‘I used to do this for Mama when she was too ill to read the paper for herself,’ Sophie told him. ‘Is there anything particular you want to hear about?’
Thomas shook his head. He was content to hear what she chose to read, and when at last she fell silent he said, ‘Thank you, Sophie, that’s enough for now.’
At that moment the gong went for lunch and they left the library to join the others. Apart from breakfast, it turned out to be the only meal at which AliceAnne was allowed to join the adults, but even so she was not included in the desultory conversation and Sophie could see that she was glad to be released from the table when she had finished. Sophie would have liked to be released too, but she had to stay while her grandfather drank a glass of brandy. When they finally left the dining room, Thomas, at the insistence of Louisa, went grumbling to his room for a rest.
‘Now you know what Dr Bryan says, Papa,’ Louisa said sternly. ‘If you’re going to get up in the mornings you must rest in the afternoons.’
‘Takes too much on himself, that young man,’ muttered Thomas.
‘Not at all, Papa,’ replied Louisa, though Sophie had heard her say much the same herself the previous day. ‘He’s an excellent doctor and takes very good care of you.’ Seeing her granddaughter hovering in the hall, waiting for Sophie, she called, ‘AliceAnne, run and tell Paxton your grandfather needs him upstairs.’
AliceAnne disappeared to the kitchen, and Louisa and her father set off up the stairs. It was the first time Sophie had heard Louisa speak up to Thomas, and it made her realize that her aunt did have a streak of the Penvarrow determination in her.
Charles, who had remained silent through most of the meal, turned to Sophie and asked, ‘What are you going to do this afternoon, Sophie?’
‘AliceAnne has promised to take me to the village,’ Sophie replied eagerly. ‘I want to see everything.’
‘Don’t let AliceAnne be a nuisance to you.’
‘She’s not a nuisance,’ Sophie assured him warmly. ‘I’m pleased to have her company. She seems a lonely child.’
Charles made no comment on this, but simply nodded and said, ‘I’ll see you this evening then,’ and went out to the stables. Moments later Sophie saw him, mounted on a fine black horse, trotting down the drive and disappearing through the gate. It was so long since she’d had the chance to ride and she knew a moment of envy as she watched him ride away. With a sigh, she went to find AliceAnne and suggest they take their walk to the village.
As they were leaving the house, both wrapped up well against the strong wind, Sophie saw Hannah and called her to join them on their walk. ‘AliceAnne is going to show me the village, Hannah. Why don’t you come with us and learn your way about too?’ she suggested.
Hannah looked a little uncertain about the idea. ‘I’m not sure—’ she began.
But Sophie cut in briskly. ‘Come on, Hannah, I want you to come. We often walked together in London. What’s the difference down here?’ She insisted that they would wait while Hannah found her coat and hat, and then all three of them set off along the footpath that led to the little fishing village of Port Felec.
‘There’s the road down that way,’ AliceAnne had said, ‘or we can go by the cliff path.’
‘Let’s make it a round walk,’ suggested Sophie. ‘We’ll go along the path and come back on the road.’
The path ran across the cliff top, and in places skirted the very edge of the cliff, where steep, narrow paths ran down to the little coves below. Standing at the top of one of these, Sophie looked down at the sea, grey and restive below her. She could hear the waves pounding on the rocks and the sound excited her.
‘Let’s go down to the beach,’ she cried. ‘AliceAnne, does this path go right down?’
‘Yes, Aunt Sophie, but it’s very steep. There’s a better one from the end of our garden. It’s not so steep and there’s a rope to hold on to. I’m not allowed to go down this one.’
Sophie stood looking down, the wind whipping her hair and tugging at her cloak. Far below her she could see a tiny, rocky cove, a crescent of sand in its midst. The sound of the waves breaking over the rocks and smoothing the patch of sand echoed up the cliff in rhythmic rumble. She longed to go down and stand on that glossy sand and was tempted to try the path anyway, but seeing the look on her face, Hannah took charge. She had no wish to go scrambling down steep and dangerous cliff paths, so she said briskly, ‘Come along, Miss AliceAnne, let’s get to the village.’
Reluctantly, Sophie turned away from the intriguing path and followed the other two along the footpath towards the ridge. She could always go back and explore the rocky cove another time, when she was on her own, without AliceAnne to consider.
When they reached the ridge, they stopped and looked down at the fishing village of Port Felec, which lay in a bowl beneath them. From their vantage point they could see the tiny harbour, partially enclosed by a harbour wall, and the houses clustered round the main quay, with a few more straggling up the hill towards them. On the far side of the houses, above a stretch of sandy beach, stood a squat grey church, sheltered from the westerly wind by a ring of yew trees, and next to it stood a bigger house which was, Sophie presumed, the parsonage. She could see a narrow road passing these, zigzagging its way down the opposite side of the hollow until it disappeared amongst the cottages. The path they had been following ended up as a flight of stone steps that gave onto one of the narrow streets leading up from the quay. Beyond the village the cliffs swept away, curving to form a headland at the end of the bay, with the sea sucking and swirling at the jagged rocks below. Atop this headland, silhouetted against the sky, the tall finger of a disused mine chimney, rising amid the derelict mine buildings, pointed to the sky.
AliceAnne led the way down the steps and into a steep, narrow street that ran between cottages that faced out to the sea, watching for their fishermen to come home. When they reached the harbour they saw that the tide was out, leaving small boats grounded on the shingle of the harbour floor. The air smelled of salt and mud and fish, and the cry of the gulls which soared above rose eerily on the wind.
Few people were about, and those that were paid scant attention to the three standing by the harbour wall.
For a long moment Sophie stood and stared out over the harbour, drinking in the sights and sounds. Hannah sniffed and looking round her said, ‘Not much to this place, Miss Sophie, and that’s a fact. Look at all them dirty stones... little better than mud!’
Sophie laughed. ‘You won’t see that when the tide’s in, Hannah.’ She swung round to look back at the houses that stood above the beach and climbed the hillside. ‘Just look at the way they’ve made little gardens, cut them out of the hill. Everyone grows their own vegetables. And look, Hannah, there’s the village shop. Shall we go in?’
Before they could walk over to the little general store that fronted the main quay, there was the sound of hooves, and a pony and trap came down the road from the opposite direction. As it rounded the corner the driver saw them and waved, drawing his pony to a halt and jumping down to greet them. It was the tall figure of Dr Nicholas Bryan.
‘Miss Ross,’ he cried in pleasure. ‘How delightful to see you again. Hallo, AliceAnne, how’s your grandfather today?’
AliceAnne didn’t reply, edging behind Sophie, but the doctor didn’t seem to notice and beaming at them all, shook Sophie by the hand. ‘And who’s this?’ He looked enquiringly at Hannah.
‘This is Miss Hannah Butts,’ Sophie replied, returning his smile. ‘Hannah has looked after me ever since I was a baby. Hannah, this is Dr Bryan, who attends my grandfather.’
‘How do you do, Hannah.’ Nicholas extended his hand, but Hannah simply gave him a little bob and said, ‘Nicely, thank you, sir.’
‘So, Miss Ross, you’ve come to look at Port Felec. What do you think of it?’
‘I haven’t seen very much of it,’ Sophie said with a laugh. ‘But I’m looking forward to exploring the whole area while I’m here. I
t couldn’t be more different from where I live in Hammersmith.’
Beside her, AliceAnne shivered in the wind, and immediately Nicholas was all concern. ‘You mustn’t stand here in this cold wind,’ he said. ‘You’ll catch your deaths, and I’ve enough patients as it is. Why don’t we go into The Clipper.’ He waved his hand in the direction of the inn across the little square. ‘We can sit in the parlour window and watch for the boats to come in with the tide. Maggie Penlee will give us a cup of tea and some home-made cakes. Allow me.’ Taking her acceptance for granted, he offered Sophie his arm, and led her towards the inn, followed by AliceAnne and a rather unwilling Hannah.
As they reached the door, Hannah said, ‘I won’t take tea, thank you, sir. I’d like to look in the shop, if you don’t mind.’
‘Good idea,’ agreed Nicholas. He turned to AliceAnne. ‘Why don’t you take Hannah in and introduce her to Mrs Howard, AliceAnne? You can come and find us in Mrs Penlee’s parlour afterwards.’
Sophie caught the look of relief on AliceAnne’s face as she turned to go with Hannah, and noticed with pleasure that the little girl took hold of Hannah’s hand as completely naturally as she herself had done as a child.
Nicholas led the way into the inn, opening the door to the parlour and calling, ‘Maggie, Maggie, we’d like some tea and cakes, please.’
At his call, a grey-haired, motherly woman came into the room, greeting him with a wide smile. ‘Ah, Doctor,’ she said, ‘the kettle’s on the hob. I’ll be bringing your tea directly.’
‘Thank you, Maggie. But first let me introduce you to Miss Sophie Ross, Mr Penvarrow’s granddaughter.’
Maggie wiped her hands on her apron and came forward to meet Sophie. ‘Mr Penvarrow’s granddaughter? You’re Miss Mary’s daughter!’
Clearly the news of her arrival had reached the village and Sophie agreed that she was.
‘Well now!’ exclaimed Maggie. ‘Very nice to meet you, miss, I’m sure. Miss Mary’s daughter! Fancy!’ She paused a moment and then added, ‘I was sorry to hear that your mother had passed away, miss.’ Sophie gave a nod of acknowledgement and she went on, ‘She was such a lovely lady. Please accept my condolences.’ When Sophie made no reply, Maggie Penlee drew a deep breath and continued. ‘So you’ve come to live at Trescadinnick.’
It wasn’t a question but Sophie answered it as one. ‘No, Mrs Penlee. I’m just spending a week or so with my grandfather, and then I shall be returning to my home in London.’
Nicholas, apparently feeling that Sophie had had enough of questions, drew out a chair at the table in the bow window and said, ‘Have you any muffins, Maggie?’
‘Of course I have, Doctor. I know how you like your muffins. I’ll just set them to toast and then I’ll be in with your tea.’ Maggie scurried from the room and Nicholas smiled across at Sophie.
‘Sorry about the inquisition,’ he said. ‘I should have realized. Still, there’s one good thing about it. No one else will have to ask you anything about yourself. If Maggie knows something at four o’clock, the rest of the village will know it by five. Won’t you sit down, Miss Ross?’
Sophie sighed as she took the offered chair. ‘It doesn’t really matter. I still find it difficult to speak about Mama sometimes, and I’m not used to having a big family yet. Up until last week I didn’t know any of them.’
‘Didn’t you? How strange.’
‘My mother left Trescadinnick to get married in London and...’ Sophie said awkwardly, ‘...and we never saw them.’
‘But now you’ve come to Trescadinnick and have to get to know them all at once,’ said
Nicholas sympathetically. ‘It can’t be easy.’
‘No, it isn’t,’ Sophie found herself admitting. ‘My grandfather keeps saying I’ve come home, but I don’t feel that I belong there. And,’ she added with determination, ‘I don’t intend to stay. I agreed with my Aunt Matty to come for just a week or so to visit my grandfather, but then Hannah and I will go back home.’ Even as she spoke Sophie wondered why she was telling Nicholas all this. Somehow she found him easy to talk to, and she began to tell him about her mother. He was a good listener and encouraged her to go on talking with occasional comments or questions, and by the time the door opened, bringing in AliceAnne, followed by Maggie with the tea tray, Sophie felt completely at ease with him, as if she had known him for a long time.
Seeing AliceAnne on her own, she said, ‘Come in and sit down, AliceAnne. Where’s Hannah?’
‘Still in the shop, Aunt Sophie,’ replied AliceAnne. ‘She said she’d wait there till we’ve had tea. There’s lots to look at.’
A scattering of raindrops hit the window as they were finishing their tea and Sophie looked anxiously at the sky.
‘Don’t worry, Miss Ross,’ Nicholas said. ‘I’ll take you all back to Trescadinnick in the trap. I’m going in that direction anyway,’ adding, as she seemed about to refuse, ‘It’ll be quicker than walking.’ He smiled at her so warmly that Sophie, who had indeed been going to turn down his offer, found herself smiling back at him and accepting it. She had never met anyone quite like Nicholas Bryan, never seen such open admiration in any man’s eyes as she saw in his, and as he helped her from the table and his hand brushed hers, she knew an unfamiliar tingle of excitement and felt warm colour flood her cheeks.
They went out to the waiting pony and trap, and at once Hannah appeared from the shop. With her was a man of about forty, small but wiry with strong shoulders. His tanned face, that of a man who worked on the land, was topped with an unruly head of dark hair streaked with grey, and his eyes were wide and honest. He smiled at Hannah as they parted and then turned away and disappeared between two houses.
‘Who’s that?’ Sophie asked.
‘That’s Will Shaw from Home Farm.’ It was Nicholas who answered. ‘His daughter, Lizzie, works in the kitchen at Trescadinnick.’
‘Dr Bryan has kindly offered to drive us home, Hannah,’ Sophie said. ‘We want to get back before it really starts to rain.’
One by one, Nicholas handed them into the trap and the little party set off at a brisk trot for Trescadinnick. When they arrived at the house, Sophie sent AliceAnne in with Hannah to get dry, while she thanked Nicholas for driving them home.
‘It was no trouble,’ he assured her. ‘I have to visit one of the farms out towards St Morwen anyway.’ He paused and then said, ‘Perhaps you’d like to come on my rounds with me one day. It would give you a chance to see more of the countryside and to meet some of the people.’
‘Well, I don’t know...’ began Sophie doubtfully.
‘You don’t have to decide now,’ said Nicholas easily. ‘But when I’m next passing this way, perhaps I could call in and take you for a drive. I should very much enjoy your company.’
Sophie could feel herself blushing again and said hastily, ‘That would be very kind of you, Doctor. I should like to see something of the neighbourhood.’
‘Splendid.’ His eyes smiled into hers. ‘I shall look forward to it. Good afternoon to you, Miss Ross.’ He shook her hand, his grasp firm and warm in hers, and then with a wave he stepped up into the trap and drove away.
For a moment Sophie stood in the drizzle and watched him go. She had never met with such a charming man before. How comfortable she had felt with him as they chatted across the teacups in the window of Maggie Penlee’s parlour; how easy he had been to talk to, listening and drawing her out in a way no one had ever bothered to do before. How kind he’d been to bring them all home before the rain started in earnest. She could still feel the warmth of his hand in hers as he had said goodbye, and the remembered warmth of his smile gave her a glow of pleasure that she carried with her as she turned and went indoors.
9
Dinner that evening was a much easier affair. Matty had arrived soon after Sophie had got home and was to stay the night. Having her at the dinner table made the conversation flow a great deal more easily.
‘How was your day?’ she’d asked as they sat in the
drawing room waiting for Thomas to appear. ‘What did you do with yourself?’
Sophie told her about the walk into the village. ‘We met Dr Bryan there,’ she said, smiling. ‘He gave me tea at The Clipper and then, as it was starting to rain, he very kindly drove us home in the trap. If he hadn’t been there, we’d have got awfully wet.’
‘That was kind of him,’ Matty agreed. ‘I think he’s a good man and a good doctor. He’s very conscientious about coming in to see your grandfather. He often just drops in to see how he’s doing. The problem is that we can’t always get Father to take his advice.’
‘What’s that? What are you saying?’ Thomas had walked into the room and overheard Matty’s last remark.
‘I was just saying, Father, that Dr Bryan is a good doctor.’
‘Always fussing,’ muttered her father as he crossed the room to sit by the fire. ‘Where’s Charles?’
‘Just coming, Father,’ answered Louisa, who had followed him into the room.
‘We’re lucky to have him,’ Matty said to Sophie. ‘Old Dr Marshall died suddenly last year, and we were without a doctor for several months before Dr Bryan came to take his place. Not everyone would want to come to such an out-of-the-way place as Port Felec.’
Before Sophie could ask any more, Charles came into the room, apologizing for keeping everyone waiting. ‘I was just saying goodnight to AliceAnne,’ he explained, and Sophie found she was surprised. Somehow she couldn’t visualize Charles going up to kiss his daughter goodnight. Then she rebuked herself for the thought and wished she’d done the same thing.
‘Well, you’re here now,’ grumbled Thomas as he got to his feet and offered his arm to Sophie, before leading them all into the dining room.
During the meal Charles mentioned that he’d ridden over to one of the outlying farms on the estate. ‘John Hever’s having trouble finding this quarter’s rent,’ he said.
‘Then we should have him out,’ snapped Thomas.
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