Healing in the Hills

by Ruth Clemence

  His tone was so ingenuous that Ismay found herself laughing. ‘You wouldn’t recognize the name if I told you,’ she said, ‘but I’m glad you like it just the same.’

  Roy pulled her if possible even closer and gave her a quick kiss under the ear before releasing her and turning to resume their walk along the beach, this time with his arm even more firmly around her waist. ‘Well, I hope I’m going to be inhaling it a good deal from now on,’ he remarked frankly. ‘When do you get a free evening? Because I want to take you out.’

  ‘When do you get a free evening?’ Ismay asked. ‘I expect you’re on call every other night.’

  ‘That’s so,’ he agreed ruefully. ‘Well, if we can’t get you out and I have to stay in sight of a phone I’ll have to get old Mrs. Kynoch to invite me to dinner one evening. That way I shall have your company and be on call in case I’m needed. We can always escape into the garden.’

  Ismay could not help it, she burst out laughing. ‘You’re a born intriguer,’ she said, which seemed to please Roy Young immeasurably, because he grinned back at her. It was some time before she persuaded him that they had walked far enough and ought to turn and retrace their steps. She was secretly rather worried about the possible reaction of the Kynoch family. After all, she was employed to look after Anne and she must have been absent for the best part of an hour. Even though there were nine other people to keep an eye on her that was no excuse for Ismay to take a walk with one of the other guests, and she must expect to be taken to task if either parent had noticed her long absence.

  But when Ismay and Roy reached the camping spot only Lewis Kynoch, his mother and Anne were present. Mrs. Kynoch was asleep in the canvas reclining chair which had been brought especially for her, Anne was lying flat on her back on a rug and Lewis was sitting, his back propped against a convenient boulder, doing the crossword puzzle in The Times.

  He looked up as Roy Young and Ismay walked over the sand and from the ironical look in his eyes, Ismay was glad she had asked Roy to remove his arm before they emerged into full view of the party. ‘Had a nice walk?’ Lewis asked as they stopped.

  ‘Very nice,’ Roy answered before Ismay could reply. ‘You should have come with us,’ he added audaciously, and turned to wink impishly at Ismay. He had his back to Lewis, but Ismay was sure that he knew Roy was teasing and that his presence would have been most unacceptable, at least in her companion’s eyes.

  Lewis had been watching Ismay inscrutably. ‘Mother will be awake in a moment or two and ready for her tea. I’ll put the kettle on, for I’m sure you two could use a cup as well.’ His voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the note of irony in his voice and the mischievous smile left Roy’s face. He glanced thoughtfully towards Lewis as he got to his feet and went to where the picnic things had been placed behind a rock out of the sun.

  Ismay sat down on the rug beside Anne, who opened her eyes and smiled a welcome. She ought to offer to help Levis but in his present mood Ismay had no wish to join him over the camping stove. At that moment Mrs. Kynoch opened her eyes and sat up saying briskly, ‘Well, I enjoyed that wee snooze. Ah, I see tea is on the way. Good!’

  When the next arrivals returned to the picnic spot Clare was walking between James and Sally, holding a hand of each, and behind them came Dr. Maynard and his wife. It was fully three or four minutes later before Felicity and Major Ross returned. Felicity was holding him tightly by the arm and gazing up into his face, all rapt attention. If her surprising behaviour in accompanying her daughters earlier in the week had been an attempt to impress Lewis she had obviously given up the idea, for she was making no effort today to appear a loving wife and mother.

  By this time the kettle was whistling and Lewis poured boiling water into the large brown tea-pot. Seeing Clare begin to set out the cups and saucers, Ismay got reluctantly to her feet and went over to help. Lewis glanced sideways at her as he began to pour out the tea, but he made no comment, simply handing her the cups to carry round.

  The others had grouped themselves on rugs and cushions with the exception of Sue Maynard, who was helping to hand out biscuits and cakes. She was a pleasant, unaffected girl, and having discovered earlier that like herself Ismay was a nurse, when everybody had been attended to Sue sat down beside Ismay and began talking shop.

  ‘I met Don when he came to work up in the hospital in Carlisle,’ she explained as she nibbled a chocolate biscuit. ‘I won’t say it was love at first sight—we fought like cat and dog to begin with,’ and she grinned in a friendly manner at Ismay.

  ‘Do you miss nursing?’ Ismay asked.

  ‘No,’ Sue looked thoughtful, ‘as a matter of fact we’ve been hoping to start a family this past year, but no sign yet. Often the way in doctor’s families.’

  Ismay nodded sympathetically. ‘I think we know too much about the subject,’ Sue Maynard went on. ‘We’re apt to be over-analytical about medical matters.’

  She had begun to ask Ismay if she missed her friends at St. Ninian’s when somebody else claimed her attention and Ismay found herself sitting for an instant or two in a pool of silence until Roy Young edged nearer and whispered in her ear, ‘Did I see a suggestion of the green-eyed monster for a moment when we came back from our walk?’

  Ismay turned her head and looked questioningly at him. He nodded very slightly in the direction of Lewis, who had sat down on the sand beside his mother. Ismay was glad she was spared a reply to this very awkward question when Mrs. Kynoch suddenly demanded another cup of tea.

  Hastily she got to her feet and went forward to fill the old lady’s cup again and when she returned Roy seemed to have forgotten his question, because he continued to talk to her on much more impersonal matters, rather to her relief.

  Ismay had no wish to be involved in any conversation about Lewis Kynoch; it was becoming an increasingly sensitive subject with her. It had crossed her own mind that he had looked very displeased when she returned from her walk with Roy. Perhaps he had merely been annoyed that she should have deserted her post, for why should he be jealous? He had absolutely no right. Was he one of those men who were singularly possessive with any of the females under their roof? But that was a Victorian attitude and Lewis was so essentially modern in his ideas that it just didn’t make sense.

  The following day he departed to attend a medical conference in London and was absent for three days. The house seemed singularly empty, Ismay thought as she returned during the evening from a walk to the nearest post box. Although he was often shut up in his study, one was instantly conscious of his presence in the house and she was secretly appalled at how much she missed him.

  Ismay had been brought up to believe rigidly in the sanctity of marriage, and the fact that Felicity and Lewis did not live on very intimate terms was no excuse for her growing feeling towards him, because by now, even to herself, she could no longer deny that she found his presence exciting, and even discordant encounters with him made her pulse beat faster and her heart race with excitement. He must have married very early, Ismay thought to herself, because he did not look to be more than thirty-three or four. Felicity Kynoch, however, could well be a few years older, despite the careful and expert make-up without which she was never seen. Ismay had noted the fine lines about Felicity’s eyes and at the corners of her mouth which hospital experience had taught her did not usually appear until a woman was over thirty-five.

  Half-way through the following week Ivor Thomas telephoned to ask her if there was a possibility of a meeting, and hearing that on the Friday Ismay was taking the girls into Penrith for the first house of a James Bond film he asked if he might come along too and afterwards take them out for a meal. Ismay went away to ask Mrs. Kynoch’s permission and on receiving this she arranged with Ivor to meet him outside the cinema at five-thirty. The girls were delighted.

  Anne, who now flatly refused to be confined in a wheelchair and who had managed to persuade Lewis to let her swop her crutches for a stick said, ‘Oh, that will be great! I wonder if I
vor will take us to the White Hart. It’s one of the nicest places in Penrith and they do the most super steaks I’ve ever tasted. Daddy took us there last time he was home.’

  Ismay’s eyebrows twitched together. What could Anne mean? She turned to question her only to find the sisters were talking together on their fingers. Clare as usual, had removed her hearing aid, and the opportunity to ask Anne a question was lost.

  If Ivor Thomas found the addition of two children on his date with Ismay an embarrassment he showed no sign of it and insisted on paying for the cinema, although Ismay told him Mrs. Kynoch had wanted it to be her treat. He took them, after the enthralling film, as Anne had hoped, to the White Hart for supper.

  It was a comfortable and well-run hostelry which once had been one of the old posting houses on the road to Scotland, and Ivor had evidently rung and made a reservation, for as soon as they reached the dining-room they were shown to a corner table where they had a good view of the other diners. Anne lost no time in ordering steak with all the trimmings and Clare followed suit. Ismay plumped for veal with a wine sauce and Ivor himself asked for roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. ‘It’s one of the things I missed in the Far East,’ he explained as the waiter went away. ‘They don’t cook it anywhere else like they do up here.’

  It was a pleasant meal and at no time did the conversation flag. The girls soon had Ivor launched on anecdotes of his Royal Navy life and Ismay sat back in her chair enjoying the well-cooked food and listening to the stories, most of which she had heard on her previous date with Ivor. He certainly was a most accomplished raconteur, and by the time they had finished their coffee and Ismay began to hint that it really was time they were getting home, the girls were hanging on his every word.

  This time when they reached Little Grange Ismay discovered that she was not to be let off so lightly. Politely but firmly Ivor persuaded the girls to go into the house, and as Ismay turned to follow he grasped her wrist and pulled her outside the door again.

  ‘Do you think we could do this again next week,’ he asked, ‘without the girls?’ and in the light over the door Ismay could see his eyes were twinkling. ‘They’re a very sweet couple, but I’d really like you just to myself.’

  Ismay laughed. ‘It was very kind of you to include them tonight, and they’ve obviously enjoyed it enormously.’

  ‘Well, so have I, for that matter, despite their slightly unwelcome company,’ Ivor said, ‘but it’s you I most want to see, Ismay,’ and firmly drawing her towards him he kissed her.

  The kiss only lasted a moment, for Ismay drew back and equally firmly disengaged herself from his hold. She liked Ivor very much. He was good company and she enjoyed listening to his stories and was intrigued by the strange incidents he described, but other than this she had no special interest in him, and certainly not a romantic one. He must not be allowed to get false ideas, and saying uncompromisingly, ‘I’ll have to see how I’m fixed,’ she said, ‘Good night,’ and going inside shut the door between them, not even standing to wave good-bye.

  All next day the girls teased her unmercifully and asked several pointed questions about Ivor’s background and if she was going to see him again. With difficulty Ismay managed to parry their inquisitiveness, but she began to feel rather irritated later that evening when as she was tucking them in Anne remarked, a twinkle in her pretty blue eyes, ‘Did you know, Ismay, that the Lakes are one of the most romantic places in England? Why, Mummy and Daddy met here when Mummy came up on holiday. Just fancy, it might be happening to you too!’

  Ismay tucked the sheet in and said lightly, ‘Lightning rarely strikes twice. Now good night, and just forget about my romances, real or imaginary. When I really fancy someone, I’ll send you both a postcard.’

  Clare immediately said, ‘I can’t hear you, Ismay,’ and Ismay had to repeat the whole conversation on her fingers, whereupon Clare began to chuckle as loudly as Anne, and Ismay went out of the bedroom feeling that at least she had ended their curiosity without offending them. It would not be easy if the girls were going to take an interest in her personal life, and to make matters more complicated Roy Young rang up the following day and suggested that they all went to the cricket club in Keswick the following Saturday to see him captain the Hepthorpethwaite side there.

  Both girls had been in the hall when Ismay answered the telephone, so there was no means of hiding the identity of the caller from them even had she wished to. They went off into peals of mirth and before Ismay could stop them told their grandmother, ‘What do you think, Gran? Young Dr. Young wants Ismay to go and see him playing cricket on Saturday in Keswick. He wants us to go too. Can we?’

  ‘It’s quite a good idea,’ old Mrs. Kynoch said. ‘Since Roy’s invited you three I don’t know that I won’t come as well. It’s very pleasant there if the weather’s warm and they do an excellent tea at the cricket club. I shall certainly gatecrash the party if it’s a sunny afternoon.’

  Lewis and Felicity were not mentioned, Ismay noticed, and wondered whether she ought to inquire if Roy had intended to include them as well in his invitation. But it transpired when Saturday came round that they had made their own arrangements. Felicity was playing golf in the afternoon with Major Ross and then going out in the evening with him to dinner and a theatre. Lewis had arranged to go fishing, but in the evening he was on emergency call and would be unable to leave the telephone.

  ‘In any case,’ old Mrs. Kynoch remarked when these arrangements were revealed to her, ‘we shall be back in time for supper. I don’t suppose that Roy, after a strenuous game, will want to stay on in Keswick for an evening meal, and I certainly won’t. Mrs. Fletcher, as you know, doesn’t come in on Saturday, so we can have a cold meal, Ismay. We’ll get it ready before we leave.’

  Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day and the Hepthorpethwaite team won easily. If Roy Young was tired after the strenuous game he showed no sign of it, and needed no persuading when Mrs. Kynoch suggested that he might like to go home, change out of his cricket flannels and then come and join them for a cold supper. If Lewis appreciated this addition to his household, he showed no sign of it, eating his meal in almost total silence at the head of the table, until even his mother glanced at him rather curiously as Ismay got up to fetch the coffee.

  ‘I think we’ll go and have it in the drawing-room,’ Mrs. Kynoch decided as she got to her feet. ‘Lewis! Carry the tray through for Ismay. It’s too heavy for her.’

  Before he could get up and walk forward to do so, Roy said, ‘Let me,’ and took the tray out of Ismay’s hands. Lewis, half out of his chair, sank back again. ‘I think I’ll have my coffee in the library,’ he said. ‘I’ll come and fetch a cup and then leave you to entertain one another. I’ve got quite a bit of paper work to catch up on, and if I’ve got to sit beside the telephone, I may as well get on with it.’

  ‘Oh, come and join us for five minutes,’ Anne pleaded, but Lewis was adamant about having to get on with some work, and once again Ismay noticed his mother’s eyes following him as, accepting his coffee cup, he almost stalked out of the drawing-room, shutting the door very firmly as he did so.

  Ismay felt a quiver run through her. If things went on like this, she would be obliged to make an excuse and leave. She wasn’t imagining the atmosphere of disapproval Lewis was emitting. Mrs. Kynoch was beginning to feel curious about her son’s behaviour, and it would not be long before she shrewdly put two and two together. When she did, she might well blame Ismay for the situation, despite the fact that she was innocent. There was absolutely no doubt now that Lewis disliked anyone paying any attention to Ismay, and even someone whom he knew as well as Roy Young fell into disfavour if he showed signs of admiration towards the latest addition to the household of Little Grange.

  The next few days were fairly uneventful. Ismay had to take the two girls into Keswick for their regular check-up with the dentist, and to their delight no treatment was necessary for either of them. To celebrate they asked to be allowed to stay and �
��have the biggest cream bun in the town. Now that we know our teeth are all right we can have something really sugary,’ Anne declared, her eyes on Ismay’s face.

  Ismay laughed and gave in. It was a warm and pleasant afternoon and she would not say ‘No’ to a cup of tea herself. They had one or two errands to do for Mrs. Kynoch, but these could wait until later. The shops would be open until five-thirty, and they were in no hurry to return to Little Grange.

  The three of them were walking slowly back to where Ismay had parked the car when Anne suddenly stopped. ‘Oh, look,’ she said, indicating a poster on the wall beside her. ‘The Keswick theatre festival is starting soon. I would like to see one of the plays.’

  ‘Sounds a marvellous idea,’ Ismay replied. ‘Let’s go and get some literature on what plays they’re doing this year, then we can decide what we’d like to see and book some tickets. Perhaps your grandmother would like to come as well.’

  She did not mention Felicity or Lewis, and certainly, if they wanted to be included, it could involve a rather ticklish discussion as to who paid for the tickets. Ismay wanted it to be her treat.

  Anne and Clare were so full of excitement on the journey back to Little Grange that Ismay decided to waste no time in arranging the theatre outing. When they were all sitting at the supper table that evening, and there was a convenient lull in the conversation, she remarked to the family at large, ‘Anne, Clare and I noticed that the theatre festival will be starting in Keswick soon and we’d very much like to go to one of the evening performances. Would it be all right if I booked tickets for the three of us?’

  She made the comment in general, looking round the table as she did so. She was sitting facing Clare, with Mrs. Kynoch on her left, Anne on her right and Lewis at the head of the table with Felicity beside him. Felicity looked up as soon as Ismay had finished speaking and said, ‘John was only talking about it this very afternoon when we were playing golf. What a coincidence! I expect I shall be going one evening myself. Yes, certainly you can take the girls. I don’t mind Clare having a late night, and Anne’s walking so much better there’s absolutely no reason why her leg shouldn’t stand up to one really late night.’