She would leave Mrs. Hingston to do her own chores, she told herself rebelliously. She turned to dry her hands, then hesitated. It would be both ridiculous and petty to flounce from the store-room, just because she had happened to fall in love with Luke Kendrick. Then again she acknowledged rather ruefully that she really enjoyed handling the glittering crystal and fragile china.
Gradually she became absorbed in the hundred and one chores involved in the preparation for the evening meal, and later on when she went to the long cupboard that held the piles of family linen, she selected an exquisite tablecloth of drawn-thread work.
And when that night she sat at her place at table she felt a thrill of almost artistic achievement as she saw how the tall red candles glittered on her handiwork. At the top of the table old Mr. Kendrick surveyed his guests with an air of benevolence.
‘I can see,’ he said a little dryly, ‘that already the Kendricks are beginning to respond to feminine society.’
‘Don’t be deceived, Grandfather!’ Rikki looked up. ‘Mrs. Hingston is simply showing our guests that we’re not quite barbarous.’
Anthea, her golden hair piled high, gave a slow secret smile. She looked, Ginny thought, like a very beautiful cheetah, warm and golden and dangerous. ‘Barbarity,’ she said softly, ‘can be interesting at times.’
Luke, who had preserved a taciturn silence for most of the meal, glanced up suddenly. ‘And what do you mean by that enigmatic remark, Miss Clifford?’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake don’t let’s be so formal,’ Mrs. Clifford put in eagerly. ‘After all, we’re part of the family.
Why don’t you just call her Anthea?’
Anthea raised her glass, her eyes meeting Luke’s. ‘And I shall call you Luke,’ she said softly.
‘Very well.’ Luke frowned a little, as though impatient at the interruption, ‘but you still haven’t answered my question.’
‘Oh, simply that one gets rather bored with sleek acquiescent young men who are eager to please.’
‘You won’t find Luke eager to please, I can warn you,’ Rikki said. ‘Am I right, Ginny? After all, you have more experience of his boorishness than Anthea.’
Feeling herself the focus of attention, Ginny flushed painfully, aware that Luke had transferred his dark piercing glance to her and was regarding her impassively.
‘You’re embarrassing poor little Ginny, you naughty boy,’ Anthea remarked sweetly.
Rikki spread his hands in denial. ‘I simply put a question of psychological interest. She may be sure Luke will treat her answer with detachment, won’t you, Luke?’ he said, with a malicious glance at his brother.
‘I should imagine,’ Luke said firmly, ‘that, whatever her opinion of me, Ginny is much too gentle a person to express it in public.’
‘So Ginny is a gentle person?’ Anthea repeated slyly. ‘I shouldn’t have imagined that gentleness rated particularly highly with you. ’
Luke shrugged. ‘I’m simply stating a fact and being detached as Rikki requested.’
Yes, it was true, Ginny was thinking. The glow that his words had caused her had departed with a sickening lurch of disappointment. He was merely being detached, applying to her the cool unsentimental analysis of a business man.
Then to Ginny’s dismay, Anthea said casually, ‘You didn’t happen to miss a glove, did you?’
Luke frowned thoughtfully. ‘Actually I forgot to bring them with me and now I can find only one.’
‘The other is in safe hands,’ Anthea told him with an air of coy secretiveness.
If only she had remembered to replace the glove, Ginny thought frantically, remembering that it was now tucked away in her bureau drawer.
But Anthea continued inexorably. ‘Ginny seems to have appropriated it for reasons best known to herself,’ she said with an air of gentle mischievousness.
‘I simply noticed it needed stitching,’ Ginny said hurriedly, then blurted out before she realized the significance of the admission, ‘I intended to return it before you came home.’
‘But why?’ he asked, puzzled at her obvious discomfiture.
‘Perhaps she thought you might suspect she was sleeping with it under her pillow,’ Anthea said sweetly.
Ginny flushed at the expression in Luke’s dark eyes, questioning and bright with a message she was too confused to interpret.
Then, to Ginny’s relief, Nicholas adroitly changed the conversation, leading it on to other channels, and Ginny, glad to be no longer the focus of attention, let her mind wander.
It was with a little start that she realized that Mrs. Clifford had somehow manoeuvred the conversation on to the subject of the Peacock Room and Ginny, remembering the Cliffords’ earlier resentment, listened with trepidation as she said lightly,
‘What a charming room Ginny has, Mr. Kendrick! It’s so utterly different from the others, especially Anthea’s and mine.’ She gave a light laugh. ‘I feel sure there must be a
history attached to it. ’
Nicholas nodded. ‘An ancestor of mine who suffered from wanderlust and an unfortunate taste for the opulent saw it on his travels and insisted on staging a replica. Personally I think it’s completely unsuitable, though I’ve no doubt it would please a woman.’
‘I found it enchanting,’ Anthea said. She glanced across at Ginny. ‘And if I’d been first on the scene I should have set my heart on it. ’
‘And you’re not in the habit of being denied what you set your heart on, is that it?’ said Luke.
Anthea met his eyes challengingly. ‘No, not when I want a thing badly enough. ’
‘And are you referring to the Peacock Room or to life in general?’ Luke asked.
‘I shall leave you to discover that for yourself,’ Anthea replied, her voice low and husky.
In the flickering candle light her face had a sculptured beauty that was almost ethereal, and Ginny saw the look of unwilling admiration that crossed Luke’s dark face and felt a sense of helplessness sweep over her. There was no way in which she could fight this woman. She was powerless against the beauty that could beat down all barriers. Even Luke, unwilling as he might be, would be forced to accept Anthea’s challenge.
‘By the way,’ Nicholas was saying, ‘there’s a little Greek temple in the woods across the lake. You must get one of my sons to row you across some day. It would interest you: it’s even more ornate than the Peacock Room. It’s a perfect little replica in white marble and was built as an extravagant toy for one of the Kendrick brides.’
‘Oh, I’d love that,’ Anthea cried.
‘Good,’ Rikki put in briskly. ‘My strong arms are at your service any time you desire them. ’
A slow smile parted Anthea’s lips. ‘I have a feeling that Luke’s arms are even stronger,’ she said softly. She glanced at
Luke, her eyes misty with appeal. ‘Perhaps some day when you’re not wrapped up in all that important business of yours, you’ll take me over, won’t you, Luke?’
Luke’s gaze had been fixed on her with almost hypnotic intensity. He paused for an instant, then said with stiff formality, ‘Yes, of course.’
But to Ginny’s eagerly listening ears it was as though only with an effort had he been able to withdraw all nuances from his voice.
‘Well, I must say you don’t sound very enthusiastic,’ Anthea said, but her eyes sparkled as though his reply had been a challenge.
‘You must go before the lake ices over,’ Nicholas put in, then added gently, ‘I’m sure Ginny would enjoy it too, wouldn’t you, my dear?’ His old eyes were fixed on her with a look of comprehension and understanding.
Were her reactions so obvious, then? she wondered with a feeling of panic.
Anthea’s face stiffened and Ginny, though she realized that her presence would be de trop on such an occasion, was forced, under Nicholas’s insistence, to acquiesce.
At this point, in an effort to cover up her daughter’s obvious chagrin, Mrs. Clifford began a rambling monologue that lasted alm
ost to the conclusion of the meal.
Afterwards Ginny took an almost feverish pleasure in helping Mrs. Hingston to clear up and stack the dishes in the kitchen for the village women in the morning. Only violent activity, she felt, could eradicate the tiny nagging pain she felt tugging at her heart when she remembered the look she had surprised on Luke’s dark face as he had regarded Anthea across the candlelit table.
When she eventually emerged from the kitchen the lower part of the house seemed to be deserted and she thankfully made her way along the corridor towards the hall. As she glanced into the sitting-room she saw that one of the tall lamps had been left burning and, from long training, she crossed over to switch it out. At Clarkson’s it had been considered a major sin to waste electricity. As she placed her hand on the switch she heard a movement behind her and, with a little start of alarm, she swung round to find Luke regarding her over the top of the sofa.
Pipe in hand, he regarded her quizzically. ‘What on earth are you up to, Ginny?’ he asked.
‘I was going to - to switch out the light,’ she stammered. ‘I didn’t realize you were here.’
He looked puzzled. ‘Are you in the habit, then, of going about switching out lights?’
‘Mrs. Clarkson hated to see the lights burning unnecessarily,’ she said simply.
‘But you’re not at Mrs. Clarkson’s now!’
‘No,’ she said awkwardly. ‘But I expect habits die hard.’
For a long moment he regarded her in silence, then a smile touched the corners of his grim mouth. ‘Come here, Ginny.’ Slowly, almost fearfully, she turned towards him, unable to understand his mood.
Reaching out, he caught her hands and drew them towards him, then glanced down and studied them thoughtfully. She realized with vexation that they were red and puffy from her earlier activities and quickly tried to withdraw them. But he held them firmly and continued to study them with frowning absorption.
‘These hands look as if they had been long immersed in hot soapy water. Am I right, Ginny?’
She nodded wordlessly, remembering the candlelight glittering on the gems on Anthea’s smooth white hands.
‘Don’t tell me that the estimable Mrs. Hingston has roped you in as a sort of auxiliary domestic help? I had assumed that she would regard any other woman in her kitchen as a potential threat to her authority.’
‘Perhaps it’s because she no longer regards me as a danger,’ Ginny said simply.
He looked up at her, his brow wrinkling quizzically.
‘So that’s how you interpret it! And does your feminine vanity not convince you that you could be a threat to a man’s peace of mind?’
She considered the question carefully. ‘No, not in my case.
I have very little to be vain about. I don’t suppose any man will ever look on me in that light. ’
‘And what about a certain Lester Philips?’
‘Rikki’s been telling you,’ she said accusingly.
‘And why not?’ he asked.
‘Rikki would repeat it,’ she said wisely, ‘only because he would imagine it would make a funny story.’
‘Then he didn’t love you, is that it?’
‘He did in a sort of a way, I expect,’ she said slowly, ‘but only because he was rather like myself, not a very romantic person - but he was willing to settle for second-best.’
‘And you’re not prepared to do that, is that it?’
She shook her head, then bit her lip as she realized how deeply she had allowed this man to probe her innermost heart. With a sudden movement she wrenched her hands from his grasp. ‘You don’t really care whether I would or not! You’re simply conducting a sort of psychological experiment. ’ Then, flinging discretion to the winds, she said wildly, ‘If I were Anthea Clifford the boot would be on the other foot! ’
She saw him wince as though her words had been a physical blow, and stood for a moment shaken by helpless sobs before she turned and ran from the room.
CHAPTER SIX
for the next few days she made a point of avoiding him, even braving Mrs. Hingston’s wrath by being late for breakfast. To her relief Anthea did not bring up the subject of the proposed excursion to the Grecian temple, and as the days grew colder she began to hope that the lake would freeze over and put an end to all prospect of the expedition.
She had reckoned however without Rikki’s talent for quiet malice. As breakfast was drawing to a close one morning he said with deliberate casualness, ‘What about the trip you three were going to make before the big freeze-up - although they tell me that two is company, three is none.’
‘But then you’re misinformed about a good many things, aren’t you?’ Luke replied coolly. He turned to Anthea. ‘What do you say we go today? I’m free this morning.’
‘Oh yes, I’d love it,’ Anthea replied after a moment’s pause, and it was obvious to Ginny that she was less than enthusiastic about the idea.
‘What about your mother - do you think she’d care to come?’ Luke inquired politely.
‘I’m quite sure she wouldn’t think of it,’ Anthea said immediately. ‘She has a perfectly horrid headache this morning, and won’t be up to it. I know she’d rather we went ahead without her.’ Her expression changed as Luke turned to Ginny and said with cold formality, ‘And you too, Ginny? How do you feel about it?’
As she saw the gleam of amusement that crossed Rikki’s face Ginny bit back the blunt refusal that hovered on her lips. To back out now would look like pettishness and give Rikki unlimited scope for his sly humour.
‘Wrap up well, then, both of you, and I’ll meet you in the hall,’ said Luke.
‘While you three are indulging in aesthetic appreciation I think I’ll pop off to Netley,’ said Rikki. For a moment his eyes met Luke’s defiantly. ‘Personally I find the old adage still holds - about two being company, I mean. ’
Ginny saw Luke’s face darken and saw Anthea glance from one brother to the other with quickening interest.
‘So Rikki has a girl-friend, has he?’ Then becoming aware of Luke’s grim silence, she added contritely, ‘Or is it something very intimate in the family, and have I been clumsy and tactless?’
‘As if you could be, you glorious creature!’ Rikki answered lightly. ‘No, it’s simply that my brother — as you will discover in due course - has extremely cut and dried notions concerning the family. ’
‘If you don’t mind, Rikki,’ Luke put in tightly, ‘we won’t discuss this matter in front of our guests.’
As they walked from the room Anthea slid her arm through Luke’s in a movement that was both feminine and possessive. ‘Never mind, Rikki dear,’ she called over her shoulder, ‘perhaps I’ll be able to persuade this imperious, high-handed ogre of a brother of yours to see the light. ’
As they went out Rikki turned to Ginny. ‘If I were you, as well as a warm coat, I’d bring along a good book. I don’t see you standing a chance in today’s little outing. The fair Anthea has set her sights firmly on Luke. I expect she has decided it’s better to settle for Luke and Falcon’s Keep than establish a reputation for always missing out in the plum parts in her precious career. ’
‘What do you mean?’ Ginny asked.
‘Just that I happen to have a friend in the theatrical world who tells me that Anthea auditioned for a part and was turned down, and it was after that that she decided to settle in here and lick her wounds. ’
‘I see,’ Ginny said thoughtfully. It had puzzled her why Anthea, used to the glamour and excitement of a theatrical career, should have decided to adapt herself to the quiet uneventful life of a remote country house. Well, perhaps Anthea hadn’t the makings of a great actress, but she was determined not to fail as far as snaring Luke was concerned.
Later, when she had pulled on a thick tweed coat, she joined Anthea in the hall, who stood swathed in a soft fur coat looking sulky and making no effort to hide her resentment at Ginny’s presence.
‘Really,’ she said, ‘old Mr. Kendrick mu
st be simply senile to have suggested such an outing at this time of the year! Does he really think I’m going to derive any particular pleasure from gazing at an old building in weather like this?’
‘Oh, but I’m told it’s a perfect little gem,’ Ginny said earnestly, ‘with the most beautiful frescoes.’
Anthea looked at her with distaste. ‘Probably it’s the sort of thing that would appeal to you, but then I suppose you must have some sort of interest in life.’ She had discarded even the smallest pretence of friendship, and it was with relief that Ginny saw Luke stride into the hall.
‘I’ve been checking up the boat,’ he announced, ‘and everything seems to be shipshape. The tub may be old, but it’s reliable.’
‘Thank heaven!’ Anthea said with a shudder. ‘I’d simply hate to be pitched into that lake of yours on a day like this.’
Laughingly Luke escorted them along the rough winding path that led towards the wide expanse of tufted grass bordering the lakeside. Anthea, in unsuitable high heels, teetered dangerously on the rough ground, and Luke with an accustomed air of gaiety slipped his hand around her waist to steady her. The path was broad enough only for two and Ginny followed behind. The sound of his laughter was clear and carrying on the still air. Like a boy let out from school, she thought with wonder, and realized for the first time how heavily the cares of his position must weigh upon him. His grandfather’s age precluded him from taking an interest in the active running of the old home and Rikki was obviously bent on going his own way. Could what she had assumed to be arrogance be merely a hard defensive shell, deliberately cultivated in his efforts to protect his family from what he considered opportunists? She frowned. Or was this simply a form of wishful thinking on her part, in an effort to rationalize the fact that she loved the man who so patently disliked and despised her?
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