The Tall Stranger

by D. E. Stevenson

  Everything had been arranged in the usual Scott manner, the tickets had been taken and sleepers reserved. The sleepers were at the far end of the platform and the attendant was waiting for them and greeted Jardine as an old friend.

  Agnes and Jardine got into the train and Barbie was about to follow them when she felt a touch on her arm, and turning, saw Henry Buckland.

  ‘Yes, it’s me,’ said Henry, seeing her surprise.

  ‘But I thought you were staying at Oddam till Sunday!’

  ‘Couldn’t stick it out,’ exclaimed Henry. ‘I was afraid you might meet some other fellow or something. I came south with Jardine last night and I’ve been searching for you all day. I went to your flat this morning and rang and knocked but nobody answered; then I went to Garfield’s and they said you had taken the afternoon off. I went back to the flat and rang and knocked till I was tired. By that time I was like a maniac; I thought I had lost you again! Then it struck me that you might come to the station with the child – so here I am.’

  For some reason this sad tale pleased Barbie quite a lot.

  ‘I’ve been busy,’ she said, smiling at him.

  ‘Doing what?’ asked Henry suspiciously. ‘Interior decorating – or out with some fellow?’

  ‘Neither,’ replied Barbie with a chuckle. ‘If you must know I was – exterior decorating.’

  ‘Oh, Miss France!’ cried Agnes, appearing suddenly with Jardine at the door of the train. ‘Oh, Miss France, I’ve got a dear little bedroom all to myself with a light over the bed. Mr Jardine says you can come and see it.’

  ‘How decent of him!’ said Henry. ‘Can I come and see it too?’

  ‘It’ll be better not,’ said Jardine firmly. ‘She’s a wee bit excited. She’ll just say good-bye to Miss France and we’ll get her teeth washed and off tae bed. It’s better to get her off tae bed before the train starts.’

  Henry was about to reply in a joking manner but Barbie looked at him quickly and he took the hint.

  ‘All right,’ he said. ‘I’ll wait here for you, but don’t be long – and for Heaven’s sake don’t get carried off to Scotland in the train. I’ve had enough trouble pursuing you round London.’

  As they walked back down the platform together Henry took her arm. ‘Where shall we go and feed?’ he asked. ‘My club is a nice quiet place. What about it, Barbie?’

  She noticed that he had called her Barbie and was pleased that he had remembered. Incidentally it made her feel more like herself. It was lovely to see Henry again. He had come. She had known he would come, of course – but she had not expected him to come so soon – and he had pursued her all day – and now they were together. Barbie’s heart was singing with happiness.

  They had supper at Henry’s club. It was so late that there was nobody else in the dining-room, except an old gentleman who was immersed in an evening paper, so it was easy to talk, and although it was only four days since they had seen each other there was a lot to talk about.

  Barbie was anxious to hear all about Bogle and the diamonds, but Henry could not tell her a great deal for the poor jackdaw was too ill to be questioned. Four large diamonds and a ruby had been discovered amongst the broken glass and these had all been taken from an old-fashioned pendant which formed part of the ‘loot’ stolen from a hotel in Ryddelton about eighteen months ago. The gems had obviously been prised from their setting by an unpractised hand and the police had a theory that the thieves might have dropped the pendant when they were making their escape and Bogle had found it and removed the stones himself.

  ‘It’s only a guess,’ said Henry. ‘I doubt whether we shall ever know for certain. They’re all doing their level best to whitewash the jackdaw. I think he’s a black-hearted villain, myself.’

  Barbie was not sure what she thought about it. She had only seen Bogle once – for a few minutes – and certainly had not liked him, but whether or not he was entirely responsible for his actions she could not tell.

  ‘Don’t let’s bother about Bogle,’ said Henry. ‘I want to hear what you’ve been doing. It’s your turn to talk.’

  It was Barbie’s turn to talk and, after a slight hesitation, she told Henry what Agnes had said about her mother going to Montreal, for the matter was worrying her a good deal.

  ‘What can we do?’ asked Barbie. ‘Mrs Evans is such an extraordinary woman. She might – just – disappear. Is there any way of preventing her?’

  ‘We’ll do nothing,’ said Henry promptly. ‘It will be all the better if the mother disappears. If I know anything about Jennifer she’ll keep that child – and I know a good deal about Jennifer. She’s tough on the surface but soft underneath. I can’t see Jennifer sending that child back to an unsatisfactory home …’

  ‘But Henry, you don’t mean –’

  ‘And I can’t think why you said she was a neglected little waif, plain and miserable; she’s a very nice-looking child. There’s something very attractive about her. She’s neat and tidy. What I call well-groomed,’ added Henry.

  ‘Well-groomed,’ said Barbie, chuckling appreciatively.

  ‘What’s the joke?’

  ‘I’ve spent all afternoon grooming her, that’s all. It’s been rather exhausting, but if you’re satisfied …’

  She began to laugh, and Henry laughed too – and insisted on hearing the whole story. It was a good story and Barbie told it well. She had not realised at the time how funny it was, but telling it to Henry made her see the joke. It had all begun with the button in the grubby little hand …

  ‘That button made me see red,’ declared Barbie. ‘It was the last straw! To think any mother could send her child like that – with a button off her coat! Glore could have taken a needle and thread and sewn it on in a minute.’ Barbie hesitated and then added, ‘Perhaps a man couldn’t quite understand – I mean perhaps you think it was silly to make such a fuss about a button.’

  ‘I don’t,’ said Henry quickly. ‘The button was a symbol. I shouldn’t dream of appearing on duty with a button off my jacket. It’s the same sort of thing.’

  Presently Henry leant forward and said, ‘Barbie, have I lasted over into your everyday life?’

  She nodded.

  ‘You mean it’s all right?’

  She met his eyes steadily. ‘Yes, Henry.’

  He put his hand over hers, which was lying on the table, and gave it a little squeeze. He could do no more, for the old gentleman at the next table (who resembled a benevolent walrus) had put down his paper and was watching them with interest.

  ‘He’s deaf,’ said Henry. ‘He’s an old admiral and as deaf as a door-nail. Barbie, darling, darling, darling! I love you frightfully!’

  ‘I don’t think he’s as deaf as all that,’ said Barbie rather breathlessly.

  ‘Oh yes, he is! I wish he were blind! Darling Barbie, when did you know?’

  ‘I think I’ve known all the time. I was just – trying to be sensible. I was just – waiting for you to come.’

  ‘You knew I would come.’

  Barbie hesitated for a moment and then said, ‘Yes, I suppose I did – really – or I would have accepted Mr Garfield’s offer.’

  ‘Mr Garfield’s offer!’ cried Henry in horrified tones.

  ‘Not marriage,’ said Barbie hastily.

  ‘Not marriage?’

  The dismay, writ large upon Henry’s face, made Barbie laugh. ‘Just – a partnership – that’s all –’ gasped Barbie.

  ‘A partnership in Garfield’s!’

  She nodded.

  ‘I say, that’s pretty good, isn’t it?’

  She agreed. As a matter of fact she was rather pleased that Henry should realise how good it was. ‘But I can’t do both,’ she added with a mischievous twinkle. ‘I can’t accept Mr Garfield’s offer and marry you as well, so if you still want me –’

  ‘I want you,’ said Henry earnestly. ‘I want you as my wife and my partner and my friend. I wanted you the very first moment I saw you – and a hundred times more now.
When can we be married, Barbie?’

  ‘Not too soon –’

  ‘Couldn’t it be too soon. Barbie, darling, please –’

  ‘The admiral is looking at us,’ murmured Barbie.

  ‘I think he’s a bit short-sighted –’

  ‘Henry, do be sensible!’

  Henry muttered something about admirals under his breath.

  ‘We must be sensible,’ declared Barbie, clinging to the word. ‘We really must be sensible. I don’t want to grasp at happiness. I’ve said I’ll marry you but there are things that must be settled first. I don’t want to let anybody down.’

  ‘You mean Garfield’s. But if you want to go on working at Garfield’s there’s no reason why you shouldn’t.’

  ‘Wouldn’t you mind?’ asked Barbie in surprise.

  ‘Of course not,’ he replied. ‘I want you to be happy. I don’t want you to give up anything that you like doing. We’re going to be partners,’ said Henry earnestly. ‘Why should I ask you to give up something you enjoy?’

  He paused and looked at her, but she said nothing.

  ‘It’s your Thing,’ he continued. ‘You love the work and you’re very good at it – I could see that by the way you went about your job at Oddam – and somehow I can’t imagine you sitting at home, idle. You wouldn’t be happy.’

  ‘It would be a bit – dull,’ admitted Barbie. She hesitated and then added thoughtfully, ‘I couldn’t take the partnership, but I think Mr Garfield would be quite pleased to let me work with him part-time.’

  ‘That’s settled then,’ declared Henry. ‘It’s an excellent plan – and of course it means we needn’t wait. We can be married at once.’

  ‘No, we can’t, Henry. There’s Nell to be considered. I can’t just walk out of the flat and leave Nell stranded. I can’t, really,’ said Barbie in earnest tones. ‘Poor Nell was alone in the flat all the time I was ill, and it was miserable for her. We shall have to find someone else to share the flat with Nell – and it won’t be easy.’

  ‘Surely she would understand –’

  ‘Oh, she would understand,’ agreed Barbie. ‘She’s frightfully unselfish, but that’s all the more reason why I can’t let her down. Nell isn’t just an ordinary friend; she’s very special. As a matter of fact I wouldn’t be here at all if it hadn’t been for Nell. I should have died in that hospital if she hadn’t got Dr Headfort and made them send me to Underwoods.’

  Henry gazed at her in silence.

  ‘You see, don’t you?’ urged Barbie. ‘You wouldn’t want me to let her down, would you, Henry?’

  ‘N’no,’ said Henry doubtfully. ‘But couldn’t we –’

  ‘And then there’s Aunt Amalie,’ continued Barbie. ‘I’ll have to break it to her gently. I believe the best way would be for me to take you to Underwoods so that she could see you. She’s old,’ explained Barbie. ‘You can’t rush people when they’re old; they like things done in a leisurely sort of way – and I expect she’ll want us to be married at Shepherdsford.’

  ‘Oh, help! Not a posh affair like the Mainwaring’s!’

  Barbie looked thoughtful. ‘Not unless she wants it awfully much … but Aunt Amalie has been so good to me that I wouldn’t like to upset her.’ For a moment Barbie hesitated, wondering whether she should tell Henry that some day Underwoods would belong to his wife, and then she decided that this was not the time. Later, when he had met Aunt Amalie and talked to her and had seen Underwoods she would tell him everything.

  ‘Supposing Lady Steyne doesn’t like me?’ asked Henry in sudden apprehension.

  ‘She’ll love you,’ replied Barbie smiling at him very sweetly – and she looked so enchanting that it was all he could do to refrain from kissing her then and there.

  ‘I say,’ said Henry in a husky voice, ‘you don’t want coffee, do you? Let’s go to your flat, Barbie. There won’t be any admirals in your flat, will there?’

  ‘There will be nobody in the flat,’ Barbie told him.

  ‘That will suit me down to the ground,’ declared Henry, signalling to the waiter to bring his bill.

  Barbie gathered up her gloves and bag and rose from the table. She said, ‘It will all be quite easy except finding another girl to share the flat with Nell.’

  When Barbie said there was nobody in the flat she was quite mistaken; Nell had got home early and at that very moment was sitting upon the sofa with Dr Headfort. His arm was round her, and her head was on his shoulder, and they were very comfortable indeed.

  At that very moment Nell was saying, ‘Yes, Will, I know. You’ve said all that before, but finding somebody really nice to share the flat with Barbie won’t be easy, and I can’t leave her in the lurch.’

  She added:

  ‘I am not of that feather to shake off

  My friend when he should need me.’

  Will Headfort immediately replied, ‘ “Beware the fury of a patient man.” ’

  ‘You’re cheating,’ said Nell suspiciously. ‘I don’t believe that’s Shakespeare … and anyhow you’re not patient. That’s just the trouble.’

  ‘I’ve been patient for ages,’ declared Will. ‘You promised you would tell Miss France when she came back from Scotland –’

  ‘I meant to – honestly – but Barbie hasn’t been like herself. There’s something wrong with her.’

  ‘Do you mean she’s ill?’

  ‘N’no,’ said Nell thoughtfully. ‘Just – sort of – queer. Sometimes she’s a bit too cheerful, and sometimes she stands quite still and stares at the wall. This morning I heard her muttering to herself and she was saying, “Of course he’ll come.” ’

  ‘In love.’ said Will, who knew the condition only too well.

  ‘Yes, but who?’

  Will hesitated and then he said, ‘If it’s that cousin of hers she had better be careful. Edward Steyne has got the reputation for being not very straight – and if you once get that reputation in the City you’re done for. Nobody wants to do business with a man unless he’s trustworthy.’

  ‘Oh!’ said Nell. ‘Oh dear … but I’m not surprised.’

  ‘Not surprised?’

  ‘I knew he was a bit of a twister. Barbie knows too – that’s why she broke off her engagement – so I don’t think she would change her mind and marry Edward. In fact I’m sure she wouldn’t, because she hates lies.’

  ‘She must be in love with somebody else,’ said Will hopefully.

  Nell shook her head. ‘Barbie doesn’t know anybody else.’

  ‘I wish you didn’t know anybody else,’ said Will Headfort with a sigh. ‘That new chap, Percy Something; I don’t like him.’

  ‘Goodness, you aren’t jealous of Percy!’ exclaimed Nell in surprise.

  ‘I’m jealous of everyone who looks at you; and of course everyone looks at you: taxi-drivers, waiters, porters,’ said poor Will. ‘Everyone looks at you because you’re so beautiful. I wish I were a poet instead of a dull old doctor so that I could tell you how beautiful you are.’

  ‘Darling Will,’ said Nell. ‘I think you are a poet –’

  ‘No. I’m not – but I understand poetry now. For instance I always thought it was rather silly for Romeo to say, “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright,” but now I understand what he meant. It isn’t a metaphor, it’s absolutely real. Juliet lighted up his world – as you do mine.’

  ‘Oh Will, nobody has ever said anything to beautiful to me before!’

  ‘Not Percy?’ asked Will. ‘Not Rupert or Phil or –’

  ‘Nobody ever!’ declared Nell, holding up her mouth to be kissed.

  He was kissing her when the door opened and Barbie came in – with Henry.

  the end

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