THE PRISONER'S SISTER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 August 1938, Page 12

THE PRISONER'S SISTER

PUBLISHED BY ARRANGEMENT COPYRIGHT

BY

PEARL BELLAIRS

(Author of “Velvet and Steel”)

CHAPTER VII. (Continued.) Not a word was said. Julie, in fact, was feeling too weak to speak had he spoken to her. Whatever had made him alter his mind and send, her to Lime Grove before Christmas was not mentioned. When the car started Julie sank back into the soft cushions. She was exhausted, but she was too tense with anxious expectation to relax. ■ When one is very young it is difficult to have to face a totally unexpected future. If in that zero hour of her life Rand had spoken to her in a friendly and sympathetic manner her heart might have softened towards him, willy nilly. As it was he had made up his mind to be firm with her, and in consequence said not a word from the time she got into the car until it arrived at Lime Grove, over an hour later. They passed through Hindhead and followed the Portsmouth road for some miles. When they pulled up the silence of the country night seemed unwontedly deep after the roar of London. Rand got out immediately and walked into the house. The chauffeur opened the door for Julie and she could see the lights of the house befor her shining dimly through diamond panes. The car that had brought the children down was pulled up just ahead. Julie’s feet were numbed with cold as she walked shakily to the front door followed by the chauffeur. Inside was a big panelled hall, with a door standing open on the left into a small sitting room; Julie found herself looking in on a homely scene. There was a great fire burning in the hearth; and sitting in front of it were Dolly and Will, with smiling faces, in their dressing gowns all ready for bed. Mrs Bolton was standing by beaming and twisting her apron in an ecstasy of deference at the sight of Rand. “Well?” Rand was enquiring of the children. “And how do you like your new home?” “Ow, they’re that excited sir! They think it’s all just lovely sir!” said Mrs Bolton. Julie stood gazing at the scene with eyes to which it all seemed poignantly unreal. The blazing fire, the old-fash-ioned comfortable room —security and refuge for the children! Ell came from the door into the kitchen on the other side of the room. “I think as everything is in satisfactory order, sir! All the provisions, sir, as you ordered, sir, is in here, and the —h’m—other things, sir! Would you kindly come and see- ?” Rand walked out into the kitchen after him. The children saw Julie in the doorway, and bounded up. “Oh, Julie —Julie, isn’t it lovely? Have you seen ? Oh, isn’t it all gorgeous?” Julie stepped forward to meet them, and stood with her arms round them, while the tears in her eyes blurred the light of the leaping fire. Carol singers were- singing outside in the country night. “Oh, darlings, yes’, it’s lovely!” She drew them both to her, and burst into tears. They clung to her, looking up at her in shocked silence. Rand came in and found her like that, standing bowed over their curly heads, her own face hidden by her hair, while the tears fell from her eyes. Mrs Bolton, with a distressed face, was standing by, saying:— “Come, Miss Julie, sit down! You're quite wore out!” ' Julie sat down with her back to Rand. He stood in silence for a moment, drawing on his fur-backed gloves. When he spoke his voice was very flat and matter-of-fact. “Well, I shall come down again in a day or two and go over the place and see what alterations must be made. That will give you a day or two to settle down and make yourselves at home. I’ll take EIl with me now. He tells me that everything is in order, so I suppose you’ll be able to manage by yourselves?” “Oh, yes, sir! Certainly, sir!” “Good-night!" “Good-night, sir!” said Mrs Bolton. He went, followed by Ell, who wasn’t so sure now that it would have been so bad, after all, to stay over Christmas. Homely, was what he called it; and it was a change to be with children and women-folk. As soon as Rand had gone, Julie sank back in her chair with a feeling of utter relief. The warmth of the fire was a glorious luxury; she relaxed and closed her eyes, and in a moment or two Mrs Bolton was there with a glass of hot milk; and Dolly with a plate of chjcken sandwiches. It was comfort beyond relief. While Julie ate, the children ran to and fro between the pantry and the sitting room, reporting what they found there, amnog the things that had come from London with them in the car. “Turkey, Julie! Plum puddings!” “There’s a whole ham, Julie!” “There’s a kind of thing with brown shiny stuff all over it, and patterns made on top!” “Biscuits, Julie!” “Jellies, Julie!” “Crystalised pineapple!" “Julie, there are boxes and boxes and boxes of crackers!” Very soon Mrs Bolton insisted that they were getting cold running to and fro in their dressings gowns. “Off to bed with you!” “I’ll come —!” began Julie, rising to go and superintend the business. “No, you won’t Miss Julie! You sit there and rest! I can put them to bed,” said Mrs Bolton, and added, “Everything’s lovely! You should just see the blankets! That Ell and I aired the mattresses by the fire before you got here.” So Julie sank back in her chair, and left it all to Mrs Bolton. It was won-

derful, tired as she was, to just let go and accept all this now it had come. After all it- was what Tom had wanted. It was something she couldn’t possibly refuse for the children. She thought of Tom. Poor Tom! As she lay there in blissful glow of the fire, she made a quiet vow that however easy life might become she would always think of him. He was allowed to write and receive one letter a month. Tomorrow she would be able to write to him and let him know how things had been settled. CHAPTER VIII. Christmas bells! The white mantle of the frost lay over the countryside as the sun rose on Christmas morning. As Julie sat up in bed and looked out of her window, she could smell the cold sweetness of the country air; the distant throb of the bells was musical in the country quiet. What a difference between this and fogs of Kew —her present calm state of mind and her anxiety yesterday! She lay down again and cuddled under the blankets. They were rose coloured, and so was the eiderdown. The new linen sheets were beautifully smooth against her cheek. The rest of the room was worn and shabby, and she was rather glad that it was. She heard the voices of the children on the stairs, and was just thinking of getting up when in came Mrs Bolton with a glass of hot milk, and told her she was going to spend the morning in bed. “But I’m not! We’ll have to get this house cleaned up!” “I’m cleaning up the house,” said Mrs Bolton. “And you’re going to get up to Christmas dinner when it’s ready for you and not before! You’ll be getting the noomoniay if you don’t set yourself up a little after all the worry you’ve had. That’s milk, that is, to put' a bit of flesh on your bones!” So Julie lay resting in bed. The children had found the parcels, inscribed in Ell’s meticulous hand, “Not to be opened until Christmas morning." When they had exhausted the excitement of looking at the things in them, they examined the house from the attics to the outhouses, reporting to Julie from time to time on what they discovered. Then came a feast at mid-day in the large, stone-floored, old-fashioned kitchen. They pulled crackers, and Julie and Mrs Bolton had a glass of ginger wine, which was Ell’s idea of a suitable Christmas drink for women and children. “No, Will, you can’t have any, more marrons glace!” said Julie, whose face was flushed with colour for the first time for days. “We mustn’t eat everything up at once! ,We must try to make it all last.” She was very anxious that they should live as economically as possible while Rand was paying the bills. All the expensive luxuries he had sent down in the way of provisions didn’t make a good beginning; at least, she thought, all these things must be made to last as long as possible. He had said he would come down again in a day or two. He must be busy, he must be involved in all sorts of social functions and entertainments at Christmas. Julie didn’t expect him for several days at least. On Christmas afternoon she made a thorough inspection of the house and decided what must be done with it. There were twelve bedrooms and seven attics. Thre were three rooms over the stables, which she thought might be reserved for herself and Mrs Bolton and the children. There was some beautiful timber and carved woodwork in the house, and old and worn as they were, some of the bedrooms Julie thought were more charming than any amount of redecoration could ever make them. So Christmas Day passed. Julie tucked up the children in their comfortable beds, and heard them say their prayers, with a feeling of peace and relief that was beyond relief. Next day she was up early, and she and Mrs Bolton had a grand campaign, cleaning the house. “That Ell hasn’t sent us any floor polish!” said Mrs Bolton. “Isn't that just like a man?” They worked steadily all the morning. In the afternoon Rand arrived. “Good Heavens!” said Julie, looking at him in disgust, from an upper window as he got out of his car. He was driving a two-seater open sports car, and wore an old leather coat and helmet. Ell followed him soberly, carrying two suitcases. Mrs Bolton began to stampede round the house breathlessly, picking up brooms and dusters and putting them away. Julie took off her apron and went down to open the door, rolling her sleeves down as she went. When she got down the children already had the door open. Rand was handing Will a small closed basket. “I wanted to find a home for this,” he was saying, “so I brought it down here for you to take care of for me. How do you do?” he added, as Julie arrived. “How do you do?” said Julie coolly. He seemed in good spirits and looked at her with an amiability which she fancied she was making no mistake about; it was triumph because he had managed to arrange things as he wanted them. “Well!” he said. “You look betteitoday!” Julie merely raised her eyebrows slightly, in a detached manner, trying to establish their formal relations as employer and employee. Meanwhile there was a shriek from Will, who had opened the basket, and found a spaniel pup in it. "Oh, it’s a little dog! Look, Dolly— Julie—!” “Like it?” said Rand, with a particularly human smile, which vanished as he recollected himself, and said: “I

thought a home in the country would be better for it.” Julie noticed that the label on the lid of the basket bore the name of a famous store, and she didn’t suppose that it had been there for very much more than an hour. However, she said nothing, and they passed into the sitting room, leaving the children to fondle and play with the dog. “How about some tea, Ell?” said Rand. “Certainly sir!” Ell disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. Rand looked round, divesting himself of his leather headgear, and said: “Well! A holiday! Not even a telephone. You’ve no idea what that means to me, Miss Moffat!” Julie said nothing. She was not going to have her friendliness assumed. “Well, Miss Moffat, and how is the house?” “Mrs Bolton and I have-cleaned most of it out.” “Why?” “Well ” “May I ask why it has to be cleaned out when in three days’ time the whole place will be stripped of furniture, half pulled to pieces, and rebuilt?” Put in that way, it did make Julie’s activities look rather inept. She flushed and felt a fool. They were employer and' employee now, with a' vengeance! However, he took out his cigarette case and offered her one before taking one himself. “No, thank you —sir!” said Julie, humbly. “Sir!” said Rand, raising his eyebrows. “Please!” He met her gaze, and found it fixed on him with bright contempt. He realised that the “sir” was merely malicious. “All right,” he said with a smile. “Madam! But Miss Moffat seemed so appropriate in view of your obvious stand-offishness! But if you think it’s more proper that we should call one another Sir and Madam, I’m quite willing. I am glad to hear, madam, that you’ve cleaned the house out, because that will enable my man Ell to find me a bedroom without any difficulty, as I propose to stay here overnight!” (To be Continued).