Gates of Dawn (11 page)

Noel had developed one of her irritating little colds, and it was Melanie who found herself forced to exercise Peter the Great, who seemed to be approaching the size of a full-grown hound with leaps and bounds. Baxter simply detested him, and retreated to the safety of trees and, if he was within doors, the every-handy mantelpiece, when Peter hove, with his lolloping gait, into view. Melanie was sure he took a delight in tormenting the handsome Persian, who, after all, was the master
’
s special pet, and should have been allowed a greater peace. She and Peter—despite her secret preference for Baxter, who had become devoted to her eiderdown—were the best of friends, however, and it was no hardship to her to go forth into inclement weather to ensure him exercise.

Even snow—which had always fascinated her—did not deter her. The garden of the Wold House was a wilderness of white, and beautiful beyond words, and morning and evening she set out to trample the virginal waste with Peter. He dragged her along like an
unwieldy
ship towing a slightly unwilling tug, and by the time she had made the complete circuit of the grounds, still
cl
inging to his leash, her cheeks were glowing and scarlet with exercise, and her eyes frequently bubbling over with laughter. She wore an old raincoat and hood, or a scarf tied down over her dark curls and even her lips glowed-red as petunias, as if heavily lip-sticked, which at that hour of the day they seldom were.

One evening, just after tea, when the last of the light was dying out of the sky, and objects were curiously magnified as well as purified by the snow glare, Peter was proving particularly intractable and inconsiderate. Melanie stumbled along the lane just outside the drive gates and thought that the small mountain in front of her was an enormous drift. But just as she dragged Peter to a standstill, and prevented herself from falling into it, a voice, calm and clear on the still air, spoke to her, and she stared in the utmost surprise.

“
Good evening, Miss Brooks,
”
said the voice.
“
It
’
s a little late for you to be out, isn
’
t it?—even accompanied by that young elephant!
”

“
Mr. Trenchard!
”
Melanie gasped, and was so surprised that Peter managed to escape with his lead and tumbled into the car, licking the newcomer
’
s face as if he adored him.

“
That
’
s enough of that, thank you very much!
”
Richard protested at last, and held the dog down firmly in order to look upwards at Melanie. Her oval face had a kind of ethereal glow in the white light, and her eyes were unnaturally large and as brilliant as starshine. He could see the little white puffs of expelled breath clinging round her mouth, and her voice sounded breathless and excited.

“
We didn
’
t expect you!
...
Why didn
’
t you let us know?
”

“
Come inside,
”
he ordered, and opened the car door for her, banishing Peter to the back seat.
“
Because I thought I would give you a surprise, and because I only made up my mind very suddenly this morning to leave London at all.
”
He placed a fur-lined rug over her knees, tucking it in to exclude the draughts, and she looked up at him in the gloom of the comfortable, low-slung saloon and thought that his eyes were smiling at her in the way she preferred them to smile, and that the pleasant smell of his tobacco was rather stronger than usual.
“
Where
’
s Noel?
”
he asked.
“
Why isn
’
t she with you? Peter is her dog, and it
’
s no time of day for you to be wandering out alone in this weather.
”

“
Noel
’
s got a cold.
”

“
Is Noel always afflicted with colds?
”
he demanded.

“
No; and this time it
’
s only a slight one—in fact, her general health is very much better—but Peter
has
to be taken for his evening walk.
”

“
And there
’
s no one to take him but you!
”

He lifted her small, ungloved hand that was lying outside on the rug and placed it beneath the protection of the soft fur.

“
Well, I
like
taking him—and I
like
snow.
”

“
I daresay you do,
”
he said, more curtly.
“
But what would happen if you twisted your ankle in a concealed rut, or fell into a drift up to your ears, or some such similar accident occurred to you
?
Would anyone in the house come
out to look for you? I doubt it! Certainly not Noel
—”

“
Noel is in bed, but Mrs. Abbie would miss me very quickly,
”
Melanie insisted.
“
And it
’
s highly unlikely I should meet with any such disaster, especially as it
’
s not yet quite dark, and I was on my way home. But if I did Peter wouldn
’
t let me lie forgotten—he
’
d raise the alarm! Peter is a unique dog, and we all think it was a very happy thought your bestowing him on Noel.
”

As if he appreciated this tribute Peter
’
s long tongue slid out, and he licked her ear from behind. Richard Trenchard laughed and encircled his muzzle with a hand usually appreciated by animals.

“
Including my niece?
”
he asked.
“
Does she like him? She wrote, of course, but that might have been just politeness.
”

“
Adores him. She
’
s anxious for the opportunity to offer you her heartfelt thanks in person.
”

He laughed again softly, and then offered her his cigarette-case. As they sat quietly smoking on the pale grey upholstery of the well-sprung seat he realized what was passing in her mind, and that she was consumed with curiosity to learn why it was that she had found him sitting there in the snowy lane. Looking down at her in the dim interior and marking the slightly tip-tilted nose which agreed with the upward curve of her eyelashes, he decided to enlighten her.

“
It
’
s a long drive from town,
”
he explained,
“
and when I got here I liked the look of my house so much that I was tempted to switch off my engine and admire it. With smoke simply pouring from the chimneys, and the grounds looking like the setting for an ice pantomime, it certainly struck me for the first time as having something more to offer than my St. James Place flat.
”

“
If only you had let Mrs. Abbie know you were coming,
”
Melanie lamented.
“
We had more or less made up our minds that you wouldn
’
t be here until just before
Christmas—and that you would probably be bringing some friends.
”

“
I shall expect a few friends for the Christmas holiday. That
’
s one of the disadvantages of owning a house.
”
He started up the car—or, rather, he tried to start it up, but the engine had grown cold, and refused to exhibit any symptoms of life. After one or two attempts to persuade it into action he gave it up, and turned to her.
“
I
’
m afraid we shall have to walk, and send down for the car later on. Do you mind?
”

“
Not at all,
”
she answered at once, surprised that he should ask, and, as a matter of fact, she had been conscious of a vague disinclination to continue that short journey up the drive to the house, and to have him swallowed up by all the bustle and excitement which would unquestionably attend the announcement of his arrival. He was so obviously in one of his nicest and friendliest moods, and there had been something about the way he had looked at her and spoken to her when first she had blundered into his car that had most curiously accelerated her breathing, and for a few moments she had felt almost overwhelmingly pleased to see him. And now, sitting so snugly and comfortably beside him, she was quite definitely reluctant to desert the warmth and comfort of the car, even although the walk up the drive would take far longer than the car journey.

He opened his own door and
cl
imbed out into the snow, and she followed with his hand on her arm to prevent her being precipitated into one of the ruts he had spoken of. Then, pausing to remove his suitcase from the boot of the car, he caught hold of her hand and tucked it inside his arm, and together they set off up the drive.

By that time a few stars were burning frostily in a clear patch of sky above their heads, and far away across the snow, in the direction of the village, the church bells were plainly practising their Christmas carillon. Otherwise the night was very still, and the faint wind which sighed close to their ears was gentle enough. Melanie could feel the rough surface of his coat-sleeve beneath her hand, and she had some difficulty in keeping pace with his long strides. He bent his head to look down at her in a sudden warm glow of light which streamed down the drive from the
house, and she could see his white teeth as his lips parted whimsically over them
.

He said gently,
“
Like Peter I
’
m dragging you along, but you can hang on to me as much as you please, and I promise I won
’
t let you stumble!
”

Melanie felt a most pleasing sensation of warmth begin to steal in a comforting manner throughout all her being and it seemed to her that he drew her hand a little closer in the crook of his arm. He was holding her wrist firmly with his fingers, and ridiculously she felt that she was walking on air instead of snow that crunched crisply beneath her feet. If the drive had been another mile and a half in length she thought seriously that she would not have minded, but within a matter of minutes after leaving the car he had pulled the bell-chain in the porch and the front door had been flung hastily wide open to reveal the astonished visage of Mrs. Abbie.

Behind her, in the hall, there was leaping firelight, and there were holly and evergreens, too, behind the gilt-framed portraits of some unknown gentlemen in period costume who adorned the walls. Melanie had risked life and limb on the top of an uncertain step-ladder earlier in the day to place them there. And the michaelmas daisies had been reinforced with sprays of scarlet berries, and the crimson cushion in the Jacobean chair looked most inviting.

And Baxter came moving in a dignified fashion across the hall to greet them.

“
Well, well!
”
Richard Trenchard exclaimed, and there was a most unusual glow in his eyes as he looked about him.
“
This really is—attractive!
”

“
Mr. Richard!
”
Mrs. Abbie exclaimed reprovingly.
“
Why couldn
’
t you let us have a telephone message? Or at least you might have sent a telegram!
...
And me not even sure your bed is aired!
”

“
Then I
’
ll sleep in a chair in the library,
”
he told her cheerfully. He was obviously in the highest spirits, removing his thick overcoat and sending the snow flying in all directions as he tossed it from him, and then turning to assist Melanie off with her raincoat.
“
But from certain savory odors which seem to be finding their way from the kitchen you
’
ve got a very good dinner in course of preparation, and that I can certainly do with! Miss Brooks,
”
whipping the head-scarf from her damp curls and casting it carelessly on to a settee,
“
you and Noel will dine with me tonight, and we
’
ll open a bottle of champagne—of which I believe there are a few in the cellar—and celebrate the beginning of my occupation of the Wold House.
”

“
Miss Trenchard is having her supper upstairs on a tray,
”
Mrs. Abbie said, rather primly, before Melanie could get in a word.

“
Oh, yes!
”
He made a slight, expressive face.
“
I forgot she
’
s indulging in being an invalid again! Oh, well, in that case—
”
He paused, looked at Melanie with a faint, regretful lift of one eyebrow, as well as one side of his always rather attractively crooked mouth, and shrugged his shoulders.
“
In that case I
’
ll have my dinner on a tray in the library, to save you opening up the dining-room, Abbie, but I
’
d be glad of a whiskey and soda as soon as you can produce it.
”

“
Certainly, Mr. Richard.
”

He stooped and picked up Baxter, who settled with delighted purrs against his shoulder, and then walked with the masterful tread of one who knew himself to be the master in his own house towards the door of the library. But before he reached it he called over his shoulder to Melanie,
“
Better get those wet shoes of yours changed, Miss Brooks. And give my devoted regards to my niece!
”