by Anne Hampson
Tricia nodded, and to Gale’s satisfaction she sat up, wiping her eyes with a sodden handkerchief. Handing her a clean one Gale continued to talk in her soft persuasive tones and at last Tricia agreed to accompany Gale into town. That the agreement was made merely for politeness, owing to Gale’s continued perseverance, mattered not in the least; it was sufficient that Tricia was stirred to move at all, for if she insisted in her stubbornness then a breakdown would be inevitable.
Mrs. Sims stared disbelievingly when the two girls appeared; her eyes met those of Gale in a silent message of thanks. ‘We’re going into town,’ Gale explained, going on to say that as it was her mother’s birthday the following Tuesday she wanted to buy her present. ‘Don’t expect us back for lunch, Mrs. Sims; we’re having it out.’
‘That’s fine.’ A smile touched Mrs. Sims’ lips as she looked affectionately at her daughter. ‘Buy yourself something nice, dear. I’ll give you some money—’ ‘No, Mother - thank you all the same.’ Tricia’s lips trembled as she added, ‘What’s the use buying anything now?’
‘I didn’t mean clothes, dear. Buy yourself a new bag or a pretty piece of jewellery.’
‘Jewellery? Who would I wear it for?’
Mrs. Sims flushed and Gale instantly filled the breach, saying they had better be on their way, otherwise they would be too late to get a lunch.
Tricia ate nothing anyway, even though Gale made several persuasive attempts to induce her to try the delicious food put before them.
‘I can’t!’ Tricia’s eyes filled up. ‘Gale, I know it’s awful of me, but I don’t want to live.’ She stared at Gale across the table, lost and desperately unhappy. Fury surged through Gale’s veins. If only there were a way of making Trevis suffer! Gale felt she would go to extreme lengths, should a way present itself to her.
But it was Tricia herself who came out with an idea - on the Sunday evening just before Gale was leaving, after promising to come again the following weekend.
‘All my love seems to have turned to hate,’ she said unexpectedly, avoiding Gale’s eyes as she looked down at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap. The two girls were in Gale’s room, Gale having just finished packing her suitcase ready for the maid to carry down to her car. ‘I’d like nothing better than to frame him.’
‘Frame?’ Gale looked interrogatingly at her friend, who nodded but still avoided her gaze.
‘Yes, frame - and so prevent his marrying that girl.’ ‘I know just how you feel, because I felt the same; but it’s impossible. There’s absolutely nothing you can do, Tricia.’
A long pause and then, rather timidly,
‘There is something that can be done ... but you wouldn’t agree.’
‘Me? Am I involved?’ Gale looked into her face as Tricia at last raised her head. The tragic expression still invaded her eyes, but deep and almost venomous hatred lingered there too.
Tricia’s voice was tight and hard as she answered,
‘He could be framed, Gale - framed in a way that would in fact be fairly simple.’ She paused again and then blurted out what was in her mind. Stunned that the gentle Tricia should even have thought up such an idea, let alone voice it, Gale could only stare in speechless amazement, while Tricia blushed and began fidgeting with her hands.
‘It wouldn’t work....’ Emphasized words, yet Gale’s voice faded as she spoke, her brain working furiously despite her efforts to thrust the preposterous idea from her. Why not? she asked herself, but no sooner had she done so than she became so scared that her heartbeats actually increased to a sickening speed. Trevis might become violent - or, even worse, he might do her the sort of injury which any self-respecting girl wished to avoid at all costs.
‘What sort of a man is Trevis?’ Gale found herself asking, and was told to her surprise that he was quiet, and that he had no temper at all. ‘Are you sure?’ persisted Gale, her heartbeats still causing her some discomfiture. She could not do this thing, much as she would like to, for undoubtedly Trevis deserved to receive the same treatment he had extended to Tricia - which was to be jilted by this girl whom he soon hoped to marry.
‘Quite sure, Gale. I’ve never seen him in a temper - nor even impatient with me. He - he was always so gentle. . . S he tailed off as a sob caught her throat. Yet despite her emotion she still retained that expression of hatred as she went on to elaborate on the idea she had thought up. ‘Trevis will be at the lodge next week-end, but Louise won’t be at home—’
‘How do you know this?’ interrupted Gale sharply, and added, before her friend could reply, ‘You haven’t mentioned her name before. I took it for granted that you didn’t know it.’ ‘Trevis told me her name,’ whispered Tricia in husky tones. ‘He also told me that she was going to her grandmother’s next week-end.’
Gale frowned heavily.
‘He actually talked about this girl to you?’
‘Only at the end, of course, when he was-was breaking the engagement. I -I asked him about her and he told me her name, and that she visited her grandmother once a month - spent the first week-end of every month with her.’ Tricia paused, waiting for some comment, but Gale was too disgusted to speak. That Trevis could actually tell his fiancee about this other girl! What an utter cad he must be! ‘As I was saying, Trevis will be at the lodge, but he won’t be seeing Louise. If you went there and -and did as I suggested, I could telephone her father very early in the morning telling him that the man who aspired to marry his daughter was at the lodge with one of his
girl-friends, and that if he went there he would find proof of this.’
Gale stared again, speechlessly. Tricia was so calm now, although her face was pallid and drawn. She sat there, looking at Gale through wide beseeching eyes; it was plain that her mind was now totally absorbed with the idea of revenge, just as Gale’s had been when Malcolm had acted in a similar way to Trevis. It struck Gale that Tricia might from now on follow the path taken by Gale herself and a frown creased her high forehead. Such a path would not do for the gentle Tricia; she was too vulnerable, while Gale herself had acquired an armour of defence against all men. She was fully convinced that her own once gentle heart was now made of stone.
‘It can’t be done, Tricia.’ Gale shook her head emphatically ... and yet she found herself becoming more and more immersed in the idea. ‘I couldn’t possibly get away with it.’
‘I’ve been to the lodge, once,’ said Tricia, appearing not to have heard what Gale had said. ‘There are two bedrooms, but Trevis told me he never even enters the small one, which is right at the end of the passage which runs the whole length of the lodge. Trevis — and any of his friends who might happen to go there in his absence — always uses the big room, which is close to the lounge, and has its own bathroom. Trevis said that he might as well not have the small room for what use it is to him.’ Tricia glanced at Gale, but saw only a masked countenance from which it was impossible to gather anything. ‘You could get the key from the outhouse, where it’s always kept, on a shelf. Then, after letting yourself in, you could open a window — there is only one floor, incidentally, so the bedrooms are on ground level. You could then lock the door from the outside, replace the key, and re-enter through the window, and hide yourself in the small bedroom - or you could even go to bed, for Trevis would not find you. As I’ve mentioned, he never arrives at the lodge until the early hours of Saturday morning and, as he says himself, he wants only to fall into bed and sleep until late the following day.’ Tricia stopped at last, her eyes on her friend’s face. Gale was deep in thought, common sense battling with the growing urge to fall in with Tricia’s plan and give Trevis the lesson he deserved.
‘It’s altogether too risky,’ she frowned, shaking her head. ‘Supposing Trevis just did decide to look into that room?’
‘He wouldn’t, certainly not at that time, when he’d driven all that way. Besides, there’s no reason why he should look in; there’s only a small camp bed in there - nothing else at all.’ Faintly Gale smiled. She remark
ed rather dryly,
‘So it would, were I to fall in with your suggestion, be a long dreary time of cold comfort for me?’
‘You needn’t go into the room until midnight at the earliest, and if I phone Louise’s father about seven on the Saturday morning he’d be there by half past - or perhaps a little later.’ Tricia shrugged. ‘You’d then be free to leave.’
‘Free to leave?’ Gale’s brows shot up. How could anyone be so naive? ‘What is Trevis made of? I’d be in my night clothes, remember. He might just decide to pay me back for ruining his chances with this Louise. I certainly can’t see him letting me off scot free.’
‘You mean he might force you to—?’ Tricia’s eyes opened wide. ‘Never; he isn’t like that at all!’
‘My dear Tricia,’ said Gale with a return to her previous dry tone, ‘all men are like that.’
‘But you could take care of yourself in any case,’ responded Tricia with confidence, and Gale could not help but laugh.
‘I expect I’d put up a good show in an emergency,’ she admitted, but went on to point out that a girl as scantily dressed as she would be was at a disadvantage to begin with.
‘Trevis wouldn’t try anything on, Gale, truly he wouldn’t. Besides, he’d be too upset even to think.'
Gale said nothing for the moment The idea appealed to her immensely even though her more prudent tract of mind warned her of the hazards. There was much more to it than the mere hiding herself in the spare room and making her entrance when she heard Louise’s father arrive. This particular situation she felt she could deal with successfully, since Trevis would be so utterly confounded that he would in all probability be unable to collect his wits before his visitor made his swift and wrathful departure. It was what would happen afterwards that troubled Gale, for she could hardly see Trevis being in anything other than a burning rage. Yet would he dare to do her an injury? Tricia maintained that he would not even be able to think, and on giving the matter a little more thought Gale found herself inclined to agree about this.
‘Are — are you considering my suggestion?’ queried Tricia with a hopeful glance.
‘Trevis certainly ought to be paid out for what he’s done to you,’ replied Gale pensively, staring rather vacantly at the wall in front of her. ‘It’s a simple plan, as you said, and even though Trevis will undoubtedly guess that you were at the bottom of it there isn’t much he can do, because he doesn’t know me -neither by sight nor by name. So there couldn’t be any reprisals
- not once I’d made my initial escape, that is.’
‘You are going to do it!’ exclaimed Tricia. ‘Thank you, Gale.’
A faint smile played about Gale’s mouth. Clearly Tricia, blinded by the thought of revenge on her unfaithful lover, seemed not to anticipate the slightest difficulty in the carrying out of the plan she had devised. This was probably owing to the fact that Gale herself was always so efficient in all she did, possessing more than her share of confidence. Added to this was the established dislike of men in general which Gale was not averse to revealing to Tricia; this latter would naturally make Tricia more confident of her co-operation. Gale’s smile deepened as this last word crossed her mind; Tricia was to do very little - just get up early and telephone Louise’s father. Not that it mattered; Gale was capable of carrying out the major part of the operation. Nevertheless, much as the idea appealed she cautiously told Tricia that she must give it a little more consideration, and despite Tricia’s disappointment at not receiving an immediate assurance it was left that way. But, driving home later, and after dwelling on the idea for some time, Gale knew she would not be able to resist putting it into operation.
She drove her car along the motorway, heading north. For some years she had promised herself a visit to the Lake District, having heard over and over again just how beautiful it was, but never had she visualized herself going up there for any reason other than a holiday. This was a daring escapade, but it was becoming all the while more and more attractive because of it. And, should it go off without a hitch, there would be an end-product of immense satisfaction in the knowledge that Trevis had got his deserts.
The journey was long and tedious, but at last Gale arrived at Ennerdale where she booked in at an hotel for the night. The following morning she drove through several high passes in the mountain range, absorbing the magnificent scenery despite the fact of her mind’s being almost fully occupied with what was to come. Arriving at Swathemore Beck she saw on her right the mansion of Louise’s father, standing on a rise and surrounded by gardens and wooded knolls. Gale drove on; having drawn a map from Tricia’s description of the area, she knew exactly where the lodge was situated, just about a mile from the big house. The road ran along the beck, then curved towards the squat stone building almost hidden by trees and other wild vegetation. The sight of it seemed to give the plan a stark reality it had not possessed before and in spite of her calm manner and steadfast resolution Gale was acutely conscious of tensed nerves, and a fluttering sensation in the region of her stomach. This was the first occasion in which real danger had entered into her activities, and although she was impatient of her apprehension she had in fairness to herself to admit it was only natural that she should feel like this. It would be worth it in the end, though, she told herself again; Trevis would be punished and Tricia would at least have the satisfaction of knowing he had lost the girl for
whom he had so callously thrown her over.
As there was still plenty of time to spare Gale had an opportunity to look around. Having found the key on the shelf in the outhouse where Tricia had said it would be, Gale entered the lodge. It seemed a little cold and when she entered the small room where she was to conceal herself a distinct smell of must assailed her nostrils and she grimaced. Cold comfort indeed, she thought, her eyes straying to the camp bed on which she would later be trying to rest. Emerging from the tiny apartment, she walked the length of the corridor before entering the lounge, a comfortable room but not particularly tidy, there being all sorts of fishing tackle lying about. She went into the bedroom; this was also comfortable, with the bed neatly made and the curtains partly drawn across the low, wide window. Gale’s eyes were drawn to the dressing-table. On it, framed in gilt, was a photograph of a pretty girl of about nineteen years of age. Disgusted, Gale left the room.
Apart from the kitchen and a small bathroom leading off the main bedroom there was nothing more to the lodge - except the wild mass of unkempt vegetation which practically surrounded it and which could be described as its ‘spacious grounds’.
The next thing was to take her suitcase from the car and then drive right into the vegetation, so that the vehicle was completely hidden from view.
A deep silence reigned over everything; here was peace and wild beauty, many of the scenic features being the result of glaciation, and of course, the superimposed drainage pattern inherited from a bygone geological era when a deep sedimentary cover lay over the ancient contorted rocks now revealed. Gale stood a long while, gazing around in appreciation of the scenery, then picked up her suitcase from the step where she had put it on taking it from the car. Placing it out of sight in a small fitted cupboard in the room she was to occupy, Gale went along to the kitchen and, filling and switching on the electric kettle she calmly made herself a cup of tea, which she drank while eating the sandwiches made up for her by the proprietor of the hotel.
So cool and collected she was now; it was as if she had entered into a state of mental inertia where nothing could touch her, let alone leave the way open for any emotional stress. It was unnatural - uncanny, almost, she thought, sitting there on a high stool in the area of the kitchen which she supposed could be described as the dinette. She glanced through the window, again absorbing the delightful spectacle of changing colour as the less hardy trees gave way to the pines and other alpine vegetation. This was certainly a lovely spot in which to own a retreat, and Gale could not help thinking how Tricia would have enjoyed coming here when she and Trevis
were married. Anger rose within her and she set her mouth, more determined than ever to make Trevis pay for his crime.
Having finished her sandwiches she washed the crockery and put it away, making sure to leave everything exactly as she found it. Then she went into the lounge and sat down, determined not to go into that cold musty room until much later, for it was not necessary to spend the whole evening in there when Trevis was not expected until after midnight
But it was less than an hour later when she heard the car crunch to a standstill on the path outside, and her flesh began to creep. Not already! It was only half past eight; Trevis must have left much earlier than usual. Like lightning Gale reached the door and shot through it, running silently along the corridor to the small bedroom, where she stood by the closed window and tried to look through the chink in the curtains, but she could see nothing. She heard a light step, then the door of the outhouse creaking, as it had when she herself opened it. She had put the key back on the shelf and mentally she followed Trevis’s movements as he reached for it.
Then Gale heard the front door opening and closing, and the light tread as Trevis covered the small area of corridor leading into the sitting-room. She held her breath, trying to convince herself that he would not enter the small bedroom, even though he had arrived early and would not be ready to fall into bed, as Tricia had so confidently asserted he would. The lounge door closed and silence pervaded the house. He must be reading, she surmised, still standing by the window, mentally calculating how many dreary hours she must remain here before she was safely in her car and travelling south again.
The silence continued and Gale sat down on the camp bed; it was almost two hours since Trevis’s arrival and he hadn’t moved from the lounge. But a few minutes later she heard him go into the kitchen, and later still he returned to the lounge -with a supper tray, she surmised, suddenly realizing she would have given anything for a cup of tea.
