“What have you been buying?” she teased. “Share the secret.”
“It is hardly a secret.”
“But you walk with that parcel as though you had stolen it.”
“I most certainly did not steal it.”
“Then you are ashamed of buying it.”
“I am not,” he said defensively. “It is just not the sort of thing that a gentleman wants the whole world to know about.”
“Why, what is it?”
“It is a bathing costume, if you must know.”
She almost danced with delight.
“Oh, how lovely! I was just thinking how much I would like to go to the beach for a swim.”
“Do you think it’s safe for you to go down there while it is so crowded?” John asked.
She stopped.
“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” she answered after a moment. “Perhaps it would be stupid of me to go where I might be seen.”
“In fact, it was a little incautious of you to come outside like this,” he warned. “Let us go back in, quickly.”
John took her arm and they walked into the hotel, shutting themselves in his office.
“Are there definitely people looking for you?” he asked. “No one has come here making enquiries for a missing lady. You seem safe for the moment.”
“Perhaps I am. But you are right about going out. I will wait until it’s dark or maybe early tomorrow morning.”
“I think tomorrow morning would be most sensible,” he replied. “After all, at night you might get lost and swept away in the night and however hard we tried, we wouldn’t be able to find you.”
“Would you really come to look for me?” she asked.
He suppressed a desire to say that now he had met her, he would search for her unto the ends of the earth, and forced himself to say simply,
“Of course I would. While you are here I am your protector and adviser.”
Miss Smith laughed.
She was so charming that John found his head spinning even faster.
He wondered again what she could have done to make someone chase after her.
“Is it safe for me,” she enquired after a moment, “to come down to dinner?”
“You may have dinner served in your room if you prefer.”
A teasing impulse made him add,
“If you come down you might find yourself under surveillance by a plain clothes policemen, or anyone else from whom you are hiding.”
“I am not hiding from the police,” she stated firmly. “That is one thing you can be sure about.”
“I am sorry,” John said, meaning it. “I was just trying to be humorous, but whatever this is all about, it isn’t funny to you, is it?”
“No,” she said with a touch of sadness. “It is not.”
“Will you not tell me?” he asked gently.
“Perhaps, one day. But not now.”
“You are afraid you cannot trust me, aren’t you?”
She gazed at him with a strange, wistful look on her face.
“I think I can but – please, give me a little time.”
“All the time you need,” John said gently.
“I think I will return to my room,” she said, “and perhaps read a book until it is time for dinner. Only – oh, dear! I didn’t bring any books with me. I left in such a hurry –”
She checked herself suddenly, as though afraid she was saying too much.
“You can have this one of mine,” he said, reaching into a bag by the desk. “Only, I am not sure that it would interest a lady. It describes in detail how we conquered India and how important that country is to us at the moment.”
To his surprise, she gave a cry.
“I would love that,” she said. “My father was in India at one time and I always hoped he would take me there.”
It was true. Much of her Papa’s wealth had been built on Indian merchandise, especially textiles.
“I will take great care of it,” she promised, taking the book, “and thank you very much for your help.”
Holding the book about India in her hand, she slipped out of the office and ran up the stairs, leaving John standing there, puzzled and intrigued.
Who on earth could she be and what was the mystery surrounding her?
Could she really be a woman of ill-repute as Miss Campbell had implied?
But his mind resisted that thought as monstrous. This woman was a lady. She possessed elegance and refinement and a great beauty that came from within, the product of a true and honest soul.
Then he asked himself how he could be certain. They had met only that very day and he did not know her.
In the same breath he was convinced that he did know her and that he had always known her in his heart. And he always would.
It was a moment of revelation that stunned him.
He did not even know her real name. But he knew her. And that knowledge would determine all the rest of his life.
He sat down, trying to come to terms with what was happening to him. It was very difficult and at last he pushed the thought away, as though it was something he feared – and perhaps he did.
To give himself something else to think about, he settled down to study the hotel’s books, determined not to allow the fearsome Miss Campbell to catch him on the wrong foot again.
He managed reasonably well for a couple of hours before several young men arrived and asked if there was somewhere they could change into their bathing clothes.
John had already discovered that six of the bathing machines on the beach belonged to the hotel and three remained unbooked.
These were immediately taken by the newcomers, one of whom then leaned across the desk and asked in a conspiratorial voice,
“Do you have a shop here where we can buy –” he lowered his voice still further, and almost mouthed the last words, “bathing costumes?”
He looked around furtively as he spoke, as though fearful of being overheard making such a shocking suggestion.
“I am afraid not,” John replied. “But there is a shop on the esplanade.”
He mentioned the shop’s name. The gentleman thanked him and hurried away, leaving John very thoughtful.
The query had given him an idea, but he needed more time to work out the details.
By three o’clock there was very little left to do and he was just wondering if he would go down to the sea again, when he heard a large carriage arrive outside.
A few minutes later a man came into the office. He seemed to be someone of importance, or at least who considered himself someone of importance.
He was middle-aged with a heavy body and broad shoulders. His hair was grey and thinning, his face red and ill-tempered and his expression showed that he would expect to receive what he wanted immediately, with no difficulty about it.
A strange feeling came over John. He could not have explained his thoughts, but he was suddenly convinced that this unpleasant looking stranger had come in search of Miss Smith.
And that her danger was very real.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Good afternoon sir,” said John, rising to his feet.
The stranger’s response was to glare at him as though the greeting was a form of impertinence. He seemed to bristle, giving the impression that nobody should speak to him without being spoken to first.
And then he demanded,
“Where is the owner of this place?”
“He is not here,” John informed him. “I am the manager.”
“I want to see the owner. Old fellow. Name of Dale.”
Now John knew that this was the man Miss Smith was fleeing. She too had asked for old Mr. Dale.
“Unfortunately Mr. Dale is no longer with us,” he said.
“Then where is he?” the man bawled. “That is what I want to know. Are you stupid?”
“I hope not sir. I meant only that Mr. Dale is dead. His son now owns this hotel and he is in London. As I am the manager, I am at your disposal.”
“Ve
ry well, my good fellow, I have some questions to ask you, and you had better answer them truthfully, or it will be the worse for you.”
Nobody had spoken to John in such a manner since he had been a young boy at school and his temper rose.
“I am not in the habit of telling lies,” he snapped, “or of allowing people to call me a liar.”
“Now, you listen to me,” the intruder replied, his colour rising, “I will not stand for being answered back by a servant. You will answer my questions, and then you will keep quiet and listen.”
John controlled his temper, annoyed at himself for letting it get the better of him. He had come to this place of his own free will, choosing to discard his title, so that he could enjoy playing at being an inn-keeper. How could he complain at being called a servant?
But to be called a servant by this obnoxious creature was another matter. He was overdressed with an attempt at luxury that did not convince, partly because of the gravy stains down his waistcoat. His coat might once have been costly, but it was no longer in fashion and the cuffs were fraying. A strong whiff of cheap cologne arose from him, not quite disguising the fact that he had not washed recently.
But it was not merely physical revulsion that seized John. There was something about this man, with his mean little eyes and the vicious twist to his mouth that sickened his spirit. Nevertheless, he resolved to be cautious and let the man think him dull witted.
“Yes, sir,” he offered in a suddenly meek voice. “How can I help you?”
“That’s better. I am looking for a young lady who may have come here.”
John was instantly alert, his thoughts flying to the lovely, vulnerable girl in her room upstairs. But he concealed his inward tension by staring at the man as stupidly as he could manage.
“Lots of young ladies come here, sir,” he said, speaking slowly. “With their families of course, because this is a very respectable hotel. They come for the sea bathing.” In a burst of apparent inspiration, he added, “it’s very healthy, you know, sea bathing.”
“Yes, yes, I am sure it is,” the man responded impatiently. “I don’t need a lecture from you.”
“I was only trying to be helpful, sir,” John said with an air of injured innocence. “You said you were looking for a young lady, and I said –”
“I know what I said,” came the snappish reply. “This is a very particular young lady. You would notice her because she is alone, with no maid –”
“Then she isn’t here,” John said at once. “We don’t admit that sort of young lady.”
“What do you mean ‘that sort’?”
Remembering Miss Campbell’s strictures, John contrived to look bashful.
“You know – that sort. This is a respectable hotel.”
“It is also small and concealed from the road. Just the kind of place where she would try to hide.”
John frowned, apparently making a huge effort of concentration.
“But how could she hide from you, sir? You are here.”
“Exactly. I knew where to search for her and now I demand that you take me to her.”
“Take you to whom, sir?”
The man drew an exasperated breath.
“To the young lady who came here.”
“But she did not, sir. This is a respectable hotel –”
“If you say that once more –” The man checked himself with a sharp breath that sounded like a hiss.
“This young lady is someone of importance,” he resumed, speaking with difficulty. “Her family would pay well to recover her.”
John’s loathing of this creature was overwhelming and almost choked him. For a moment he could not think straight, and forced himself to look down at the visitors book lying in front of him, to conceal his expression.
He felt as though he was crossing a tightrope. The pretence of idiocy was not easy to maintain. But then the irascible stranger was himself none too intelligent, or he might have noticed the contrast between John’s present dull vagueness and the resolute spirit with which he had spoken at first.
John decided that this man held a poor opinion of everyone else. In his own mind he was the centre of the world, which made him a fool who could be duped.
And John was going to dupe him, because an inner voice was whispering that this meeting was the most important of his life, and great things might depend on it.
The man was becoming impatient, tapping his fingers on the desk. At last John said,
“Did you say a young lady?”
“Yes I did. I thought we settled that some minutes ago.”
John looked up at him, his expression blank.
“Settled what, sir?”
“That she is a young lady and that she is here.”
“She is not here, sir. We have to be careful because this is a respect –”
He fell silent before the awful retribution in the other man’s eyes.
“She is young, attractive and well-dressed,” the stranger continued stormily. “And travelling alone!”
“I cannot think of anyone at the moment who is here alone for luncheon,” John said. “Of course someone might have walked into the dining room without my seeing.”
“I looked in the dining room on my way in,” he replied sharply. “There were only two people and they were old.”
“Perhaps the young lady has gone straight to the beach,” John suggested.
“Hardly likely. And surely, if she came here alone, you would have noticed her and expected her to book a room. Or perhaps she might ask to use one of the bathing machines, which I understand the hotel owns.”
“They are often used without being reserved,” John told him as if making a melancholy comment on the perfidy of the human race.
In truth he had not the faintest idea whether what he had said was true or not. He was saying anything that came into his head in an attempt to drive this creature out of the hotel.
“Perhaps you should go down to the beach,” John continued. “Look at the bathing machines and see for yourself if they are being used by someone who has not made a proper reservation.”
There was silence while it was obvious the intruder was thinking this over. At last he snapped,
“This is nonsense. She would hardly go bathing, at least, not so soon. She would have other things on her mind.”
“What other things, sir?”
“She’s running away.”
“From you, sir?”
“Yes, damn your impudence! I am her lawful guardian. I have total authority over that young woman, and anyone who hides her from me will face a heavy penalty. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir,” John said woodenly. Inwardly he was vowing not to give her up to this man, no matter what the penalties.
After glaring for a moment, the vulgarian, seeming to realise that he was getting nowhere, turned and stalked out, slamming the door behind him. John saw him walk towards the steps which led to the beach below.
As soon as he was out of sight, John hurried up the stairs and knocked on the door of Miss Smith’s room.
There was silence for a moment before she called, in a rather frightened voice,
“Come in.”
He opened the door and saw at once how relieved she was to see him and no one else.
He slipped quickly inside and shut the door behind him.
“A man has just been here asking about you.”
She gave a cry of horror.
“Oh, no, I was so afraid of this.”
“I have told him you are not here in the hotel and he has gone down to the beach to see if you are bathing.
“Oh, please, he must not find me.”
“There is no reason why he should. When he returns from searching the beach, I will think of something to get rid of him.”
“Thank you very much, you have been so kind,” Miss Smith said. “Whatever happens he must not find me. Please, please, he mustn’t.”
He began to realise that she was not
merely frightened, but terrified.
“When I leave, you must lock your door and don’t open it on any account,” he advised. “I will let you know when he has finally gone.”
She drew in her breath.
“You are so kind,” she sighed. “What would I do without your help?”
“You don’t have to do without my help,” he answered gently. “I will not let him find you.”
She gasped and for a moment he thought she would burst into tears. He longed to beg her to tell him everything, but he could see the fear in her eyes, and he knew it would be a mistake to risk making things worse than they were already.
“Suppose he insists on searching the hotel?” she asked in a shaking voice. “Perhaps I could hide in the attic or the cellar.”
“You must stay here,” he said firmly. “I won’t let him near this room. I will go downstairs and hide my visitors book, and tell the staff not to answer any questions he might ask them.”
“Please, please do that for me,” she breathed.
He hurried down the stairs to his office, where he locked the visitors book away. Then he went to inspect the taproom which, he was pleased to notice, was doing a brisk business.
Frank was ahead of him, standing behind the bar, receiving instructions in wines, beers and spirits from an enchanting red-haired barmaid.
“Keeping busy, Frank?” John asked amiably.
“Just wanting to do my bit, sir. I believe the hotel is a little short-staffed, and if you should want me to take a turn behind the bar – ?”
“You would be only too delighted.”
“I believe I’d be up to the task sir, after this young lady’s excellent instructions.”
“And this young lady is – ?”
“Ellie, sir,” the girl said with a little bob.
Frank gave her a little nudge.
“I am really good at this, aren’t I, Ellie?” Frank urged.
Ellie giggled.
“Do you work here all day?” John asked her.
“Oh, no, sir. I usually take an hour off about now.”
“Good. Then off you go. Frank will stay here and show me what you have taught him.”
Ellie vanished. Frank looked aggrieved.
“Things were just going very nicely here, sir.”
“Until I came along and spoiled it. Never mind, you will have other chances. Pour us both some ale and then I want you to go round everyone who works here telling them not to answer any questions about our guests – from anyone.”
A Paradise On Earth Page 5