‘A drag, chick. An absolute drag. I tried some breakfast, but what with things rattling and dancing about the table, I didn’t have the stomach for it. Where’s the buggy?’
‘Just outside.’ She noticed him give a sudden shiver. ‘You should have brought a topcoat.’
‘I’ve got a black plastic thing in the bag, but since you have a jalopy—’
Sara walked quickly with him the short distance to the car and opened the doors. He got in and lolled on the seat, head thrown back as if he had not the slightest interest in his surroundings.
There was a traffic light at the station exit and while Sara waited for it to turn to green she pointed to the river.
‘That’s the River Wensum.’
‘Oh, yes?’
Later, when they were making the one-way street circuit around the castle, she pointed it out to him. He gave it a brief glance.
‘Why don’t they pull it down? It’s in the way of the traffic.’
Sara felt mildly shocked. ‘I suppose they like it, and it’s probably got a lot of history.’
‘History is just bunk. They could get a big department store there.’
‘You’ll see some as we go down the hill.’
She concentrated in getting the car into the correct lane for the right-hand turn at the bottom of the hill, then veering into the left-hand stream of traffic as they passed the other side of the castle. Desmond did not speak again until she was negotiating a number of obstructions in a street which was being much rebuilt then he startled Sara by suddenly sitting bolt upright.
‘Hey, this area would be a swell place to start a boutique. It’s handy to the centre of town and on a bus route. Take a good look.’
‘I can’t. I’m driving,’ Sara said shortly.
Ten minutes later she was clear of the town and making a good pace.
‘Were you serious about a boutique in Norwich?’ she asked.
‘Sure I was. That street looked a good trading place to me. What was the name of it?’
‘Magdalen Street, I think.’
‘Well, I could ship you the very latest from the Smoke just as fast as you sold it. After all, two hours by train—’
‘And I’d stay here permanently?’
‘Well, you do have a pad. This windmill, or whatever it is. Remember how tough it is finding a place to live in London?’
‘I do have a home there,’ she reminded him.
‘Yes, but you’re not exactly free in it, are you? Daddy makes it pretty clear he doesn’t like me, for instance. You think it over.’
‘I am doing. Thinking very hard.’
She was silent until they reached Wroxham and were bumping slowly over the humped bridge.
‘The River Bure,’ she said. ‘I’m told it’s very busy in the season.’
‘Looks a bit of a hick joint. What you want is a place that’s busy all the year round. Season work isn’t any good. Suppose you get a wet, cold summer?’
Sara did not answer and was beginning to regret Desmond’s coming. Then she remembered that she did not have to take any notice of the business idea he had put forward and that the rest of his conversation was probably caused by the fact that he was off his own ground. She recalled little incidents since she had known him. His contempt for her idea of a walk in one of the parks when the evening was hot and clammy. His refusal to walk a yard if he could ride. And London could be very pleasant to stroll about in after business hours.
It seemed, now that she thought about it, that Des had a dislike of open spaces and quietness which almost amounted to a phobia.
Neither of them spoke again until Sara turned the car into the narrow lane leading to the boatyard. Then he gave an exclamation.
‘Where in heck are you taking me?’
‘It’s just about a mile down here to the boatyard.’
‘Boatyard?’
‘I did tell you when I first phoned you that the mill could only be reached by boat for the time being.’
‘Phew! I have got myself into something!’
As Sara stopped the car near the edge of the quay she got out very quickly and went to pull back the canopy of the launch. For a reason she could not quite fathom she did not wish Ted to meet Desmond, and at the moment, Ted was not in sight. Desmond followed her and looked down at the tiny craft.
‘In this! Is it safe?’
‘Of course it’s safe. Get in while I put the car away.’ She laughed. ‘Put one of the lifejackets on if you feel nervous. At any rate it’ll keep you warm.’
She ran back to the car and drove it into the shed. Then as she was closing the door she remembered she would have to let Ted know that it would be after dark when she returned from Norwich, also that she wanted to beg-off tomorrow’s lunch date. Then she turned and saw that Ted was already talking to Desmond. She hurried to them.
‘Have you two introduced yourselves?’ she asked brightly.
‘We’ve exchanged names,’ Ted answered.
‘Oh, good. Desmond’s my friend and business partner. Des—Mr. Barker owns the boatyard and he’s been very helpful to me, lending me his car and the launch, and teaching me how to handle it.’
‘That’s nice of him,’ Desmond said indifferently.
Sara glanced quickly at Ted and saw that his brown forehead was creased in a slightly disapproving frown. She spoke hurriedly to him.
‘Des and I are going to a dinner dance in Norwich tonight, so it’ll be late when I get back. However, I’ve got a good torch and we’ll be very careful. And Ted—would you and Martha excuse me at lunch tomorrow? We don’t quite know what we’ll be doing and Des will have to catch his train back to London.’
‘That’ll be quite all right, Sara. Martha won’t be put out. She’ll understand. Get in and I’ll give your engine a start. It’ll save you scrambling into the stern.’
Sara took her seat and adjusted the hood as the engine was started. As soon as she was clear of the quay she gave a side glance at Desmond. Even with the lifejacket on he looked very cold and rather unhappy.
Off his beat, she thought. A stranger in a strange land. He would probably adjust when they got to the comfort of the Millhouse. After all, she had had her moments of feeling dismal when she first arrived here. But that expression on Ted’s face, it really had been one of disapproval. Of Des’s long hair and the way he dressed, she supposed. It was all very silly and old-fashioned. She knew lots of very intelligent men who were even more extravagantly dressed than Des—more with it, as the expression went. If the whole business wasn’t so utterly stupid she could be really angry over it.
She had turned the launch into the mill dyke when another thought came to her. She had forgotten to book a room at an hotel for him.
She bumped the quay heading rather badly as she came alongside it and was annoyed with herself for doing so. As she made a second attempt to moor she could almost hear Hugh on the subject of giving full attention to the business in hand.
Then, stepping on to the quay with the mooring line in her hand, she heard the rattle of oars in rowlocks. She secured the line, then looked toward the dyke opening and recognized Hugh’s form as he bent to his oars.
Desmond came rather clumsily to her side. ‘A friend of yours?’
‘I’ve met him two or three times. We had tea together in Cromer. He’s an author, doing a book on bird life.’
‘Oh, well, I don’t suppose he needs our help. Let’s get inside. It’s cold out here.’
‘Just a moment. I don’t think he would have come up the dyke unless he wanted to talk to me.’
A few seconds later Hugh turned his head and with a few deft strokes on the oars brought his craft alongside.
‘I didn’t intend butting in when you had company, but the light seemed about right.’
She smiled. ‘You’d like the key of the Mill?’
‘If it’s not too much trouble.’
‘None at all. In the meantime, meet my friend and business partner.’
&
nbsp; After making the swift introduction she ran to the house for the key. She was absent for only a very short while, but when she returned Hugh was sitting in his boat puffing furiously on his pipe, Desmond glaring darkly at his profile. Hugh thanked her as she handed him the key and looked up at her with an expression she could not fathom.
‘I’ll only be about half an hour. Suppose I just drop the key through your letter-box when I’ve finished? I wouldn’t want to disturb you.’
She laughed. ‘Just as you like. But opening the door to you wouldn’t be any disturbance.’
‘No? Well, I’ll put it through the letter-box all the same.’
There was something odd about his voice and manner. It was more than likely that he disapproved of Des’s mode of dress, too. Perhaps he was rather over-dressed for the country. She supposed country people were more conservative in their mode of dress. Certainly Hugh and Ted were—even young Peter.
Sara walked with Desmond up the short path to the front door. She expected him to make some comment about the house before they reached the door, but he stepped inside without saying anything at all. The fact troubled her until she remembered that houses, flats or any other kind of dwelling were all the same to him. If they were dry and warm that was all that mattered. She turned to close the front door and saw Hugh had moved his dinghy out of line with the front windows of the house. Apparently he did not wish in any way to seem intrusive. Did he imagine she and Des required all that much privacy?
After inviting Des to make himself at home in the sitting room, Sara went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. There she changed her mind about a decision she had made earlier on. Des would be more at his ease eating baked beans and spaghetti served on the kitchen table than he would be in the dining room having a three-course lunch. She did not mind simple eating, and he was her guest, also they would be eating in some style in the evening.
He came into the kitchen as she was at the stove and settled on one chair with his feet on the other. He gave a large yawn.
‘Not a bad pad. Dead, though. Nothing to see out of the windows except trees and water.’
‘Yes, I find it rather quiet, though I expect that’s a thing which could grow on you after a while.’
‘I wouldn’t give it a chance to grow on me. A few days of this would drive me up the wall.’ He paused.
‘Do you actually have to live here to fulfil the terms of the will? Couldn’t you get around it by staying long weekends?’
‘I’m not sure what is legally meant by taking up residence, but—’
‘See another lawyer. I’ll bet if you even leave a couple of suitcases here, that would make it legal.’
‘I was going to say I wouldn’t break faith with my aunt.’
‘Break faith! Why, you didn’t even know the old girl.’
‘Just the same—’
He got up and stared out of the window. Then he turned restlessly.
‘Got a transistor anywhere?’
‘No, but there’s television in the sitting room. There might be something to interest you on that.’
He grunted. ‘You know what that is on Saturday afternoons—Grandstand!’
‘Well, lunch will be ready in a few minutes. If you want something to do, see to the table.’
As they were eating lunch, he brought up again the subject of opening a boutique in Norwich.
‘Would you be willing to stay here and manage it?’ she asked, knowing full well what his answer would be.
‘Me stay out in the sticks?’ He looked genuinely shocked. ‘I wouldn’t even begin to think about it.’
‘Then why should you think I’d want to?’
He shrugged. ‘You’re a girl. Girls are different. They’re more ... more...’
‘Adaptable? Is that the word you want?’
‘Sort of. They’re not in business for the whole of their lives like a man is. I mean most of them get married and—’
‘And until they get married it’s all right to push them around and cajole them into doing jobs they don’t want to do.’
‘Who’s pushing you around? You’re talking like a suffragette.’
Sara laughed. ‘Perhaps I am one. It must be in the blood. My aunt was. But let’s drop the subject of opening up in Norwich. This girl you’ve engaged—what is she like?’
‘About twenty, tall, long-haired, blonde, good figure and a snazzy dresser.’
‘How much experience of the business has she?’
‘Two years. Four different places like ours. The last one was Maison Petite.’
‘Well, she sounds all right. Did you tell her the job was only temporary?’
‘Only temporary! What on earth do you mean? You don’t get a cute number like Stella on a temporary basis.’
‘But when I come back she won’t be needed. In fact we won’t be able to afford her. Naturally, I’ll pay her wages for the thirteen weeks I’ll be away, but after that—’
‘But we agreed on the phone that it would be a good idea to open a branch. I’ve already got an agent on the job looking for suitable premises.’
‘We certainly did not agree to anything on the phone. You put the idea to me, but that’s as far as things went.’
Sara got up and began to clear the table. She was feeling both worried and irritated. When she had called Des on the telephone to tell him how long she would be away he had brought up the idea of them opening a second boutique, but she could not possibly have agreed to it. At the moment she did not even know how much money had been left to her, yet here he was going ahead with the business as if everything had been settled between them. It just would not do and she would have to tell him so, very firmly.
She clattered the dishes into the sink and began running the hot water on them. Then she turned her head with the idea of speaking her mind, but Des was not in the room and the next moment she heard the television blare loudly.
Sara’s lips compressed as she began using the dish mop to the sound of thudding racehorse hoofs and an apparently hysterical commentator.
Taking her time over washing and drying the dishes and putting them away Sara tried to think objectively. Des had always been inclined to go full tilt at any project, she was apt to be cautious, perhaps over much so, but between them they had got on well in business. Supposing the leasing of Fenchurch Mill brought her four or five hundred pounds a year? It was no use hoarding the money. Much better to put it to some use, so why not open another boutique? But she had to know how much money she would have before going into details.
In a better frame of mind she went into the sitting room and raised her voice above the din.
‘Des, can we talk business for a few minutes?’
He raised himself from his sprawl on the settee, then went quickly to the television and switched it off.
‘Sure. Business is something I’m always willing to talk about. Got a proposition?’
‘In a way. When I’ve got things settled here I think it would be a good idea to open another shop. But in London, not here.’
‘I was sure you would when you got around to thinking about it. That’s why I got a property agent on the job right away.’
‘But I still don’t know how much money I’ll have.’
‘That’s all right. It’ll take weeks to find the right property. Then there’ll be the haggling over the price of it.’
‘Price! I thought of having a two or three years’ lease. Suppose the venture isn’t a success?’
‘Nuts to leases. It’s like giving money away. If the place is a success, when you come to renew the lease they up the price on you. No, my chick. You buy on a mortgage, then if you want to get out you can always sell.’ He gave her a sharp look. ‘I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. If you put in more capital you’ll be the senior partner. I don’t know whether I’d like being bossed about by a chick.’
‘Don’t be silly, I wouldn’t dream of bossing you. We’ve been equal partners up to now. Why shouldn’t we cont
inue so?’
He shook his head doubtfully, then swept the long hair from the side of his face.
‘It wouldn’t work out. If we had an argument about some business detail I wouldn’t be able to put my point of view as strongly as I might want to. I’d be thinking that most of it was your money and that I didn’t have as much right to protest.’
‘But opening a new shop was your idea! Why are you changing it all at once? You really are exasperating.’
‘It was just a notion that came into my head. I should have thought before I spoke. Mind if I have the television on again?’
‘No, put it on if you wish. It seems a pity not to use the money, though.’
‘I suppose it does.’ He walked halfway to the television set, then turned about.
‘I’ll tell you what you could do, if you like. You buy the property when we find one we want, then it to the business. That way we would be equal partners and you’d have a fair return on your capital.’ He laughed. ‘If the roof started leaking you could write to yourself asking for it to be repaired.’
Sara laughed too. ‘The idea sounds super.’
He turned the television on again and sprawled back on the settee. Sara sat in one of the easy chairs and tried to take an interest in the horse-racing, but found the screamed-out commentary more than she could endure. She made an excuse which Desmond did not hear and went back to the kitchen. For a moment or two she gazed out of the window, then the bright sky invited her out of doors. She wandered along the path where she had made an attempt at clearance and suddenly felt a need to do something energetic. She brought a digging fork from the shed and as she tried to force the tines into the hard earth she saw a robin less than a yard away from her, its head cocked to one side as it regarded her with one very bright eye.
Harbinger of Spring Page 6
