' You can't blame him. If you loved someone I'm sure you'd do the same.'
' I certainly would.' Barry's look was so warm that Lucy hastily continued: ' I think Mr Harlow's prejudiced against him simply because he's poor. If he's sincere about Cindy he must find it pretty irksome having to prove himself just because the girl's rich.'
' That isn't fair. After all, you can look at Murray's behaviour in two ways. The way we've just done or the way Paul does—as a confounded cheek on the part of an impecunious young man. After all, can you see Cindy living in a garret?'
' Not really,' Lucy confessed. ' But if they genuinely love one another why shouldn't Mr Harlow help them?'
' I think he would if he thought Murray was genuine.'
' He's got no reason for thinking otherwise,' she protested. 'Or has he?'
' Not that I know of,' Barry admitted. ' But Paul's a shrewd judge of character.. He wouldn't have got where he has if he weren't. Don't think I haven't argued with him about this, but I can't make him change his mind. He's adamant in his dislike of the fellow.'
Lucy shivered. ' I hope he won't blame me for what's happened. But I couldn't have prevented Cindy seeing Murray. Not now that he's living so near.'
' You've done the best thing possible,' Barry said, and patted her arm, keeping his hand there when he had finished the gesture. ' I'm sure Paul will agree with me when he comes back.'
' I hope so,' .she said without much conviction. " I promised Cindy I'd try to help her.'
' If you can't, no one can.' Barry stroked her arm, and though his touch did not thrill her, she found it comforting. ' I told you Paul has a high opinion of you. He spoke to me after he'd seen you at your flat.'
Barry did not continue, and though she was curious to know what Paul had said, she refused to question him.
' The main trouble with Paul,' Barry went on, ' is that the more money he's made the more afraid he's become, of people.'
' He might be better if he were married.'
' That's one thing I can't see him doing. He believes' money can buy everything, particularly women, and as. long as he thinks they're buyable he'll never many one.'
' Not even for the sake of all this?' She waved her hand to indicate her surroundings. ' What about an heir to cany on the great name?'
' You've got a point there,' Barry grinned. ' I suggest you tell that to Paul himself. Talking to you might be a good thing for him. You're the least money- conscious girl I know.'
' You don't know me very well,' she countered.
' Well enough. In your position .here, with Aunt Beatrice and Cindy doting on you, you could have anything you wanted. Aunt Beatrice told me herself she wanted to buy you a completely new wardrobe and you wouldn't let her.'
.' I'm a guest,' Lucy protested, 'not a charity child!'
Barry grinned, and knowing he had made his point, she grinned back at him. ' If there were more women around like you, Paul wouldn't have become so cynical. He was quite different at University. Shy and studious but a fantastic sense of humour. He's still the same underneath, too.'
'Laughing Boy Harlow,' she retorted. 'The King of the Take-over Bidders.'
'Have it your own way,' Barry said, draining his glass. ' But when you know Paul as well as I do, you'll come and tell me I'm right.'
In the days that followed Lucy thought of all that Barry had said and wondered whether she were not toe harsh a critic of her host. How difficult it was not to pre-judge a man when one had heard so much about him. She remembered stories of his ruthlessness in business, his quick thinking, his sharpness. People who worked for him spoke well of him though, not that they could afford to do otherwise, she thought, for their jobs depended on him. But gradually as she grew to feel more at home at Charters, her feelings towards its owner changed. It was as if in some indefinable way her appreciation of the treasures around her extended to their owner too, and in getting to know this lovely, gracious mansion she felt she was getting to know Paul Harlow himself.
It was the last Friday in the month when Paul's secretary telephoned to say that he was arriving in England that afternoon and would be returning to Charters in the evening.. He had not been expected back for at least another week and the news threw Aunt Beatrice into immediate panic. Not waiting to finish lunch she scurried off to see about opening Up his rooms and to consult with the chef over the weekend menus, leaving Lucy alone with a white-faced Cindy.
'What am I going to do?' The girl's eyes were wide with apprehension. ' Paul will loll me when he finds I've been meeting. Murray while he was away.'
' Don't be silly. He'll be upset, but——-'
' Upset! He'll be furious. You don't know what he's like when he's angry. It wouldn't be so bad if he lost his temper, but he just gets all cold and withdrawn and freezes you with contempt.' Her face crumpled. ' You've got to help me!'
' But your brother loves you. He wouldn't dream of hurting you.'
'I'm not flunking of myself. I'm scared for Murray.'
' I see.' Lucy drew the shaking girl to a low chair beside the fire.: ' We've talked all this over a dozen times and agreed that when your brother returns I'll wait for some propitious moment and then tell him Murray is in the village. Now why are you so frightened? Nothing's changed.'
Everything's changed 1 Paul's back. It was one thing to agree to all this when he was thousands of miles away, but now…' Her voice broke and she reached out an imploring hand. ' I don't want him to know Murray's here. Please don't tell him.'
' If we don't tell him, somebody else will, and that way he'll be far more angry. He's bound to find out within twenty-four hours who the new tenants are in Rosa
Cottage. This isn't London; you can't keep things to yourself in a place like Charters.'
Cindy sprang abruptly to her feet. ' I'm going to see Murray. I'll make him leave the village before Paul gets back.'
Lucy bit her lip. If only Barry had not had to go back to London; she was sure he would have known how to control Cindy. As it was she was afraid that Murray would find it only too easy to persuade Cindy— in her present state of mind—to elope with him.
' Supposing I went to see Murray?' she suggested. ' If he sees how scared you are he'll probably refuse to leave, but if I see him and explain the situation he might be willing to listen to me. And if I can't get him to leave here I can at least persuade him not to try and see you again before I've had a chance to speak to your brother.'
To her relief Cindy agreed to this, and leaving her crouched over the fire tearing a lace handkerchief to shreds, Lucy fetched her coat and scarf and set off down the long drive. In her present state of panic the last thing in Cindy's mind was the thought of how Lucy would reach the village, and absurd though it might be, she could not bring herself to ask the chauffeur to drive her unless Aunt Beatrice or Cindy had directly Suggested it. ' I should have hired a bicycle for my stay here,' she told herself, and laughed at the thought of how many raised eyebrows that would have caused at Charters.
To her relief Beryl was nowhere to be seen when she arrived at the cottage. She rang twice, then getting no reply pushed open the front' door, which was on the latch, and walked in. Glancing up from his easel, Murray motioned her to a seat in a comer of the room, making no attempt to break from his work.
Watching him, conscious of his quick, graceful movements, the lock of black hair that tumbled forward over his high forehead into his eyes, Lucy wondered if his absorption in his work was genuine or only an act assumed for her benefit. It was ten minutes at least before he threw down his brush and turned the canvas to the wall.
He came forward, wiping his hands on a paint-stained rag. ' Did you come to see Beryl? She won't be back for at least an hour.'
' I came to see you.'
. His mouth quirked. 'I'm honoured. I'm never really sure that you approve of me.'
She refused to be drawn into the sort of exchange that could lead nowhere. She knew from hard experience that Murray was adept at the so
rt of repartee which inevitably ended up turning to his own advantage.
'Let's go into the kitchen,' he insisted. 'At least there's a fire there and I can make you a cup of tea.'
' That'll be splendid.' " In the kitchen Lucy rubbed her hands in front of the fire, trying to restore the circulation. ' There's a gale blowing straight from Siberia. I almost froze to death on my way here.'
' If I was a guest at Charters I'd be driving round in a limousine.'
' I'm sure you would.'
His glance was as sharp as her tone and she was annoyed with herself for having answered him in this way: the last thing she wanted to do was to annoy him. This situation needed all her tact. She forced herself to relax, .to smile at him.
' You're a monstrous creature, Murray, but a dreadfully disarming one. I refuse to bicker with you.'
' A truce, then.' He set the kettle on the fire and 'brought cups and. plates from the dresser.
' I never thought you were domesticated, Murray.'
' I'm not. I'm lost without Beryl to look after me.'
' She's more like a mother to you than a sister, isn't die?'
' It's only natural. After all, she brought me up.'
' The way Paul Harlow brought up Cindy/ She had brought the conversation round to Harlow intentionally, but now she was struck by the coincidence she had just remarked on.
' Not at all the way Paul brought up Cindy,' he said sharply. ' Beryl didn't have much money, but she was never short on love. And from what Cindy's told me about her brother, the opposite applied with him,'
' I don't think you've any right to say that.' With surprise Lucy heard herself defending Paul Harlow. ' Not everyone shows their affection in the same way. Mr Harlow is an undemonstrative man, but I'm certain he is as fond of his sister as Beryl is of you.'
' Then why did he leave her alone so much?'
' He runs a large business and many people depend on him. It wasn't always possible for him to be with her.'
' All right, you've made your point.' All at once Murray gave in, his good temper returning with the suddenness with which it had gone. ' I'll agree Paul loves Cindy providing you'll agree I love her too!'
' I wouldn't agree about something that I don't know. And you're still very much a closed book to me, Murray. What I will say is that I know Cindy loves you. At least I hope it's love, though it might just as easily be physical attraction.'
' What makes you such an expert on love?' he asked sharply.
' I never professed to be an expert, I'm merely telling you some of the doubts I feel about you and Cindy.'
A jet of steam sprang from the kettle and he turned to lift it from the hearth. It was easier to speak to his back, and she said abruptly: ' Paul Harlow is back in England. In a few hours he'll be at Charters.'
' The master returns to the ancestral home and the peasantry trembles!' Murray swung round, the kettle in his hand. ' So what do you expect me to do about it?'
' The intelligent thing would be for you to take the next train back to London.'
' Retreat and leave Cindy to face the music on her own? How pusillanimous you must think me!'
' It'll be far worse for Cindy if her brother finds you here in the village.'
Murray warmed the teapot, poured away the water and spooned in tea from the canister. ' What makes a man act like God just because he can write a cheque with six noughts on it?'
The question was a rhetorical one and Lucy ignored it.
' If you won't leave the village, at least promise me you won't see Cindy again until I've had a chance to speak to Paul Harlow.'
' Noble Lucy 1 Prepared to champion our cause with the ogre. Don't you know he'll devour you in one gulp ?' Murray brought the teapot to the table. ' Poor, sweet, misguided Lucy, there's only one way to deal with a man like him. Present him with a fait accompli.'
'An elopement, you mean?' Lucy shook her head. 'If you really love Cindy as you say you do, you wouldn't want that for her. She loves you, but she also loves her brother.'
' She hates him!'
' She might resent his domination and the way he's acted towards you, but he's all the family she has and her marriage would be poisoned by regrets if it cut her off from him. How would you feel if you had to choose between Beryl 'and Cindy?'
He pushed aside the teapot in a sudden violent movement and leaned towards her across the table. ' I want Cindy and I mean to have her.'
' Then please be patient,' die urged. ' If Paul Harlow sees you love his sister enough to wait for her to grow up, I'm sure he'll feel differently about you.'
' Wait! Wait until we're both old and dried up! Is that what you're asking? It's very clear you've never loved anyone or you wouldn't talk such nonsense.'
She flushed and looked away. ' I'm not pretending it'll be easy, but other couples have done it.'
Murray relaxed suddenly. 'My dear girl, I've no intention of waiting until Cindy's twenty-one. It's too long for flesh to stand—and besides, she might change her mind by then.'
Lucy's heart lurched unpleasantly. ' You don't sound very sure of Cindy if you can say that. If you think she might change her mind perhaps it would be better if she waited.'
' That's where you're wrong. Cindy isn't like you. You could wait for a man for years—without hope or encouragement—and your love wouldn't die. But not Cindy. She's like a beautiful tropical plant and her love needs light and warmth and nourishment. If she can't marry me soon she might fall out of love with me. But once she's my wife, once she knows my love and has security, then she'll have no regrets.'
'What security can you give Cindy?' ' ' The security of my love. Don't think that security means money. Cindy's had everything in the world that she wants and she's still the most insecure creature I know. I can give her my love and my time and the security of my arms.'
Lucy was touched by the depth of feeling in his voice. Emotion overcame reason and she leaned forward eagerly. ' If you promise not to see Cindy for the next few days, I'll promise to speak to Paul Harlow as soon as I can. I'm certain I can make him see how much he's misjudged you.' Her mouth quirked. 'You may not be the most estimable or eligible young man in the world, but I'm beginning to feel you might well be the right man for Cindy. Give me the chance to make her brother see it.'
He toyed with his cup, hesitating over his answer. ' Okav it's a bargain,' he said with sudden decision. ' I'll keep clear of Charters until you've had a chance to tackle Big Brother. But don't keep me waiting too long. Lucy, because I'm not very patient.'
She laughed and reached for her scarf and gloves.
' Leaving me so soon?'
' I came for your promise, and now that I have it I'll be off before you can take it back. Besides, it'll be dark soon and I hate walking up that long drive at night.'
' Want me to come with you ?'
She shook her head. ' I don't want you coming near Charters—not until Paul Harlow invites you himself.'
' Do you honestly believe you can make him do that?'
Pushing down her doubts, she spoke with much more conviction than she felt. ' Yes, I believe I can.'
' Then you'll be a miracle worker! Or will you use those beautiful eyes of yours to get your own way?'
' I will use logic and facts,' she said firmly.
' Then you'll be one of the few women in the world to do so,' he laughed. ' They're mostly guided by their emotions.' Lightly he put his lips to her forehead. Good luck on my behalf, Lucy. May you be successful and quick!'
CHAPTER V
Walking back to Charters, Lucy pondered over her meeting with Murray and began to regret her promise to help him. ' What's the matter with me?' she thought irritably. ' One minute I think one thing and the next minute I think another.' Yet in her heart she knew the reason for her attitude; Murray's charm. There was no doubt he could charm a bird off a tree, and she was afraid he had deliberately charmed her into letting her emotions rule her 'brain. If only she could be sure of what was best for Ci
ndy…
She sighed and walked more quickly as the lights of the lodge disappeared with a bend in the drive. In summer the grounds of Charters might have all the beauty Aunt Beatrice claimed for them, but at night, particularly on this moonless one, they possessed an eerie quality that prickled the hair of her neck. An owl hoofed, a frozen twig broke under her foot with the sharp report of a gun crack and she clenched her hands and hurried on, filled with a sudden homesickness for London pavements, buses, street lamps, the rush hour bustle in place of this silent, alien countryside.
What was she doing here at Charters, the guest of a man like Paul Harlow ? Why had she allowed herself to become involved in other people's lives, other people's problems? 'This isn't my world,' she thought. 'Everything here is too big for me… these grounds, that great house lying in wait beyond the darkness. And where do I fit into a house like that? Gulliver in Brod… lost, out of my depth… And I've never been out of my depth before,' she thought wildly. 'It's Paul Harlow's fault. I'm outclassed, overwhelmed by his importance and his icy belief in his own judgment. I must be crazy. And I had the temerity to think I can tell him how he should act about his sister…'
Absorbed in her chaotic thoughts, she did not hear the soft purr of a powerful engine coming up behind her.
A horn blared in her cars and headlights illuminated the bare winter branches in front of her. There was a squeal of brakes and she flung herself against the side of the verge. But she was not fast enough. The wing of the car caught her and she was thrown to her knees, the breath knocked out of her body. Winded, she lay where she had fallen and footsteps crunched on the gravel. They stopped and strong hands helped her to her feet. Turning her head, she vaguely discerned the pale face of Paul Harlow looking down at her.
'Oh!' she gasped, and wished the ground would open and swallow her. What an ignominious way to meet him again!
' Are you hurt ?' The low voice was urgent.
She felt herself over gingerly. ' I don't think there are any bones broken!'
' Thank heavens for that. I'd hate to think of you in hospital again. You must be accident-prone.'
Rachel Lindsay - Love and Lucy Granger Page 7