"You mean you invited this young woman without consulting me!"
"You know very well I did."
"This young woman is under the impression that because she was allowed to have a little education and some of it under this roof that entitles her to special treatment. I tell you I will not allow this. She came here as a companion and shall be treated as such."
"Which means," said Sir Ralph, "that you will make her life unbearable. You will be as unpleasant to her as you know how—and my God, that, madam, is a great deal."
"You have foisted this person on me," she said. "I will not endure it."
"She will continue as before."
"I tell you . . . that I will not have you force me to have people . . . like this in my household."
"Madam," said Sir Ralph, "you will do as I say . . ."
He gripped the chair; I saw the blood suffuse his face; he reeled slightly.
I rushed forward and caught his arm. He looked about him and I helped him to a chair. He sat there breathing heavily.
I said: "I think we should call his valet. He is unwell."
I took it upon myself to instruct Jane to do so.
Jane hurried away and shortly came back with Blake, Sir Ralph's personal servant.
Blake knew what to do. He unloosened Sir Ralph's collar and taking a small tablet from a box put it into his employer's mouth. Sir Ralph lay back in the chair, his face, which had been a suffused purple, becoming gradually paler but the veins at his temples standing out like tubes.
"That's better, sir," said Blake. Then he looked at Lady Bodrean. "I'll get him to bed now, my lady."
Sir Ralph rose shakily to his feet and leaned heavily on Blake.
He nodded at me and a shadow of amusement came into his face.
He muttered: "Don't forget what I say. I mean it."
Then Blake led him away.
When the door shut Lady Bodrean turned on me.
"Now," she said, "you can see what you have done."
"Not I," I replied significantly.
"Go back to your room," she said. "I will talk to you later."
I went back. What a night! She would not get rid of me. She dared not. Nor was I sure that she wanted to. If I went she would be deprived of the joy of making my life miserable. I was sure she did not want that.
But I could cope with her and I did not wish to think of her on such a night. I had so many more memories to brood on.
At the end of that month Sir Edward with his expedition, which included Tybalt, left for Egypt.
Evan went back to the university where he had a temporary post as lecturer in archaeology; Hadrian went to Kent to do some work on a Viking burial ship which had been discovered somewhere along the east coast, and I returned to the monotony of serving Lady Bodrean which was only enlivened by her attempts to humiliate me. But the thought that I had friends in Sir Ralph and Theodosia was comforting. There were no more walks to Giza House because Tabitha had accompanied the party but I walked past it several times. It seemed to have reverted to the old days when we had called it the haunted house. The blinds were drawn, the furniture was under dust covers, and there were only three or four servants there. The two Egyptians, Mustapha and Absalam, had gone with Sir Edward.
I longed for the return of the expedition. And Tybalt.
I called more often at Rainbow Cottage since I couldn't go to Giza; there was always a welcome there. Dorcas and Alison were delighted when I gave them an account of the ball and the beautiful green dress which I had found in the cupboard.
I had been surprised at their attitude right from the beginning when they had been so delighted that I was to go to Keverall Court. I was young—and although my nose prevented me from being beautiful I could look quite attractive at times. I had assessed myself often in the last months comparing myself with Theodosia. I had a vitality which she lacked; and my animation was attractive, I was sure. Although my temper was inclined to flare up, any storm was soon over; I had an ability to laugh at life and that meant laughing at myself. I had my very thick dark hair—not easy to handle because it was almost straight; I had large brown eyes with lashes as thick and black as my hair; and fortunately I had a good healthy set of teeth. I was taller than Theodosia and Sabina and inclined to be thin. I lacked Theodosia's pretty plumpness and Sabina's hourglass figure. Moreover I had youth which was supposed to be a never failing attraction for aging roues. Sir Ralph's reputation was far from good. I had heard the blacksmiths talking to some of the farmers about the old days when Sir Ralph was in his prime as a seducer of young maidens. They were immediately silent when I, at that time in the company of Hadrian and Theodosia, had appeared. And yet Dorcas and Alison had been delighted that I was to have a post at Keverall Court.
I reasoned that they believed that Sir Ralph had given up his wild life. He was far too old to pursue it; and, remembering him on that night when he had come to Lady Bodrean's room, I could well believe it. All the same I did think it rather strange that Dorcas and Alison had so willingly allowed me to go into the lecher's lair.
Now they wanted a detailed account of the ball.
"A dress!" they had cried. "What a charming idea."
A further surprise because I had believed that one of the tenets of society was that young ladies did not accept dresses from a gentleman.
This was different. Theodosia had made it so. I had come to the conclusion that Sir Ralph liked me. I amused him in some way, which Theodosia had failed to do.
I was content to have been to the ball and to have enjoyed it. Had I not been presented with the dress I could never have gone.
It was so much easier to accept the cozy outlook I found at Rainbow Cottage rather than to probe the motives of Sir Ralph. For all his faults he was a kindly man. The servants certainly liked him better than they did his wife. As for myself, I felt fully competent to deal with any situation which might arise. I was fortunate in having Rainbow Cottage so close that I could run straight out of Keverall Court to it, if need be.
So I told them all about the ball. Dorcas was very interested in the food, Alison in the flower arrangements; and both of them much more interested in what had happened to me.
I danced the waltz round the tiny sitting room in Rainbow Cottage, knocking over the what-not which resulted in two casualties—the handle of one of Dorcas's little Goss china cups and a finger chipped on her eighteenth-century flower girl.
They were rueful but happy to see me happier; so they made light of the breakages. The cup handle would stick and the finger wouldn't be noticed. And with whom had I danced?
"Tybalt Travers! He's a strange man. Emily's sister who works there says both he and his father give her the creeps."
"Creeps!" I said. "The servants there are creep mad!"
"It's a queer sort of house and a strange profession, I think," said Dorcas. "Fiddling about with things that people handled years and years ago."
"Oh, Dorcas, you're talking like some country bumpkin."
"I know you're very interested in it. And I must say some of the pictures in those books you used to bring here would have given me nightmares. I used to wonder whether we ought to take them away."
"What pictures!"
"Skulls and bones . . . and I think those mummies are horrible things. And Sir Edward . . ."
"Well, what of Sir Edward?"
"I know he's very well known and very highly thought of but they say he's a bit peculiar."
"Just because he's different from themselves . . . just because he doesn't go around seducing all the village maidens like Sir Ralph did ... they think that's odd!"
"Really, Judith, where do you learn such things?"
"From life, Alison dear. Life all around me."
"You get so vehement every time these Traverses are mentioned."