Виктория Холт - The Captive

“Oh, he’s gone to London.”

“I mean Mr. Carleton.”

“I was thinking you’d come to see Mr. Lucas. They’re going to do something about his leg.” She shook her head.

“They’re supposed to be very clever nowadays. I don’t know.”

“I knew he was going. I wanted to talk to Mr. Carleton about it.”

“He’ll be back before long, I reckon. Come up to the nursery and see the twins.”

Jennifer recognized me at once and ran to me. Henry was unsure, I could see, but he followed his sister.

“Now tell me how you’ve been getting on,” I said.

“This is Kate, who is my pupil now.”

Kate was looking at the children with slightly scornful interest.

I asked Jennifer how one-eyed Mabel was and also Reggie the bear. She laughed and said they were as naughty as ever.

I talked with the children for a while and Nanny Crockett said why didn’t they show Kate the dolls’ house.

The twins jumped with glee. I looked anxiously at Kate, who might well state her lack of interest in such childish toys.

I think my glance must have been appealing for she said:

“All right.”

The dolls’ house was in a corner of the nursery. The children went over to it and Nanny Crockett signed to me to sit down.

“Is there any news?” she asked in a whisper.

I shook my head.

“It’s difficult. I can’t find out anything. Sometimes I think it’s an impossible task.”

“I know you’ll find something. I know there’s something to be found . and it’s in that house. That’s where the secret lies. I wish I could get there.”

“I get little bits of information but they don’t lead anywhere.”

“Well, you go on trying. Have you tried talking to Mrs. Ford? She knows most of what’s going on.”

“Perhaps you could talk to her. You are on friendly terms.”

“I’ve tried but I don’t get very far.”

“Perhaps she doesn’t know anything … or if she did, thinks she shouldn’t talk about the family.”

“She might talk to someone in the house while she wouldn’t to someone outside it. And you’re there now. You’re one of them. I’m out of it now.”

I could see that Kate was listening to what we were saying and I flashed a sign to Nanny Crockett. She understood at once and we talked of the children and how they would soon be needing a governess.

Kate called: “You won’t come back here, will you, Cranny?”

So I knew she was taking note of what we were saying.

“Not while you continue to be a good pupil,” I replied.

Kate grimaced. But it was clear that there could be no intimate conversation with Nanny Crockett.

In due course one of the maids came to say that Mr. Lorimer had returned.

I left Kate in the nursery and went down to see him. He looked very sad but he was pleased to see me.

I said: “I’m worried about Lucas. What do you know about this operation?”

“Very little. He went up to London recently to see this man and to have a thorough examination. Well, this is the result.”

“What do they think they’ll be able to do?”

“It’s a little vague. They say they have made a lot of advances in that field. It is an attempt to put right what went wrong when his leg was left to set itself.”

“I constantly regret that we did not know what to do. We could have prevented all this.”

“It’s no use blaming yourself, Rosetta … nor the man who was with you. You did the best you could. You saved his life between you. You couldn’t have done more. Believe me, he is eternally grateful to you.

I know he talks lightly of these things, but he does feel more deeply than you would think. “

“Yes, I know.”

“He knows best what he should do, Rosetta. You see, this is a chance.

He’s ready to take it. It may be that if it fails he’ll be worse than he was before, but if it succeeds he’ll be a great deal better. “

“It’s rather a risk, I gather.”

“I gathered that, too.”

“They will let you know the result of the operation as soon as they see how it is going, I suppose?”

“Yes, I’m sure of that.”

“Carleton, when you hear, would you send a message to me?”

“Of course I will.”

We were silent for a moment. Then Carleton said: “It was a great tragedy to him. He always hated it when anything went wrong with his health. And that sort of deformity … it hit him hard.”

“I know.”

“I wish … he could marry. I think that would mean a lot to him.”

“Providing of course that it was a happy marriage.”

“A happy marriage is the perfect state.”

“Yes … if it’s perfect. Otherwise it has to be a compromise.”

I could see that Carleton was thinking of his own marriage.

“And then,” he said sadly, ‘it can all end . suddenly . and you wonder whether it wouldn’t have been better never to have known it.”

“Carleton, I understand perfectly, but I think you should rejoice in what you have had.”

“Yes, you’re right. Here I am, revelling in my misery. What do you think of the twins?”

“They’re all right. Nanny Crockett is wonderful. They’ve grown, haven’t they?”

“We’ll have to be thinking of a governess for them.” He looked at me speculatively.

“I’m not really a governess, you know.”

“I hear you’ve done well with that girl.”

“How my fame travels!” I said lightly.

“You must have some luncheon before you go back.”

“Well, thanks. I suppose we should need something. It’s a good ride to Perrivale from here. I’ll call Kate.”

“Yes. They’ll be ready to serve it in a few minutes.”

Kate was delighted to have lunch in the Trecorn dining room. Carleton was quite attentive to her and treated her like an adult, which she enjoyed. She did justice to the food and talked quite animatedly about Perrivale, which amused Carleton and seemed to lighten his spirits a little. So it was a successful visit.

He came out to the stables with us.

“Thank you for coming,” he said to Kate as well as to me.

“I hope you’ll come again.”

“Oh, we will,” Kate told him, which I found gratifying, and so did he.

On the way back Kate said: “The lunch was nice. But those silly twins with their old dolls’ house were a bore, though.”

“Didn’t you think it was rather a lovely dolls’ house?”

“Cranny, I am not a child. I don’t play with toys. He wants you to go back, doesn’t he?”

“Who?”

“That old Carleton.”

“I feel that your vocabulary must be very limited. You use the same adjective to describe almost everyone.”

“Which adjective?”

“Old.”

“Well, he is old. He does want you to go back and teach those silly twins, doesn’t he?”

“At least they are not old. Why should you think that?”

“Because Nanny Crockett wants you to go back.”

“Not old Nanny Crockett?”

“Well, she’s so old you don’t have to say it. She said she’d keep in touch and so did Carleton.”

“He meant about his brother. He’s going to let me know about his operation.”

“Perhaps they’ll cut off his leg.”

“Of course they won’t and trust you to think of such a thing. They’re going to make it better. He’s a great friend of mine and naturally I want to know how he gets on. So … his brother and Nanny Crockett will keep me informed if they hear of his progress.”

“Oh,” she said and laughed.

Suddenly she burst into song.

‘ “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest, Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.

Drink and the Devil had done for the rest. “

I thought: I believe she really cares for me.