“People are more forthright in the North, I am sure. So you live alone?”
“Yes, now.”
I was on dangerous ground again. If I were not careful, I, should not be asked again.
Gratitude for the cutting, however, lingered on, and I did want to hear her account of her daughter’s death.
She said suddenly: “You on holiday here?”
“Yes…at Tregarland’s.”
“Yes. I know. You got the cutting from the gardens there.”
She was holding her head high and nodding a little. Her lips were tightly drawn together.
I said: “You probably know it is my sister who has married into the family.”
She nodded. It was not a good recommendation: the sister of the wife who had taken the place of her daughter.
I said hastily: “I shall not be there long. My mother and I are going home in a few days.”
She nodded again. I think that made her feel a little more kindly toward me.
I realized she was not going to share any confidences with me. I was wasting my time. But I was not going to give up yet.
I said, putting the cup down close to Annette’s picture: “Well, thank you. That was very nice. I do hope the cutting takes.”
“We’ll have to see about that.”
“I wonder…if you’d mind…?”
She looked at me intently and I went on boldly: “I wonder, on my next visit, if I might call so that you could show me how it thrived?”
Her face changed. The gardener was a different woman from the bereaved mother.
“Of course, you must come. I’ll be glad to show you. And I’ll tell you this: It’s going to be happy in my garden. You’ll see. When you next come, it will be settled in a treat.”
I came out of Cliff Cottage smiling.
Not exactly a successful enterprise, but it was not completely closed.
I started on my way down to the little town, thinking of Mrs. Pardell and wondering if I should ever succeed in getting her to talk to me as I wanted her to. It was a challenge, and I could not help feeling proud of myself for thinking of such an astute move in taking the cutting. She was forthright in the extreme. She would pride herself on calling a spade a spade. She would not tolerate deception as she would call the diplomatic but not quite sincere methods of the Southerners in making life comfortable with a few white lies. I knew her type well. For her the bare truth must stand, however disagreeable.
There was a slight breeze bringing with it the smell of seaweed. The path along the cliff was uneven. One went downhill and then up again. Tom Smart, the groom, had said: “ ’Tis a bony road along they cliff paths,” and I knew what he meant. In places the path was narrow—not safe for children—and in parts there was a direct drop to the sea. Farther along, I knew, there was a section where the path was particularly narrow and the drop exceptionally steep. A fence had been erected there since, Matilda had told me, one day an elderly man had slipped on an icy surface and plunged over the cliff to his death.
I stood still for a moment to fill my lungs with the invigorating air.
Few people used this part of the cliff. It was very rugged and particularly beautiful. I supposed I should get to know it very well in time, for Dorabella and I would never tolerate being apart for long, and I supposed I should be here often.
I watched a greedy gull snatch a tidbit from the mouth of another. He swooped triumphantly while the victim screeched in anger.
Then I heard footsteps coming along the path. I started to move and came to the narrow spot with the fence. It certainly did not look very strong. Above the path rose the cliff face and below it the steep drop to the sea.
“Violetta,” said a voice. I swung round. Gordon Lewyth was coming toward me.
“Oh,” I said. “It’s you.”
“I saw you coming out of Cliff Cottage.”
“Did you? I didn’t see you.”
“Visiting Mrs. Pardell?”
“Oh, yes.”
“How did you manage that? She is not known for her hospitality.”
“No,” I replied. “But she is a very keen gardener, too.”
“A common interest? So you are a keen gardener, too?”
“Well, not exactly.”
He was standing very near to me. I did not know what to think of him. I never had. He was a very secret person, and I felt it would be very hard to understand what was in his mind. His height, his broadness, seemed to dwarf me so that I felt a certain vulnerability. I had the sudden feeling that he could be very ruthless, and I seemed very much alone and unprotected.
I heard myself explaining: “I looked at her garden when I was passing, and she came out and talked and told me about some plant she had seen in the gardens at Tregarland’s, and I got a cutting for her from Jack. I took it to her and she asked me in for a cup of coffee.”
“That was a great concession. She is not very friendly with us at the house.”
“I have heard of the connection.”
He nodded. “And did you have an interesting chat?”
“Well, no…it was about gardens, of which I know very little.”
“Oh,” he said, and put his hand on the fence. “People don’t use this road very much,” he went on.
“There are lots of ups and downs,” I said.
“There is the higher road above…” He nodded upwards. “But it is a long way round. Wet weather, frost, could be a hazard on this road.”
He seemed to be watching me intently, and again I felt a twinge of uneasiness.
“The fence is not very strong,” he said, gripping it and shaking it a little. “If someone fell against it…Well, it wouldn’t stand up to much, would it? It should be repaired. They don’t move very fast about that sort of thing in these parts.”
I wondered why we were standing here, but he seemed to be barring my way. I felt a sudden relief when I heard a footstep. Someone was coming along the path.
I moved forward and he could only walk beside me. I was glad when we had passed the fence, and it was comforting to hear the voices of people coming along behind us. They were visitors to the place, most likely, as Gordon did not know them.
We walked in single file when the path narrowed and then again we were side by side.
He told me he had business in the town and talked a little about the place.
“The river mouth makes a nice little harbor,” he said. “The town owes its prosperity to that. The fishing is good here. And how is your father?”
I said he was well.
“I hope he will come with you next time.”
“I don’t know. He is always so busy on the estate.”
“I can understand that.”
We were descending rapidly and he held out a hand to steady me when the ground grew rougher. Then he apologized for the gesture.
He was a strange man. I could not help feeling that he was someone quite different from the person he appeared to be. I was not sure whether I was repulsed or drawn to him.
He said suddenly: “Do you propose to call on Mrs. Pardell again?”
“We are not really on visiting terms. In due course I might be allowed to see if the plant is flourishing. That is all.”
A slight smile touched his lips.
“If you go,” he said, “be careful on that path. The way round the top road is much longer and you’d have a steep descent to reach the cottage.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll risk the path. But I shall have to wait until the plant has taken root, or whatever it has to do.”
He smiled. “You certainly don’t sound like the dedicated gardener.”
“No, I am not.”
He was looking at me with a quizzical expression. I knew he was asking himself how I had managed to insinuate myself into Cliff Cottage. It must seem like a very calculated operation to him, and he must be wondering why I should take so much trouble merely to talk to Mrs. Pardell.
He said: “I shall have to leave you here.�
� He looked at his watch. “I have to meet someone in five minutes.”
“Goodbye,” I said.
As I walked back, I thought it seemed rather a strange encounter, but I had spoken to him more during it than I had all the time I had known him.
That afternoon I met Jowan Jermyn in the field at the spot where the tree had fallen.
It was clear that he was delighted to see me.
Dorabella had been feeling very tired and was resting, otherwise it would not have been easy to get away. I had been out all the morning.
I did not tell her about my adventure with Mrs. Pardell. I was not sure how she felt about that first marriage of Dermot’s, and I did not want to upset her in the slightest way.
She did not protest when I went off. I think she was content because my mother and I were there and if she wanted us, one of us would be at hand.
She would be amused when I told her about my meeting with Jowan Jermyn, for she was already taking an interest in him and was intrigued by the manner in which we had met.
He had been waiting for me.
“Right on time,” he said. “I do like punctual ladies.”
“I am always punctual, unless, of course, something unforeseen happens to prevent it. We were brought up to believe that it was the height of rudeness not to be. My mother used to say that to be late implied that you were not very eager to come.”
“What an excellent doctrine! And your sister…she is the same?”
“Well…”
He laughed. “And how is she?”
“A little tired, I think. My mother will be there if she wants company.”
“That is nice. Now, away to the moors and the Horned Stag.”
“It sounds rather ferocious.”
“Wait till you see the creaking sign over the door—a venomous beast—enough to drive customers away rather than entice them in. But it is a cosy spot and there isn’t another inn for some miles.”
I was fascinated by the moor. There was something rather eerie about it. I could see no sign of human habitation. Here and there great boulders stood out among the grass and away in the distance was a ring of stones which looked like figures.
“The moor!” announced Jowan. “What do you think of it?”
“Strange. Uncanny in a way.”
“You’re not the first to think of that.”
“Those stones…one could think they were people.”
He brought his horse close to mine.
“At certain times of the year,” he said in a tone of mock awe, “they say they come to life, and woe betide anyone who sets eyes on them.”
“What?” I cried.
He laughed. “You look scared. Don’t worry. They won’t come alive for you. They did once—so they tell me—for poor old Samuel Starky. That was fifty years ago. Poor Samuel, he came into the Horned Stag crying, ‘They’m all alive. The Stones have come to life! Death and destruction is to come to Bandermoor!’ That’s the name of the little village which I’ll show you later. ’Twill be destroyed this night.’ You see, the grocer’s wife had run off with the postman, and the grocer had taken a woman into his house. Sodom and Gomorrah had come to Bandermoor, and the Stones had come to life to wreak vengeance.”
“And what happened to Bandermoor?”
“Oh, it went on in its peaceful way and the Stones remained. Oddly enough, people still think there is something supernatural about them. Well, this is the Horned Stag. Take note of the animal. Isn’t he fearsome?”
“I think it is because the paint round his eyes has become a little blurred.”
“What a practical young lady you are! Practical and punctual. I like it. Come along.”
We first took our horses to the stables and then went in. The inn parlor was almost a replica of that of the Smithy. Tankards of cider were brought to us.
“I believe you are getting quite a taste for the stuff,” he said.
“It’s certainly very pleasant.”
“Tell me,” he said, “when shall you be leaving us?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
He grimaced. “So soon? But you will be here again?”
“I should think so.”
“Your sister is quite well?”
“I think everything is going according to plan.”
On a sudden impulse I told him I had met Mrs. Pardell.
He was surprised.
“Really? She has not a reputation for making friends easily.”
“I would not aspire to friendship.”
I told him about the cutting.
He was amused. “What a devious plan!” he said. “I can see you are a mistress of diplomacy. Why were you so eager to meet her?”
“I have to admit that I am by nature curious.”
“Curious, practical, and punctual,” he murmured. “The last two are virtues. I am not sure about the first. Why were you so curious to meet the lady from the North?”
“Naturally because of her daughter. I was taken aback when my sister told me there had been a previous marriage, but I did not know who the first wife was until you told me.”
“And then you wanted to know more about her?”
“It was a natural feeling, wasn’t it?”
“Indeed, yes. I daresay your sister would want to know.”
“I don’t think she cares very much. She never liked anything that might be…uncomfortable. She likes everything to go smoothly, and if they don’t, push them out of the way where they can be forgotten.”
“But you are not like that?”
“No. I want to know everything, no matter what it is.”
“I understand perfectly. But what did you think you would get from the lady?”
“I thought I might hear something about the girl…Annette. What she was like, how it all happened.”
“I doubt you got much from Mrs. Pardell.”
“Nothing at all.”
“Too bad after such a clever plot with the plant. But congratulations on a piece of imaginative strategy. Pity it was wasted.”
“Not entirely. I am to go again next visit to see whether the thing has flourished.”
“Clever! I’m overcome with admiration. What profit do you hope to get from all this?”
“The more you know of people, the more you understand them.”
“Are you anxious about your sister?” he asked searchingly.
I hesitated. Was I? I had always been a sort of watchdog for us both. I remembered our first day at school—her hand tightly clasping mine, myself trying not to show her the trepidation I felt; seated together at the little desk. Dorabella close to me, reassured because I was there, the strong one; and she did not know that I was only pretending, as much for her sake as my own.
I was certainly uneasy about her. I could not rid myself of the feeling that there was something not quite right at Tregarland’s. It was a strange notion, but there seemed to be something slightly unreal about the people there.
I could not explain this to Jowan Jermyn. I had been too frank already. What had possessed me to tell him of my little subterfuge in getting a footing into Cliff Cottage by means of the cutting?
The fact was that I felt at ease with him. I laughed at his way of taking everything lightly and finding it amusing. I realized that what I felt about the Tregarland household was all speculation. They had all been kind to us and very welcoming to Dorabella. My mother seemed satisfied. I was inclined to let my imagination run on, to conjure up drama where it did not exist.
He was watching me intently and asked if I were worried about my sister.
“Well,” I said. “It has all happened rather quickly. This time last year we did not know of the Tregarlands’ existence…and then to find one’s sister married and about to have a baby in a place quite a few miles from home.”
“I understand. You feel there is much to know and your sister’s husband’s first wife is part of it.”
“Yes, I suppose that is what I feel.”
“It’s just a straightforward story. The heir of Tregarland married the barmaid; she was about to have a child, and there was a tragedy. That’s all.”
“Do you mean that he married her because she was going to have a child?”
“I believe that was so. It was the verdict of the news agency, at least.”
“I see. As you say, it is not an unusual story.”
“The family wouldn’t have been very pleased, of course.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But these things happen in the best regulated families. It is all in the past. I gather they are delighted with this marriage.”
“Have your sources told you this?”
“Certainly. And they are rarely mistaken.”
He started to tell me of some of the legends of the place; of the celebrations on the moor on Midsummer’s Eve; the bonfires hailing the dawn; Hallow E’en when the witches thrived.
“And Cornish witches into the bargain are far more malevolent than other people’s witches.”
He also told me of the Furry Dance which heralded in the spring, when people danced through the streets of the towns.
I was absorbed and disappointed when it was time to go.
“You’ll be back,” were his parting words, when we said goodbye at the boundary. “I shall hear, of course, when you return, and we shall meet in the field, the scene of our first encounter. Is that a promise?”
“It is,” I said.
And I intended to keep it.
Rescue on the Rocks
TWO DAYS LATER, MY mother and I traveled back home. My mother sat back in the carriage with a look of satisfaction on her face.
“Everything seems to be going well,” she said. “I can’t wait till November. If only we could get Nanny Crabtree there I think everything could be just perfect. Dermot is such a nice young man. I liked him more and more.” She frowned. “Gordon is somewhat…”
I waited while she paused, searching for the word she needed to describe him.
“Overpowering,” she said at length. “Although he says very little, he does behave as though he is the son of the house. Well, I suppose we shall be going down again soon. I think Dorabella would have liked you to stay.”
“Well, I daresay I shall be making the journey back there very soon,” I said.
Philippa Carr - [Daughters of England ] Page 14
