The lonely shore Read online

  CHAPTER TWO

  "WHAT the devil do you mean by rearranging this room? Lancaster asked furiously as she appeared at the door. "I assumed you would want me to tidy it, Mr Lancaster," she said calmly. "Oh you did! Well, if you want to keep this job youll have to stop assuming things," he said sharply. May I ask where you've concealed the papers I lefton the mantelshelf?" , v v i "-" "They're in the second drawer of the file." "Very efficient!" he said sarcastically. "Now I suppose every time I want to find anything I shall have to ask you where it Is." "Surely that is the point of having a secretary, sir." He glared at her. "It just so happens that I knew where everything was before you began your masterly clearance. And don't call me 'sir' in that smug fashion!" "But / didn't know where everything was," she pointed Their eyes met and antagonism flashed between them hke an electric current. Remembering the disparaging remarks she had accidentally overheard from her bedroom window the night before, dare's temper rose It was fortunate that Miss Lancaster came into the room at that moment. "Good heavens, the study looks quite habitable for a change, she said. "The Bunberry woman was shockingly lacking in method. She drove poor Hilda to distraction with her untidiness. I can see you are going to be a most useful addition to the household, my dear." At this highly inopportune comment, dare's sense of Humour cooled her indignation. "If the notes are satisfactory, Mr. Lancaster, I'll begin typing the rest," she said.He glanced through the neat sheaf of papers which she handed to him. "Yes, they appear to be correct," he said briefly. "Why not bring your work into the garden?" Miss Lancaster suggested. "I shall be putting the finishing touches to my picture of Jenny, so I shan't distract you. David, will you carry the little table on to the lawn? It gets very hot in this room during the afternoon, and there's no reason why Clare should be cooped up here while the rest of us are enjoying the sun." Without a Word Lancaster picked up the table and took it through the hall. Whether he had any more to say on the subject of her tidying operations, dare could not tell from his face, but at least, she thought, he would meet his match if he tried to bully her. It was pleasant sitting in the dappled shade of the beech'tree with Miss Lancaster working at her easel nearby @ she was painting the background, so her model's absence did not hamper her @ and Josh twitching in his sleep under the hedge. Clare's office in London had overlooked the busy Strand, and there had always been the roar of traffic and the acrid smell of exhaust fumes. Now, free of the city, she felt a pang of sympathy for the millions of people who were obliged to live amid the hustle of rush-hour crowds, grimy roof-top views and furnished flats in drab suburbs. Her thought strayed to the stormy encounter with her employer. It was not merely a case of his distrusting her capabilities, she decided. He seemed to have some personal objection to her. Clare knew without conceit that she was attractive. Both she and Hal had inherited their auburn hair and hazel-gold eyes from their mother, a strikingly beautiful Irish-woman who had sacrificed a brilliant career as a singer to marry Charles Drake, a struggling farmer. 26 Although at the time their deaths ha i h@ to their children, dare recoil T a sava^ ^w ^@^S^^'SS 0^- Md TOC=^ =^ S.^ i ^^'S^St^^11"^^; , Ml@ admiration as her d@ TnT,8"' t'"1""' mM; 1 curiou, @nse o( guilt ten'se;",@? ''!'e l!v<@@ 'e" " S Klf were oat of key " l@oks '"ld '"t inner I @roS.'X^'l.y^^ @il'" b". h.d never. heart at all." ' l aoa l behave you have a-^^^fSS^^. "^S^ dS^^^^ - she her - she had often worried abZ ^ m love with ^ she,cold - incapaMe of love? ^ ltter allegationtwenty-six, she had onlv e @ It was true that, at"f that confuse ^yonSdTr^^^^^^ a victil" unsatisfactory relationsh^ Som of .h ea a brief aDd known would have made excS k u e men she had never kindled anytSng moS A?,"?^'but ^ had her. Certainly shehad ne^erex^l^Z^ respect in S emotion, the s^g of^Te^^ ^ts^e "pSte^hadS&^@@@@@edbythe yiy.^ve^a0^^^^^^ ^ said affection-You take it too seriouSv 1.? g emotlon- It)s a game. Clare shook berTeS- ^J cS?^0 for a ^"g6-" YOU do. Besides look ar' rh cantfllrt ""t^eously, asi&e the time you w2e nra^i T^5 you Set into ^ @t once." " ere Practlcally engaged to two girls He grinned. "Yes, that was rather a tactical error. I wonder if they're still gnashing their teeth, poor creatures." . , ,Remembering the conversation as she sat in the garden of Creek House, Clare smiled. Hal was an incorrigible breaker of hearts, but he had so much charm that even the girls whom he led so merrily up the garden path never succeeded in wholeheartedly detesting him. At mid-aftemoon Hilda brought out a tall jug of lemonade and a plate of cucumber sandwiches. Miss Lancaster put aside her palette. "I think we deserve ten minutes' rest. Come and tell me what you think of my picture.""I don't know very much about art," dare said apologetically."Gracious, this isn't art," the old lady said amusedly. "In my opinion, Art with a capital A is often sheer bunkum. I paint because I enjoy it.""But it's very good . . . exactly like Jenny!" dare said, studying the. canvas."Yes, I think I've caught that impish expression. I do feel a portrait should be like the sitter. Nowadays so many of them are scarcely recognisable." "Have you always painted?" dare asked., "No, I took it up during the war. It helped to keep life in proportion. Of course, as a young girl I used to draw still lifes and a few anaemic water-colours. It was considered a suitable accomplishment for young women in those days. Ah, how I .should like to be young in these progressive times when women can do anything they please! Forty years ago life was appallingly dull for us, you know. We sat about waiting for husbands @ a most dismal occupation. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer, and I ran off to India as a mission worker. My family were horrified, quite convinced I had gone to the devil." The old lady smiled reminiscently. "I never regretted it," she said softly. For a moment, as her thoughts linger28 ed in the past, a strange, almost youthful glow irradiated her lined face, and Clare wondered what memories had caused that swift look of great happiness. "Now I must hurry down to the pillar-box," Miss Lancaster said briskly. "Can I go for you?" ^ "Thank you, dear, but a little stroll will do ifie good. I'm in danger of becoming a fat old party. Come along' Josh, you lazy animal." Clare laughed. Miss Lancaster's neat figure and sprghtly walk were hard to reconcile with her age, and if, twenty years hence, she was obliged to take to a wheel-' chair, it would probably be a stream-lined model with a dangerous turn of speed. By half-past four dare had finished the notes and went indoors to ask Hilda if she could have a bath before supper.She was tucking her hair into a shower cap when Miss Lancaster tapped on the ,door. "Paul Mallinson has just asked us to dinner," she called. "He wants you to come too. dear. It isn't formal @ any dress you have will do. Don't hurry yourself, we shan't be leaving until seven." As she was dressing, Clare heard David Lancaster and Jenny return. She wondered if he would approve of her besng included in the invitation to dine at the Hall. Perhaps she should have made her excuses. "Gosh, you look wizard," Jenny said as she went downstairs. "Aunt Leo and Uncle David are changing, and I'm going with Hilda to visit her sister. Is that a new dress?" "No, ages old," dare said. She was careful with her clothes, and usually wore interchangeable skirts and jerseys or neat linen frocks. But this dress @ a slim sheath of cafe-au-lait shantung with a wide cummerbund of topaz silk @ had been a rare extravagance. It had the extreme simplicity and perfect cut of a model" the pale colour a foil for her hair. With it she wore a topaz bracelet and matching ear-rings which had belonged to her mother. "Did you have a good afternoon?" "M'm, heavenly," Jenny said, her mouth full of banana. "Uncle David let me take the tiller nearly all the way." "Have you any brothers or sisters. Jenny?" "Not yet. Mummy's expecting a baby now. It should arrive in September, so she'll probably come home for Christmas or else I shall go to Bangkok to see it. Have you?" "Yes, a twin brother. He's in Africa." "Are you exactly alike?" Clare nodded. "Except that my brother is taller and has a moustache." "Uncle David had a beard when he was in the Navy," Jenny remarked. "He was a lieutenant-commander and terrifically brave. He has some medals up in his room, but he gets cross if we talk about them. I suppose they remind him of his ship. You see, it was torpedoed somewhere off Korea, and sailors hate losing their ships. In the old days they used to stand on the bridge and go down together." At the sound of footsteps c
oming downstairs, she. stopped short and finished her banana. In a grey lounge suit and dark tie, David Lancaster still contrived to look like a man whose life was spent in the open air. Clare could imagine him in naval uniform, a stem, authoritative figure, dedicated to his work and probably casting a damper on the gayer inhabitants of the wardroom. "I've finished the notes, Mr. Lancaster," she said. "Right." He eyed her dress. "Have you a coat to put over that? Josh leaves hairs all over the car." Surprised that he had even noticed her appearance; she went upstairs to fetch a wrap. 30 Shortly after seven, having seen Jenny and Hilda off to a neighbouring village, they started out for the Hall. The car was a dilapidated pre-war model which creaked and whined protestingly as they drove through the village. Presently they swung through a tall stone gateway and chugged slowly up a drive bordered by giant rhododendrons ablaze with mauve and crimson blooms. The Hall was a large Georgian mansion, with an impressive stone portico under which a car almost 'as shabby as their own was parked. "Ah, the Vicar and Penny are here," Miss Lancaster observed as her nephew helped her out. "Good evening, Henderson. I'm afraid we're a little late." "Good evening, madam." A manservant had come down the steps. "Mr. Mallinson is in the library with Mr. Conyers and Miss Penelope." Clare could understand why Jenny found the butler so impressive. He was a tall, immaculate personage of indeterminate age, with a manner that combined deference with dignity. He took their coats and ushered them into the libary, where his master was talking to a greyhaired clergyman and a young girl. "Hallo, I thought your old rattle-trap must have broken down again, David," Paul said. "Miss Drake, let me introduce Mr. Conyers, our padre, and this is Penelope Conyers. Miss Drake is David's new secretary," he explained to them. The Rev. Michael Conyers had lived in Clint for thirty years. Larger and richer livings had never come his way, and materialists would l?ave called him a failure. But he had not entered the Church with any worldly ambitions, and although his face was heavily lined and his suit frayed at the cuffs, his eyes reflected a contented spirit, dare liked him immediately. His daughter was a shy girl of nineteen or twenty.As ttfey shook hands, an embarrassed flush suffused her face. "Now Miss Drake, what will you have to drink? Sherry?" Paul asked, smiling at dare. Although he made no remark, his eyes expressed admiration for her dress. Presently they went into the dining-room and dare found herself sitting between her host and the Vicar. The food and wine were excellent, enhanced by fine old Crown Derby china, gleaming Waterford glass and spotless silver. Admiring the handsome loving-cup filled with white roses in the centre of the polished table, dare guessed that there must be a large staff behind the scenes. When Jenny had said that Paul was rich, she had assumed he was a well-to-do country squire, but from what she had seen this evening she realised he must be extremely wealthy to maintain this luxurious establishment in an era when the majority of landed families were crippled by death duties and the rising cost of keeping up their estates. No wonder the local matrons wanted him for a son-in-law! "You're very quiet," he said. "I was thinking what a beautiful home you have." "A house," he corrected. "It won't be a home until I have a wife to share it with me." "Are you holding the Harvest Ball again this year, Paul?" Miss Lancaster asked. "Yes, I think so. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to have fancy dress for a change." "The Harvest Ball is the highlight of our social life," Miss Lancaster told dare. "Of course this house is the perfect setting for a gala dance. Yes, I think fancy dress would be rather amusing. I suppose we could hire costumes." She chuckled. "I rather fancy myself as the Witch of Endor, lurking in the maze." ' 32 Oh, have you a maze?" Clare asked eagerly "I remember getting lost in the one at Hampton Court when I was a child. I was completely panic-stricken until someone came round a comer and led me out." k "Quitea few people got lost m our'maze at the last ball, Paul said with a wicked glint in his eyes After dinner they returned to the library, and Clare tried to talk to Penelope Conyers, although the girl was so acutely shy that it was difficult to draw her out Had she known how to make the best of herself, she would have been quite pretty. Her hair was a pale ash-gold shade, and she had a delicate, almost transparent complexion, but without make-up her features seemed wan and insignificant. Her dress, too, was far too old for her It had evidently been made by the village dressmaker' and the matronly cross-over bodice and skimpy skirt emphasised the coltish lines of her figure Although dare did her best to make friends with her, it was a relief when Paul came over to them "Come, I'll show you the maze. The others are engrossed m a very dreary political argument," he said Arent you coming?" Clare asked when Penelope made no move to join them. "Oh, Penny's seen it a dozen times," Paul said casusily. "Why is she so desperately shy?" dare asked him as they strolled across the lawn. "Who Penny? I haven't noticed it. She's always busy running about the parish for her father. I suppose she'U SS'006 of these days' and carry on the ^d The maze lay beyond the sunken rose garden, and as PaU opened the wicket gate and they walked down the first alley he said, "I hope you aren't nervous." She looked enquiringly at him. "I haven't been in here for some time. I may have forgotten the way out," he explained, his eyes teas@ im? "You know, you took much less brisk and efficient tonight. I was quite in awe of you this morning, when you sat behind the typewriter looking so severe. How do you get on with David?" "The work is very interesting," Clare said evasively. "He's a good type, but too serious," Paul went on. "You must try to liven him up. He needs some feminine influence." "I wasn't engaged to direct Mr. Lancaster's social activities," Clare said. At that moment they emerged from the labyrinth of narrow pathways into the centre of the maze, where a wooden bench stood beside a shallow goldfish pool. The warm golden light of the evening sun glinted on the surface of the water and the brilliant shapes skimming gracefully beneath. "I'm still puzzled why a girl like you should come to work here," Paul said as they sat down, "You aren't running away from an unhappy love affair, are you?" dare laughed and shook her head. "If you must know, Mr. Mallinson, I wanted to live in the country for a while. It's as simple as that." "Seems very odd to me," he said. "You'll be bored to death in a week or two." "I don't think so. I can swim and go for walks." "Then you'd better have me as your escort," he advised. "You never know what unsavoury characters you might meet in this forsaken spot." "You sound just like my Aunt Constance," dare said. "She was always giving me Awful Warnings about the dangers of country rambles. We'd better go back. The sun is almost down." "Are you feeling chilly? Here, have my jacket." Before she could demur, he had stripped off his jacket and draped it round her shoulders. "Look, you'll be free on Sunday, won't you?" he asked. "David can't keep you at the treadmill seven days 34 ; a week. Why not come sailing with me? I'll get mv housekeeper to fix up a picnic lunch." "I really don't know whether__'" Paul cut her protests short. "I'll ring you up on SaturS,1"8^ m case&e weather-looks tricky," he said firmly Bring a swimsmt with you. There are some bad currents along this coast, and if I show you the best spot to bathe you won't get into difficulties later " As they left the maze dare saw that the others were s andmg on the terrace. She thought she saw a quizzical glint m Mas Lancaster's eyes as they came up the steps and wished she was not wearing Paul's jacket Soon after ten they left. "Don't forget our date on Sunday," Paul reminded her as he saw them to the car. * * @ * . The^following morning the sky was overcast and Lancaster began work on the first section of his book. He dictated slowly and with great concentration, seldom correctmg himself. From time to time he asked Ter^ rS @.ywhue he sat staring L^'SS^ brought m a ^ of @@@ and J^y^you wish;"he said "No, thank you." She flipped back the pages of her @'cocoa pad' checldng through her notes as she ^ "Do you find this very boring?" he asked. Not at all," she said politely pJt nre? suppose you are P^^Y "terested m "I've never studied it before@at least, not coast plantsI know most of the ordinary wild flowers? Her face 35 goftened at the memory of the big dog-eared scrapbook in which she and Hal had pasted and labelled grasses and flowers which they found m the hedgerows. How happy they had been scrambling about the countryside, with their mongrel pup, Dickens, panting a
long behind. She sighed and became aware that Lancaster was staring at her, and hastily put her cup back on the tray and prepared to continue work. By lunch-time the sky had cleared and he said he would be out for the afternoon. "It shouldn't take more than an hour to transcribe these notes. Have you anything else you wish me to do?" Clare asked. "No, there's nothing else. By the way, we generally drive over to Norwich on Saturdays if you want to do any shopping. Naturally your Sundays are free." , She thanked him and was at the door when he called her back. "Miss Drake, I believe I was unnecessarily abrupt yesterday@about your having cleared up. this room. In point of fact,' it seems to have been an improvement. Nevertheless, I should have preferred to be consulted beforehand." "Yes, Mr. .Lancaster." dare paused a moment to see if he had anything further to say, and then went upstairs. Presumably that terse statement had been his idea of an apology, she thought with some amusement. He must have had a most quelling effect on his junior officers in his naval days. * * @ @ After an early breakfast on Saturday morning they drove inland to Norwich, dare and Jenny sat in the back of the car with Josh between them, a scarlet collar round his neck and his tongue hanging out expectantly as he gazed over Lancaster's shoulder. 36 Clare had submitted a list of necessary stationery to her employer, and he had given her a blank cheque to cover the cost. There were also a number of personal purchases she wished to make. "Now, before we start shopping let's have a cup of coffee," Miss Lancaster suggested as David parked the car near the Cathedral. "If you have no special plans you can help me choose a hat for the Vicarage fete next week, my dear," she added to Clare. "I suppose you want to go with David, Jenny?" "Yes, please. Are you going to the gun-shop today, Uncle David?" Lancaster nodded. "We'll meet you for lunch at one," he said. The streets were crowded with country people, yet there was an intimate atmosphere in the busy shopping centre that was quite different from the hustling impersonal throngs in Oxford Street or Piccadilly. Listening to the slow Norfolk voices as they waited to be served in the stationer's, Clare felt none of the loneliness, the curious sense of isolation that she had often experienced in London. She arranged to collect her parcel later in the day, and accompanied Miss Lancaster to the millinery department of a large store to select a hat. "You will need one, too, dear, unless you brought some hats with you," the old lady said. "The fete is the village equivalent of Ascot, and we all take great pains to look smart. I remember last year Mrs. Bagshott had a wonderful hat@three purple birds on a nest of green tulle. She told me in confidence that it had belonged to her mother, but really it looked quite as good as anything the shops have nowadays." Shopping with Miss Lancaster was an illuminating experience. She had no time for fulsome compliments from the assistants, and told them frankly that she preferred to be left to her own devices. 37 "They harry one so, dear," she confided to dare. "I know what I want, and I refuse to be distracted by some child in her teens who thinks I'm much too ancient to wear a hat at all unless it's a black poke-bonnet. Now that would suit you ... oh dear, five guineas. A trifle expensive, even for the fete!" Eventually Miss Lancaster chose a dignified toque of massed violets which looked most becoming on her soft white hair, while dare bought a shady cream straw with a garland of mimosa round the crown. "Good gracious! It's almost one o'clock. How time flies when one is enjoying oneself," Miss Lancaster exclaimed. "I think I'll have a snack lunch," dare said, not wishing to intrude on them more than was necessary. "Nonsense. You'll have lunch with us. You need a proper meal after such an exhausting morning," Miss Lancaster said decisively. They arrived at the restaurant to find Jenny deep in consultation with a waiter. "Uncle David is in the cloakroom," she announced. "Aunt Leo, do you think I could have a Knickerbocker Glory for my sweet? It's two shillings but very good value, and I could pay half out of my pocket money." "I dare say our finances will stand it," her aunt said. "Ah, there you are, David. We've both been very extravagant and bought two delightful hats for the fete." "What are your plans for this afternoon?" he asked, manoeuvring his long legs under the table. "I have an appointment with my hairdresser, and then I must change my library book," Miss Lancaster said, consulting her pocket diary. "What about you?" "Jenny wants to go on the Castle battlements." "Perhaps dare would like to join you. The Castle is well worth a visit." 38 "Do come, dare," Jenny coaxed. "We're going down into the dungeons, where they tortured the prisoners," she added with macabre relish. "If Mr. Lancaster doesn't mind," Clare said diffidently. "Come by all means," he replied. The Castle stood on a grassy mound in the centre of the city, its stout walls mellowed by centuries of wind and rain and long hot summers. Anxious not to miss the conducted tour of the dungeons, Jenny hustled them through the museum to where a party of American tourists stood waiting for an attendant to lead them into the Castle's depth. The .dungeons were cold and dank, and various rusty shackles and instruments of torture were on view, sinister relics of the Castle's cruel history, dare was glad when they returned to daylight, and followed the guide up a narrow circular staircase to the battlements. "Don't look over the edge unless you have a good head for heights," Lancaster warned her. "I'd rather be up here than in the cells," she said, gazing down at the weaving traffic in the street below. "I think I must have claustrophobia. I'd hate to be locked up underground." "Yes, the prisoners must have had a pretty grim time of it in the old days," he agreed. "It isn't so long since they held the last public execution up here." "How appallingly harsh life was until this cenutry, dare said. "When you think how many poor wretches were deported just for petty thefts." As they were going down the winding staircase, dare slipped on a worn step and instinctively grabbed at Lancaster's shoulder to save herself from falling. "Your heels are too high for this sort of thing," he said, steadying her. "I'm so sorry. I might have overbalanced both of us." "Have you hurt your ankle?" 39 She shook her head. His fingers were warm and strong on her bare arm, and the confined space emphasised his height and breadth of shoulder. It occurred to her that, had he wished, he could have barred her way simply by standing still, and, absurdly, this realisation gave her an odd thrill of excitement. Heavens, what a primitive reaction, she thought. As they continued down the stairs she reflected that as women became more and more emancipated, men had less need to be stalwart and protective. In consequence, a subtle element in their relationship was in danger of being lost. Perhaps it was Lancaster's almost aggressive masculinity that sparked her antagonism. Leaving the Castle, they strolled through the cattle market until Lancaster said it was time to meet his aunt for tea. Josh, having been shut in the car since lunchtime, was in a boisterous mood and disgraced himself in the tea-shop by seizing a Pekinese belonging to a stout matron and shaking it vigorously as if it were a bundle of fluff. Order was restored by Lancaster, who exerted a surprising degree of gallantry to soothe the peke's indignant owner, while Josh retired beneath the table with his ears back and wearing an expression of abject penitence. "It's not funny," Lancaster said sternly as Jenny stifled her giggles behind the menu. But as soon as the ruffled lapdog had been led away, he grinned and allowed Josh to emerge from disgrace. "Mr. Mallinson telephoned twice. He was asking for you, Miss Drake," Hilda said as, home again, they sat down to the supper she had waiting for them. "I told him you'd gone up to the city, and he said he, would ring back at nine o'clock." "Thank you, Hilda." dare had forgotten that Paul had arranged to telephone her about the picnic. She noticed, that Lancaster was frowning, and remembered 40 what he had said to Ms aunt on her first night at Creek House. "She can hardly expect to catch a husband in a place like Clint, although 1 dare say she'll have a try if she meets Paul." If he likes to think I'm gold-digging, lei him, she thought crossly. At nine the telephone rang. "I expect that's Paul for you, dear," Miss Lancaster said. Without looking at her employer, dare went into the hall and picked up the receiver. 41