anxious that Lucas should not know anything about it until it was definitely settled. I knew he would be astonished and would ask awkward questions and of course attempt to dissuade me, for, not knowing my reasons, he would naturally find it difficult to understand why I should take on such a post.

I had ceased to marvel at the amazing turn of fate which had brought me this opportunity. So many strange things had happened to me in the recent past that I was prepared for anything. I suppose that when one steps out of the conventional life one must be prepared for the unexpected and unusual. And there I was, speeding along the road in a splendid carriage drawn by two noble horses, one black, one white, and driven by a coachman in the smart Perrivale livery.

We arrived at Perrivale Court. In the distance I could see the sea. It was a light blue today, in a gentle mood, smooth and benign. Whenever I came face to face with the sea-whatever its mood-I would visualize that raging angry torrent which had played such havoc with my life and that of many others. I would never trust the sea again.

And if I lived at Perrivale I should see it every day. I should be reminded.

If I lived at Perrivale? I must. I was becoming more and more certain how imperative it was that I should secure this post.

There was an air of timelessness about the place. The grey stone walls, battered by the winds of centuries, gave it the impression of a fortress, and the machicolations the look of a castle. Lucas had said it had been restored so often that it had lost its original identity.

That might be so, and I found it difficult to analyse my feelings as I passed under the gatehouse into a courtyard where the carriage drew up.

A door was immediately opened and a woman appeared. She was middleaged, verging on the elderly, and instinct told me that this was Mrs. Ford.

She had come to welcome her protegee personally and she showed clearly that she was very pleased that I had come.

“Come along in. Miss Cranleigh,” she said.

“I am Mrs. Ford. Lady Perrivale would like to see you at once. I am so glad you could come.”

It was an effusive greeting, hardly the sort that a governess would expect; but when I reminded myself of the reason for it I was less euphoric.

“Nanny Crockett has told me all about you,” said Mrs. Ford.

Not all, I thought. I could imagine Nanny Crockett’s glowing terms, and I was sure she credited me with qualities I did not possess.

“I’ll take you to her ladyship right away,” she said.

“Will you follow me?”

We were in a hall long and lofty, the walls of which were adorned with weapons and there was a huge fireplace with ingle nooks and seats on either side; the floor was tiled and our footsteps rang out as we walked across to the stairs. It was typical of many such halls except for the stained glass windows at one end with their beautiful shades of ruby red and sapphire blue which were reflected on the tiled floor.

Placed strategically at the side of the staircase like a sentinel was a suit of armour. It seemed lifelike and I could not help glancing uneasily at it as I followed Mrs. Ford up the stairs.

We went along the corridor until we came to a door at which Mrs. Ford knocked.

“Come in,” said a voice.

Mrs. Ford threw open the door and stood aside for me to go in.

She called: “Miss Cranleigh, my lady.”

And there she was, seated in a rather throne-like chair which was covered in dark velvet. She wore a gown of emerald green which was very becoming to her red-haired beauty. I noticed a gold necklace in the form of a snake about her neck. Her glorious hair was piled on top of her head and her green eyes glittered with pleasure.

“Miss Cranleigh,” she cried.

“Do come in. Thank you, Mrs. Ford. Sit here. Miss Cranleigh, and we can have our little talk.”

She was immensely affable. Clearly she was very eager that I should accept the post. She must be desperate, I thought, and I shuddered to think what the child might be like.

“Mrs. Ford tells me that you want to come here to teach my daughter.”

“It was suggested to me that you were in need of a governess,” I replied.

“Kate’s last governess had to leave in rather a hurry and naturally I do not want her studies to be interrupted too long.”

“No, of course not. I must tell you that I have never taught before.”

“Well, we all have to start somewhere.”

“Your daughter is eight years old, I believe … or is it nine?”

“She is just nine.”

“She will be in need of advanced education soon. Do you propose to send her to school in the near future?”

I saw a look of dismay in the green eyes. Was she imagining this daughter of hers being expelled from school after school ?

“We had no plans for a school yet.”

We? That would be Tristan, the girl’s stepfather. Images flashed into my mind. I saw him, coming into the farmhouse . finding his brother dead and Simon standing there with the gun in his hand. I must stop my mind from wandering on. This house would be full of such reminders.

But this was what I had wanted. Those people who had been nothing but names to me were now going to take on flesh and blood, and I had to assess their part in the drama if I were to find out the truth.

She was saying: “Mrs. Ford tells me you are very good with children.”

“She would be referring to the two at Trecorn Manor. They are only four years old.”

“Oh yes … Trecorn Manor. You are visiting there. We met, didn’t we? Those sheep. What a terrible time Mr. Lorimer had. That ghastly shipwreck.”

“Yes,” I said.

“I was shipwrecked too.”

“What a dreadful experience! I heard about it from Mrs. Ford. But you have emerged, fortunately, in better shape than poor Mr. Lorimer.”

“Yes, indeed I was more fortunate.”

She was silent for a few seconds denoting sympathy. Then she said brightly: “We should be so happy if you came. It would be good for Kate to have a … lady … to teach her. Mrs. Ford tells me that you have had an excellent education.”

“There was nothing outstanding about it.”

This was becoming a most unusual interview. I seemed all the time to be stressing why she should not employ me and she seemed determined at all cost that she should.

“We have rather pleasant nursery quarters here. You know, the family’s children have been brought up there over the years. That makes a difference … some how.”

I was trying to shut out of my mind images of that frightened little boy being brought into the nursery by a determined Sir Edward and by good fortune falling into the hands of loving Nanny Crockett.

It was obvious that my next words unnerved her.

“Perhaps I could meet your daughter.”

It was the last thing she wanted. There was apprehension in the green eyes. She was clearly thinking that one look at the little monster would be enough to make me decline. I felt almost sorry for her. She was so anxious to find a governess any governess, I imagined for her daughter.

Never could a prospective governess have been in such a position. I was amused at the feeling of power which came over me. It would be entirely my decision. I knew I was not going to enjoy my work, but at least I should not have to cringe before my employer. I knew I was coming to this house for Simon’s sake and I was certain that I should discover some of its secrets which, with luck, might lead me to the truth.

“She may not, of course, be in her room,” she said.

“I think we should meet before we make the decision,” I said firmly, and I somehow managed to convey that this was an ultimatum.

Reluctantly she went to the bell rope and in a few moments a maid appeared.

“Would you bring Miss Kate to me?” she said.

“Yes, my lady.”

Lady Perrivale looked so nervous that I wondered what I was going to discover. If she is quite impossible, I thought, I shall at least have a chance to look around and if it is really bad I can always follow the example of the other governesses and leave.

When she came, I was surprised rather agreeably, but that was perhaps because I was expecting something worse.

She was very like her mother. Her hair was a little less bright, her eyes a little less green. There was a hint of blue in them but that might have been because she was wearing a blue dress; her lashes and brows were inclined to be sandy and her mother owed a great deal to her dark brows and luxuriant lashes for her arresting good looks. But it was obvious at once that she was her mother’s daughter.

“Kate, my dear,” said Lady Perrivale.

“This is Miss Cranleigh. If you are lucky she may be your new governess.”

The girl looked at me appraisingly.

“I don’t like governesses,” she said.

“I want to go away to school.”

“That’s not very polite, is it?” asked Lady Perrivale mildly.

“No,” said her daughter.

“And shouldn’t we be?”

“Perhaps you should, Mama. I don’t want to be.”

I laughed and said boldly: “I can see you have a great deal to learn.”

“I never learn unless I want to.”

“That’s not very clever, is it?”

“Why not?”

“Because you will remain ignorant.”

“If I want to be ignorant, I’ll be ignorant.”

“It is your choice, of course,” I replied mildly, ‘but I never heard of any wise person wanting to be ignorant. “

I looked at Lady Perrivale and I could see her fear that I would reject her daughter was growing.

“Really, Kate,” she said.

“Miss Cranleigh has come all the way from Trecorn Manor to see you.”

“I know. And it’s not ” all the way”. It’s not really very far.”

“You must assure her that you will try to be a good pupil or she may decide not to come.”

Kate shrugged her shoulders.

I was surprised to find myself feeling almost sorry for Lady Perrivale. I wondered why she, who looked as though she might be the sort of woman to have her own way, could allow a child to behave so.

I fancied Kate felt a certain antagonism to her mother and at the root of her behaviour might be a wish to discountenance her. I wondered why.

I said: “If I am coming to teach Kate, I think we should get to know each other. Perhaps she could show me the schoolroom.”

Kate turned to face me. I could see she was finding me very different from the governesses to whom she was accustomed. I imagined those poor needy women desperately eager for the post and fearing to do anything that might mean losing it.

I felt more alive than I had for a long time. I was actually in Simon’s old home and these were the people who had figured in the drama. Moreover, I was a little stimulated at the prospect of battles to come with this child.

“If you think …” began Lady Perrivale uneasily.

“Yes,” said Kate.

“I’ll show you the schoolroom.”

“That’s good,” I said.

Lady Perrivale rose as if to accompany us.

I turned to her.

“Shall Kate and I get to know each other … alone?” I suggested.

“We shall know better then whether we can get along.”

I was not sure which was greater her relief or her apprehension. She was glad to end this interview but she was afraid of what would ensue when I was alone with Kate.

The girl led me up the stairs, taking two at a time.

“It’s a long way up,” she said over her shoulder.

“Schoolrooms usually are.”

“Miss Evans used to puff and pant coming up the stairs.”

“Miss Evans being the unfortunate lady who tried to teach you before?”

I asked.

She gave a little giggle. Poor Miss Evans! I thought. At the mercy of such a creature.

“It’s not very nice up there,” she went on.

“It’s haunted, you know.

Are you afraid of ghosts? “

“Never having made the acquaintance of any, it is difficult to say.”

Again she giggled.

“You wait,” she said.

“They’re very frightening.

There are always ghosts in old houses like this. They come out in the night when you are asleep . particularly if they don’t like you, and they never like strangers. “

“Oh, don’t they? I should have thought it was members of the family whom they would come back to see.”

“You don’t know anything about ghosts.”

“Do you?”

“Of course. I know they do horrid things … like clanging chains and frightening people in the night.”

“Perhaps you have been listening to gossip.”

“You wait,” she said ominously and with plans in her eyes.

“If you come here, you’ll be frightened out of your wits. I promise you.”

“Thanks for the promise. So this is it?”

“It’s right at the top of the house. You can look right down into the well … because the stairs go round and round. Someone hanged herself once from these banisters. She was a governess.”

“Perhaps she had a pupil rather like you.”

That made her laugh and she looked at me with some appreciation.

“Moreover,” I went on, ‘it would have been rather a difficult operation and she must have been very skilful. So this is the schoolroom. What books have you? “

“A lot of boring old things.”

“You mean they bore you. That’s probably because you don’t understand them.”

“How do you know what I understand?”

“Well, I gathered from you that you never learn anything unless you want to, and I surmise that very often you don’t want to, which would account for your ignorance.”

“You’re a funny sort of governess.”

“How do you know? I haven’t been a governess yet.”

“I’ll give you a piece of advice,” she said conspiratorially.

“That’s good of you. What is it?”

“Don’t come here. I’m not very nice, you know.”

“Oh yes. I had already discovered that.”

“Why … ? How … ?”

“You’ve told me yourself and in any case it’s rather obvious, isn’t it?”

“I’m not so bad really. Only I don’t like to be told what to do.”

“That’s not very unusual, you know. You’re just going along with the common herd. But there are people who want to learn and they do. They are the people who have rewarding lives.”

She stared at me with a puzzled look.

I said: “I have seen the schoolroom. Now I will go back to your mother.”

“You’re going to tell her how awful I am and that you don’t like me and you won’t come here.”

“Is that what you want me to telljier?” She did not answer, which mildly surprised and pleased me. I went on: “Do you often tell people what they are going to do?”

“Well, of course you’re not coming. You’re not poor like Miss Evans. You don’t have to. Nobody would come here unless they had to.”

“If you would like to take me to your mother, I should be pleased. If not, I dare say I can find my own way.”

We surveyed each other like two generals on a battlefield. I could see that in spite of herself she was mildly interested in me. I had not behaved like the ordinary governesses; and she had certainly not acted like a prospective pupil. But I sensed that she had-as I admitted to myself that I had-enjoyed our little bout of sparring. I thought her a spoilt child, but there was another reasonas there usually is-why she behaved as she did. I could not grasp what her attitude towards her mother was, but I felt a growing curiosity and I wanted to find out.

Oddly enough, this difficult child, who had driven governesses away in despair, attracted me in an odd way. I wanted to know more of her. I knew I was coming to the house in any case, but, having met Lady Perrivale and her daughter, I was finding myself intrigued by their personalities.

Kate pushed past me and started to go downstairs: “This is the way,” she said.

I followed her back to the room where we had left Lady Perrivale. She looked up anxiously as though she were ready to accept defeat.

I said: “Kate has shown me the schoolroom. It is very light and airy and in such a pleasant spot… at the top of the house.”

I paused, savouring my power with a certain complacency, then I went on: “I have decided that, providing we can agree on the usual details, I should like to come on trial … on both sides … for say a month and if at the end of that time we feel the arrangement is satisfactory we can plan from there.”

Her smile was dazzling. She had made up her mind that a short time with Kate would have decided me. She was ready to promise anything and the salary she offered I was sure was beyond what was normally paid to a governess.

“When … ?” she asked eagerly.

“What about Monday … the start of the week? You see, I have not far to come.”

“That would be admirable.”

Kate was looking at me in astonishment. I said coolly:

“If the carriage could take me back to Trecorn Manor …”

“But of course,” said Lady Perrivale.

“We shall look forward to seeing you on Monday.”

I felt triumphant as I was driven back. I was going to succeed, I knew. I was going to find Cosmo’s murderer. And then I should have to find Simon. How, I did not know. But I’d think of that when the time came.

I kept thinking how lucky it was that I had confided in Nanny Crockett, for that had certainly taken me along a few steps further. I was certain that I was on the only possible road to discovery.

Nanny Crockett was waiting for me and she could hardly restrain her impatience. I did not keep her long in suspense.

“I’m starting on Monday,” I said.

She flew at me and hugged me.

“I knew you would. I knew it.”

“Lady Perrivale was determined. No applicant for a post can ever have had such an extraordinary interview. You would have thought she was the one who wanted the job.”

“Well, Mrs. Ford told me how it would be.” She looked at me anxiously.

“Did you see … the girl?”

I nodded.

“She’s a challenge,” I said.

“And if it is possible to find the truth I have to.”

“For Simon’s sake. Poor lamb … out there in the wilds somewhere.

If only he could come home to us. “

“We’re going to succeed. Nanny. We are on the way.”

Now that I had come so far, I had to face the difficulties.

I should have to tell my father that I was taking a post as governess.

That would bewilder him. And I did not forget Aunt Maud. I was sure she would be most disapproving because becoming a governess would not enhance my chances of what she would call a good marriage. But by the time they heard, I should be installed in Perrivale Court.

I should have to write to Felicity. I wondered what her reaction would be. If she knew the truth behind it, of course, she would understand, for she did realize how restless I was. She herself had been a governess, but I had been a very different child from Kate, and Felicity and I had had good times together from the beginning.

I was unprepared for Lucas’s reaction.

I did not see him until dinner that evening. It had become a dismal meal since Theresa’s death. We were all conscious of the place where she used to sit at one end of the table opposite Carleton. Now that place was empty and every now and then one of us would gaze furtively towards it. Conversation was laborious and there would be certain gaps when Lucas and I sought for something to say. In the past we had lingered over meals; now they were occasions which everyone wished to be over as soon as possible.

Lucas said: “I haven’t seen you all day. I looked for you this afternoon.”

“No,” I said.

“I went to Perrivale Court.”

“Perrivale Court!” he echoed disbelievingly.

“Yes … as a matter of fact I’m going to work there.”

“What?”

“As a governess. Lady Perrivale has a daughter … Kate. I am going to act as her governess.”

“Whatever for?”

“Well, it’s something to do and …”

“It’s a ridiculous idea!” He looked at Carleton, who was staring gloomily at his plate.

“Did you hear that?” he said.

“Rosetta plans to go to Perrivale Court as governess to the girl there.”

“Yes, I heard,” said Carleton.

“Well, don’t you think it’s crazy?”

Carleton coughed slightly.

I said: “I shall be starting on Monday. I have to do something, and I thought this would be a start.”

Lucas was speechless.

Carleton said: “It was good of you to stay with us so long. The children are so fond of you. We knew of course that you would only be here temporarily until they had recovered a little from …”

Then we all fell into silence.

As soon as dinner was over, Lucas hustled me into the drawing-room.

“I’d like to talk,” he said.

“Yes?”

“It’s about this nonsense …”

“It’s not nonsense. It’s perfectly reasonable. I want to do something.”

“There are lots of things you could do. If you’re so eager to look after children, what’s wrong with the two here?”

“It’s not the same, Lucas.”

“What do you mean not the same? Do you realize what you are letting yourself in for?”

“If I find it intolerable I shall just leave.”

“That place! There’s something about it. You there! I just can’t imagine it.”

“Lots of young women take posts as governesses.”

“You’re not qualified.”

“How many of them are? I have had a fair education. I could teach some things.”

“It’s absurd. Tell me, Rosetta, why are you doing this? There must be a reason.”

I was silent for a few seconds. I longed to tell him. On impulse I had told Nanny Crockett, but then I had seen that she was emotionally involved and it was obvious that I had then taken a step in the right direction. I wavered.

But I was uncertain of Lucas. He should feel grateful to the man who had saved his life, but Lucas was a calm realist, and I was unsure of what action he would take.

He answered for me.

“After going through all that … well, it’s natural that you should feel unsettled. Life at home seems dull … well, predictable. You are reaching out for change. I can only think that it was that which made you take this ridiculous action.”

“I don’t see it as ridiculous, Lucas.”

“You get on so well with the twins and you and Nanny Crockett seem to be in some conspiracy or other. You’re always together.”

I caught my breath. Conspiracy? It was almost as though he guessed.

He said sharply: “How did you know that they wanted a governess at Perrivale? Through Nanny Crockett, I suppose. I’ve heard she is still friendly with someone up there.”

“Well, yes …”

“I thought so. And you concocted this between you. I tell you, it’s madness. That place! There’s something unsavoury about it since the murder. It’s not the sort of place you should go to. All that trouble and that woman being engaged to the victim and then promptly marrying the other…”

“That has nothing to do with the governess.”

“Governess!” he said contemptuously. ‘yom a governess! “

“Why not?”

“You’re not the type.”

“What types are governesses? There are all sorts, I do assure you.”

“Well, you don’t fit into any of the categories. You’d better marry me.”

I stared at him.

“What did you say?”

“You’re restless. Since you’ve been back, everything seems dull after such hair-raising adventures as you have experienced.

You want something to happen. Very well. Marry me. “

I burst out laughing.

“Really, Lucas, who is being absurd now?”

“Still you. I’m as calm and sensible as ever. The more I think of the idea the more I like it.”

“You don’t care for me.”

“But I do. Next to myself I love you best in the world.”

That made me laugh again and I was glad of the light relief.

“I am not taking you seriously, of course,” I said, ‘but this must be the most unusual proposal anyone has ever received. “

“It’s honest, anyway.”

“Yes, I grant that.”

“And it is not so unusual either. It’s just that people don’t tell all the truth. Most people love themselves passionately and when they declare their love for someone it is always for their own comfort and pleasure. So you see, I am just the same as most other people except that I am more honest.”

“Oh, Lucas, it is good of you, but…”

“It’s not good at all and but… I knew there would be a but.”

“I really can’t take you seriously.”

“Why not? The more I think of it the better solution it seems. You are in the doldrums … which ever way you turn. Everything has changed for you. Your forthright aunt has entered your old home and changed it. You have recently come through an almost incredible adventure.

Nothing like it will ever happen to you again, so therefore life seems a little flat. You are not sure which way to turn. But turn you will anything . anywhere to take you out of the slough into which you have fallen. If governessing in a house of somewhat shady reputation is

considered, why not marriage with a curmudgeon who is a poor thing, but at least cares for you and understands? “

“You don’t put it very romantically.”

“We are not discussing romance but reality.”

I couldn’t help laughing again and he joined in with me.

“Oh come, Rosetta,” he said.

“Give up this mad idea … and at least consider the other proposition. It has certain advantages. We are good friends, aren’t we? We’ve faced death together. I understand you as few people ever will. And do you want to go back to Aunt Maud and her plans for you?”

“I certainly don’t want to do that,” I replied.

“You are right in a way. You do understand me … to some degree.”

“Then abandon this idea. I’ll send Dick Duvane over to Perrivale to tell them to look for a new governess. Think about what I suggested.

Stay here for a while. Let’s enlarge our acquaintance. You don’t need to leap into this. Let’s make plans. “

“You are so good to me, Lucas.”

I placed my hand in his and he put it to his lips.

“It’s true, you know, Rosetta,” he said earnestly.

“I am fond of you.”

“I really am second with you?”

He laughed and held me against him for a moment.

“But…” I went on.

“Yes, I know about that ” but”. You’re going to Perrivale, aren’t you?”

“I must, Lucas. There’s a reason.”

Warnings of danger flashed into my mind. Once again I was on the point of telling him why I must go to Perrivale. He would understand then.

He saw that I was really determined.

He said: “Well, I shall be close. We’ll meet at The Sailor King. And when you find it quite unbearable, you only have to walk out and come to Trecorn.”

“That is a great comfort to me,” I told him.

“And, Lucas … thank you for asking me. It means a great deal to me.”

“It’s not the last time I shall ask. There’ll be others. I don’t give in as easily as that.”

“It was a great surprise to me. I think it was to you.”

“Oh, it has been smouldering in my mind for a long time … even on the island perhaps …”

“Do you think often of that time now?”

“It’s always there … in the background. I am constantly ready to be reminded. I often think of John Player, too. It would be interesting to know what happened to him.”

I was silent, apprehensive as I always was when he referred to Simon.

“I wonder if he is still in the seraglio. Poor devil. He came out the worst of the three of us … though none emerged unscathed.”

His face had hardened. The grudge against fate for making a cripple of a healthy man was never far away.

“I’d give a good deal to know what became of him,” he went on.

“We must remember we should not be here if it were not for him,” I said.

“Perhaps one day we shall hear some thing.”

“I doubt it. When that sort of thing happens people disappear from your life.”

“We didn’t disappear, Lucas.”

“It is rather miraculous that we are here like this.”

“Perhaps he will come back, too.”

“If he escaped … which seems impossible.”

“I did, Lucas.”

“That’s quite a story, but who is going to let him out? No, we shall never see him again. Yes … while we were there … that island . the three of us … we became very close to each other. But that is over now. We’ve got to grow away from it. And let me tell you, you’ll do that far better as Mrs. Lucas Lorimer than as governess to some hateful little brat in a household which was once the centre of a murder case.”

“We shall have to see, Lucas,” I said.

My first days at Perrivale Court were so crowded with impressions and suppressed emotions that they left me quite bewildered. The house itself was fascinating. It was full of unexpected features. It seemed vast, like a medieval castle in some places, a Tudor manor in others, and in some rooms a note of modernity had crept in.

Lady Perrivale had greeted me warmly but briefly and had handed me over to Mrs. Ford, who from the first showed herself to be my ally. I was her protegee; she had won the gratitude of Lady Perrivale for producing me and she was going to take me under her wing and do her utmost to keep me in the house.

She took me to my room.

“If there’s anything you want, Miss Cranleigh, let me know. I’ll see you’re as comfortable as I can make you. Nanny Crockett said I was to take care of you, and I promise you, I will.”

My room was next to the nursery, and Kate’s was next to mine. It was a pleasant room with a window that looked down on to a courtyard. Across the courtyard other windows faced me. I immediately had the impression that I was being watched and I was glad of the heavy drapes.

From the first I felt as though I had slipped into a dream. I was overwhelmed by the knowledge that I was actually living in the house where Simon had spent the greater part of his boyhood, and my determination to prove his innocence intensified.

It soon became clear that Kate felt an interest in me. She was certainly determined to find out all she could about me.

No sooner had Mrs. Ford left me to unpack than she came into my room. She did not knock, feeling, I was sure, that there was no need to stand on ceremony with a mere governess.

“You came, then,” she said.

“I didn’t think you would, and then I did . because you wouldn’t have said you’d come if you didn’t mean to, would you?”

“Of course not.”

“A lot of people say they’ll do things and don’t.”

“I’m not one of those.”

She sat on the bed.

“Horrible old room, isn’t it?”

“I think it’s pleasant.”

“I suppose as a governess you haven’t been used to much.”

“In my home in London I have a very pleasant room.”

“Why didn’t you stay in it, then?”

“You are not very well-mannered, are you?”

“Oh no. Actually, I’m very ill-mannered.”

“Well, at least you are aware of it… which is a point in your favour. But as you appear to take a pride in it, that’s one against you.”

She laughed.

“You are funny,” she said.

“I do and say what I like.”

“I had gathered that.”

“And nobody’s going to change me.”

“Then you’ll have to do the job yourself, won’t you?”

She looked at me curiously and I went on: “And would you mind getting off my bed? I want to sort out my things.”

To my surprise she moved and stood watching me.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not much, is it? I suppose you think you’re going to marry the master of the house, like Jane Eyre. Well, you can’t, because he’s married already … to my mother.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Don’t look so surprised,” she said.

“It’s what a lot of governesses think.”

“I was expressing surprise at your erudition.”

“What’s that?”

“In your case, a certain knowledge of literature.”

“Did you think I didn’t know anything?”

“I gathered you had difficulties with your governesses.”

“I like reading books about people. I like it when awful things happen to them.”

“I’m not surprised at that.”

She laughed.

“What do you think you’re going to teach me?”

“We shall do some history, English literature … grammar, too, and of course mathematics.”

She grimaced.

“I shan’t do what I don’t like.”

“We’ll have to see about that.”

“You are like a governess sometimes.”

“I’m glad you recognize that.”

“I like the way you talk. It makes me laugh.”

“I think you must be rather easily amused.”

“You’re not like Miss Evans. She was ever so silly. Right from the first she was just frightened all the time.”

“By you?”

“Of course.”

“And you took advantage of your position.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was trying to do her work and you did all you could to prevent her. You made her so miserable that she had to leave.”

“I didn’t want her here. She was a bore. I don’t think you’re going to be a bore. I wonder how long you’ll stay.”

“As long as it suits me, I imagine.”

She smiled secretly. Clearly she was planning her campaign.

Oddly enough, I found her stimulating and I was quite enjoying our verbal battles. She went with me to the schoolroom and I inspected the books that were in the cupboard. It was well stocked. There was a blackboard, several exercise books, slates and pencils.

“I shall have to ask you to show me some of your previous work,” I said.

She grimaced.

“When?” she asked.

“There is no time like the present.”

She hesitated and seemed poised for flight. I wondered what I should do if she refused to stay with me. I knew she was quite capable of that and deeply I pitied my predecessors whose ability to earn a living rested on the whims of this creature.

I wanted to stay for as long as it was necessary, but at least my living did not depend upon it.

At the moment, however, she was mildly intrigued by me and she decided to cooperate; we had an interesting half an hour when I discovered that she was not as ignorant as I had feared she might be; in fact she was exceptionally bright. She had read a great deal which was a help.

In that, at least, we had something in common.

During the first day I learned a little about the household. There were three estate managers, Mrs. Ford told me.

“Be cause ever since .. you know what. Miss Cranleigh, we don’t talk about… You see, Mr. Cosmo had gone and so had Mr. Simon. There’d been three of them and now there was only Sir Tristan left. Well, it was too much for him.

There’d always been one agent, even . before . and afterwards, there were two more. Perrivale’s a big estate . the biggest round here. Of course, it’s all different since . that happened . and Sir Edward being gone . “

During that first day I had a glimpse of Tristan and from the moment I saw him I began to suspect that he knew something of what had really happened in the old farm house.

He looked the part of the stage villain. He was very dark:

his hair was smooth and shiny, so sleek that it looked like a black cap, particularly as it came to a point in the middle of his forehead, which gave him a rather mysterious and sinister appearance.

Our meeting was brief. Kate had taken me out to show me the gardens and I met him coming with Lady Perrivale from the stables. She looked beautiful in a dark blue riding habit, with top hat in the same colour. Her hair looked brilliant under the darkish hat.

She said: “Oh, Tristan, this is Miss Cranleigh, the new governess.”

He took off his hat and bowed in a very courtly manner.

“She and Kate are getting along so well together,” said Lady Perrivale, with more optimism than proof.

“I’ve shown her the schoolroom,” said Kate.

“And now I’m showing her the gardens.”

“That’s very good,” said Lady Perrivale.

“Welcome to Perrivale,” put in Sir Tristan.

“I hope your stay with us will be a long and happy one.”

I saw Kate smirk and I wondered what she was planning for my discomfort.

And there and then I, illogically, assigned to Tristan the role of murderer, telling myself that I might not have any evidence against him, but my conclusions were due to my sixth sense.

I was very thoughtful as I examined the gardens. Kate had noticed this. I was beginning to realize that there was little she missed.

“You didn’t like Stepper,” she said.

“Who?”

“My stepfather. I call him Stepper. He doesn’t like it much. Nor does my mother.”

“I suppose that is why you do it.”

Again that hunching of the shoulders, the grimace, as she laughed.

“I always give people names,” she said.

“You’re Cranny.”

“I’m not sure that I approve of that.”

“You don’t have to approve. People have no choice when it comes to names. They have to have what’s given them. Look at me, Kate. Who wants to be Kate? I should have liked to be Angelica.”

“That would make people think of angels,” I reminded her.

“Hardly apt in your case.”

She was laughing again. There was quite a lot of laughter that morning.

I said to her: “We’ll start lessons tomorrow morning at nine-thirty and we shall finish at twelve noon.”

“Miss Evans started at ten.”

“We shall start at nine-thirty.”

Again that grimace, but it was still good-tempered.

I really thought we were getting on much better than I had thought we should. She seemed interested in me. I wondered whether I should be able to get her to work at her lessons.

I was soon to have a rude awakening.

It was understandable that on my first night at Perrivale Court I should find that sleep evaded me. The events of the day kept crowding into my head. Here I was at last, in Simon’s home, almost at the scene of the crime, one might say; and I was dedicated to the monumental task of proving his innocence. I felt greatly comforted by the thought of Lucas to whom I could turn at any time. I was touched that he had offered to marry me. I had been truly amazed. I had never thought of him in such connection, or only vaguely when Aunt Maud had had that speculative look in her eyes when she knew I had met him at Felicity’s home.

I was turning over in my mind how I should begin my research. This was what would be called a wild goose chase and it was only because of the fantastic adventures through which I had passed that I could

contemplate embarking In the meantime I had to cope with Kate. Quite a task in itself. The beginning had been easier than I had thought it would be, but that was merely because I had managed to make her mildly interested in me. I could visualize her quickly becoming bored and then the campaign against me would begin. I hoped she would not make my life intolerable before I had made some progress in my search.

I must learn something about Cosmo, who had been engaged to marry the fascinating Mirabel who had become a definite personality to me. I was getting my cast together. Simon, I knew well; I had glimpsed Tristan.

How enamoured had Simon been of Mirabel? Having seen her I could imagine how attractive she would be to most men.

I must have dozed, for I was awakened suddenly by a sound outside my door. I opened my eyes and saw the door handle slowly turning. The door was silently pushed open and a figure glided into the room. It was covered with a sheet and I knew at once who was under that sheet.

She stood by the door and said in a sibilant whisper: “Go away. Go away … while there is still time. No good can come to you here.”

I pretended to sleep on. She came closer to the bed. My eyes were half closed and when she came near enough, I caught the sheet and pulled it off.

“Hello, ghost,” I said.

She looked deflated.

“It was a poor impersonation,” I added.

“And a sheet… obviously a sheet. Couldn’t you have done better than that?”

“You were pretending to be asleep. It wasn’t fair.”

“You were pretending to be a ghost and all’s fair in love and war, and war is what this is, isn’t it… since it certainly isn’t love.”

“You were scared.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Just for a minute?” she said almost pleadingly.

“Not for a second. You could have done better than that.

In the first place, if you planned to stage a haunting, it wasn’t very clever to talk so much about ghosts when we first met. You see, you put me on my guard. I said, “This girl fancies herself as a governess-baiter.”

“A what!” she cried.

“You see, you have such a limited vocabulary. I’m not surprised, as you won’t learn. You like taunting governesses because in comparison with them you feel ignorant. You think that for a moment they are in a weak position and you are in a strong one. That’s rather cowardly, of course, but people who are unsure of themselves do things like that.”

“I frightened Miss Evans.”

“I’ve no doubt you did. You don’t care about other people at all, do you?”

She looked surprised.

“Didn’t it occur to you that Miss Evans was trying to earn her living and the only reason she would want to teach an unpleasant child like you was because she had to.”

“Am I unpleasant?”

“Very. But if you gave a little thought to others besides yourself, you might be less so.”

“I don’t like you.”

“I don’t greatly care for you.”

“So you will go away, will you?”

“Probably. You don’t think anyone would want to stay to teach you, do you?”

“Why not?”

“Because you have stated so clearly that you do not want to learn.”

“What of that?”

“It shows you have no respect for learning and only stupid people feel like that.”

“So I am stupid?”

“It would seem so. Of course, you could change. I tell you what. Why don’t we make a truce?”

“What’s a truce?”

“It’s a sort of agreement. You make terms.”

“What terms?”

“We could see if you like the way I teach and if you are prepared to learn. If you don’t, I’ll go and you can have another governess. It will save you racking your brains for methods to make me uncomfortable. Let’s go about it in a civilized way without all these childish tricks to make me go.”

“All right,” she said.

“Let’s have a truce.”

“Then go back to bed now. Good night.”

She paused at the door.

“There are ghosts in the house, though,” she said.

“There was a murder here … not long ago.”

“Not in this house,” I said.

“No, but it was Stepper’s brother. One was killed and the other ran away. They were all in love with my mother before she married Stepper.”

She was very observant. She had noticed the change in me. She came back and sat on the bed.

“What do you know about it?” I asked.

“You weren’t in the house at the time.”

“No, I came here when my mother married Stepper. Before that we were at Gramps’s house.”

“Whose?”

“My grandfather’s. He’s in the Dower House now. He went there when my mother got married. He had to have a better house then because he was the father of the lady of the manor. Gramps didn’t like living in a little cottage anyway. He’s really a very grand gentleman. He’s Major Durrell and majors are very important. They win battles. We used to live in London but that was years and years ago. Then we came here and everything changed.”

“You must have known them all … the one who was killed and the one who went away.”

“I knew them … in a way. They were all in love with my mother. Gramps used to laugh about it. He was ever so pleased, because when she married Stepper we moved out of the cottage. But first there was all that fuss. And then Cosmo was killed and Simon ran away because he didn’t want to be hanged. “

I was silent and she went on: “They do hang them, you know. They put a rope round their necks and they … swing. It hurts a lot … but then they’re dead. That was what he was afraid of. Well, who wouldn’t be?”

I could not speak. I kept seeing Simon stealthily leaving the house . making his way to Tilbury . meeting the sailor, John Player.

She was watching me closely.

“Ghosts come back when people are murdered. They haunt people.

Sometimes they want to know what really happened. “

“Do you think something happened … which people don’t know about?”

She looked at me slyly. I was unsure of her. She could be teasing me.

I had betrayed my interest and she had noticed. She would already have guessed that I was extraordinarily interested in the murder.

“I was there, wasn’t I?” she said.

“I remember. I was with Gramps .. my mother was upstairs. Someone one of the grooms from Perrivale came to the door and said:

“Mr. Cosmo’s been found shot. He’s dead.” Gramps said:

“Oh my God.” You’re not supposed to say Oh my God. It’s taking the Lord’s name in vain. It says something in the Bible about it. And Gramps went upstairs to my mother and he wouldn’t let me go up with him. “

I tried to think of something appropriate to say but nothing came.

“Do you ride. Cranny?” she asked, seemingly irrelevantly.

I nodded.

“I tell you what. I’ll take you to Bindon Boys … the scene of the crime. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

I said: “You’re obsessed by the crime. It’s all over now. Perhaps one day we’ll ride out to that place.”

“All right,” she said.

“It’s a pact.”

“And now,” I said, ‘good night. “

She gave me a grin and, picking up the sheet, left me.

I lay for a long time, wide awake. I had come to teach Kate, but there might be a good deal she could teach me.

Kate had long decided that the lives of governesses should be made so uncomfortable that they found it impossible to stay, so they left, which gave her a period of freedom before the next one came, and she had to start her eliminating tactics once more.

I was different from the others, mainly because she sensed that it was not imperative for me to keep the job as a means of livelihood. That took a little of the spice out of the baiting and gave me the advantage. I tried to tell myself that all children had a streak of cruelty in them because they lack experience of life and therefore an ability to imagine the extent of the suffering they cause.

Apart from the fact that I was becoming sure that she could be of use to me in my quest, I wanted to take up the case of other governesses who had suffered before me and in particular those who would suffer after me. I wanted to teach Kate a little humanity. Oddly enough, I did not despair of her. I believed something must have happened to make her the callous little creature she had become; and I had a feeling that it must be possible to change her.

The next morning, rather to my surprise, she was in the schoolroom at the appointed time.

I told her I had worked out a timetable. We would start with English, perhaps for an hour or so; we would see how that worked. I should want to test her reading ability, her spelling, her grammar. We should read books together.

I had found a collection in the cupboard. I picked up The

Count of Monte Cristo and when I opened it I saw “Simon Perrivale’ written on the flyleaf in a childish hand. I felt my own hands tremble a little.

I managed to hide my emotion from her alert eyes. I said:

“Have you ever read this book?”

She shook her head.

“We’ll read it one day and, oh, here’s another. Treasure Island.

That’s about pirates. “

Her interest was aroused. There was a picture on the frontispiece of Long John Silver with his parrot on his shoulder.

She said: “In that other book … that was his name … you know, the murderer.”

“We don’t know that he was,” I said, and stopped myself abruptly, for she was looking at me in surprise. I should have to go carefully.

“We shall then do history, geography and arithmetic.”

She was scowling.

“We’ll see how they fit in,” I said firmly.

The morning passed tolerably well. I discovered that she could read fairly fluently and I was pleased to discover that she had a definite taste for literature. The personalities of history interested her but she shut her mind to dates. There was a revolving globe in the cupboard and we had an interesting time discovering places on it. I showed her where I had been shipwrecked. The story intrigued her, and we finished off the morning by reading a chapter of Treasure Island; she was absorbed by the book from the first page.

I was amazed at my success.

I had decided that we should work until midday. Then she could follow her own pursuits if she wished until three o’clock when we might walk in the gardens or in the surrounding country and learn something about plant life, or take a walk. We could resume lessons at four and work until five. That was our scholastic day.

In the afternoon she showed no wish to be on her own and offered to show me the surrounding country. I was rather pleased that she sought my company and seemed to retain her interest in me.

She talked about Treasure Island and told me what she thought would happen. She wanted to hear about my shipwreck. I began to think that it was this which had made her ready to accept me . perhaps briefly as had not been the case with the other governesses.

She took me to the top of the cliffs and we sat there for a while, watching the sea.

“We have rough seas here,” she said.

“There used to be wreckers along these coasts. They had lights and they lured the ships on to the rocks, pretending that it was the harbour. Then they stole the cargo.

I’d like to have been a wrecker. “

“Why do you want to be evil?”

“Being good is dull.”

“It’s better in the long run.”

“I like short runs.”

I laughed at her and she laughed with me.

She said suddenly: “Look at those rocks down there. A man was drowned down there not very long ago.”

“Did you know him?”

She was silent for a moment. Then she said: “He was a stranger here.

He came from London. He’s buried in St. Morwenna’s churchyard. I’ll show you his grave. Would you like to see it? “

“Well, I suppose it is hardly one of the local beauty spots.”

She laughed again.

“He was drunk,” she said.

“He fell over the cliffs and right down on to the rocks.”

“He must have been very drunk.”

“Oh, he was. There was a fuss about it. They didn’t know who he was for a long time.”

“How you love the morbid!”

“What’s that?”

“Unpleasant … gruesome.”

“I like gruesome things.”

“It’s not the wisest of preoccupations.”

She looked at me and laughed again.

“You are funny,” she said.

Looking back over that day when I retired to my room that night, I could say it had been unexpectedly satisfactory. I had some hope however flimsy of coming to an understanding with Kate.

A few days passed. To my secret delight, I was discovering that my somewhat unorthodox methods of teaching were more successful with a pupil like Kate than more conventional ones might have been. We were reading together a great deal. In fact, I held those reading sessions as a sort of bribe for good conduct during the less attractive projects. She could have read by herself but she preferred that we do it together.

She liked to share her enjoyment, which was a sign in her favour, I thought; moreover, she liked to talk about what we had read afterwards; then sometimes she might be held up because she did not know the meaning of a word. She was avid for knowledge, in spite of the fact that she had expressed her contempt for it; and she was completely intrigued by Treasure Island.

It was too much to expect a complete change in the child merely because our relationship had progressed more favourably than I had dared hope. I think it was on my fourth morning that she did not put in an appearance in the schoolroom.

I went to her room. She was looking out of the window, obviously expecting me, and I could see she was preparing to enjoy a battle.

I said: “Why are you not in the schoolroom?”

“I don’t feel like lessons today,” she replied jauntily.

“It doesn’t matter how you feel. This is lesson-time.”

“You can’t make me.”

“I certainly would not attempt to take you there by force. I shall go to your mother and tell her that you have made up your mind not to learn and there is no point in my being here.”

It was a bold step. I could not bear the thought of leaving now. Yet I knew I could get nowhere unless I had some authority over her.

She looked at me defiantly. My heart sank but I hoped I hid my feelings. I had gone too far to turn back.

“You really mean you’d go?” I saw the fear in her eyes mingling with disbelief. I sensed that she was as uneasy as I was.

I said firmly: “If you will not come to the schoolroom I have no alternative.”

She hesitated for a moment.

“All right,” she said.

“Go, if you want to.”

I walked to the door. I must not show my despair. If this was to be the end, what good had I done? But there was no turning back now. I went out. She did not move. I started down the stairs. Then I heard her.

“Come back, Cranny.”

I paused and turned to look back at her.

“All right,” I said.

“I’ll come.”

I felt flushed with victory as we made our way to the schoolroom.

She was in a difficult mood all day. I wondered why. Perhaps she felt she had been good too long and it was not in her nature to be so.

I found a dead shrew mouse in my bed that night. I carefully wrapped it up in tissue paper and went along to her room.

“I think this poor little thing belongs to you,” I said.

She looked aghast.

“Where did you find it?”

“Where you put it. In my bed.”

“I bet you screamed when you found it.”

“I did not think it frightening or funny. It’s just a rather silly cliche really.”

I could see her pondering on the word cliche. She loved discovering new words; but she was not in the mood to ask me what it meant.

I went on: “I wonder how many times some mischievous child has put a shrew mouse in someone’s bed. It’s really rather silly. You do the expected thing, Kate.”

She was a little downcast. Then she said: “Well … you brought it back, didn’t you? You were going to put it in my bed.”

“I should have done no such thing. I merely wanted you to know that your silly trick had not had the effect you thought it would. Now, if we are going to have a truce, we should put an end to these childish tricks. It would be more interesting to get on well together. There are many exciting things we could do. We don’t want to waste time having tantrums and playing silly tricks. We can talk …”

“What about?”

“About life … people …”

“Murder?” she put in.

I thought: Yes, about one. I said: “What we can do is finish Treasure Island.”

‘ “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest,” she sang,”

“Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum.”

I smiled.

“There are lots of books we can read. You haven’t read The Count of Monte Cristo yet. I saw it in the cupboard. It’s about a man who was wrongfully imprisoned and escapes to have his revenge.”

Her eyes were round with interest.

“Well,” I went on, ‘if we don’t waste our time in silly ways, we might tackle that. And there are many more. “

She did not answer, but I felt I had won another battle.

I said: “What shall we do with this poor little mouse?”

“I’ll bury it,” she said.

“That’s right. And all your silly prejudices against governesses with it. Then perhaps we can start to enjoy our lessons.”

On that note, I left her. I was victorious and triumphant.

My handling of Kate was the wonder of the household. At last someone had been found who could turn the enfant terrible into a normal child or at least who had found a way to control her.

Mrs. Ford feted me. She was delighted. She mentioned my name in an awed whisper, as though I were a battle hero covered in military glory. I was quite an important figure in the household.

It was about a week after my arrival when Lady Perrivale asked me to come to her in the drawing-room.

She was very gracious.

“You and Kate seem to be getting along very well,” she began.

“That is very good. I knew all would be well if only we could get the right person.”

“I am quite inexperienced in governessing,” I reminded her.

“Well, that is just the point. These old women have too many rules.

They are too set in their ways to understand the modern child. “

“Kate is rather unusual.”

“Well, of course. But clearly you understand her. Are you completely satisfied with everything? Is there anything … ?”

“I am satisfied, thank you very much,” I replied.

Sir Tristan came into the room as though on a cue. It amused me to think he had been called in to add his praise to that of his wife.

Kate must have plagued them a good deal.

The thought crossed my mind that it was odd that a man who could murder his brother should be nonplussed by a wayward child. I pulled myself

up sharply. It was nonsensical to have settled on Sir Tristan as the murderer, just because of his saturnine looks. Though, of course, he had inherited the title, the estates . and Mirabel.

His shrewd dark eyes were assessing me. I felt guilty. I wondered what he would say if he could read my thoughts.

“I hear you are managing Kate,” he said, and added, with a little laugh, “Quite a feat. It’s very clever of you. Miss Cranleigh, to do what your predecessors so lamentably failed to.”

“She’s not an easy child,” I said.

“We are well aware of that, aren’t we?” he replied, looking at his wife.

She nodded ruefully.

“I think she needs a great deal of understanding,” I told them. I was wondering what Kate’s relationship was with these two. She had not given me an inkling. What of her father? What had happened to him? How did she feel about her mother’s engagement to Cosmo, and then, very soon after his death, the marriage to Tristan? These were matters I should like to know about. I believed they might help me solve the mystery.

“And you seem to be able to supply that.”

“As I have explained, I have never been a governess before.”

“You are too young, of course,” he said, smiling at me warmly.

“And too modest… is she not, my dear?”

“Far too modest,” added Lady Perrivale.

“Miss Cranleigh, I hope you will not be bored here.” She looked at her husband.

“We were going to say that perhaps … now and then … when we have a dinner party . you might care to join us. As a matter of fact, your friends are quite close neighbours of ours.”

“You mean the Lorimers?”

“Yes. So sad about the accident. I dare say they would not be in the

mood for visiting just yet. But perhaps later we might ask them … and then, of course, you must be among the guests.”

“That would be very pleasant.”

“We don’t want you to feel… isolated.”

I was thinking: This is what happens to some governesses when they are short of a guest and want to make up numbers, and if the governess is fairly presentable she is called in to fill the gap. On the other hand, they were clearly very anxious to keep me. How strange it was that I was the only one who had found a way to make this recalcitrant child less objectionable.

I said: “You are very kind. There is one thing …”

They were eager to know what.

“If I could occasionally have a free afternoon. I should like to visit the Lorimers. You see, there are children there. I was with them at the time of the accident. I stayed on a while after the friends with whom I was travelling left.”

I was amused to see the light of alarm in Lady Perrivale’s eyes.

Children? Might they be needing a governess? Really, I thought, I shall get a very high opinion of myself . and all because I had for a time found a way of making Kate behave mildly reasonably.

“Of course,” said Sir Tristan quickly.

“Certainly you must take the time to visit your friends. How will you travel? It is quite a few miles to Trecorn Manor, is it not? You are a rider, are you?”

“Oh yes.”

“Well, that’s settled. Ask Mason down at the stables to find a suitable mount for you.”

“You are most kind. Kate has mentioned riding and I think she would like us to do it together.”

“Excellent. I believe she is quite good on a horse.”

“I am sure she is. I look forward to outings with her.”

It was a most satisfactory interview.

The next day Kate and I went for a ride. She had a small white horse of whom she was very fond. It pleased me to see the care she lavished on him an indication that there was some capacity for affection in her nature.

The head groom. Mason, had found a chestnut mare for me. Her name was Goldie, he told me.

“She’s a good little thing. Treat her right and she’ll treat you right. Good-tempered … easygoing … make a bit of fuss of her .. and she likes a lump of sugar after the ride.

Give her that and she’ll be your slave. “

Kate was a good little horsewoman, inclined to show off at first, but when I told her I knew she was aware of how to manage a horse, and in any case she would not have been allowed to go without a groom if she did not, she stopped doing so.

I was wondering how I could pose tactful questions about her home life, for I knew I had to be very careful. She was extremely observant; and she was watching me as closely as I was watching her.

She announced that she was going to take me to Bindon Boys.

“You know,” she said, ‘the old farmhouse where the murder took place.”

“I remember.”

“You’ll like that. Cranny. You know how you love any thing about that old murder.”

I felt uneasy. I had betrayed my interest and she had noticed.

“It’s an awful old place. People won’t go there after dark … I mean they won’t even go near it. I reckon quite a lot would want to go in daylight… but never alone.”

“Bricks and mortar can’t hurt anyone.”

“No. It’s what’s inside. Once it was a real farmhouse. I can remember it before … before that happened …”

“Can you?”

“Well, of course I can. I wasn’t all that much of a baby.”

“And you lived near … when you came from London.”

“That’s right. The cottage we lived in was close to Bindon Boys. It was the nearest cottage to it. And the sea was just down the slope.

I’ll show you when we get there. “

“Is it far?”

“No, about a mile.”

“That’s easy.”

“Come on. I’ll race you.”

We galloped across a meadow and when we emerged we were very close to the sea. I took deep breaths of the invigorating air. Kate came up close to me.

“There,” she said.

“You can see it just down there. That’s the old farmhouse and there, not very far off … Seashell Cottage. Seashell. what a silly name! Someone had done the name on the soil outside the door in seashells. Seashell Cottage … all in shells. I used to pull them up. I took off the Seas and made it Hell Cottage.”

I laughed.

“Just what I would expect of you.”

“Gramps thought it was funny. I tell you what. After you’ve seen the farmhouse I might take you to see Gramps. He’d like to meet you. He likes meeting people.”

“I shall find it all most interesting, I am sure.”

“Come on. The farmhouse first.”

We rode down the slight incline, and there it was. It was in a state of dilapidation. The roof looked as though it were falling in. The heavy door was slightly ajar. The bolt had evidently gone.

“It looks as if it is on the point of collapse,” I said.

“Coming in? Or are you scared?”

“Of course I want to go in.”

“We’ll leave our horses here.”

We dismounted near an old mounting-block and tethered the horses. We pushed open the door and stepped straight into what I presumed was a living-room. It was large with two windows, the panes of which were

cracked. Several floorboards were missing. Threadbare curtains hung at the windows and dusty cobwebs hung from the ceiling.

“They didn’t touch it … after the murder,” said Kate. This is where it was . in this room. It’s haunted, isn’t it? Can you feel it? “

I said: “It’s eerie.”

“Well, that’s because it’s haunted. You’d better keep close to me.”

I smiled. She was eager not to be too far away from me in this place.

I was seeing it all clearly: Simon, tying up his horse at probably the same spot where we had tied ours . unsuspecting . coming in and finding Cosmo lying on the floor, the gun beside him. I saw Simon picking up the gun and just at that moment Tristan bursting in. It was too neat.

“You look funny,” said Kate.

“I was thinking about it.”

She nodded.

“I reckon Simon was waiting for him. And as soon as he came in… bang, bang. It was a good thing Stepper came in, though … and caught him red-handed. He ran away.” She came close to me.

“What do you think Simon is doing now?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Perhaps the ghost is haunting him. Can ghosts travel? I reckon they can go a little way. I wonder where he is. I’d love to know. What’s the matter with you. Cranny?”

“Nothing.”

“Ever since you came in here, you’ve had a funny look in your eyes.”

“Nonsense.”

Then suddenly I thought I heard a movement overhead.

“The fact is you’re scared. Cranny.” She stopped suddenly. Her eyes widened as they turned towards the stairs. She had heard too. She came closer to me and as I gripped her hand, I heard the creak of a floorboard.

Kate was dragging on my arm, but I did not move.

“It’s the ghost,” whispered Kate, and there was real fear in her face.

I said: “I’m going to look.”

She shook her head and drew back in alarm.

For a second or two she stood very still. Then she came to me and I started up the stairs with her following close behind.

We were on a landing. I could hear deep breathing. So could she. She gripped my hand tightly.

There were three doors on the landing and all of them were closed. I stood listening. Then again I heard the sound of breathing. I stood very still, listening. Behind the door nearest to me I knew someone was waiting.

I went to the door and turned the handle. I pushed open the door and stepped into the room.

A man was standing there-unwashed, unkempt, and there was a pile of rags on the floor with a paper bag beside it. I noticed crumbs on the floor and relief swept over me. This man was human anyway. I did not know what I had expected. Perhaps, like Kate, I feared the ghost of Cosmo. And this was just an old tramp.

“I be doing no ‘arm,” he said.

Kate was beside me.

“It’s Harry Tench,” she said.

Harry Tench. The name was familiar. I had heard it mentioned in connection with the murder.

“Who be you?” he demanded.

“I know who that one be.” He pointed at Kate.

“And what do ‘ee want ‘ere? I bain’t doing no ‘arm.”

“No,” I said.

“No. We just came to look at the farmhouse. We heard a noise and came up.”

“Nobody comes prying round ‘ere. What ‘arm be I doing?”

“None, none. I’m sorry we disturbed you.”

“It was just a place to sleep. Drove out, I was. There’s no ‘arm done.

Don’tee get no ideas about having me put out. “

“We haven’t any ideas about doing that,” said Kate, who

was fast recovering from her fright and was almost herself.

“We thought you were a ghost.”

His lips were drawn back in a grin showing yellow teeth.

“Don’t worry,” I said.

“Come on, Kate.”

I took her hand and we went out of the room. I shut the door on Harry Tench and we went downstairs.

“Come on,” I said.

“Let’s get out of here.”

As we rode away, Kate said: “You were really scared, Cranny.”

“Not half as much as you were. You were going to run, remember.”

She was silent for a while and then went on: “He’s rather brave … sleeping there, in a place where a murder happened. You wouldn’t want to, would you, Cranny?”

“I would like to be more comfortable than that poor man obviously was.”

We rode on and after a few moments she said: “Look, there’s Seashell Cottage. That’s where we all used to live.”

It was a neat little place with a well-kept garden and clean lace curtains at the windows. We rode close enough for me to see that the Seas had been replaced in the shells so that it was now respectable Seashell Cottage. It was difficult to imagine Lady Perrivale living in such a place; and her daughter and father had been with her too.

I wondered about Kate’s father. Could I ask her? Perhaps at the appropriate moment I could put a few carefully chosen questions. I must remember how shrewd Kate was and be very careful.

“Come on,” she said.

“Let’s go and see if Gramps is at home.”

The Dower House was very different from Seashell Cottage I had seen it in the distance, for it was not very far from Perrivale Court.

There was a copse between the two and we rode through this.

It was a charming residence. I imagined it had been built during

Elizabeth’s reign, for it was definitely of Tudor architecture red brick with latticed windows. Virginia creeper grew on some of the walls and there was a neat lawn before it bordered by flowerbeds.

We slipped off our horses, tethered them and walked through the gate.

The house seemed quiet.

“I bet you he’s in the garden,” said Kate.

She led the way round the side of the house, past a small orchard, to a walled garden reminiscent of the period, with plants climbing over the red brick wall and beds of what I guessed to be aromatic herbs surrounding a pond, in the centre of which was a small fountain. What struck me most was the aura of absolute peace. A man was sitting on a carved wooden seat close to the pond.

“Gramps,” cried Kate.

I was amazed that he looked so young. I realized later that he must have been in his mid-fifties, but he looked ten years younger than that. He was straight-backed, very upright and undoubtedly handsome. I noticed the resemblance to Lady Perrivale and Kate. His hair was similar in colour to theirs but had a little white at the temples and there was a hint of green in his eyes. But, like Kate, he lacked those dark brows and lashes which made Lady Perrivale such a startling beauty. His brows were so light as to be almost invisible, which gave him a look of youthful surprise.

When he saw us he came striding towards us. Kate flew at him. He picked her up in his arms and swung her round. She laughed gleefully, and I thought with pleasure: Here is someone she really cares about. I was glad to see she was capable of affection.

“Hey, young Kate,” he said.

“You’re forgetting your manners. What about an introduction? Don’t tell me. I know, of course …”

“It’s Cranny,” cried Kate.

“Rosetta Cranleigh,” I said.

“Miss Cranleigh. What a delight to meet you. Your fame has spread to the Dower House. My daughter, Lady Perrivale, has already told me of what wonderful work you are doing with our miscreant here. “

“What’s a miscreant?” demanded Kate.

“It’s better for you not to know, don’t you agree, Miss Cranleigh? I am so pleased that you have come to visit me.”

“This,” said Kate, ‘is Major Durrell. Majors are very important, aren’t they, Gramps? “

“If you say so, my dear,” he said, raising one of those pale eyebrows in a conspiratorial manner in my direction.

“Now, come and sit down.

Refreshments? “

“Oh yes, please,” said Kate.

“A little wine, eh?”

“And some of those wine biscuits,” she said.

“But of course. Look, my dear. You go and tell Mrs. Carne that you’re here and tell her what’s required.”

“All right,” said Kate.

As she ran off he turned to me.

“Mrs. Carne comes in every weekday morning to look after me. She also comes two afternoons a week as a special favour. Fortunately this is one of the afternoons. Apart from that, I look after myself. You learn in the Army. I’m quite a handyman … which saves a lot of trouble.

Come and sit down. Miss Cranleigh. Don’t you think this is a delightful spot? “

“Oh, I do indeed. It is so peaceful.”

“That’s what I feel, and peace is a very desirable acquisition when one reaches my age. You can believe that, I’m sure.”

“I think it is desirable at any age.”

“Ah, the young prefer adventure. They want any excitement no matter what they have to pay for it. I have had my share and now … thank Heaven … I can appreciate peace. I am so pleased you have come to teach my grand daughter and are making such a success of it.”

“It is too early to say. I have only been with her a short time.”

“But they are all delighted. There have been so many trials. Poor child, it has not been easy for her. She’s a good little thing … underneath it all, you know. The trouble is you have to find a way to that goodness. She needs understanding.”

I felt drawn to him. He was clearly fond of her and he was confirming what I had thought of Kate.

“Yes,” I said.

“I do agree. One has to find the way to understand her.”

“You know what I mean … uprooted … stepfather. A child has to adjust herself and with one of Kate’s nature that’s not easy.”

There was something so frank about him. He was so much easier to talk to than either Kate’s mother or her stepfather could possibly be.

He went on: “If there are any difficulties at any time … you know, with Kate … I hope you will not hesitate to come to me.”

“That is good of you,” I said.

“It is a great comfort to me.”

He made me feel that we were allies, and it was remarkable that he could have done this in so short a time.

Kate came out. Mrs. Carne would be bringing out the wine and biscuits soon, she said.

“Now come and sit comfortably by the pond. There are some new goldfish, Kate. Can you see them?”

“Oh yes. They’re lovely.”

“Your gardens are well kept,” I commented.

“I’m a keen gardener myself. There’s peace in a garden, I always think.”

How he harped on peace! Well, why not? It was a good state to be in.

Mrs. Carne came out with the refreshment. She was just as I had imagined her plumpish, rosy-cheeked, middleaged and clearly had an affection for her employer, which did not surprise me. She was protective, admiring and authoritative towards him.

“There we are. Major, and the biscuits were baked this morning.”

“Mrs. Came, you are an angel.”

She bridled.

“Well, it’s a pleasure, I’m sure.”

He went on: “This is Miss Cranleigh.”

There seemed to be no need to explain my reason for being with Kate. I expected Mrs. Came was well aware of all that went on at Perrivale Court.

She nodded in my direction, and was gone.

“She’s a good sort,” said the Major.

“Treats me like a babe in arms sometimes, but I confess I like to be spoiled. So you like my garden?

I do a lot of it myself . the designing and planting and all.

There’s a man who comes in every morning and does the mundane jobs.”

“Have you been here long?”

“Since my daughter married. The house was a sort of wedding present.

Unusual, you are thinking, for the father of the bride to be so pampered, but Mirabel couldn’t have her old father living in a little cottage. She made it as though coming to live here was a favour to her. “

“We saw Seashell Cottage only this afternoon.”

“It’s quite charming in a way. Not much garden, of course. Not to be compared with the Dower House.”

“I told Cranny how I took the Seas out of Seashell and made it Hell Cottage.”

“There you see. Miss Cranleigh, what I have to contend with.”

“You thought it was funny, you know you did, Gramps.”

“Well, perhaps I did. What was I saying? Oh, a great improvement on the cottage, and I am very happy to be here.”

“How comforting it must be to be so contented.”

“Yes particularly after a rather cheque red career. Army life is no

bed of roses, believe me. And then I come to this … My daughter happily settled … and my granddaughter now firmly placed on the strait and narrow path with her most excellent governess.”

He raised an eyebrow at me and I could see the gesture was a habit with him.

“Gramps has been all over the world,” Kate informed me.

“He’s been just everywhere.”

“A mild exaggeration, you will understand. Miss Cranleigh.”

I smiled.

“Majors are the most important people in the Army,” went on Kate.

“My dear granddaughter brushes aside all those generals, field marshals, colonels and the rest who are under the impression that they are the ones.”

“Well, you were,” she said.

“Who can be so churlish as to contradict such a loyal supporter? It is true that I have done a bit of travelling. India, Egypt, wherever my duty lay.”

“Tell us, Gramps,” pleaded Kate.

Over the wine he talked a great deal. He spoke of his life in India as a young officer.

“Those were the days … but the climate … uncertainty too. I was too young for the Mutiny … but the feeling was always there.”

As he talked, Kate kept glancing at me to make sure that I was duly impressed. It was clear that he was a hero to her. He talked of Egypt, the Sudan and India. At length he said: “But I’m talking too much.

It’s Kate’s fault. She always lures me to talk, don’t you, granddaughter? “

“I like it,” said Kate.

“So do you, don’t you. Cranny?”

“It is quite fascinating,” I said.

“I’m glad you find it so. I hope it will tempt you to come and visit me again.”

“I wish I’d been there,” said Kate.

“Ah. Sometimes things are better to talk about than to live through.”

“You must miss all this adventure,” I said.

“I was telling you how much I appreciate the peaceful life. I’ve had enough adventuring. What I want now is to settle down and enjoy the visits of my family … and to know that they are well and happy.”

“It seems a very noble ambition,” I said.

“And how the time has flown.

We must be on our way back, Kate. “

“Promise you’ll come again.”

I thanked him and Kate leaped up and flung her arms about his neck. I was astonished by her conduct. She was like a different child. And I was delighted to see this affection between her and her grandfather.

As we rode home, she said: “Isn’t Gramps wonderful?”

“He has certainly had a very interesting life.”

“It’s the most interesting life anyone ever had. Of course, you were shipwrecked … that counts for something. You ought to have told him about it.”

“Oh, his adventures were far more interesting, I am sure.”

“Oh yes. But yours are not bad. You can tell him next time.”

And of course there would be a next time. I was glad of that.

When I was in bed that night I kept going over that afternoon’s adventure. It had been quite eventful. First Harry Tench and then the Major. Both of those men would have been here at the time of the murder.

I imagined the Major living in Seashell Cottage with his daughter and granddaughter. I might learn quite a lot from him. A man like that would know what was going on and probably had his own theories.

I must cultivate the acquaintance of the Major.

I believed it had been a profitable afternoon.