Джорджетт Хейер - Penhallow

She broke off, as memory came creeping back, and turned her head sharply away. “Oh, no! Oh, no!” she gasped.

“Steady!” Charmian said. “Help me get her on to the sofa, one of you!”

Ingram bent to lift Faith bodily from the ground.

“Take it easy, now!” he recommended. “Frightful shock, I know. Fairly turned me sick when I heard it, I can tell you. There! You’re better now, aren’t you?”

Clara, who had not ceased to rock herself to and fro, and had paid as little heed to Faith as to Clifford.

who was clumsily patting her shoulder, said in a broken voice: “He went up to see the Demon colt. He thought the world of that colt. I shan’t ever be able to bear seein’ it again. Poor boy, poor boy, goin’ like that, all alone!”

“He killed Father, Aunt Clara,” Ingram said grimly.

“Shut up!” Conrad flung at him.

“No use blinking facts, Con old man.”

“Shut up, I said! It’s too ghastly! Ray! Ray.”

Faith struggled up from the cushions on which they had laid her, pushing Charmian away in a distraught fashion. “Don’t touch me!” she panted. “Let me go! Please let me go! I can’t — I can’t — Oh, no, no, no, no!”

Her voice rose so wildly that Charmian, fearing that she was going to fall into a fit of hysterics, took her by the shoulders, and shook her ruthlessly. “Faith, stop it! Stop it at once, do you hear me? Be quiet!”

Faith caught her breath on a strangled sob, and stared up into her face, terror in her dilated eyes. “Be quiet,” she repeated. “Yes, I must be quiet. I mustn’t say anything. This isn’t real. None of it happened. It couldn’t have happened. I’m not very well. I want Loveday.”

“All right.” Charmian spoke over her shoulder to Conrad: “We’d better get her up to her room. Give her your arm, will you?”

Faith allowed herself to be lifted to her feet. She staggered, and clung to Conrad, but she was able to walk to the door. Charmian, arming herself with the smelling salts and the brandy, prepared to follow, commanding Vivian, before she left the room, to find Loveday, tell her what had happened, and send her up to her mistress’s room.

“I could wish that Char hadn’t taken the brandy away,” said Aubrey, when the little cortege had withdrawn. “Really, I feel too dreadfully shaken myself! Because, if you want the truth, I never actually believed that Ray was the guilty one. And now I’m utterly dumbfounded at Faith’s wholly unexpected reaction to the news. I don’t want to be lewd, or even flippant, but is it possible that there was more between her and Ray than any of us guessed?”

“No, it isn’t!” snapped Vivian. “Though it’s just like you to suggest it! I could very easily start screaming myself. I suppose you think it’s merely funny!”

“Not in the least funny, sweet one. Definitely un-funny, in fact.”

“Just keep quiet, will you, Aubrey?” interposed Clifford. “Ingram, I think I’d better go down to the police-station at once. There will be various things — I take it you’d like me to act for you?”

“Damned good of you if you would, old man,” Ingram said. “You’ll know what ought to be done better than I should. Of course this puts the lid on the police investigation. Case is finished — and far better finished like this, than if — well, you know what I mean!”

“Did the Inspector tell you what Jimmy said, if he said anything?” asked Eugene.

“No, I didn’t ask him. I was so bowled over at the time I never even thought of it. It was only afterwards, when I was on my way up here, that I realised that that was what must have made Ray shoot himself. Knowing that Jimmy had been caught, and was going to spill the truth about his quarrel with Father, I mean. Well, I always thought that there was more to that than we were told.”

“Vivian, I wish you’d look after Mother while I’m gone,” Clifford said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, Mother!”

“You mustn’t worry about me, Cliff. I shall be all right,” she replied. “I don’t want anyone to look after me. I think I’ll go up to my room for a bit. But somebody must find Bart, and break it to him gently. He’ll be very upset, for he was always the one who got on best with poor Ray. Oh, dear, oh, dear, that I should ever have lived to see such things happenin’ at Trevellin!”

Upstairs, meanwhile, Loveday Trewithian had taken charge of Faith, who had begun to cry, in a gasping, hysterical way that made Charmian try to induce her to swallow some more brandy. But as she would do nothing but push Charmian from her, imploring her to leave her alone, Loveday respectfully asked Charmian to go away, saying that she could manage her mistress better without her. As soon as Charmian had left the room, she took Faith in her arms, and held her comfortingly close, crooning endearments into her ear, and patting her soothingly. She could not understand much that Faith ,jerked out between her shattering sobs, so choked and incoherent were the words uttered, but she did not think that this mattered much, and went on saying Yes, yes, and Never mind, until Faith had exhausted herself. After that, she undressed her, and got her into bed, and obliged her to swallow a couple of aspirin tablets. Too worn out to resist, Faith merely whispered: “Don’t leave me! Don’t let anyone come in!”

“No, my poor dear, I won’t,” Loveday said, drawing up a chair, and sitting down by the bed. “There, let me stroke your hand, and send you to sleep! It’s been too much for you, and no wonder!”

“Loveday, Ray shot himself. Ray shot himself, Loveday! Because he thought the police were going to arrest him. Loveday, I never knew Ray had had a dreadful quarrel with Adam! Loveday, how could I have known that? No one told me! But what could it have been? There wasn’t any need! If he’d only told me! Only he never told me anything. Loveday, I meant to be a good stepmother to Adam’s children, but how could I be when they wouldn’t let me? What shall I do? It’s too late, too late, too late!”

“Hush, now!” Loveday said. “There was nothing you could do to prevent it, my dear. You’ve nothing to blame yourself for. Shut your eyes, and try to get a little rest! You’ll be better presently.”

The hand she was holding shuddered perceptibly; to her dismay, Faith began to laugh wildly, while tears streamed down her face. A knock on the door fortunately penetrated to Faith’s ears, and startled her into silence. She said again: “Don’t let anyone come in!”

Clay opened the door, and showed a scared, white countenance. He checked, in obedience to a signal from Loveday, but said in a breathless tome: “Has Mother heard? Does she know...”

“Yes, of course she knows, you silly creature!” Loveday replied. “Go away, do! She doesn’t want to be bothered with you now.”

Of course, it’s a frightful business, but at the same time, one can’t help seeing that if Ray did it...”

“Will you go away, Mr Clay, before you drive your mother out of her mind with your chatter?” said Loveday, with considerable asperity.

He looked a good deal offended, but since his mother paid no heed to him he withdrew, after a moment’s hesitation. Faith lay quite still, her eyes fixed and haunted, her hand tightly grasping Loveday’s. Loveday remained beside her until the sound of hasty strides on the gravel drive outside made her lift her head, and listen intently. She disengaged her hand gently, and went over to the window, and looked down. “It’s Bart,” she said. “I must go down. He’ll be needing me.”

“Oh, don’t leave me!” Faith begged.

“It’s Bart,” Loveday repeated. “I must go. I’ll come back in a little while.”

She crossed to the door, and went out, softly closing it behind her.