The Lady and the Lake (27 page)

Swiftly
I
made
my
way
back
down
the
stairs
leaving
the
heavy
wooden
door
ajar
as
I
had
found
it.
Mrs
Grafton
had
said
that
it
was
unsafe
to
go
in
the
tower,
but
I
now
knew
this
to
be
a
lie.
Why
should
she
not
want
me
to
go
up
there
when
nothing
of
importance
was
there?

Looking
at
my
fob
watch
I
could
see
it
was
ten
to
eight
and
that
I’d
probably
missed
breakfast.
Mrs
Grafton
came
back
to
mind,
was
it
her
I
mused,
was
she
the
night
walker?

At
exactly
9
o’clock
I
entered
the
rose
garden,
the
sun
still
shone
but
surely
this
perfect
weather
couldn’t
hold
out
much
longer
I
thought.
Thomas
was
late.

Maybe
he’d
changed
his
mind,
even
as
I
thought
it
as
if
to
prove
me
wrong,
he
stepped
underneath
the
wooden
rose
arch
and
into
the
garden.

Quickly
he
came
across
to
me
and
for
some
reason
I
glanced
up
at
the
window
of
the
tower.

Someone
was
looking
down
at
us
and
from
this
distance
I
was
sure
it
was
the
housekeeper.

‘Abbey,
I’m
sorry
I’m
a
trifle
late,
please
sit
with
me
on
this
bench
for
I
have
much
explaining
to
do,’
he
said,
waiting
for
me
to
sit
down.
Then
he
sat
next
to
me
and
again
my
heart
skipped
a
beat.
‘To
call
you
a
fool
was
very
wrong
of
me,
but
I
was
so
concerned
as
...
’ Here
he
stopped.

‘As
what?’
I
coaxed
him.

‘I
don’t
know
if
it’s
fair
to
tell
you
this,
but
I
have
suspicions
about
my cousin,’
he
admitted.

‘Suspicions
of
what
kind?’
I
asked.

‘I’m
unsure,
Abbey.
All
I
do
know
is
that
he
has
been
seen
with
many
of
the
young
girls
in
the
village
and
it
is
not
for
the
want
of
romance.
The
subject
is
too
delicate
for
your
innocent
ears.
I
was
afraid
that
to
bring
Clara
to
the
Hall
would
be
foolish
after
her
sister
died
here,
but
as
it
happened
all
went
well
and
she
is
a
charming
child.’

‘Then
I
forgive
you,
but
I
would
like
to
say
that
I
am
not
generally
a
foolish
person,’
I
said,
my
head
held
high.

‘And
as
for
being
a
challenge,
you
are,
but
in
the
nicest
possible
way.
My
mother
would
have
me
marry
Barbara
Middleton,
but
it
isn’t
what
I
need.
Wealth
and
fine
things
are
not
for
me.
The
scene
I
envisage
is
to
love
someone
and
to
have
that
love
returned,
no
matter
what
their
position
in
life.

‘Thank
you
for
your
explanation,’
I
said
quietly,
‘I
am
willing
to
accept
it
and
forgive
you.’

‘Also
I
apologise
for
the
compromising
position
I
put
you
in
the
day
you
came
to
me
in
the
long
gallery,
I
could
not
help
myself.’
As
he
spoke
I
thought
back
to
that
day
and
could
feel
his
hands
stroking
my
hair.

‘I’d
quite
forgotten
that,’
I
lied.

‘And
one
other
thing,’
said
Thomas,
drawing
me
to
him,
Will
you
make
me
the
most
fortunate
of
men
and
agree
to
marry
me?’

9

This
proposal
quite
surprised
me
and
for
some
minutes
I
was
lost
for
words,
looking
into
Thomas’
sparkling
eyes
I
realised
what
a
kind,
endearing
man
he
was
and
I
truly
believed
he
would
be
loyal.
So
much
for
Antony
Kershaw’s
opinion
that
his
cousin
had
many
strings
to
his
bow.

‘Thomas,’
I
said
quietly,
taking
hold
of
his
hand.
‘I
am
most
flattered
by
your
proposal,
will
you
please
give
me
time
to
think
it
over?
And
what
would
your
mother
say
if
we
are
to
be
married
and
where
would
we
live?’

The
questions
tumbled
from
me
one
after
another
and
Thomas
placed
his
finger
gently
on
my
lips
to
silence
me.

‘So
many
questions,
sweetheart.
Fear
not,
for
my
mother
will
become
used
to
the
idea.
After
all
she
does
like
you
and
as
to
your
question
as
to
where
we should
live,
at
Tidwell
if
this
would
be
suitable
to
you,
for
I
love
the
place
and
cannot
envisage
living
elsewhere.’
Thomas
squeezed
my
hand
as
he
spoke.

‘I
would
be
happy
to
live
at
Tidwell,
it
is
a
beautiful
dwelling,
but
will
you
wait
a
couple
of
days
for
my
answer
as
this
has
come
as
a
total
surprise,’
I
pleaded.

‘I
shall
wait
with
impatience
and
anticipation.’
Thomas
agreed.

We
sat
for
some
time
talking
and
I
mulled
over
whether
to
tell
Thomas
of
the
night-time
visitor
to
the
tower.
I
made
a
sudden
decision
for
with
love
must
come
trust.

‘Thomas,’
I
proceeded
to
say,
‘do
you
know
who
it
is
that
visits
the
tower
in
the
early
hours?’

‘The
tower?’
he
said,
obviously
somewhat
taken
aback
at
the
question,
‘Why
no,
I
don’t.
Come,
tell
me
about
it
for
I
am
a
good
listener.’

So
I
told
him
about
the
steps
on
the
stairway,
the
piercing
scream
and
the shuffling
sounds,
‘Also,’
I
continued,
‘quite
by
chance
I
looked
in
the
room
of
the
tower
and
all
that
is
in
there
is
a
mirror.’

‘I’m
quite
at
a
loss,’
said
Thomas,
‘but
the
mystery
needs
solving
for
it
is
obviously
some
unhappy
soul.
May
I
come
to
your
room
tonight
and
maybe
we
could
go
to
the
tower
room
together?
For
I
cannot
bear
the
thought
of
some
harm
befalling
you
and
I
promise,’
here
he
laid
his
hand
on
his
heart,
‘my
intentions
are
honourable.’

We
both
laughed
at
this
and
I
felt
again
the
way
I
did
on
my
visit
to
Thurston
Abbey,
this
seemed
so
long
ago,
but
yet
in
truth
it
was
little
more
than
a
week.
As
we
parted
Thomas
gently
brushed
my
lips
with
his
own.
The
fleeting
kiss
was
like
a
feather
caressing
my
mouth,
it
stirred
emotions
in
me
that
I
had
never
before
experienced
and
at
our
parting
I
felt
cheated,
of
what
I
could
only
imagine.

***

That
afternoon
I
read
to
Henrietta
Kershaw
again.
Since
the
evening
that
I
had
been
locked
in
my
room
the
old
lady
had
been
sober
towards
me
in
manner
and
in
voice
even
when
she
said,
‘I’m
told
you
are
still
dallying
with
my
nephew.’

At
these
words
I
raised
my
eyes
from
the
book
I
had
been
reading.
‘You
could
do
a
lot
worse
and
certainly
no
better
than
Thomas.
What
his
mother
will
say
if
there
is
talk
of
marriage
between
you
I
dread
to
think.
I’m
not
for
it
or
against
it,
but
you
have
spirit
and
the
demeanour
of
a
lady,
and
after
all
what
is
wealth?
I
have
lived
in
this
rambling
house
all
my
life
and
hardly
stepped
out
of
it,
but
it
has
brought
me
no
joy.
I
wish
you
well,
Abigail
Sinclair.’
Her
words
surprised
me.

‘Thank
you.’
I
murmured
and
looking
at
her
I
felt
compassion,
after
all
it
wasn’t
her
fault
that
Antony’s
father
had
died.
Also
to
have
lived
for
years
with
a
veil
covering
her
face
could
not
have
been
easy,
especially
when
I recalled
the
portrait
of
her
as
a
young
woman
in
the
long
gallery.