Gates of Dawn (10 page)

Noel
’
s eyes became delightedly fastened to him, and then she let out a kind of cooing murmur and went down on her knees to gather him into her arms. He promptly responded by licking every available inch of her face, and the gardener informed her that his name, most appropriately, was Peter the Great, and that he came from some local kennels.

Noel
’
s delight in him was so unbounded, and so obvious, that Melanie was deeply touched by the sight of it. If this was her uncle
’
s method of making up to her for years of loneliness—with such a fount of affection at Peter the Great she need hardly ever be lonely again!—she thought it was a very wise method, and between them they untied him from the kitchen table, and set about returning with him to the house.

“
This is one of the occasions when I feel I would like to hug Uncle Richard!
”
Noel exclaimed, and Melanie smiled at her understandingly.

“
It
’
s a lovely present,
”
she agreed.
“
So long as he doesn
’
t chase Baxter up a tree from which it will be impossible to get him down, or chew up all the furniture, I think he
’
ll settle down famously.
”

“
Baxter
!”
Noel looked scornful.
“
I
’
ve always wanted a dog of my own, and now I
’
ve got one, and isn
’
t he an absolutely perfect lamb?
”

“
As to that,
”
Melanie replied, preventing the
“
perfect lamb
”
from pulling his new mistress on to her face on the gravel,
“
I prefer to reserve my opinion, if you don
’
t mind!—and hope that the house will still be intact when your uncle arrives!
”

“
What made him give me a big dog, instead of a small one, do you think?
”
Noel asked, her eyes blazing like blue stars in her delicate face.
“
Actually I don
’
t like small dogs one little bit. I like something huge to protect me!
”

“
Perhaps your uncle had that in mind when he chose it,
”
Melanie suggested, thinking what a fragile sprite she looked hanging on to the strong lead.

“
In that case he
’
s much more understanding than I ever would have believed! Almost uncannily understanding!
”

“
You
’
ll have to let him know that you appreciate his understanding,
”
Melanie told her.

Noel nodded her head vigorously.

“
I will—oh, I will! I think he
’
s
sweet
!” w
ith school-girlish extravagance.

“
Merely just at the present moment?
”

“
No,
”
seriously.
“
Probably all the time, but I
’
ll have to get to know him a bit more before I can be sure of it!
”
Which was wise, Melanie thought. Even she had not quite made up her mind about Richard Trenchard yet, and she was several years older, and had seen slightly more of
him. But she suspected that he could be
very sweet
—if he wished! And when he wished! But there were other sides to him, and those sides had to be understood before arriving at a final judgment.

The rest of that day they spent exploring the grounds—with Peter the Great, of course! And Melanie was pleased to see that Noel responded to the keenness in the air by displaying banners of healthy-looking color in her cheeks, and being ready to consume a hearty lunch when they sat down to it. The garden of the Wold House was very much an overgrown wilderness as yet, but there were shrubberies and tree-lined walks which tempted exploration, and there was even a sedgy-looking lake from which the moorland climbed steeply on the farther side, and what had once been a boat-house on the nearer shore which was now used as a tool-shed, but might in time be restored to a boathouse. Peter the Great searched it d
i
ligently for rats, and was only dragged away from this exciting pastime with difficulty.

Melanie thought that when the spring came there would be many surprises in the shape of bulbs shooting up in the most unsuspected places, and the overgrown lawn where the sundial stood could, with a certain amount of attention, become a really beautiful lawn again. It was on a slight eminence, and overlooked all the rugged grimness of the surrounding country. There was a sheltered south terrace where it would be pleasant to lounge when the sun was warm, and in the orchard adjoining the kitchen-garden literally hundreds of daffodils must have blazed like yellow stars amongst the coarse grass in the springs of previous years, and continued in a wave down each side of the drive and down to the edges of the lake.

At tea-time, when they dragged Peter back to the house and encountered Baxter sitting in dignity in front of the library fire, a temporary diversion was created by the horrified Persian being driven to take refuge on the mantelpiece. But Melanie rescued him and decided that Peter could be banished to the kitchen for that one evening, in order to give Baxter an opportunity to recover from his upset.

The following week the weather remained
“
set fair
”
all the time, and they were able to go for walks over the moors, and to explore almost every dell and combe in their vicinity. Even at that season of the year the unrelenting moorland had a bleak charm which appealed to Noel as well as Melanie, and although at first the former found long walks tiring, her leg muscles strengthened more quickly than Melanie would have believed, and she certainly had the will for exercise.

She was delighted when they found tiny, pathetic specimens of wildflowers defying the encroachments of winter in sheltered hollows, and when they walked to church on Sunday morning and joined in the singing of hymns in a centuries-old edifice where the white-haired old Rector preached a splendid sermon, although there were no more than a handful of other people present. And when they walked home they saw a buzzard circling in the clear air above them, and at a secluded pool, fed by a tiny, sparkling burn, a wild pony drank and continued to drink although they moved softly near him.

And that caused Melanie to wonder whether Noel might in time like to learn to ride, and she thought she would suggest it to her employer when she saw him next. She herself had been accustomed to horses from her earliest days.

Mrs. Duplessis rang them the day after their, arrival and invited them both to lunch with her, but Melanie declined on the grounds that they had no easily available transport, and her former employer did not offer to drive over and fetch them herself. Instead, with a faint note of relief in her voice, she promised vaguely to come and see them some time, and inquired whether Melanie was settling down at the Wold House.

“
Yes, thank you,
”
Melanie replied truthfully.
“
I think we
’
re both settling down very well.
”

Mrs. Duplessis sounded mildly amused.

“
And you
’
re not bored? You don
’
t find it terribly dull with such a limited amount of company?
”

Melanie assured her that she did not find it dull at all, and Eve sounded a little astonished. She would have found it very difficult to accept the fact that whereas with her
Melanie had certainly seen many more faces, and enjoyed more actual variety in her daily life, she had always been a little out of the picture at the White Cottage. She had never been more than an employee. But here, with only Mrs. Abbie and the housemaid, Brigid, apart from Noel, as the companions of a quiet but very orderly existence, she was the next-best-thing to being her own mistress, with no instructions from anyone—not even Richard Trenchard. And the atmosphere of the Wold House was warm and friendly. And Noel
’
s growing attachment to her and dependence on her made her feel that she was doing a really useful job.

After the first week the weather changed, and they were more or less confined to the house for several days. But even then they were not dull, for there were books to read, and games such as monopoly and even chess to be played, and they started conversational French lessons which were amusing. And the house was not yet in such perfect order that a certain rearrangement of the furniture in various rooms was not an improvement, and they spent a whole morning dragging chests and tables
about, and altering the positions of pictures on the panelled walls. They even altered the position of the dower chest in the hall, so that it was not so much in shadow, and placed a handsome Jacobean arm-chair with a crimson cushion beside the hearth where the fire always blazed, so that it looked much more homely and inviting.

Its being so near to Christmas, too, Mrs. Abbie had thoughts of Christmas preparations, and Noel and Melanie helped stone raisins and blanch almonds, and so forth, for Christmas puddings. Melanie was quite a good cook herself—her father had always declared that she created the lightest omelette he had ever tasted, and he had travelled extensively in his day, particularly on the Continent. And Mrs. Abbie allowed her to test out a few recipes in her cookery book, which Noel, with her increasing appetite, sampled immediately they came out of the
o
ven.

Brigid, the housemaid, was a cheerful Irish girl who sang sentimental Irish ballads about the house.
She was a great believer in what she called
“
elevenses,
”
and the teapot always on the hob. She also predicted great things from the tea-leaves which lay at the bottoms of their cups, and told Melanie that in her future there were great heights to be scaled, and that a certain amount of danger was in store for her. And there were two men—and one woman!—who could make or mar her life.

She looked dreamily at Melanie as she spoke, as if she was plainly visualizing the dangers. And then she picked up Noel
’
s cup and told her that there were great heights in her future, too, and that they were tall enough to pierce the clouds and had snow upon them. And she cautioned her against being reckless, and told her that she would marry a dark man and would live with him amongst the snows.

“
And what about Miss Brooks?
”
Noel asked excitedly—thrilled to think that she would marry some day.
“
Isn
’
t she going to marry anyone? Which of the two men you
’
ve mentioned is she likely to have?
”

Brigid heaved a deep sigh, and strove to sort out the tangle of the tea-leaves.

“
I don
’
t know,
”
she confessed.
“
They
’
re both dark. It could be either of them.
”

“
Get along with you, Brigid!
”
Mrs. Abbie exclaimed impatiently.
“
A saucepan
’
s boiling over, and there
’
s something burning in the oven, and you
’
d better see what it is. This fortune-telling is the purest nonsense.
”

“
All the same,
”
Noel slid her hand into Melanie
’
s arm and they went back to the library, where they had begun that morning to catalogue the books on the shelves.
“
I think it
’
s rather exciting—being told there are
two
men who will influence your life! After all, one of them
’
s bound to be nice!
”

Melanie smiled at her and humored her to the extent of replying,
“
If not, I
’
ll just have to put up with the one who isn
’
t nice! But you
’
re not being allowed any choice, young woman. Your future is sealed!
”

CHAPTER NINE

A WEEK before Christmas—with no news of the coming of the master of the place—angry snow clouds piled up in the north, and the first flakes fell softly down upon the Wold House.