milk for Cor, I expect, and a sandwich?"
He wandered away, looking vague, leaving her with the shrewd suspicion that
whatever she suggested, the whole journey would be carried out according to
his own plans.
She got Cor undressed and in bed and then coaxed him to eat the light supper
the steward had brought, and while he was busy with it, went in search of
Beatrix, whom she found, wedged firmly between her guardian and her sister,
watching the cargo being stowed under the great arc lights. When she saw
Georgina she said, "Dear George-just five minutes more."
"No," said Georgina, at her most firm.
"Now, my poppet," and bit her lip under the Professor's thoughtful stare, but
all he said was, "Off you go, Beatrix, we shall all be up early in the
morning, you know."
He bent to kiss the little girl and smiled at Georgina so that her heart
turned over.
Beatrix was excited too, but by the time she was sitting up in her bed she
was already half asleep. She curled up presently and said coaxingly:
"Please stay a little while, George."
"All right, poppet; I'll just see ifCor's asleep."
He was, and as she came out of his stateroom the steward appeared at her
elbow, soft-footed' and pleasant.
"I'll keep an eye on the little boy, miss--you don't have to worry about him."
She went back to Beatrix who opened her eyes in a sleepy stare and closed
them again on a childish murmur. She sat quietly, only turning her head when
the door opened and the stewardess murmured that Professor Eyffert had asked
her to keep an eye on the little girl, and withdrew again. There was no
denying that the Professor looked after his own. Easy enough, she told
herself, when you had money, and was instantly ashamed of the thought,
knowing that he would look after his own whether he had money or not. Money
had nothing to do with it.
Beatrix was fast asleep; there was no reason for her to remain any longer,
but she wasn't sure what was expected of her. Julius hadn't actually said
that she was to have supper with them--perhaps she was supposed to have
something in her own stateroom and keep an eye on the children. But he had
arranged for that. She was trying to decide what to do when he came in. He
glanced first at Beatrix, and then at Georgina who, because she felt she
should say something, observed, "Isn't she beautiful?" and went pink and
wished she hadn't, because he looked at her with the odd expression she had
seen before.
"What would you like me to do. Professor?" she asked firmly.
He laughed softly.
"As to that, my delightful Miss Rodman, I can think of several things.. but
shall we settle for supper? I've a table and Phena is waiting."
She went with him to the dining-room, the thought uppermost in her mind the
satisfied one that she was wearing her almost new tweed suit-it was a mixture
of olive and cream and ginger, and it had its own creamy wool shirt. She was
aware that she looked very nice in it.
"Hungry?" he asked, as they sat down.
"Yes," she said doubtfully, 'but if it's going to be rough. "
"It's much worse on an empty tummy," observed Dimphena, who, probably with
this possibility in mind, was choosing a meal which would have satisfied a
starving wolf. Georgina looked apprehensive and Julius laughed.
"That's only an excuse so that you can eat every 7
thing in sight! You'll get fat, Phena. No one will want to marry you. "
She wrinkled her beautiful nose at him.
"Oh, yes, they will, and even if they don't, I shall be quite happy living
with you, Julius."
He looked up from the menu he was studying.
"Oh, no, sweetheart. I intend to have a wife and a houseful of children."
"Julius, how lovely! I'll be an aunt. When shall you marry?"
He didn't look up this time.
"That depends... Now what about you, Georgina? Clear soup, I think, and then
a grilled sole with creamed potatoes, and perhaps a creme brulee?"
She agreed politely, her erstwhile appetite impaired by the thought of him
with a houseful of children. His wife would be a beautiful, slim creature.
Her own delightful plumpness suddenly assumed vast proportions. She ate her
simple meal with the virtuous thought that there wasn't a fattening morsel in
it, and tried not to notice Dimphena's roast chicken or Julius's magnificent
steak. But at least he allowed her a-glass of Sautemes and some cognac with
her coffee, so that by the time they had finished their meal, she was feeling
more cheerful. The boat was on the point of sailing and Dimphena asked
excitedly:
"May we go up on deck, just for a minute, Julius? I do love this bit when we
leave the land behind."
Georgina caught her look.
"Oh, yes, that would be delightful." She looked at the Professor.
"Shall we need our coats?"
"I'll fetch them and take a look at the children at the same time."
He was back almost at once, and they made their way on deck. Even out of the
wind, it was cold, and once the boat was clear of the quay, increasingly
rough. Georgina eyed the white- capped waves gleaming momentarily in the
ship's lights as she began her battle across the North Sea, and was grateful
to the Professor for choosing her meal so carefully. He stood between them,
his arms around their shoulders, obviously enjoying the wild darkness.
After a little while, Dimphena said, "I think I'll go to bed. George dear,
do wake me if you want anything. Julius, are we to have breakfast before we
land?"
"Yes--order tea for six o'clock, we'll breakfast at seven, and be away by
eight--home for coffee."
It sounded funny to hear him say home, when his home was in England.
Perhaps, thought Georgina, he was happier at Bergenstijn than Dalmers Place.
She remembered Madame LeFabre; of course, if she lived in Holland, naturally
he would prefer it. Perhaps he would live there permanently when he was
married.
"A penny for them," he said.
Instead of answering, she said, "I think I should go to bed too."
He said "No," and nothing more, so that to break a silence she said, "Well, I
wondered which house you preferred."
"I'm happy in them both," he answered instantly.
"My life is so evenly divided between Holland and England that I'm equally at
home in either. I believe you will like Bergenstijn very much, it's not in
the least like Dalmers Place, but it has its own beauty and charm, and my
family have lived there for so long that it is in my blood."
She asked diffidently, "Will you always live like this--with two homes?"
then added quickly,
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nosey."
Before he answered he put his other arm around her.
"You're getting cold, we must go inside." But he didn't move and she stayed
quiet, feeling the warmth of his arms and listening to the steady beat of his
heart under her cheek. He said at length, "I should like to. I cannot
imagine leaving either Dalmers Place or Bergenstijn; I'm happy in them both,
as I want my children to be happy, with their roots in both countries."
Georgina shivered, but not with cold, and he pulled her close and kissed her
gently.
"My poor girl, you must be frozen." He kissed her again, with the same
gentleness--as though, she thought miserably, I were Beatrix--and took her
arm and helped her over the heaving deck until they came to her door. He
said, "Don't hesitate" to call the stewardess if you need her. Goodnight,"
and was gone.
She went inside and shut the door. The ship was dancing madly, but she
didn't notice it; she was choking down the knowledge that however highly
Julius regarded her as a nurse, she need be in no doubt that as a woman she
roused in him no more than a kindly, amused tolerance, tinged with a kind of
detached interest. She forced the fact down with the desperate resolution of
someone swallowing a more than usually bitter pill, undressing as she did so.
When she was ready she went to the mirror and peered at her reflection. It
did nothing to reassure her, and in any case, she couldn't see it very
clearly, because she was crying.
She spoke to its blurred image with severity.
"You're not his type, my dear--admit it once and for all. And what's more,
he really hasn't ever given you cause to suppose that you were." She blew
her nose with vigour and lay down on the bed, but not to sleep.
She would be seeing a great deal of Julius during the next two weeks;
that meant that she would have to be the nurse engaged for Cor, and nothing
else. That being settled she advised herself to think about something else,
and opened her handbag; she would examine her Dutch money, or something. She
had forgotten the letter;
she had received it that morning, stuffed it into her bag and forgotten it.
It was from St. Athel's. She opened it slowly, to find that it was from
Matron, offering her the post of Casualty Sister, as from March the first
next. She read it through several times, busy with her thoughts, so busy in
fact that she quite forgot about seasickness and never noticed the gyrations
of everything around her;
indeed, after a while she dozed off. When she awoke a couple of hours later,
she made her way across the heaving floor to find her writing case. It was
after four o'clock when her letter was finished. She washed and dressed and
did her hair even more severely than usual, and sat quietly until the
stewardess brought her tea. She was a pleasant woman, disposed to chat after
a busy night.
"It's been a bad crossing," she observed.
"I must say, miss, I was surprised you didn't ring for me-Professor Eyffert
warned me particularly to come to you at once. Did you sleep?"
"Oh, yes," lied Georgina pleasantly.
"This is such a delightful little room and I was tired...I wonder would you
post this letter for me when you get back to Harwich. I quite forgot it."
She gave it to the woman quickly, before she could change her mind, and asked
if Dimphena had been called.
"No, miss, not yet. The steward has roused
Professor Eyffert and the little boy though, and he sent a message to say
that if you wished to help the little boy, would you go over at half past
six. I was only to give you it if you were feeling quite yourself. " She
smiled, " I must say you look very pale, miss. "
"I'm excited, that's all," Georgina replied.
"I'll go over at half past six--could someone let the Professor know, please?"
After the woman had gone, she poured herself a cup of tea. Her letter would
reach Matron the following day, or at any rate, the morning after. Her
future was settled; she would have that to remember if the Professor should
say or do anything to weaken her intentions. She finished her tea, and
tapped on the girls' door, and presently was helping Beatrix to dress.
When she knocked on the Professor's door and went in, she found him in his
shirtsleeves, brushing his hair, too. He turned to look at her and said
shortly, "You haven't slept--were you sick? I told the stewardess to keep an
eye on you but not to disturb you."
"I slept very well," she said cheerfully, 'and I wasn't seasick, and no one
disturbed me. " But he went on looking at her in a rather unnerving fashion,
so that she found herself rattling on, " What a pity it's so dark--I should
have liked to see Holland from the sea. " And then, because he still had
said nothing, " Shall I come back presently? "
He spoke then.
"No, I'll go. Send someone for me when Cor's ready."
It was easier when he'd gone; she was able to laugh and joke with Cor and
even try out some of her peculiar Dutch at his insistent demand.
Breakfast was all right too, because she sat between the two children, and
their chatter precluded her from joining in any conversation with the others.
They were the last to leave the boat, so that there were no delays at all.
They went through the customs; and then the restaurant; out on to the station
platform and so to the road, to where the Professor, who had gone on ahead
with the porters and luggage, was waiting by a dark blue Aston-Martin DBS
saloon. He stowed his passengers away with the same businesslike rapidity as
the porters stowed the luggage, and Georgina found herself in the back seat
with Dimphena and Cor wedged carefully between them. Beatrix he lifted into
the seat beside him. He strapped her in securely, dropped a kiss on her
small pink cheek, looked at his watch, and said over his shoulder:
"I'm going the quickest way. It's rather dull, but we'll see that you go
sightseeing later." He let in the clutch.
Perhaps it was dull for someone who had been there before. She stared out of
the window and found a great deal that was distinctly foreign and strange.
The houses were different; disappointingly square with old-fashioned sash
windows, but the town was small; they left it by a wide road lined with
villas, each standing in its own garden, windows glistening even on the grey
windy morning. They had the neatness of well-cared-for doll's houses. It
was strange, too, travelling on the wrong side of the road, although this
didn't seem to trouble the Professor at all. They joined a main road
presently, and then, a few miles further, the motorway to Rotterdam. Here
the car came into its own, for there was no speed limit on the open highway;
only as they reached Rotterdam did Julius slow down, giving her a chance to
glimpse the great blocks of flats and streets of old houses with steeple
roofs and red brick walls. It was still early, but there were plenty of
people on the streets, and even more on bicycles; they leaned negligently
against the car's sides each time they halted at traffic lights, and then
pedalled away with an inch to spare with a sang-fro id which the Professor
shared, for he took no more notice of them than if they had been flies.
Georgina remarked on the people at such an hour on a Sunday morning, and the
Professor said laconically, "Church," and gave his attention to driving once
more. They left the city behind, and she was able to study the tranquil
country they were passing through. It was a pity, though, that the road
skirted the villages, for they
looked charming, even at a distance, but when
she remarked on this, the Professor merely observed, "I told you it would be
dull."
Dimphena agreed that it was dull, but added, "Let's take George to Oudewater
and weigh her on the witch's scales, and we can go to Gouda too."
"And Delft," said Cor; and not to be outdone, "Amsterdam," Beatrix reminded
them.
"All in good time," said Julius.
"Here's Utrecht ahead." They turned off at the great roundabout outside the
city, however, and cut across it and on to the Maarternsdijk road. The
country had changed; it was delightful with little copses and meadows,
intersected by narrow waterways, and when they had gone through Maartensdijk,
it became even prettier, with lanes leading off from either side and houses
amongst the bare trees. They passed through a cluster of houses and then
down a winding lane, running between trees. There were one or two houses at
first, and then nothing but the woods on either side, although it was only a
few hundred yards before the Professor turned the car through a high
old-fashioned wrought iron gate and on to a short drive, running as straight
as a ruler to the house facing the gate. Georgina loved it at first sight.
It was solidly square, with large sash windows and a vast front door, before
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