The legend of the seventh virgin

3

I stood at the window of my room and said to myself: "You're here. You live here!"—and in spite of the circumstances I was exultant.

The room was a small one, and close to those occupied by Justin and Judith St. Larnston. There was a bell high on the wall and when it sounded it was my duty to hurry to my mistress. The furnishings were sparse, as for a maid; it had a small bed, a cupboard, a chest of drawers, two chairs, and a dressing table with a swing mirror standing on it. That was all. But there were rugs on the floor and the same thick velours curtains which hung in the richly furnished apartments. From the window I looked across the lawns to the hedge which separated them from the meadow; I could just see the Six Virgins and the disused mine.

My mistress had not yet seen me and I wondered whether she would approve of me. Now that Sir Justin was paralyzed. Lady St. Larnston made most of the decisions in this house and since she had decided that I should be her daughter-in-law's maid, so I was.

Ours had been a chilly reception. Very different from the way we had been greeted when we arrived in our masks. Belter, now employed by the Hemphills, drove us over.

"Gook luck," he said, nodding first to Mellyora and then to me; and his looks implied that we should need it.

Mrs. Rolt received us, a little smugly, I thought, as though she were rather pleased to see us in this position, particularly me.

I'll send one of my maids up to see if her ladyship is ready to receive 'ee," she said. She took us round to one of the back doors, emphasizing by a smirk that we had made the mistake of presenting ourselves at the great stone portico which led into the main hall. We should in future, Mrs. Rolt told us, not be expected to use that door.

Mrs. Rolt took us into the main kitchen, an enormous room with vaulted ceiling and stone floors; it was warm though, on account of an oven which looked—and I am sure was—big enough to roast an ox. Two girls sat at the table cleaning silver.

"Go up to her ladyship and tell her the new companion and maid has arrived. She wanted to see them herself."

One of the girls started for the door.

"Not you, Daisy!" cried Mrs. Rolt hastily. "My dear life! Going to her ladyship like that! Your hair do look like you've been pulled through a hedge backwards. You, Doll."

I noticed that the one addressed as Daisy had a plump, blank face— currant-eyed, with wiry hair that grew low down almost to the thick bushy eyebrows. Doll was smaller, more lithe and in contrast to her companion had an alert expression, which might have been crafty. She went through the kitchen into an adjoining room and I heard the sound of running water. When she emerged she was wearing a clean apron. Mrs. Rolt nodded her head with approval and, when Doll had gone, turned her attention to us.

"Her ladyship has told me that you will eat with us in the servants' hall." This was addressed to me. "Mr. Haggety will tell you your place." Then to Mellyora: "I understand you're to have meals in your own room, Miss."

I felt a rush of color to my cheeks and I knew Mrs. Rolt noticed it and was not displeased, I foresaw battles to come. I had to stop myself blurting out that I would take my meals with Mellyora; I knew this would be forbidden and I should be doubly humiliated.

I stared up at the vaulted ceiling. These kitchen quarters with their ovens and spits had been used from the earliest days and I discovered later that there were butteries, pantries, storerooms, and cooling houses attached.

Mrs. Rolt went on: "We be all sorry. Miss, about your bereavement. Mr. Haggety were saying as things won't be the same like what with the new Reverend at the parsonage and you. Miss, here at the Abbas."

"Thank you," said Mellyora.

"Well, we was saying—Mr. Haggety and me—as how we hoped you'd settle in well. Her ladyship needs a companion since Sir Justin was afflicted."

"I hope so too," answered Mellyora quietly.

"Of course you'll know how things be run in a big house. Miss." She glanced at me and that quirk played about her mouth. She was telling me that there was a world of difference between my position and that of Mellyora. Mellyora was the parson's daughter and a lady born and bred. I could see that she was thinking of me standing on the platform at Trelinket Fair and that was how she would always see me.

Doll came back to announce that her ladyship would see us now, and Mrs. Rolt told us to follow her. We mounted about a dozen stone stairs at the top of which was a green baize door which led to the main part of the house. We went along several corridors before we came to the main hall and ascended the staircase which I remembered from the night of the ball.

"Here be the part where the family do live," said Mrs. Rolt. She nudged me. "Why you be all pop-eyed, m'dear. Reckon you thinking how grand everything be, eh?"

"No," I retorted, "I was thinking how far it must be from the kitchens to the dining room. Doesn't the food get cold in transit?"

"Transit, eh? Who be 'e when he's out? Tain't going to worry 'ee, m'dear. You'll never be eating in they dining rooms." She gave a merry cackle. I caught Mellyora's eye and read a warning and a plea. Don't lose your temper, she was telling me. Give it a trial. It's our only chance of being together.

I thought that I recognized some of the corridors through which I had run in panic on the night of the ball. At last we stopped at a door and Mrs. Rolt knocked.

When she was told to come in, she said in a voice very different from that which she had used for us: "My lady, the new companion and maid is come."

"Bring them in, Mrs. Rolt."

Mrs. Rolt jerked her head and we entered the room. It was large and lofty, with huge windows looking over the lawns; a fire burned in the enormous fireplace; the room seemed to me luxuriously furnished but my attention was focused on the woman who sat upright in a chair near the fire.

"Come here," she said imperiously. Then, "That will do, Mrs. Rolt Wait outside until you are summoned."

As we advanced Mrs. Rolt retired.

"Pray sit down. Miss Martin," commanded Lady St. Larnston. Mellyora sat while I remained standing because I was not invited to sit. "We did not discuss very fully what your duties would be, but that is something which you will, of course, discover as time goes on. I trust you read well. My eyes are not as good as they were and I shall need you to read to me each day. You will begin your duties without delay. Do you write a good hand? I shall need you to deal with my correspondence. These are matters which would ordinarily have been settled before you were engaged, but since we have been neighbors I felt a point could be stretched in your case. A pleasant room has been allotted to you. It is next to my bedroom so that you can be within call should I need you during the night. Has Mrs. Rolt told you where you are to have your meals?"

"Yes, Lady St. Larnston."

"Well, that seems to have taken care of everything. You shall be shown your room and unpack your bag."

She turned to me and lifted the lorgnette which hung from her waist and surveyed me coolly.

"And this is Carlee."

"Kerensa Carlee," I said as proudly as I had that day when I had stood in the wall.

"I have heard something of your history. I have taken you in because Miss Martin pleaded with me to do so. I trust you will not disappoint us. Mrs. Justin St. Larnston is not, I think, at home at the moment. You will be shown your room, and should wait there until she sends for you, which she will doubtless do on her return since she is aware that you are to arrive today. Now, tell Mrs. Rolt to come in."

I opened the door promptly, as Mrs. Rolt was hastily stepping back, having, I guessed, been crouching forwards, ear to the keyhole.

"Mrs. Rolt," ordered Lady St. Larnston, "show Miss Martin and Carlee to their rooms."

"Yes, my lady."

As we left, I was aware that Lady St. Larnston's eyes were on me, and I felt depressed. This was more humiliating than I had imagined it would be. All the spirit seemed to have been drained out of Mellyora. It should not be so with me. I made myself feel defiant and angry.

Soon, I promised myself, I should know my way about this house. Every room and corridor would be familiar to me. I remembered the night I had fled from Johnny and the panic I had suffered then. I was certainly not going to allow Johnny to humiliate me if, for the time being, I had to submit to his mother's insults.

"The family do have all their rooms in this part of the house," explained Mrs. Rolt. "This be her ladyship's and you'm next door. Miss Martin. Farther along the corridor, that be where Mr. Justin and his lady do have theirs." She nodded to me. "You be there too."

And so I was taken to my room—a maid's room—but not an ordinary maid, I reminded myself. A lady's maid. I was not like Doll or Daisy. I had special gifts and very soon I was going to make the kitchen staff aware of this.

In the meantime I must go slowly. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I did not look like myself at all. I was wearing a black cloak and black bonnet. Black didn't suit me in any case, but the mourning bonnet hid my hair and was quite hideous.

Then I went to the window and looked out on the lawns and the Six Virgins.

That was when I said to myself, "You're here. You live here." And I couldn't help but feel this triumph because it was where I wanted to be. My melancholy left me. I was exultant and excited. I was in the house as a servant, but that in itself was a challenge.

As I stood at the window, the door opened, and I knew at once who she was. She was tall and dark—though not as dark as I—she was graceful and dressed in a pearl-gray riding habit and her skin glowed, presumably with her recent exercise. She was beautiful and she did not look unkind. I knew her for my employer, Judith St. Larnston.

"You're Carlee," she said. "I was told you had arrived. Fm glad you're here. My wardrobe is in a muddle. You'll be able to put it in order."

That staccato way of speaking immediately called to mind those panic-stricken moments in the cupboard.

"Yes ... Madam."

I had my back to the window so that I was in shadow; the light was full on her face; I noticed the restless topaz-colored eyes; the rather flaring nostrils, the full sensuous lips.

"Have you unpacked your bag?"

"No." I wasn't going to call her Madam any more than was absolutely necessary. I was already congratulating myself because I believed my employer was going to be more lenient and more considerate than Mellyora's.

"Well, when you have done so, come to my room. Do you know where it is? No, of course not. How could you? Til show you."

I followed her out of my room and a few steps along the corridor.

"This door leads to my bedroom and the dressing room. Knock when you're ready."

I nodded, and went back to my room. I felt better in her company than I had in Mrs. Rolt's. I took off the hideous bonnet and felt better still. I tidied my hair which was dressed on top of my head, and the sight of those black gleaming coils reassured me. Beneath the black cloak I wore a black dress—one of Mellyora's. I longed to put a touch of scarlet or emerald green at the neck, but I dared not, for I was supposed to be in mourning. However, I should wear a white collar as soon as possible, I promised myself.

I went along to the room as instructed, knocked discreetly and was bidden to enter. She was sitting at her mirror looking idly at her reflection, and she did not turn round. I noticed the big bed with the brocade hangings, the long tapestry-covered stool at its foot; the rich carpet and curtains, the dressing table at which she sat, with its wood carving and the huge candelabra on either side of the mirror held up by gilded cupids. And of course the cupboard which I remembered so well.

She had seen my reflection in the mirror and she turned to stare at me, her gaze resting on my hair. I knew that taking off my bonnet had transformed me and that because of it she was not so pleased with me as she had been before.

"How old are you, Carlee?"

"Nearly seventeen."

"You are very young. Do you think you can do this work?"

"Oh yes. I know how to dress hair and enjoy caring for clothes."

"I had no idea ..." She bit her Hp. "I thought you were older." She came over to me, still looking at me. "I'd like you to go through my wardrobe. Make it tidy. I caught my heel in the lace of an evening gown. Can you mend lace?"

"Oh yes," I assured her, although I had never done so.

"It is very delicate work."

"I can do it."

"I shall need you to lay out my things every evening at seven. You will bring up the water for my bath. You will help me dress."

"Yes," I said. "Which dress do you wish to wear tonight?"

She had challenged me and I was going to prove my efficiency.

"Oh ... the gray satin."

"Very well."

I turned to the wardrobe. She sat down by the mirror and began playing nervously with the combs and brushes while I went to the wardrobe and took out the clothes. I marveled at the dresses. I had never seen anything so magnificent. I couldn't resist stroking the velvets and satins. I found the gray satin, examined it, and was laying it out on the bed when the door opened and Justin St. Larnston came in.

"My darling!" It was like a whisper, but I heard the undertone of restless passion. She had risen and gone to him; in spite of my presence she would have embraced him had he given her some encouragement. "I wondered what had happened to you. I had expected you ..."

"Judith!" His voice was cold, like a warning.

She laughed and said, "Oh, this is Carlee, the new maid."

We looked at each other. He hadn't really changed much from that very young man who had been present when they caught me in the wall. There was no recognition in his glance. He had forgotten that incident as soon as it was over, and the child from the cottages had made no impression on him.

He said: "Well, now you will have what you've been wanting."

"I don't want anything in the world but ..."

He was almost willing her to silence. He said to me: "You can go now. Carlee, is it? Mrs. St. Larnston will ring when she needs you."

I bowed my head slightly and as I walked across the room I could feel her watching me and watching him at the same time. I knew what she was thinking because of what I had overheard when I was hidden in the cupboard in this very room. She was a violently jealous woman; she adored her husband; she could not bear him to look at another woman—even her own maid.

I touched the coils of hair on the top of my head; I hoped that the complacency I felt did not show. I was thinking as I went back to my room that money, position didn't necessarily make people happy. It was a good thing to remember when one was as proud as I was and found oneself suddenly in a humiliating position.

Those first days in the Abbas will stand out clearly forever in my mind. The house itself fascinated me even more than the people who lived in it. There was about it a brooding atmosphere of timelessness. It was so easy— when one was alone—to believe oneself to be in another age. Ever since I had heard the story of the Virgins my imagination had been captured; often I had pictured myself exploring the Abbas and this was one of those rare occasions when reality surpassed the imagination.

These lofty rooms with their carved and decorated ceilings—some painted, some inscribed in Latin or Cornish, were a delight to me. I loved to finger the rich stuff of curtains, to take off my shoes and feel the pile of carpet I liked to sit on chairs and settees and imagine myself giving orders; and I sometimes talked to myself as though I were the mistress of the house. It became a game I enjoyed and I never lost an opportunity of playing it But although I admired so much the luxuriously appointed apartments which were used by the family, I was drawn again and again to that wing of the house which was hardly ever used and which had obviously been part of the old convent. This was where Johnny had taken me on the night of the ball. There was about it an odor which both repelled and fascinated; a dank dark smell; a smell of the past. The staircases which seemed to appear suddenly and wind up for a few stairs and then stop at a door or a corridor; the stone which had been worn down by millions of steps; those strange little alcoves, with slitlike windows, which had been the nuns' cells; and underground were the dungeons, for the place had had its prison. I discovered the chapel—dark and chill—with its ancient triptych, its wooden pews, stone-flagged floor, its altar on which stood candles as though in readiness for the inhabitants of the house to come and worship. But I knew it was never used now because the St. Larnstons worshiped at St. Larnston Church.

In this part of the house the seven virgins had lived; their feet had trod the same stone corridors; their hands had clasped the rope as they climbed the steep stairs.

I began to love the house; and since to love was to be happy, I was not unhappy, in spite of petty humiliations, during those days. I had asserted myself in the servants' hall, and had rather enjoyed the battle which had had to be waged there, particularly as I assured myself I had been the victor. I was not beautiful with the finely chiseled features of Judith Der-rise or with the delicate porcelain charm of Mellyora, but with my gleaming black hair, my big eyes which were very good at expressing scorn, and my pride, I was more startlingly attractive. I was tall and slender almost to thinness and possessed an indefinable foreign quality which, I was beginning to realize, could be used to my advantage.

Haggety was aware of it. He had put me at the table next to himself, a fact which I knew displeased Mrs. Rolt because I had heard her protesting. "Oh come now, m'dear," he replied, "she's after all the lady's maid, you should know. A sight different from they maids of yours."

"And where be she come from, I'd like to know."

"That can't be helped. Tis what she be that we have to take account on."

What she be! I thought, smoothing my hands over my hips. Each day, each hour I was becoming more and more reconciled to my life. Humiliations, yes, but life in the Abbas would always be more exciting than anywhere else. And I lived here.

Seated at table in the servants' hall gave me an opportunity to study the members of the household who lived belowstairs. Mr. Haggety at the head of the table—little piggy eyes, lips inclined to slackness at the sight of a succulent dish or female, ruling the roost—the king of the kitchen, the Abbas butler. Next in importance Mrs. Rolt, the housekeeper, self-styled widow but very likely using Mrs. as a courtesy title, hoping that one day Mr. Haggety would put the question and the Mrs. be hers by right when she had changed her name from Rolt to Haggety. Mean, sly, determined to keep her position—head of staff under Mr. Haggety. Then Mrs. Salt the cook, plump as became a cook, devoted to food and gossip; her disposition was a mournful one; she had suffered in her married life and had left her husband whom she talked of whenever possible as "him"; she had left him when she came to the Abbas from the very tip of Cornwall, west of St. Ives; and she expressed great fear that one day he would catch up with her. There was Jane Salt her daughter; a woman of about thirty who was a parlormaid, quiet, self-possessed, devoted to her mother. Then Doll, daughter of a miner, twenty or so, with crimped fair hair and a taste for electric blue which she wore when she had an hour or so off to go courting as she said. Simple-minded Daisy who worked with her in the kitchens, followed her round, imitated her and longed to be courting, and their conversation seemed to be confined to this subject. These servants all lived in the house, but there were also the outside servants who came in for meals. Polore and Mrs. Polore, and their son Willy. Polore and Willy were attached to the stables while Mrs. Polore did housework in the Abbas. There were two mews cottages and the other was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Trelance and their daughter Florrie. The opinion seemed to be that Florrie and Willy should marry; everyone but the couple concerned thought it an excellent idea; only Willy and Florrie held back. But as Mrs. Rolt said: "They'll come to it in time."

So it was a large party who sat round the great refectory table for meals, after the family had eaten. Mrs. Rolt and Mrs. Salt together saw that we lacked for nothing; and, if anything, we ate better than those who sat down in the stately dining room.

I began to enjoy the conversation which was very revealing, for there was little that remained unknown to these people, whether it concerned the house or village affairs.

Doll could always enliven the table with stories of her family's adventures in the mines. Mrs. Rolt declared that some of her talk fair gave her the creeps, and she would shiver and take the opportunity to move closer to Mr. Haggety for protection. Mr. Haggety was not very responsive; he was usually busy prodding my foot under the table, which he seemed to think was a way of letting me know he approved of me.

Mrs. Salt would tell hair-raising stories of her life with "him." And the Polores and Trelances would tell us how the new vicar was settling in and that Mrs. Hemphill was a real Nosy Parker and no mistake—prying here and prying there. She had a nose in the kitchen afore you had time to dust a chair for her to sit on. It was that very first night round the servants' table that I learned that Johnny was at his University and wouldn't be at the Abbas for some weeks. I was pleased. His absence would give me a chance to establish my position in the house.

I had fitted in to the rhythm of the days. My mistress was by no means unkind, indeed she was generous; during those first days she gave me a green dress of which she had tired; my duties were not arduous. I took pleasure in dressing her hair which was of a much finer texture than mine; I was interested in her clothes. I had long periods of freedom, and then I would go to the library, take a book and spend hours in my room reading while I waited for her bell to ring.

Mellyora's life was not so easy. Lady St. Larnston had determined to make the fullest use of her services. She must read to her for several hours a day; she must make tea for her often during the night; she must massage her head when she had a headache—which was frequent; she must deal with Lady St. Larnston's correspondence, take messages for her, accompany her when she went visiting in her carriage; in fact she was rarely free. Before the first week was out Lady St. Larnston decided that Mellyora, who had nursed her father, might be useful with Sir Justin. So that when Mellyora was not in attendance on Lady St. Larnston she was in the sickroom.

Poor Mellyora! In spite of meals in her room and being treated as though she were almost a lady, her lot was much harder than mine.

It was I who visited her in her room. As soon as my mistress went out-she had a habit of going for long rides, often alone—I would go to Mellyora s room in the hope of finding her there. We rarely had long together before the bell would ring and she had to leave me. Then I would read until she returned.

"Mellyora," I said to her one day, "how can you endure this?"

"How can you?" she reiterated.

"It's different for me, I haven't been used to much. Besides, I don't have to work as hard as you do."

"It has to be," she answered philosophically.

I looked at her; yes, it was satisfaction that I saw in her face. I marveled that she, the daughter of the parson, who had had her own way, who had been pampered and adored, should slip so easily into this life of servitude. Mellyora is a saint, I thought.

I liked to lie on her bed watching her, while she sat in a chair, ready to jump up at the first tinkle of the bell.

"Mellyora," I said, one early evening, "what do you think of this place?"

"Of the Abbas? Well, it's the most marvelous old house!"

"You can't help being excited about it?" I insisted.

"No. Nor can you, can you?"

"What do you think about when that old woman bullies you?"

"I try to make my mind a blank and not care."

"I don't think I could hide my feelings as you do. I'm lucky. Judith is not so bad."

"Judith ..." said Mellyora slowly.

"All right: Mrs. Justin St. Larnston. She's a strange woman. She always seems overexcited as though life is terribly tragic ... as though she's afraid... . There! I'm talking in that breathless way—as she does."

"Justin's not happy with her," said Mellyora slowly.

"I reckon he's as happy as he could be with anyone."

"What do you know about it?"

"I know that he's as cold as ...a fish and she's as hot as a fiery furnace."

"You talk nonsense, Kerensa."

"Do I? I see more of them than you do. Don't forget my room is next to theirs."

"Do they quarrel?"

"He wouldn't quarrel. He's too cold. He doesn't care about anything and she cares ... too much. I don't dislike her. After all, if he doesn't care about her why did he marry her?"

"Stop it. You don't know what you're saying. You don't understand."

"I know of course he's the bright and shining knight. You always felt like that about him."

"Justin's a good man. You don't understand him. I've known Justin all my life . . "

The door of Mellyora's room was suddenly thrown open and Judith stood on the threshold, her eyes wild, her nostrils flaring. She looked at me lying on the bed and at Mellyora who had started up from her chair.

"Oh ..." she said. "I didn't expect ..."

I rose from the bed and said: "Did you want me, Madam?"

The passion had died out of her face and I saw an immense relief there.

"Were you looking for me?" I went on helpfully.

Now there was a flash of gratitude. "Oh yes, Carlee. I... I er thought you'd be here."

I went to the door. She hesitated. "I...I shall want you to come a little earlier this evening. Five or ten minutes before seven."

"Yes, Madam," I said.

She inclined her head and went out.

Mellyora looked at me in astonishment. "What did that mean?" she whispered.

"I think I know," I answered. "She was surprised, wasn't she? Do you know why? It was because she found me here when she was expecting to find ..."

"Who?"

"Justin."

"She must be mad."

"Well, she's a Derrise. Remember that day when we were on the moors and you told me their story?"

"Yes, I remember."

"You said there was madness in the family. Well, Judith is mad ... mad about her husband. She thought he was here with you. That was why she burst in like that. Didn't you see how pleased she was to find that I was the one you were talking to, not him."

"It's madness."

"Of a sort."

"You mean to say she's jealous of me and of Justin!"

"She's jealous of every attractive woman who comes within his vision."

I looked at Mellyora. She couldn't hide the truth from me. She was in love with Justin St. Larnston; she always had been.

I felt very uneasy.

There were no longer baskets of food to be taken for Granny. I could well imagine Mrs. Rolt or Mrs. Salt raising shocked voices if I had suggested doing so. But I still found time to visit her now and then; and it was on one of these occasions that she asked me if, on my way back to the Abbas, I would deliver some herbs to Hetty Pengaster. Hetty was waiting for them and Hetty, I knew, was one of Granny's best customers, so I agreed to go.

That was how I found myself one hot afternoon, making my way from Granny's cottage towards Larnston Barton, the Pengaster farm.

I saw Tom Pengaster at work in the fields and I wondered if it were true that he was courting Doll, as she had hinted to Daisy. It would be a good match for Doll. The Barton was a prosperous farm and Tom—not his piskey-mazed brother Reuben who did odd jobs—would inherit it one day.

I passed under the tall trees in which the rooks nested. Every May the shooting of rooks at Larnston Barton was quite a ceremony; and the rook pies, which were made by Mrs. Pengallon who was cook at the Barton, were considered a delicacy. A pie was always sent up to the Abbas and graciously accepted. Mrs. Salt had mentioned it recently—how she had served it with clotted cream and how Mrs. Rolt had eaten too much and suffered accordingly.

I reached the stables—there was stabling for about eight horses and two loose-boxes—and went on to the outbuildings. I could see the pigeon loft and hear the cooing of the birds with their monotonous phrase which we said sounded like "Take two cows, Taffy."

As I was passing the mounting block, I saw Reuben Pengaster coming round by the pigeon loft holding a bird in his hands. Reuben walked in a queer, loping way. There must always have been something strange about Reuben. In Cornwall they say that in a litter there is often a "winnnick," which means one not quite up to the standard of the others; and Reuben was the Pengaster winnick. I have always felt repulsed by the subnormal and although it was broad daylight with the sun shining brightly, I could not suppress a slight shiver as Reuben came towards me with that peculiar gait of his. His face was unlined like a very young person's; his eyes were porcelain blue and his hair was flaxen; it was the set of his jaw and the way in which his slack lips parted that betrayed him as piskey-mazed.

"Hello there," he called. "Where be to then?"

As he spoke he caressed the bird's head and I could see that he was far more aware of it than he was of me.

"I've brought some herbs for Hetty," I told him.

"Herbs for Hetty!" He laughed. He had high-pitched innocent laughter. "What 'er be wanting they for? To make her pretty?" His expression became bellicose. "Reckon our Hetty be pretty enough without." For a second his jaw was thrust forwards as though he were ready to attack me for suggesting she wasn't.

"It's for Hetty to say if she wants the herbs," I retorted sharply.

That innocent laughter rang out again. "Ay reckon so," he said. "Though Saul Cundy do think she be a rare fine 'un."

"I dare say."

"You might say she be spoke for," he went on almost shyly; and there was no mistaking his love for, and pride in, his sister.

"I hope they'll be happy."

"They'll be happy. Saul's a big fine man. Cap'en Saul ... they miners have to mind their manners, eh ... with Saul. If Saul do say go, they do go; and if Saul do say come, they do come. Mr. Fedder ain't no more important, I do reckon, than Cap'en Saul Cundy."

I was ready to let that point pass for I was anxious to deliver the herbs and be gone.

"Where is Hetty now?" I asked.

"Reckon her'll be in the kitchen with old Mother Pengallon."

I hesitated, wondering whether to give him the packet and ask him to take it to Hetty, but I decided against that.

"I'll go and find her," I said.

"I'll take 'ee to her," he promised and walked beside me. "Coop-coop, coooop, coop-coop," he murmured to the pigeon, and I was momentarily reminded of Joe, lying on the talfat mending a pigeon's leg. I noticed how big his hands were, and how gently they held the bird.

He led me to the back of the farmhouse and directed my gaze to the ridge tile which served as a decoration. There was a ladder propped up against the wall; he was doing a job on the farmhouse.

"Some of they tiles loose," he said confirming this. "Twould never do. What if the Little People came a-footing it at midnight."

Again that high-pitched laughter which was beginning to irritate me. So much so that I wished Reuben would go.

I knew he was referring to what we called the piskey-pow—that ridge tile on which the piskeys were supposed to come and dance after midnight. If it was in a bad state of repair it was said this angered them and the piskeys' anger could bring bad luck on a house. It was natural, I suppose, that one who was said to be piskey-mazed should believe these legends.

"Tis all right now," said Reuben. "I see to that. Then I thought I'd take a look at my little birds."

He led me through a stone-floored washhouse into a flagged passage, where he threw open a door to show me an enormous kitchen with two large windows, an open fireplace as well as the cloam oven, red tiles, and huge refectory table; on the oak beams hung a ham, sides of bacon and bundles of herbs.

Seated at this table, peeling potatoes, was Mrs. Pengallon, who had been cook-housekeeper at the farm since the death of Mrs. Pengaster, a large comfortable-looking woman who at the moment seemed unusually melancholy. Hetty was in the kitchen, ironing a blouse.

"Well," said Hetty as we entered, 'l^less me if it ain't Kerensa Carlee. My dear life, we be honored. Come in. That's if you hain't too grand for the likes of we."

"Get along with 'ee," put in Mrs. Pengallon. "Tis only Kerensa Carlee. Come in, m'dear, and tell me if you've seen my Tabs about."

"You've lost your cat then, Mrs. Pengallon?" I asked, ignoring Hetty.

"These last two days, m'dear. Tis so unlike him. Out all day he's been before now, but always home come suppertime ... always purring for his saucer of milk."

"I'm sorry. I haven't seen him."

"I'm worrit like, wondering what can have become of him. I can't but think he be caught in some trap like. Tis a terrible thing to have happened, m'dear, and I can't get it out of my mind. I've been wondering whether to come along to see your Granny. Maybe she could tell me something. She have done wonders like for Mrs. Toms. Her breathing be that much better and all her did was as your Granny said—took the webs of spiders, rolled 'em into a ball and swallowed 'em. Magic, I do reckon it to be and your Granny's a wonderful woman."

"Yes," I agreed, "she's a wonderful woman."

"And you tell her when you next see her that I've had no more trouble with that stye on my eye since I rubbed Tabs' tail on it as she did say. Oh, my poor little Tabs! Where he be to, I can't think; and it's no rest for me till he be found."

"Perhaps he's being fed somewhere else, Mrs. Pengallon," I suggested.

"I don't think so, m'dear. He knows his own home. He'd never stay away so long. Regular home lover, that's my Tabs. Oh my dear life, if he'd only come back to me!"

"I'll keep my eyes open," I told her.

"And ask your Granny if she can help me."

"Well, Mrs. Pengallon, I'm not going back there just now."

"Oh no," put in Hetty maliciously. "You be working up at the Abbas now, along of Doll and Daisy. Doll's pretty near courting our Tom, so she tells us all about it. My dear life, I wouldn't care to work for that family."

"I don't think it likely that you'll have the opportunity," I retorted.

Reuben, who had been standing watching us closely as we talked, joined in Hetty's laughter.

I said coldly: "I came to bring your herbs."

Hetty seized on them and thrust them into the pocket of her gown, and I turned to go.

"And don't 'ee forget to ask your Granny," said Mrs. Pengallon. "I don't rest o' nights wondering what have happened to my Tabs."

It was then that I intercepted the look between Hetty and Reuben. I was startled because it seemed to me ... evil. They were sharing some secret, and I fancied that while it was amusing to them it would not be so to others.

I had a great desire then to get out of the Pengaster kitchen.

I was too immersed in my own affairs to notice what was happening to Mellyora. I would often hear raised voices in the rooms near my own and I guessed that Judith was upbraiding her husband for some supposed negligence; these scenes were becoming a little monotonous and although I did not dislike my mistress, my sympathy—if my feeling went deep enough to be given such a description—was for Justin, even though he scarcely ever addressed me, and the only time he seemed conscious of my presence was when Judith embarrassed him by her excessive shows of affection. I did not believe he cared greatly for his wife and I could well imagine how tiresome it must be to have someone continually demanding affection.

Still, it was a state of affairs which I accepted and did not notice the rising tension, nor the effect it was having on the three people concerned: Justin, Judith and ... Mellyora. Being so self-centered, I forgot temporarily that Mellyora's life could take as dramatic a turn as my own.

Two things happened which seemed of great importance.

The first was my casual discovery of what had happened to Mrs. Pen-gallon's cat. It was Doll who betrayed the information. She asked me if Granny would make some complexion herbs for her like those she had given Hetty Pengaster. I said that I knew what they were and next time I went to see Granny I would bring some for her, and happened to mention that when I delivered Hetty's, Mrs. Pengallon was worried about her cat.

Doll started to giggle. "Er won't never see that cat again," she said.

"I expect he's found a new home."

"Yes, underground!"

I looked at Doll questioningly and she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, twas Reuben killed him. I was there when he done it. Proper wild he were. The old cat got one of his pigeons ... and he got the old cat. Killed it he did with his bare hands."

"And now he daren't tell Mrs. Pengallon!"

"Reuben says it serves her right. She knew the old cat was after his pigeons. You know the pigeon loft and house? There be a little square garden behind it, and he buried the pigeon there ... and the cat too.

One the martyr, he did say. One the murderer. He were real mazed that day, I do declare."

I changed the subject but I did not forget; and that day I went to see Granny, and told her about the cat and what I had discovered. "He's buried at the back of the pigeon house," I told her. "So if Mrs. Pengallon asks you, you'll know."

Granny was pleased. She talked to me then of her reputation as a wise woman, and explained the importance of noticing everything that happened. No little detail in life should be ignored; because one never knew when it would be needed.

I did not take Doll's herbs with me on that occasion because I did not want her to think I had seen Granny; and the very next day Mrs. Pen-gallon called on Granny, begging her to use her magic and find the cat.

Granny was able to direct her to the little garden behind Reuben's pigeon house and when Mrs. Pengallon saw the recently disturbed ground and found the body of her beloved cat, she was filled with rage against his killer and grief for the loss of her pet. But when these emotions subsided a little, she was overwhelmed by admiration for Granny's skill; and for a few days the main topic in the cottages was the power of Granny Bee.

Gifts began to arrive on her doorstep and there was a real feast in the cottage. I went to see her and we laughed together over what had happened. I believed I had the wisest Granny in the world and I was determined to be like her.

I took back Doll's herbs and so great was her belief in them that they were completely effective and the spots on her back, for which she needed them, completely disappeared.

Granny was possessed of supernatural powers. Granny was aware of events which she could not possibly have witnessed; she could cure ailments. She was a person to be reckoned with; and as everyone knew how she doted on me, I must be treated with especial care.

And the fact that we ourselves had brought about this state, by turning a little good fortune to advantage, was doubly gratifying.

My dream of achieving all that I had set out to do was back with me. I believed that I could not fail.

We were seated at the table having supper. It had been an exhausting day. Judith had been riding with Justin and they had set off in the early morning, she looking charming in her pearl-gray habit with the little touch of emerald green at the throat. When she was happy she looked very beautiful and she was contented on that day because Justin was with her. But I knew that she could not be contented for long; always she was watchful and some small gesture, some inflection of Justin's voice could set her wondering if he were growing tired of her. Then the trouble would start; she would ask interminable questions; she would demand passionately whether he loved her still, how much he loved her. I had heard her raised voice and his low one. The more intense she grew, the more remote he was. I did not think he handled her as well as he might; I believed he was aware of this, for sometimes I saw the relief in his face when she left a room.

But that morning they had set off in good spirits, and I was delighted because this meant that I would have some time to myself. I would go and see Granny; it was useless to hope for a little time with Mellyora, because Lady St. Larnston saw that she was kept busy all the day through. Poor Mellyora! My lot was easier than hers; yet at times I thought she looked supremely happy—at others I was not sure. But one thing I did know; she was growing more beautiful since we had come to the Abbas.

I spent the morning with Granny and in the early afternoon Judith came back alone. She was distraught, so much so that she confided in me— I suppose because she felt the need to talk to someone.

She and Justin had ridden over to her family for luncheon. Afterguards they had left together and, and... . She paused and I guessed that they had quarreled. I pictured them having luncheon in the gloomy house; perhaps her mother was there, a little vague—and they would be wondering all the rime what she would do next. That house was full of shadows and the legend of the monster would be hanging over it. I imagined Justin wishing he had never married her, perhaps wondering why he ever had. I pictured him making some remark which upset her—then the passionate demands for him to show his affection, and the quarrels.

They would have left Derrise together and he angrily would whip up his horse and ride away from her—anything to escape; and she would weep. I could see she had been weeping. Too late she would try to follow him, would realize that she had lost him, and then begin to wonder where he was.

She had come back to the Abbas to find him and when he was not there she was overcome by jealous anxiety.

I was mending one of her gowns when she burst in on me.

"Kerensa," she said, for she had guessed that I objected to being called by my surname and this was one of the charms about her that she had a wish to please everybody, providing doing so made no great demands upon her. "Where is the companion?"

"Miss Martin?" I stammered.

"Of course. Of course. Where is she? Find her ... at once."

"You wish to speak to her?"

"Speak to her. No. I wish to know if she is here." I understood. I wondered fleetingly if Justin might be with Mellyora. What a calm and pleasant companion Mellyora would seem after this demanding, passionate woman. In that moment it did occur to me that a dangerous situation was arising-not for me, except that whatever touched Mellyora must touch me too, for our lives had become intermingled. I might have brooded on this-but for what was soon to follow and which affected me more personally.

I said quietly that I would see if I could find Mellyora. I took my mistress back to her room and made her lie down on her bed and left her. It did not take me long to find Mellyora; she was in the garden with Lady St. Larnston who was picking roses. Mellyora walked beside her carrying the basket and the clippers. I could hear Lady St. Larnston s imperious orders and Mellyora's meek responses.

So I was able to go back to my mistress and tell her that Mellyora was in the garden with her employer.

Judith relaxed but she was exhausted. I was rather alarmed because I thought she was going to be ill. Her head ached, she told me, and I massaged her forehead and rubbed in eau de Cologne. I drew the curtains and left her to sleep but she did not rest for more than ten minutes before she needed me again.

I had to brush her long hair which, she said, soothed her, and every time we heard a movement below she would rush to the window hoping, I knew, that it was Justin returned.

This was a situation which could not go on. Something must happen sooner or later to change it. It was like the gathering of a storm; and it was natural that storms should break. I was beginning to be a little uneasy about Mellyora.

And that was how I was feeling when I went down to the hall to take supper with my fellow servants. I was tired because Judith's emotions had in some measure been communicated to me and Mellyora was a great deal in my thoughts.

I knew as soon as I sat down that Mrs. Rolt had some news which she was longing to tell us; but it was typical of her that she held back the titbit for as long as possible. When she was eating she would always leave the best pieces on her plate until the end and it amused me to watch her eying them with anticipation while she ate. That was how she looked now.

Mrs. Salt was talking in her low monotonous voice about her husband, and her daughter Jane was the only one who was really paying attention. Doll kept patting her hair in which she had tied a new blue ribbon and she was whispering to Daisy that Tom Pengaster had given it to her. Haggety sat down next to me, bringing his chair a fraction closer. He breathed onto my face and said: "Bit of trouble in high places today, eh, m'dear?"

"Trouble?" I asked.

"Him and her, of course."

Mrs. Rolt was watching us, her lips pursed, her eyes disapproving. She was telling herself that I was leading poor Mr. Haggety on; such a belief suited her better than the true one and she was a woman who would always delude herself into believing what she wanted to. And while she watched us she was smiling slyly, thinking of that titbit of news with which she was planning to startle us.

I did not answer Mr. Haggety because I disliked discussing Judith and Justin in the kitchen quarters.

"Ha," went on Haggety. "She comes in, in a rare paddy. I saw her."

"Well," put in Mrs. Rolt portentously, "it do go to show that money hain't everything."

Haggety sighed piously. "We m a lot to be thankful, Fm thinking."

"Trouble comes to all sorts," went on Mrs. Rolt, giving me a clue to the news she was withholding, "be they gentry or the likes of we."

"You never spoke a truer word, me dear," sighed Haggety.

Mrs. Salt started to cut the great pasty which she had made that morning and Mrs. Rolt signed to Daisy to fill the mugs with ale.

"I reckon there's trouble coming," said Mrs. Salt. "And if anyone knows trouble when they see it coming, that's me. Why I remember... ."

But Mrs. Rolt wasn't going to let the cook ramble back to her reminiscences. "It's what you might call a one-sided relationship, and them sort ain't good for nobody, if you were to ask me."

Haggety nodded in agreement and turned his rather bulging eyes on Mrs. Rolt while his foot touched mine under the table.

"Mind you," went on Mrs. Rolt, whose pleasure it was always to feign great knowledge of relationships between the sexes, "one thing, I'd say. Mr. Justin bain't the man to get himself into that sort of trouble."

"With another woman, you mean, me dear?" asked Haggety.

"That is exactly what I did mean, Mr. Haggety. That's the trouble if you ask me. One blowing hot and one blowing cold. Twould seem he don't want one woman, let be two."

"They're a wild family," put in Mr. Trelance. "I had a brother who worked over at Derrise."

"We do all know that story," Mrs. Rolt silenced him.

"And they say," put in Doll excitedly, "that last time when the moon was full ..."

"That'll do, Doll," said Mrs. Rolt who would not allow the lower servants to discuss the family, it being a privilege of the higher ones to do that.

"I remember once," said Mrs. Trelance dreamily, "seeing that Miss Martin over here ... that were when her father were alive. A real pretty creature. She were on her horse and Mr. Justin were helping her off it... and I said to Trelance here, I said. There's a pretty picture for you"; and Trelance he said that if parson s daughter were the mistress of Abbas one day we couldn't have a prettier nor a sweeter."

Mrs. Rolt turned an angry glance on Mrs. Trelance. "Well, her be the companion now and who ever heard of companions being the mistress."

"Well, she couldn't now ... him being married," said Mrs. Salt. "Though men being men... ." She shook her head and there was a silence round the table.

Mrs. Rolt said sharply, "Mr. Justin hain't men, Mrs. Salt And it ain't no good you're thinking all men is like that man of yours because I can tell you different." She smiled secretly and then went on in a voice portentous with promise. "And talk about trouble ..."

We were all silent waiting for her to go on. She had come to the titbit; she had all our attention, and she was ready.

"Her ladyship sent for me this afternoon. She wanted me to see that a certain person's room be made ready. She weren't very pleased, I can tell 'ee. There have been terrible trouble. As soon as Mr. Justin come in, she sends for him. I was to watch out, she said, and the minute he come in he was to go to her. So I watched and I saw him come in. She was down there ... Mrs. Justin ... all tears and clinging to him. 'Oh, darling ... darling ... where have you been ...?"

There was a titter round the table but Mrs. Rolt was eager now to get on.

"I stopped all that. "Her ladyship wants you to go to her at once, Mr. Justin,' I said. "Her ladyship's orders that there shouldn't be any delay.' So he looks pleased like ... anything to get away from her with her darling ... darling ... and he goes straight up to her ladyship. Now I knew what had happened because she'd told me, though she didn't tell me why, but as I was polishing in the corridor outside her ladyship's room I happened to hear her say: It's on account of some woman. This is such a disgrace. I thank God his poor father can't understand. If he could, it would kill him.' I says to myself trouble comes, be we gentry or the likes of we and it be true."

She paused and lifting her mug of ale to her lips drank, smacked her lips and regarded us triumphantly. "Mr. Johnny be coming home. They've sent him home. They don't want him there no more since he have disgraced himself over this woman."

I stared down at my plate; I did not want any of them to notice the effect those words had had on me.

Johnny's presence in the house changed it for me. I was aware that he was determined to be my lover and the fact that he now found me installed as a servant in the house amused and delighted him.

The very first day he returned he sought me out. I was sitting in my room reading when he walked in. I stood up angrily because he had not asked permission to enter.

"Well met, fair maid," he said, bowing ironically.

"Will you please knock if you want me?"

"Is it the custom?"

"It is what I expect."

"You will always expect more than you receive, Miss ... Carlyon."

"My name is Kerensa Carlee."

"I shall never forget it, although you did adopt Carlyon on one occasion. You've grown beautiful, my dear."

"What did you want of me?"

His smile was mocking. "Everything," he retorted. "Just everything."

"I am maid to your sister-in-law."

"I know all about that. That's why I came down from Oxford. The news reached me, you see."

"I have an idea that it was for a very different reason that you came back."

"Of course you have! Servants listen at doors. And I'll swear there was some consternation when the news was brought."

"I do not listen at doors. But knowing you and knowing why young men are usually sent down ..."

"So knowledgeable you have become. I remember a time... . But why hark back? The future promises to be so much more interesting, I'm looking forward to our future, Kerensa."

"I cannot see how yours and mine can have anything in common."

"Can you not. Then you do need educating."

"I am satisfied with my education."

"Never be satisfied, Kerensa, my dear one. It's unwise. Let us begin that education of yours without delay. Like this... ."

He was about to seize me but I held him off angrily. He shrugged his shoulders.

"There must be a wooing? Oh, Kerensa, such a waste of time! Don't you think we have wasted too much already?"

I said angrily: "I work here ... unfortunately. But that does not mean I am your servant. Understand this ... please."

"Why, Kerensa, don't you know that all I want is to please you."

"Then that is easy. If you will keep out of my way I shall willingly keep out of yours—and that will give me great pleasure."

"What words! What airs and graces! I shouldn't have thought it of you, Kerensa. So I am not to have even a kiss? Well, I shall be here now ... and so shall you. Under the same roof. Is that not a delightful thought?"

He left me then but there was an ominous look in his eyes. There was no lock on my door, and I was alarmed.

The following evening Justin, Johnny and Lady St. Larnston retired to her ladyship's sitting room after dinner and there was a great deal of serious conversation. Haggety, who had served vine there, told us in the kitchen that Mr. Johnny was being put through his paces and they were seriously discussing his future. All were very concerned, it seemed, except Johnny.

I was putting Judith's clothes away when she came up. I brushed her hair as she commanded. It soothed her. She said I had magic in my fingers. I had discovered that I had a gift for hairdressing. It was my most successful accomplishment as a lady's maid. I tried different styles on her hair and sometimes I would copy them with my own. This delighted Judith and because she was generous by nature she often gave me some little gift and tried to please me, when she remembered it; but chiefly her thoughts were concerned with her husband.

Preparing her for bed was a ritual and this night there was an air of satisfaction about her. "You are aware of the trouble with Mr. Johnny, Kerensa," she said.

"Yes, Madam. I have heard it."

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's unfortunate. Inevitable though. He is not like ... his brother."

"No, Madam. Two brothers could not be less alike."

She smiled; more at peace than I had ever seen her before.

I braided her hair and wound it round her head. She looked lovely in her flowing negligee.

"You are very beautiful tonight. Madam," I told her, because I felt a need to comfort her—perhaps after what I had heard in the kitchen.

"Thank you, Kerensa," she said.

Soon after that she dismissed me, saying she would want me no more that night.

I went along to Mellyora's room, and found her sitting by the window looking out on the moonlit garden. Her tray—symbol of her lonely life-was on a nearby table.

"So you are free for once," I said.

"Not for long." She grimaced. "I have to go along and sit with Sir Justin in a few minutes."

"They work you too hard."

"Oh, I don't mind it."

She looked radiant. The look, I thought, of a woman in love. Oh, Mellyora, I thought, you'd be very vulnerable, I'm afraid.

She went on: "Poor Sir Justin. It is dreadful to see him as he is and think of what he was. I remember Papa... ."

"It's unfair that you should have to help nurse him too," I said.

"It might be worse."

Yes, I thought. You might be a drudge in a house where there was no Justin. That's what you mean, isn't it?

Then I asked myself what had happened to my relationship with Mellyora. Once I should have said to her the things I was now thinking.

It was not that we had changed. It was just that this dangerous situation was too delicate a matter, too important to Mellyora for her to wish to discuss it or take advice, even from me.

"And now," I said, changing the subject. "Johnny is back."

"Oh ... Johnny! It's not entirely unexpected. Johnny will always be Johnny."

She was almost smug. How different was Justin, she was implying. Then I thought of Judith who had said almost the same. Two women— both in love with the same man—deeply and passionately; for although Mellyora was calm and Judith was far from calm, both were the victims of a deep emotion.

"I wish he had not come back home," I said.

"You are afraid of him?"

"Not exactly afraid, but he can be a nuisance. Oh, never fear, I shall know how to handle him."

"I am sure you will." She turned to look out of the window and I knew that she was not thinking of Johnny and me because her thoughts were all for Justin, and it would be like that in the future. She was obsessed by her love even as Judith was; fortunately for Mellyora hers was a more balanced nature.

Some bond had snapped between us, for as her emotion deepened for one person so there became less time in her life for others.

I asked her then if she ever heard from Kim; she was startled and for a few seconds seemed as though it were an effort to remember him.

"Kim ... oh no. He wouldn't write. He always said he was no letter writer, but that he would come back one day."

"You think he will?"

"Of course. He was certain of it. It was a sort of promise and Kim always keeps promises."

I felt great pleasure. I pictured him coming back to St. Larnston, walking into the Abbas one day. I could imagine his voice, "Why, Kerensa, you've become a fascinating young lady." And when he saw Mellyora, obsessed by Justin, he would become more my friend than hers. I was certain that you could make life go the way you wanted it, but was it possible to bring the people you wanted back to you? I must ask Granny.

Mellyora said that it was time she went to Sir Justin, so I left her and returned to my room. I stood at the window for some time, thinking of Kim and the night of the ball. Then I went to my mirror and lighted the candles there. Had I changed much since that night? I had become older, wiser, more accomplished. I had read a great deal. I was making myself worthy ... of Kim? No. Of the person I intended to be.

I took the pins out of my hair and shook it about my shoulders. Thick, luxuriant, it was more beautiful than Judith's. Deftly I began to coil it high on my head. Where was my Spanish comb? Where was my mantilla? I adjusted them and stood enraptured by my own reflection. Narcissus! I mocked. In love with yourself.

I went to the window. Out there were the ring of stones that never seemed to be far from my thoughts. I had always promised myself a visit by moonlight. Why not? I was free. I believed Johnny was closeted with his brother, and there was no danger of his being around. Now was the time.

I was soon there. How exciting they seemed by moonlight. Alive! The Six Virgins! And I made a seventh. Did it really happen as the legend said? Did they in truth dance here? Were they struck down in their defiance and turned to stone, to stand on this spot as the centuries passed? How fortunate they were! Sudden death was preferable to a lingering one. I thought of the seventh—the one who had been dragged to the hollow wall, the one who was shut in to die; and I was filled with a momentary melancholy.

Footsteps! The sound of a low whistle. I leaned against one of the stones, waiting, some instinct telling me who had followed me here.

"So the seventh is here tonight?"

I felt furious with myself for coming. Johnny had seen me leave the house after all. In that moment I hated him.

He had stepped into the circle of stones and was grinning at me.

"Miss Carlyon in person!" he cried. "The Spanish lady."

"Is there any reason why I should not dress my hair as I wish?"

"There's every reason why you should since it so becomes you."

"I wish you would not follow me."

"Follow you? But why should I not visit the Virgins if I wish? They are not exclusively yours, are they?"

"Since you have come to see the Virgins, I will leave you."

"There's no hurry. I prefer the seventh to all the six put together. Ladies of stone are not to my fancy. Yet the seventh would have me believe she is composed of the same unyielding material. Fm going to prove to her that she is not."

"Is it impossible for you to believe that I do not want your advances?"

"Quite impossible."

"Then you are more arrogant than I imagined."

"I'll tell you something, my Spanish lady. You would not reject my advances in some circumstances."

"I don't understand you."

"You have always had a mighty high opinion of yourself. If I said to you, "Kerensa, will you marry me?' you would consider my proposal very seriously and I'll warrant it wouldn't take you long to recognize its merits. It is merely because you think I would treat you like any serving girl that you are so haughty."

I caught my breath for his words had conjured up a picture of myself living at the Abbas as I had always longed to. It had seemed an impossibility but if I married Johnny my dream would come true. With a shock I realized that this was the only way in which it could. But almost immediately I knew that he was teasing me.

I said haughtily: "I do not wish to listen to any suggestions you make."

He laughed. "Only because you know that the one you want to hear is the one I should never offer."

I turned away and he caught my arm. "Kerensa ..." he began. He put his face close to mine and the blaze of desire in his eyes alarmed me. I tried not to show my fear by slapping off his arm; but he would not release me; he kept his face close to mine, grinning at me. "I," he said, "can be as determined as you."

"You don't know how determined I can be when it is a matter of ridding myself of you."

"Then," he said, "we shall see, shall we not?"

In spite of my efforts I could not free myself. He caught me to him and I felt his teeth against mine. I kept mine firmly clenched and I hated him. I hated him so fiercely that I found a certain pleasure in my hatred. In that moment Johnny St. Larnston aroused an emotion in me that I had never felt before. It was not without desire. Perhaps, I thought later when I was alone and trying to analyze my feelings, the desire I felt was for a house, for a different station of life than that into which I had been born, for a fulfillment of a dream. My desire for these things was so fierce that perhaps another kind of desire could be aroused by anyone who could give me them; and Johnny's words about marriage had put an idea into my mind.

One thing I was sure of; he must not guess for one moment that he aroused anything in me but contempt and a longing to be rid of him.

Holding myself away from him, I said: "You had better be careful. I shall complain if you attempt to persecute me and in view of your reputation I do not think I shall be disbelieved."

I knew then that he had been aware of some change in my feelings and that he was expecting me to give way; thus I took him off his guard and with a little push as I had on another occasion, I freed myself. I turned and walked haughtily towards the house.

When I reached my room I looked in the mirror.

Is it possible? I asked myself. Would Johnny St. Larnston consider marrying me? And if he did, would I accept?

I was trembling. With hope? With fear? With pleasure? With repulsion?

I was not sure which.

My room was touched by moonlight. I sat up with a start. Something had awakened me.

I was in danger. An extra sense seemed to be telling me this. I stared in dismay, for someone was in my room. I saw the outline of a figure seated in an armchair, watching me.

I gave a stifled cry, for the figure had moved. I thought, I have always thought the Abbas was haunted. Now I know.

I heard a low laugh and then I knew that my visitor was Johnny, as I should have guessed.

"You!" I cried. "How dare you!"

He sat on the edge of my bed looking at me.

"I'm very daring, Kerensa, particularly where you're concerned."

"You had better go ... without delay."

"Oh no. Don't you think I'd better stay?"

I sprang out of bed. He stood up but did not come towards me. He merely stood staring at me.

"I always wondered how you wore your hair at night. Two long plaits. Most demure! I should like to see it loose though."

"If you do not leave at once I shall shout for help."

"I shouldn't do that, Kerensa, if I were you."

"You are not me, and I tell you, I shall."

"Why cannot you be reasonable?"

"Why cannot you behave like a gentleman?"

"To you ... who are scarcely a lady?"

"I hate you, Johnny St. Larnston."

"Now that sounded like the little girl from the cottages. But I'd rather you hated me than were indifferent."

"I have no feelings for you ... none at all."

"You have no feeling for the truth. You know you hate me and you're longing for me to make love to you, but you feel that the lady you are trying to become should insist on marriage before entertaining a lover."

I ran to the door and flung it open. I said: "I will give you ten seconds, Johnny St. Larnston. If you are not outside by then, and if you attempt to touch me, I shall scream to wake your brother and his wife."

He could see I meant what I said, and was temporarily defeated. He walked past me and into the corridor; his eyes were angry and malevolent I was horrified because I realized that he really believed I would have become his mistress that night.

I went into my room and shut my door. I leaned against it, trembling. How, I asked myself, was I going to rest in peace, knowing that at any hour of the night he could walk into my room?

I could not go back to bed. I went to the window and looked out The moonlight showed me the lawn and beyond it the meadow with the ring of stones.

I stood there for some time. I heard a clock strike midnight And then I saw Johnny. He was walking purposefully away from the house. I stood still watching him as he skirted the field and took the road towards the village. It led also to Larnston Barton.

Some instinct told me that, having failed with me, Johnny was going to Hetty Pengaster.

I crept along the corridor to Mellyora's room and knocked gently on the door. There was no reply so I went in. Mellyora was asleep.

I stood for a few seconds looking down at her. So beautiful and innocent she looked, lying there. Mellyora, too, I thought, was defenseless in this house. But Justin would never come uninvited into her room. Even so, Mellyora was more vulnerable than I.

"Mellyora," I whispered. "Don't be alarmed. It is I ... Kerensa."

"Kerensa!" She started up alarmed. "Whatever is wrong?"

"It's all right now. But I don't want to go back to my room."

"What do you mean? Something's wrong?"

"Johnny came in. I don't feel safe when he can come walking in when he likes."

"Johnny!" she said contemptuously.

I nodded. "He is trying to seduce me, and I'm afraid of him... ."

"Oh ... Kerensa!"

"Don't be alarmed. I only want to come in with you."

She moved over and I slipped into the bed.

"You're shivering," she said.

"It was rather horrible."

"You don't think ... you ought to go away?"

"Away from the Abbas? Where to?"

"I don't know ... somewhere."

"To work in some other house, to be at the beck and call of someone else?"

"Perhaps, Kerensa, it would be best for us both."

It was the first time she had admitted her own difficulties, and I was afraid. In that moment I was certain I would never willingly leave the Abbas.

"I can manage Johnny," I said.

"But this latest affair... ."

"Will make everyone understand whose fault it is if I should have to tell on him."

"Kerensa, you're so strong."

"I've had to look after myself all my life. You had your father to look after you. Don't worry about me, Mellyora."

She was silent for a while. Then she said, "Perhaps for us both, Kerensa... ."

"We couldn't 'go farther and fare worse!' " I quoted.

I felt the relief in the little sigh she gave.

"Where would we find posts together?" she asked.

"Ah, where?"

"And St Larnston is, after all, home to us."

We were silent for a while. Then I said: "May I share your room in future, while he is here?"

"You know you may."

"Then," I said, "there'll be nothing for me to fear."

It was a long time before either of us slept.

Judith knew, of course, that I was sleeping in Mellyora's room and when I hinted at the reason made no objection.

During the weeks that followed, Mellyora and I grew close again, for sharing a room meant sharing confidences, and our relationship was more as it had been in the parsonage than it had been since we came to the Abbas and her feeling for Justin had set us a little apart.

I received a letter from David Killigrew during that time. He thought of me constantly, he wrote; his mother was as strong as ever physically, but growing a little more forgetful every day; he was kept busy but he saw no hope of getting a living which, he implied, he must do before asking me to marry him.

I could scarcely remember what he looked like. I felt guilty because he was so earnest and at one time I had contemplated marrying him as now, deep down in my heart I was contemplating marrying Johnny St. Larnston.

What sort of a woman was I, I asked myself, who was ready to turn this way and that for the sake of expediency?

I tried to make excuses for myself. I had fabricated a dream; and the fulfillment of that dream was the most important thing in my life. I wanted a position for myself that I might suffer no more humiliation; I wanted to give Granny comfort in her old age; I wanted to make a doctor of Joe. It was ironical that Johnny, whom I told myself I hated, was the only one who held the key to all that. It was a key he would be reluctant to relinquish; but perhaps if he were hard pushed ... ?

Johnny was watching me with smoldering eyes. He was eager for me as he ever was, and yet he made no move. I suspected that he had been to my room and found it empty. He would guess where I was, but he dared not come to Mellyora's.

I continued to hear Judith's raised voice in the apartments she shared with Justin; and I knew that she was growing more and more restless.

As for Mellyora, she seemed to be living in a state of exultation. I believed I knew why, because I had seen her and Justin together one day from my window. They had met accidentally and exchanged only a word; but I watched him look after her as she passed; I saw her turn to look at him, and for a few seconds they stood still, gazing at one another.

They had betrayed themselves. Judith's suspicions had some foundation.

They loved each other; and they had admitted it, if not in words, by a look.

We were seated at the table when the clanging of the bell from Sir Justin's room started up. For a few seconds we stared at each other, then Haggety, followed by Mrs. Rolt, hurried upstairs.

We all looked at each other, for the bell went on clanging until they reached the room, and we knew that this was no ordinary call.

In a few moments Haggety returned to the kitchen. Polore was to go at once for Dr. Hilliard.

When he had gone we sat at the table but we did not eat.

Mrs. Salt said mournfully: "This'll be the end, you see. And if you were to ask me it'll be a happy release."

Dr. Hilliard was fortunately at home and within half an hour he came back with Polore. He spent a long time in Sir Justin's room.

A tension had fallen on the house; everyone spoke in whispers, and when Dr. Hilliard left, Haggety told us that Sir Justin had had another stroke. He was still alive but, in his opinion, he wouldn't last the night.

I went up to Judith to prepare her night things; I found her quieter than usual; she told me that Justin was with his father; the whole family were there.

"This is not entirely unexpected, Madam," I said.

She shook her head. "It had to happen sooner or later."

"And is it ... the end, Madam?"

"Who can say? He is not dead yet."

Soon, I thought, she will be Lady St, Larnston and Justin will be the head of the house. It would make no difference to me. But Mellyora? I believed Justin hated to see his mother bullying Mellyora. When he was Sir Justin what would he do to prevent it? Would he betray his feelings?

Life never remains stationary, I thought. A little change here, a little change there ... and what was safe and normal becomes no longer so. I thought of the seventh virgin of the legend who had meditated not far from where I was standing, who had taken her vows and no doubt believed she would live the rest of her life in peaceful security. Then she loved and she submitted to love; and the result was lingering death in the convent wall.

Dr. Hilliard came twice a day and each morning we believed that Sir Justin would be dead before the day was over. But for a week he lingered on.

Mellyora was constantly in attendance. She was excused her duties of reading and flower gathering. I went back to my own room for she was needed in the sickroom, and since I was alone there was no point in being in hers.

She had little rest during those six days, but she did not seem to need it. She had lost a little weight which was rather becoming, and there was a shine about her. I, who knew her so well, understood that just for a while she was content to bask in the knowledge that Justin loved her.

Perhaps, I thought, they could go on like that for the rest of their lives. Theirs would be a relationship of ideals, unsullied by any physical need. Justin would never be a passionate man and Mellyora would be ready to adapt herself to his ways. It would be a sublimated love; they would be kept apart always by the flaming sword of propriety and convention.

What a contrast was this profane attraction which Johnny had for me and I, perhaps, for him.

Sir Justin was dead, and there was a lightening of the atmosphere as preparations for the funeral began. At all the windows blinds were drawn; we moved about the house in somber gloom. There was no real sadness though, for no one had loved Sir Justin and his death had been expected for so long.

It was a question of: "Sir Justin is dead. Long live Sir Justin." The servants slipped naturally into the new form of address. Judith had become "my lady," and almost imperceptibly the Dowager Lady St. Larnston moved slightly into the background.

Everyone attached to the house wore black crape bands about their arms—for "respect," said Mrs. Rolt. A collection was made in the kitchens, to which both Mellyora and myself were invited to add our share and there was great excitement when the wreath arrived. "The Gates of Heaven Ajar," which had been Mrs. Rolt's choice.

When I asked if they thought Sir Justin would go to Heaven, since, from what I had heard, his life had not been exemplary, I was regarded by shocked eyes and Doll gave a little squeal as she looked over her shoulder, half expecting, she explained. Sir Justin's shade to come into the kitchen and strike me dead with the copper stick which Daisy had brought in from the washhouse and had forgotten to take back.

Didn't I know that it was dangerous to speak ill of the dead? Didn't I know that the dead were sanctified? No matter if Sir Justin had taken unwilling maidens; no matter if he had sent men, women and young children to the hulks or transportation for no greater sin than trespassing on his estates; he was dead now and therefore a saint.

I felt impatient with them; nor was I afraid of the ghost of Sir Justin. But it was no use trying to explain.

The black mutes had done their duty; the velvet-caparisoned horses had carried their sacred burden away and the funeral was over.

I was no longer afraid of Johnny. In fact I was rather eager for more encounters with him. I had been to see Granny while Sir Justin was so ill and I had talked to her about Johnny.

She was very thoughtful; then she said: "The fact that he talked of marriage would seem to show that he had it in his mind."

"Only," I replied, "as something which could not possibly take place."

Granny shook her head and regarded me fondly. "Why, Kerensa," she said, "I'd be ready to swear that if you were dressed up like a lady and taken where no one knew you, they'd think you were one."

I knew it was true for I had worked with all my strength towards this end. It was the first and essential step.

"Granny," I said, "he would never marry me. His mother would never allow it. Nor would his brother."

I narrowed my eyes, thinking of Justin who would be from now on the head of the house. He had a secret—his love for Mellyora. But was it a secret? Wasn't it already suspected in the servants' hall? Still, he was vulnerable; and, with such a secret, was he in a position to harm me?

"So you think now, my love. But who's to say what the future holds? Who'd have thought you d ever read and write and talk like one of they?''

"Who'd have thought it!" I echoed. Then I seized her hand; "Granny," I said, "could you give me some potion ..."

She snatched her hand away, laughing with mockery. "And I thought you be educated! Have you forgotten what I did tell 'ee? The future is for you to make. You can have what you want ... if you're ready to pay the price for it. Everyone can. But you must never forget that the price has to be paid and it's sometimes more than you've bargained for, Kerensa!" She was very serious. "Listen to what I be saying. And don't 'ee forget it."

I lay on Mellyora's bed. When the house was quiet I would go back to my own room.

"But do you want to, Kerensa?" she had said. "Do you feel safe?"

"Safe from Johnny!" I was scornful. "Don't worry on my account. I know how to handle Johnny."

She clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at the ceiling. Again I could only describe her expression as exalted.

"Mellyora," I said, "you should tell me."

"Tell you?"

"Something's happened, hasn't it?"

"You know well enough what's happened. There has been a death in this house."

"It was hardly unexpected."

"Death is always a shock, expected or not."

"I would not say that you are shocked."

"No?"

I could see the confidences trembling on her lips. She wanted to tell me; but this was not her secret alone. I was determined that she should tell me. I seemed to hear Granny's voice in my ear: "It is important to learn everything... ."

"You can't deceive me, Mellyora. Something has happened."

She turned to look at me and I saw that she was startled. She reminded me of a dainty gazelle who has heard a rustle in the undergrowth and while wanting to satisfy curiosity knows it is wiser to run away.

But she was not going to run away from me.

"And," I went on firmly, "it has something to do with Justin."

"Sir Justin," she said softly.

"He is Sir Justin now, I agree, and head of the house!"

"How different he will be from his father! The tenants will love him. He will be kind and as just as his name implies... "

I made an impatient gesture. I did not want a eulogy of the new Sir Justin.

"He will be perfect in every way," I said, "except that he has been foolish enough to marry the wrong woman."

"Kerensa, what are you saying?"

"You heard me perfectly and I am only saying what has been in your thoughts for a long time—and perhaps his, too."

"You must never say that to anyone else, Kerensa."

"As if I should. This is between us two. You know that I would always be on your side, Mellyora. You are close to me ... we're as close as sisters ... no, closer because I shall never forget that you took me from the hiring stand and made me as your sister ... in a way you made me what I am, Mellyora. The bond between us is stronger than a blood tie, even."

She turned to me suddenly and threw herself against me; I held her tightly while her body heaved with silent sobs.

"You should tell me," I said. "You know that everything that happens to you is my concern. You love Justin ... Sir Justin. I have known it a long time."

"How could anyone help loving such a man, Kerensa?"

"Well, I manage very well, which is fortunate. It would not do for everyone to be in love with him. I have known for a long time what your feelings were ... but what of his?"

She withdrew herself and lifted her face to mine. "He loves me, Kerensa. He thinks he has always loved me. Only he did not know ... until it was too late."

"He has told you this?"

"He would not have done so. But it was when we were both sitting by his father's bedside. It was after midnight. The house was so quiet and there was a moment when it was impossible to hide the truth."

"If he always loved you, why did he marry Judith?" I demanded.

"You see, Kerensa, he looked upon me as a child. He seemed so much older, and because when he knew me first I was only a child, he went on thinking of me as one. And then there was Judith."

"Ah, Judith! He married her, you know."

"He didn't want to, Kerensa. It was against his will."

"And what sort of man is he to marry against his will?"

"You don't understand. It is because he is good and kind that he married her."

I shrugged my shoulders and I could see that she was battling with herself, wondering whether she should tell me. She could not bear my unspoken criticism of Justin, so she decided to.

"His father wanted the marriage before he was ill, but Justin refused because he did not want to marry until he was in love. His father was furious; there were many scenes, and it was during one of these that he had his first stroke. Justin was horrified, you see, because he felt responsible. And when his father was so ill he thought it would help him to recover if he did what he wanted. So he married Judith. He soon knew what a terrible mistake it was."

I was silent. I believed Justin had told her the truth. They were two of a kind, she and Justin. How admirably suited they were. I thought, if she had married Justin, I should have come here in a very different capacity. Oh why hadn't Mellyora married Justin!

I pictured them—one on either side of that dying man who had played such a part in their lives—their whispered confidences, their longings.

"Mellyora," I said, "what are you going to do?"

She opened her eyes incredulously. "Do"? What can we do? He is married to Judith, is he not?"

I did not speak. I knew that for a while it was enough for her to know he loved her; but how long would she—or he—be content with that?

The blinds were up at all the windows. I felt that everywhere there was a subtle change. Nothing could be quite the same again. Old Lady St. Larnston had talked halfheartedly of going to the Dower House, but when Justin had urged her to remain at the Abbas she had been delighted to do so.

A new Sir Justin. A new Lady St. Larnston. But those were merely names. I saw Justin's eyes follow Mellyora, and I knew that confession of theirs had changed their relationship, however much they believed it had not. How long, I wondered, did they think they could keep their secret from such as Mrs. Rolt, Haggety and Mrs. Salt.

There would soon be more gossip in the kitchens. Perhaps it had already started. And how long before Judith was aware—she, who watched her husband every second he was in her company! Already she suspected that his feelings towards Mellyora were dangerously strong.

This atmosphere was filled with danger ... tense and quiet, waiting for disaster.

But it was my own affairs which were absorbing me, because Johnny's passion for me was increasing, and the more aloof I became, the more determined he was. He never attempted to come to my bedroom again but whenever I went out I would find him walking by my side. Sometimes he cajoled, sometimes he blazed; but his conversation was all on one theme.

Again and again I told him that he was wasting his time; he retorted that I was wasting our time.

"If you are waiting for marriage, you will wait a long time," he said angrily.

"You happen to be right. I am waiting for marriage, but not with you. David Killigrew wants to marry me as soon as he gets a living."

"David Killigrew! So you plan to be a parson s wife! What a joke."

"Your feeling for humor is rather childish, of course. There is nothing funny in this, I assure you. It is a very serious matter."

"Poor Killigrew!" he snorted and left me.

But he was uneasy. I knew then that to possess me had become an obsession with him.

Whenever possible I went to see Granny. There was nothing I enjoyed more than stretching out on the talfat and talking to her as I used to when I was a child. I knew that my affairs were as important to her as they were to me and she was the only person in the world with whom I could be absolutely frank.

We discussed the possibility of a marriage with David Killigrew. Granny shook her head over it. "It would be good, lovey, for some, but I reckon you'd always be a-hankering."

"You're not going to say that Johnny St. Larnston's the man for me?"

"If you married him you'd be marrying a dream, Kerensa."

"And that would not be good?"

"Tis only you can make it good or bad, lovey."

"In that case I could make a marriage with David good or bad?"

She nodded.

Then I went on to tell her about my last encounter with Johnny and from that to talk of life at the Abbas. I never stopped talking of the Abbas. I liked to make her see it as I did—the odd winding staircases and stone cells where the nuns had lived; it was the old part of the Abbas which interested me most; but I loved it all; and when I thought of marriage with David Killigrew I thought of leaving the Abbas and that felt like parting with a lover.

"You're in love with a house," said Granny. "Well, tis safer perhaps to love a house than a man. If it be yours, then tis yours and you need have no fear of its betraying you."

Judith had gone to bed early on account of a headache and had dismissed me for the night. It was nine o'clock and because I had a yearning to see Granny I slipped out of the house and went down to the cottage.

She was sitting smoking her pipe and, as always, was glad to see me. We sat and talked; I told her that Johnny's attitude seemed to be changing and that I could not understand him. He had been a little cool lately and there were times when I thought he was abandoning the chase; yet at others he seemed more determined than ever.

Granny lighted two candles, for the twilight was on us and my conversation, as usual, had turned to the house itself, when I was suddenly startled by a movement at the window. I was just in time to see a dark shape move quickly away. Someone had been looking in at us!

"Granny," I cried. "Someone's outside."

Granny rose rather slowly, for she was no longer nimble, and went to the door.

She turned to me and shook her head. "There's no one there."

"But someone was looking in at us." I followed her to the door and peered into the dimness. "Who's there?" I called.

There was no answer.

"Who could it have been?" I asked. "Who could have stood out there peering in at us? And I wonder for how long?"

"It were likely someone as wanted to see me if I were alone," was Granny's comfortable explanation. "They'll come back ... that's if they want to see me bad enough."

The uneasy feeling of having been spied on stayed with me; I could not settle down to talk and as it was growing late I realized it was time I went back to the Abbas.

I said good night to Granny and left her. But I kept wondering who it was who had looked through the window and decided not to come in.

I had no opportunity of seeing Granny again until I had made my decision. In a way, I told myself, that was a good thing because it had to be my decision. I had to take it with my eyes wide open; I had to bear the entire responsibility myself.

Judith had been tiresome. I was discovering facets of her character which I had not known before. She had a violent temper which when it was manifested was the more fierce for having been kept in check. I guessed that the future in this house was going to be very stormy. Judith would not tolerate Mellyora's presence in the house much longer.

And when Mellyora went ... what of me?

However, that was not the concern of the immediate future. Judith had one of her headaches; I must brush her hair; I must massage her forehead. Sometimes I hated the smell of the eau de Cologne she used. It would always remind me of my servitude to this woman,

"How clumsy you are, Carlee." It was a sign of her irritation that she should use my surname. She was deliberately trying to hurt me because she was hurt. "You are pulling my hair. You are useless, useless. Sometimes I wonder why I employ you. When I come to think of it, I did not engage you. You were found for me. What am I in this house ... ?"

I tried to soothe her. "My lady, you are not feeling well. Perhaps you should rest."

I hated calling her my lady. If Mellyora had been my lady I should have boasted of my friendship with Lady St. Larnston but she would be Mellyora, not my lady, to me.

Mellyora, however, could never be Lady St. Larnston while this woman was alive.

"Don't stand there like a fool. Braid my hair. And don't pull. I warned you before."

She took the brush from me and, as she did, the bristles tore the skin of one of my fingers, making it bleed. I looked at it in dismay while she flung the brush across the room.

"Oh, you have been treated brutally!" she mocked. "And serve you right." Her eyes were wild. I thought: Shall we in a few years' time have Lady St. Larnston going out on the moor to dance when the moon is full?

They were doomed, these Derrises—doomed to madness by a monster. And Judith was one of the doomed.

A bitter anger was in me that night. I hated those who humiliated me, and Judith was humiliating me. I had better take care, she told me. She would get rid of me. She would choose her own maid. She was Lady St. Larnston now and there was no reason why she should be dictated to by anyone.

I suggested she have one of the soothing powders which Dr. Hilliard had prescribed for her and to my surprise she agreed. I gave it to her and the effect—in about ten minutes—was apparent. The storm was passing; docilely she allowed me to get her to bed.

I went back to my room and although it was late I dressed my hair in the Spanish fashion, putting in my comb and mantilla. This always soothed me and had become a habit with me. With my hair thus I would remember the ball and dancing with Kim and how he had told me I was fascinating. At the back of my mind was a dream that Kim came back and was fond of me. By some miracle he was the owner of the Abbas and we married and lived there happy ever after.

As I sat at the window looking out on the moonlight, I felt a desire to go out to the stones but I was tired. I took a book in order to soothe myself by reading, and propped myself up on my bed, fully dressed, because I wanted to leave the comb in my hair; reading never failed to comfort me, it reminded me how far I had come, and that I had achieved what most people would have said was impossible.

I read on and on and it was past midnight when I heard the sound of footsteps creeping to my room.

I sprang off the bed and blew out my candles. I was standing behind the door when Johnny opened it and came in.

This was a different Johnny. I did not know what had changed him, I only knew that I had never seen him like this before. He was quiet, serious; and there was a strange determination about him.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

He lifted a finger, warning me to keep quiet.

"Get out or I shall shout," I told him.

"I want to talk to you. I've got to talk to you."

"I have no desire to talk."

"You've got to listen. You've got to stand by me."

"I don't understand you."

He stood close to me and all the truculence had gone from him; he was like a child, pleading with me; and this was strange with Johnny.

"I'll marry you," he said.

"What!"

"I said I'd marry you."

"What game are you playing?"

He took me by the shoulders and shook me. "You know," he said. "You know. It's the price I'm ready to pay. I tell you I'll marry you."

"And your family?"

"They'll raise hell. But I say: To hell with the family. I'll marry you. I promise."

"I'm not sure that I will marry you."

"Of course you will. It was what you were waiting for. Kerensa, I'm serious ... never more deadly serious in my life. I don't want to marry. There'll be trouble. But I tell you I'll marry you."

"It's not possible."

"I'm going to Plymouth."

"When?"

"Tonight... . No ... it's already morning. Today, then, I'm catching the first train. I'm leaving at five. Are you coming with me?"

"Why this sudden decision?"

"You know. Why pretend?"

"I think you're mad."

"I've always wanted you. And this is the way. Are you coming with me?"

"I don't trust you."

"We've got to trust each other. I'll marry you. I'll get the special license. I swear it."

"How do I know ...'?"

"Look. You know what's happened. We'll be together. Once it's done, it's done. I'll marry you, Kerensa."

"I want time to think about it."

"I'll give you till four. Be ready. We're leaving then. I'm going to pack some things. You do the same. Then we'll take the trap to the station ... in time for the train."

"This is madness," I said.

He caught me to him and I could not understand the embrace he gave me; it was made up of desire, passion, and perhaps hatred. "It's the way you want it. It's the way I want it."

Then he left me.

I sat by the window. I thought of the humiliation of the evening. I thought of the fulfillment of my dream. It could come true the way I had dreamed it.

I wasn't in love with Johnny. But some sensuality in him touched something in me. I was meant to marry and bear children—children who would be St. Larnstons.

Already the dream was becoming more ambitious. Justin and Judith had no child. I saw my son: Sir Justin. I, the mother of the heir to the Abbas!

Anything was worth while for that. Marriage with Johnny—anything.

I sat down and wrote a letter to Mellyora; I enclosed one which I asked her to give to Granny.

I had made up my mind.

So I left on the five-o'clock train for Plymouth.

Johnny was as good as his word, and shortly afterwards I became Mrs. Johnny St. Larnston.