” And that,” went on Luke, ” Is John who, about a hundred years after, decided he’d die the same way. He jumped over the balcony in the north wing. Strange, isn’t it. Although I think he got the idea from that Luke,” I turned away. This talk made me feel uneasy. I was not sure why.
As I moved towards a woman in a feathered Gainsborough type hat, I heard Luke’s voice at my elbow. ” My great-great great-grandmother.
Only I’m not sure of the number of greats. ” I went on walking along the gallery.
” Oh, and here’s your father-in-law himself,” he added.
A younger Sir Matthew looked back at me; his flowing cravat was the essence of elegance as was his green velvet jacket; his complexion was ruddy, rather than port wine, his eyes slightly bigger than they were now, and I was sure that I had not been mistaken when I had judged him to have been something of a rake in his day. And beside him was a woman whom I knew to be his wife; she was beautiful in a frail way and there was an expression of resignation on her face. Gabriel’s mother, I thought, who had died soon after his birth. And there was a picture of Gabriel himself, looking young and innocent.
“You’ll be beside him,” said Luke.
“You’ll be captured like the rest and held prisoner on canvas … so that in two hundred years’ time the new lady of the house will come to look at you and wonder about you.”
I shivered, and was conscious of a great desire to escape from him, to get out of the house, if only for half an hour, because the talk of suicides had oppressed me.
” Friday is impatient for his walk,” I said. ” I think perhaps that I should take him now. It is very good of you to have taken so much trouble to show me everything.”
” But I have not shown you everything There is a great deal more for you to see.”
” I shall enjoy it more another time,” I replied firmly.
He bowed his head.
“When,” he murmured, “it will be my pleasure to continue with our tour.”
I went down the staircase and, half-way, turned to look back. Luke was standing by the portraits watching me, looking as though he had but to step up into one of those frames to become one of them.
The rest of the day I spent with Gabriel. We went for a ride in the afternoon, right out on to the moors; and when we came back it was time to change for dinner, and the evening was spent like the previous one.
Before we retired for the night Gabriel took me out to the balcony, and as he stood for a while admiring that superb view I remarked that I had not yet visited the Abbey ruins and decided that I would do so the next day.
During the morning which followed, Gabriel was again with his father and I wandered on with Friday; this time I went to the Abbey.
As I approached those ancient piles I was struck with wonder. It was a sunny morning; and here and there the stone glistened as though it had been set with diamonds. I could have believed that this was not a ruin, for the great tower was intact and so was the wall which was facing me; it was not until I came close that I realised that there was no roof but the sky. The Abbey nestled in the valley close to the river and I guessed that it would be more sheltered from the storms than the Revels was. Now I saw clearly the high Norman tower, the ancient buttresses and the nave which, like the tower, was almost intact, apart from the fact that there was no roof. I was surprised at the vastness of the ruins and I thought how interesting it would be to make a plan of the Abbey and try to rebuild it in the imagination.
Friday was running to and fro in great excitement as though he shared my emotions about the place. Here, I told myself, was a shell; yet there were enough stones to indicate which parts were the kitchens for instance, the cloister, the nave, the transept, the monks’ quarters.
It was necessary to tread warily, for here and there stones jutted dangerously out of the ground. I lost Friday for a moment and was immediately conscious of a panic which was quite ridiculous; equally so was my relief, when after I had called to him, he came running back to me.
I wondered from what part of the Abbey the stones had been taken to build the house. I wanted to learn something of the history of this house and the family to which I now belonged. I laughed at myself.
There was so much I did not know about my own husband. Why was he so secretive with me? Why was there this constant feeling that he was hiding something from me?
I sat down on a ridge of stones, obviously all that was left of a room of some sort the monks’ dorter, I hazarded and I told myself then that I had not thought enough of Gabriel since I had arrived here.
Naturally Gabriel would be full of odd fancies; he was a young man who was afflicted with a disease of the heart which threatened his life.
It was for that reason that he was moody. He was afraid of death and I had thought it was something in the house, something in these old ruins which had disturbed him! How should / feel if Death were round the corner, waiting for me? That was something which one could not imagine until it happened to one.
I would make Gabriel happy. Moreover, I would not accept the inevitability of death as he seemed to. I would take such care of him that he would live on.
Friday’s barking startled me out of my daydream. I called:
” Friday! Friday!”
And as he did not come to me I went to look for him.
I found him in the hands of a strange man; be was struggling and, if he had not been so expertly held, he would have bitten those hands which imprisoned him.
” Friday!” I called. Then the man who held him turned to look at me.
He was of medium height and I was struck by his brilliant dark eyes and olive complexion.
He released the dog when he saw me and, taking off his hat, bowed.
Friday ran to me, barking furiously and, as I came forward, stood between me and the stranger as though to protect me.
” So the dog is yours, madam,” said the man.
“Yes, what happened? He’s usually so friendly.”
” He was a little annoyed with me.” I noticed the flash of very white teeth in that dark face.
“He didn’t understand that I probably saved his life.”
” How was that?”
He turned and pointed to what I saw now was a well.
” He was perilously perched on the edge, looking down. If he had decided to explore farther, that would have been the end of him.”
” Then I have to thank you.”
He inclined his head, ” This was the monks’ well. It’s deep and probably not very sweet down there.”
I peered over into the darkness. I was looking down the narrow well, to what might have been water at the bottom.
” He’s rather inquisitive,” I said.
“I should put him on a lead when you bring him here again. And you will come here again, won’t you? I can see this place intrigues you.
You have a look in your eyes which betrays your interest. “
” Surely everyone would be interested.”
” Some more than others. May I introduce myself? I believe I know you. You are Mrs. Gabriel Rockwell, are you not?”
” But how did you know?”
He spread his hands and smiled again; it was a warm, friendly smile. “
A simple deduction. I knew you were due to arrive and, as I know almost everyone in these parts, I put two and two together and tried to guess.”
” Your guess was correct.”
“Then welcome to our community. My name is Devere Smith. Doctor. I am at the Revels almost every day, so we should have met sooner or later.”
“I have heard you mentioned.”
“Pleasantly, I hope?”
” Very much so.”
” I’m an old friend of the family as well as the doctor; and of course Sir Matthew and Miss Rock-well are no longer young. They both need my services rather frequently. Tell me, when did you arrive?”
I told him and he listened gravely. I thought there was a foreign look
about him but his name was as English as it could be; I supposed he seemed so dark because of the extreme fairness of my new relations.
He said: ” I was going to call at the Revels to-day. Shall we walk back together?”
We did so and he made me feel that I had found a new friend.
He talked familiarly of the family, and when he spoke of Gabriel there was an anxious note in his voice. I knew what that meant and I wanted to speak to him about Gabriel’s health, but I refrained from doing so.
Later, I promised myself. He would be easy to talk to.
He told me that he had been invited to dine at the house on Saturday.
” My daughter and I,” he added.
I was astonished that he should have a daughter old enough to be invited to a dinner party. He saw my surprise and I liked him no less because he appeared to be pleased by it. I had thought he was somewhere in his mid-thirties, but decided he must be older than that.
” I have a seventeen-year-old daughter,” he said. ” She enjoys parties. My wife is not well enough to attend them, so she and I go together.”
” I shall look forward to meeting her.”
” Damaris is looking forward to meeting you.” He smiled.
” Damaris! That is an unusual name.”
” You like it? It’s from the Bible. Just a brief mention … but it’s here.”
I remembered what Luke had said about biblical names, and I wondered if it was a custom in this part of the world to take names from the Bible.
I was about to mention this ; then I remembered that Madame la Directrice had said that my impetuosity often verged on bad manners, so I restrained myself.
We went into the Revels together. The doctor sent one of the servants to tell Ruth he had arrived; and I went up to my room.
-I wore a white gown on the night of the dinner party. It was the only real evening ore that if entertaining at the Re scale. I should have some white chiffon and lace, very si:
I had no qualms about it bee I had were perfectly cut an company. I did my hair in liked so much; and I was < dress, for time was passing.
As he did not come, I we and I went on to the balcony He was nowhere in sight, b coming from the porch.
I was about to call out an’ ” I heard a deep masculine You have not taken to our little. I drew back, feeling the li I knew that listeners are said i Fanny had told me that oft el when you overhear yourself ingly, to refrain from listen ” It’s early yet,” answered There was a laugh. ” I’ve easy prey. “
I did not hear Ruth’s reply ” Why did you let him stray so to find some little fortune-hu I was furiously angry. I v and tell whoever was speakin, him ; I wanted to tell him that position when I had married. I stood still, my eyes blazi; a little, and by leaning over I was light brown and he see mi a resemblance to the Rockw stepped forward suddenly into I hated him, whoever he was I was trembling as I went was already there. He was on hurrying.
” I forgot the time,” he said. Where have you been? Why It was on the tip of my heard, but I changed my mil was breathless now. No, I would fight my own battles; I should have to teach this relative, whoever he was, a lesson. So I helped Gabriel dress and when we went down I met my enemy.
He was Simon Redvers, the cousin; he looked less broad when seen on the level. He was very tall, a fact I had not fully realised looking down at him.
Gabriel introduced me, and when he took my hand those cynical eyes looked straight into mine and I knew exactly what he was thinking. His eyes were light brown and his skin deeply bronzed; his mouth was smiling slightly but his eyes were not. I knew my own were flashing with anger, for I had never found it easy to restrain my feelings and I could not get the sound of his words out of my ears.
” How do you do?” he said.
” I am well, thank you,” I answered.
” I suppose I should congratulate you.”
” Pray do not, unless you wish to.”
He was faintly amused, and I could not resist saying: “I believe we have met before.”
” I am certain we have not.”
” You may not have been aware of the meeting.”
” If it had taken place, I am convinced, I should remember.”
I matched my smile with his. He was puzzled and he said:
“It is the Rockwell resemblance, no doubt. You’ll find it again and again in these parts.”
I guessed he was referring to the amorous proclivities of his ancestors, and I thought this indelicate so I turned away.
There was, fortunately, a diversion created by the arrival of Dr.
Smith and his daughter.
The doctor was already a friend. He came over to me and greeted me warmly. I was pleased to give my attention to him, but the girl who accompanied him immediately claimed it, and, I imagine, that of everyone in the room.
Damaris Smith was one of the loveliest creatures I had ever seen. She was of medium height and very dark her hair smooth and silky with that blackness which has a sheen of blue in it, like a bird’s wing. Here eyes were black, long and languorous, her skin olive; and the shape of her face was a perfect oval; her lips were delicately formed yet sensuous; her teeth white; her nose almost aquiline, giving dignity as well as beauty. But it was not merely her face which caught and held the attention. It was her slim, lissome body also ; all her movements were full of grace. She was a joy to look at. Dressed in white, as I was, she wore a gold belt about her tiny waist and in her ears were gold Creole earrings.
There was silence as she entered—the silence which was homage to her beauty.
I asked myself: Why did Gabriel marry me when there was such a goddess on his very doorstep?
The effect she had on everyone was apparent. Her father obviously adored her, for his eyes rarely left her; Luke, I imagined, was less nonchalant than usual; Simon Redvers seemed to watch her almost speculatively. Already I disliked him intensely, seeing in him a type I could never tolerate. He would be a man to scorn sentiment; he would be practical in the extreme; he would be unimaginative, believing everyone else looked at life with the same calculating gaze; there was great virility there. His personality was overpowering so that it dominated the company in its masculine way as Damaris’s beauty did in the feminine. Sir Matthew’s admiration was apparent; but then he admired all women, it seemed ; and during the dinner party he divided his attention between myself and Damaris.
Damaris herself I did not fully understand; she was a quiet person who had a smile for everyone and did not seek in the least to call attention to herself, which was, of course, unnecessary. The first impression she gave was that she was merely an innocent girl; I don’t know what made me feel that that smooth, rather expressionless perfection was a mask.
The dinner was in honour of Gabriel and myself, and our health was drunk. Apart from the family there were the Smiths, Simon Redvers, the vicar and his wife and two other local people, neighbours, I gathered, rather than great friends.
I was asked what I thought of the house and the countryside, and Simon Redvers wanted to know how it compared with that part from which I had come. I answered that when not at school I had lived as close to the moor as they did, so that the change was not very great. I believe a note of asperity came into my voice when I addressed the man, that he noticed it and it amused him.
He, who was sitting next to me at dinner, leaned to me and said: ” You must have your portrait painted so that it can be added to those in the gallery.”
” Is that necessary?”
” Indeed, yes. Have you not seen the gallery? All the masters of Kirkland Revels are painted and hung with their wives beside them.”
” There’s plenty of time for that.”
” You’ll make a good subject.”
” Thank you.”
” Proud … strong … determined.”
” So you read character?”
” When it is there for me to see.”
” I had no idea that I had such a legib
le face.”
He laughed. ” It’s unusual in one so young. Don’t you agree that as one grows older fate … life … whatever you call it … is like a mischievous artist, gradually etching the lines of betrayal?” He gazed along the table; I refused to follow his gaze, but looked down at my plate. I though his manners too candid, and I wanted him to know this.
“I believe you doubt my word,” he insisted.
” I believe what you say to be true, but is it not a little embarrassing even impertinent to test the theory on toe present company?”
” You’ll discover that I’m a blunt Yorkshireman; and they are not noted for their tact.”
” Why speak of the future? I have already made the discovery.”
I saw the smile touch his lips again; I thought it rather a brutal smile. He enjoyed baiting me because I was a worthy opponent. At least I had the satisfaction of knowing that, even if he did consider me a fortune-hunter, he did not find me a simpering one. I came to the conclusion in that moment that he had a grudging admiration for me, partly because he believed I had endeavoured to catch Gabriel, as he would put it, and had achieved my object. There was a ruthlessness in him which would always admire success.
I said impulsively: “You are Gabriel’s cousin, or second cousin, are you not? Yet how unlike him you are! You are absolute opposites.”
He gave me that cool, appraising smile again. I was telling him that I did not like him; and he was retaliating by implying that I would not have caught him as I had caught Gabriel. As if I should have wanted to! As if there had been any ” catching ” in our marriage!
” Talking of faces,” he said, ” you’ve looked at the gallery. What a splendid example of the revelations of physiognomy. You can see old Sir John who went on fighting for his King to the fury of Cromwell. He lost us the Revels for a while, that one. You can see his obstinate idealism in his face. Then there’s Sir Luke, the gambler who nearly gambled away our inheritance. And then there’s that other Luke, and John … the suicides. If you look long enough you can read their histories in their faces. Take that Luke, for instance. You see the weakness of the mouth. You can imagine him, finding life too difficult and standing there on the west balcony, and suddenly … over …”
Kirkland Revels Page 7
