The Girl From Over the Sea (16 page)

Lesley was still trying to recover her breath and Richard, elbowing the rest of them aside, came to bend over her.
‘
You aren
’
t hurt, are you, Les?
’
he queried anxiously. His hand was on her arm, and his thin young face a mask of alarm.
‘
We
’
ve been worried stiff, Rita and me. We knew you wouldn
’
t go off with someone else if you
’
d promised that Sorrel woman you
’
d meet her. What happened?
’

‘
I
told you, she wasn
’
t there
,’
Lesley said in a faint voice.
‘
I
...
I
...
waited and waited. The only man who spoke to me in Exeter was that salesman who was staying at the King
’
s Arms when we were there. As I got out of Sorrel
’
s car, he was just passing and he said,
“
Hello, Miss Australia, so you
’
re still around,
”
and I said
“
Yes.
”
That was all. So I came home by coach.
’

Beside them, Blake was standing listening to every word.

‘
I phoned and found the coach arrives at seven-ten,
’
he said, his voice sharp.
‘
The connecting bus along the coast leaves five minutes later. Look at the time now
!’

Lesley got up, her chin tilted. She had recovered her breath and her spirits.
‘
I
’
m looking
...
and what time I arrive here is no concern of yours,
Mr.
Defontaine. If you
’
ll excuse me, I
’
ll go to my room.
’

She turned and ran up the two flights of stairs to the room which she shared with Rita. Her sister followed more slowly.

‘
I
’
m
glad you told him where he got off,
’
Rita said with immense satisfaction.
‘
He was steamed up about you, though. You might have been his favourite girl-friend the way he was pacing up and down asking Rick and me why you
’
d gone to Exeter and
why
you hadn
’
t gone in the Mini. But, Les, what really happened?
’

Lesley was, shrugging herself out of her leather
coat.
‘
Exactly what I said,
’
she remarked.
‘
The Exeter coach
was
late because it got behind
a
huge transporter which took up all the road, and so the other bus had gone.
’

‘
Why didn
’
t you get
a taxi or ring
up here
for
someone
to
fetch you?
’

Lesley shrugged and turned as Jennifer Trevendone knocked
at
the door.
‘
Are you all
right,
Lesley?
’
she asked nervously.
‘
Mrs.
Piper is making sandwiches and coffee for you. We
aren
’
t
really callous, you
know. Just
...
just
...
suspicious because we don
’
t know you ve
r
y
well.
And though I don
’
t really excuse Blake
’
s high-handed manner he really was anxious.
’

‘
If it
’
s the Trevendone
family he
’
s
bothered about, then he has no cause to be anxious about Lesley,
’
Rita said, and with a significant look walked out of the room.

Lesley
’
s expression
was worried.
‘
It
was
bad luck that
you
missed Sorrel,
’
Jennifer
went
on, preparing to follow Rita.

Lesley shrugged.
‘
It
certainly was,
’
she remarked dryly.
‘
Travelling all that round-about way back by coach
isn
’
t
my idea of an evening
’
s entertainment.
’

Jennifer opened the door.
‘
Here
’
s your supper.
D
id you
want it up here?
’

‘
Yes,
’
said Lesley shortly
as
Rick brought
in
the tray.

As she drank her second
cup
of coffee, Lesley said thought
fully,
‘
Rick, what
’
s wrong with Rita?
’

The boy hunched up his shoulders.
‘
We had a row.
I
said
I
bet that Sorrel woman had let you down and Rita got on her high horse and stuck up for Sorrel. She
’
s completely soppy about her because she lets her groom her horse. Rita hangs on her every word. You
’
d think she
’
s never
ridden
herself. They may have been rough, tough little Outback ponies, but they
’
re every bit as difficult to manage as these
fancy
blood stock animals the slave-master goes
in for.

‘
And by the way, Les, he really
w
as
worried about you
.’

‘
Nice of him
,’
said Lesley acidly.
‘
Let
’
s talk about something else
.’

She
h
ad thought that she would sleep soundly after that exhausting day, but she lay wakeful for a long time, worrying about Rita whose quiet even breathing she could hear from the bed on the other side of the room. Rita had so little to say to her these days and when she did speak she was often rude or offhand. And Ricky—would he ever be weaned from this ambition of his to join a group and become a popular singer? Once she had hoped he would become reconciled to life here on the estate, but what opportunity was there for him here now? Sadly she recalled what Rita had said to Jennifer, not in so many words but by implication. That Lesley wasn
’
t a Trevendone!

As to Blake Defontaine, it was just his intolerable habit of interfering in the lives of everybody who was a Trevendone
—
even the girl from over the sea.

He walked into her office in the New Manor House next morning with his usual loose-limbed arrogance and stood in front of her desk eyeing her with a rapier-like glance.

‘
I want a promise from you
,’
he said abruptly.
‘
That you
’
ll never walk back from St Benga Town again after dark, unescorted
.’

Lesley shrugged.
‘
I don
’
t suppose the occasion will ever arise again,
Mr.
Defontaine.
’

‘
A promise
,’
he said insistently.

She nodded.
‘
If you
insist.
’

‘
Mrs.
Lang is very upset
,’
he went on.
‘
She can
’
t understand what happened that she missed
you.
’

‘
No
,’
commented Lesley dryly, and .looked at the wad of notes he was carrying.
‘
Shall I start on those right away,
Mr.
Defontaine?
’

‘
Yes, do that
,’
he said, gave her downbent head an exasperated look and went out of the room.

As she walked round to the old Manor House for her lunch break, Lesley met Dominic who had been out when she had arrived back on the previous night. He had evidently heard what had happened and spoke about it directly he saw her.

‘
Look, Lesley
,’
he said, and for once his face was serious,
‘
Sorrel wouldn
’
t let you down on purpose. Jen is sure you
think she did.
’

‘
I haven
’
t said
so.
’
Lesley
’
s voice was suddenly ragged. Sorrel! Sorrel! How tired she was of this concern for the girl, first from Blake and now from Dominic.

‘
Look, Dominic, do me a favour, will you?
’
she asked, and managed to rake
up
a smile.
‘
Forget it. I
’
m sick of the whole subject.
’

‘
As
you like,
’
he returned rather huffily.

But Sorrel never once mentioned the matter to Lesley
nor
thought fit to make either an explanation or an apology, and Lesley on her part
was
determined not
to
speak of it again.

Lesley
’
s primary reason for buying a
new pair of boots had been the point-to-point in which Blake and Sorrel and Dominic were competing. Even Jennifer was riding, though not one of the Trevendone horses.

The meeting was held at Cumballick, about twenty
miles
’
drive
from Trevendone Manor. It was a bright, gusty day
in
early March, still within the month of Lesley
’
s time of probation, with a feeling of spring in the air and the daffodils blooming everywhere
in
the flower beds of the cottages of Cornish stone, lending them a glamour which till now their rather grim greyness had lacked
in
the eyes of the
family from
over the sea.

Rita was plainly out
of
humour because they
were going
only as spectators.

‘
But there aren
’
t any spare mounts
at
Trevendone,
Rita, you
know that,
’
Lesley said soothingly.
‘
You heard
Jennifer say
she was riding one of the Drews
’
horses from
Tresparret Farm.
Besides,
you
’
ve
had
no
experience
in jumping.
’

‘
So much for our coming to a
life of luxury
in Cornwall,
’
Rita
muttered, scornfully.
‘
At
least there
was always an
Outback pony to ride when we were at home.
’

‘
You weren
’
t all that keen on riding back home,
’
Ricky
pointed out.
‘
In
fact
in
the last year or two you
’
d practically given
it up. As
to this meeting, you
’
d only to say the
word
and
we
needn
’
t have come. It
isn
’
t
my idea of
an entertaining
Saturday watching Cornish high society perfor
m
at a steeple
chase. I
’
d
much sooner be with the boys
at Penpethic Harbour.
’

Lesley frowned slightly at
the
mention of that place.
‘
It
’
s
a good opportunity for you both to meet friends of the Trevendones in the county. By now I should imagine that it
’
s got around that we
’
re living at the Manor, and people may be wondering what we
’
re like.
’

‘
As if any of us really cared!
’
commented Ricky contemptuously.

There was a bigger crowd at the meeting than Lesley had imagined. She had thought in terms of the riders and just a few spectators, but by the time they arrived a good number of people were milling around and the tote seemed to be doing excellent business.

They found Dominic almost as soon as they had parked the Mini and he took them into the members
’
enclosure where a buffet lunch was being served.

‘
Jennifer is with Bob Drew, but Sorrel and Blake are around somewhere. Oh, there they are.
’
He began pushing his way through the crowd, people around him slapping him on the shoulder and wishing him luck. He was obviously very well known and very popular.

Outside on the course, the rich Cornish accent
had been
noticeable, but in here what Ricky still referred to
as
‘
Limey
talk
‘
was more apparent.

‘
I
’
m only an also ran,
’
Dominic was protesting to one elderly lady.
‘
Blake has really good mounts and he
’
s favourite, in his two events, but in my opinion the really fast race will be the Ladies. Sorrel Lang has a superb horse and so have Carol Williams and Griselda Knowles. It
’
ll be a close finish. Griselda is favourite, but I
’
m backing Sorrel.
’

Lesley smiled rather wistfully. Dominic seldom missed an opportunity of flirting with
her,
but she had guessed at their first meeting that he had no real interest in any girl except Sorrel Lang. But Sorrel
...

Lesley bit her lip and told herself it was no business of hers.

The twins, having already said they were ravenous, had pressed on towards the buffet and, Lesley, having lost Dominic, tried to force her way through the crush in search of the twins.

‘
You
’
d better let me lend you a shoulder,
’
a voice said above her ear, and she turned to And Blake Defontaine beside her.