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those we could from the drive--the careless ones who leave their doors open. " He grinned, then walked ahead and beckoned Harry on.

There were a number of cars parked around the side of the building and the attendant, coming up to Harry again, said, "We don't usually stack here, but there was an overflow from the main park, very unusual. Most times it can cope, but the whole town seems to have come out the night.

Will you be long. Sir?"

"Not more than five minutes," said Harry. Then taking off his overcoat, he leaned into the back of the car, where Gail was now curled up on the seat, and put it over her before asking, "Will I put the light on."

"No. No thanks; I'll be clean off in two minutes flat. And don't wake me when we get home, just carry me in. Do you hear?"

"I hear, Ma'am. Certainly Ma'am." He sounded jocular, and when he closed the door and turned about the attendant said, "You could come in the side door here, Sir; it leads straight to the lounge."

"Thanks," said Harry 'but my son 'll likely be waiting in the hall for me and I don't want to be waylaid at the bar, if you see what I mean.

"

And they both laughed.

The hall of the hotel was a large room with an open fireplace fronting the door and lounge chairs dotted about on the thick pile carpet. The reception desk was at the far corner on the right hand side, and on the left hand side were two passages, one leading to the gents cloakroom, the other leading to the ladies. The door leading to the ballroom gave off from this side of the hall, and as Harry made his way towards it there emerged from the second passage the blue mini-dressed figure of Betty Ray.

"Well, well 1 Hello I' Harry had paused for a moment, long enough to give her a cold wavering stare, but when he made to move on she stepped quickly in front of him, saying, " I've never had a chance to have a word with you tonight, or any other time for 'that matter. You're very elusive, aren't you? "

He didn't answer her, he just continued to stare at her. For WCC&. S

11UW'llC'llUU l^ilUit-U'll^1 , ^ -" T **^.* ^^ . ^---------over the phone saying politely, " Mr. Blenheim, Mr. Rippon would like a word with you," and adding, 'at your convenience," he never gave her an answer. And when he passed through Rippon's outer office he kept his eyes averted from her, although highly conscious all the time that she had hers fixed tightly on him and that they were laughing at him, as they were doing now.

"Have you enjoyed yourself the night?"

When he still didn't answer she gave a little hick of a laugh and, her voice low, she said, "You're in a misery, aren't you? All the time you're in a misery. You're frightened of your own shadow, frightened to enjoy yourself ... Look, hang on a minute, don't dash off'--she put her fingertips lightly on his sleeve--'or I might raise me voice, I've had a few drinks; an' I'm never dependable when I've had a few drinks, not to be counted on, you know what I mean?"

He knew what she meant. They were staring at each other now and her eyes were no longer laughter-filled as she said, "You wanted me out of Peamarsh's, didn't you? You were terrified of me; you wouldn't believe that I would play square. All I asked was to get on to the other floor and make something of me self but instead of giving me a helpin' hand what did you do? You kept mum; and if you could you would have got me the push, wouldn't you? But I got on the top floor, didn't I, right into the sanctuary. And now I'm in a position to have anything I want.

Did you hear that, Mr. Blenheim? Anything- I-want? "

"How nice for you." His words were flat, lead-weighted.

"Yes, isn't it. He's barmy about me. At first he just did it to get one over on. you. Oh, he knows all about it; I told him. Apparently he knew afore; old Cole had done some snooping and she told Dame Bateman.

Oh, I know all about her an' all, Bateman; he's come quite clean with me, he's not a damned hypocrite like you. And he knows how to enjoy himself. And let me tell you something else, he's quite willing to pay for it. Do you know something? "

"I'm in a hurry, Miss Ray; will you excuse me?"

Her fingers came on to his sleeve again, tightly now.

"No, I won't excuse you, Mr. Kicnheim; you're going to listen^ This is the only opportunity I've had." She glanced about her, then said with mock primness, "It wouldn't be right in the office, to talk like this. I mean ... As I was saying, do you know where I'm going on me holidays and for a full month, eh? Do you? Well, I'm going on a cruise, on a first-class liner. He's taking me. All very discreet of course; we meet up on board ... It's a free world. As long as you have the money you can go anywhere, get anything. Me mam's getting' her car an' all.

Isn't that nice, Mr. Blenheim? "

He had the terrible desire to choke her and he closed his eyes as she said, "Dear, dear! Does it shock you? But perhaps if I was a relation it would be all right. How would you like me for a mother-in-law?"

"Huh!" He now allowed a twisted smile to spread over his face, and his voice a deep sneer as he replied, "If an attractive and first-class business woman like Miss Bateman couldn't bring it off then I hold very little hope for you. Miss Ray."

His tone brought her dark brows together and her lips into a tight straight line and she wagged her head for a moment before hissing back at him, "You'd be surprised! I have me methods. He's waitin' in the car for me."

As they glared at each other the ballroom door opened and John came through with a girl. He stopped abruptly and looked hard at them, then said, "You're back early."

Harry turned to him.

"Get your things, I'll be waiting outside." His voice was thick and shaking. He didn't look at her again but went outside and stood on the top step gulping in great draughts of air in an effort to cool the heat of his anger. Mother-in-law! My God I She could do it, too. Yes, he believed her, she could do it.

It was as the door opened behind him and she came out that he heard the scream. It came from the direction of the cars parked to the side of the hotel. When it came again he lifted his head like an animal, scenting danger. The scream in a way was recognisable although he had never heard it before. It wasn't a giggly scream, or the scream of lovers, it was a terrified scream, and now he was running, leaping over the ground.

As he rounded the corner he saw through the dimness the KilapC Ul. a Uldll UcH-A-inK wA. UL AAAa -aA , *^ * t*u ^Aw^*. -^^.

^^ himself up as Harry reached him, and he spluttered.

"Sorry, sorry.

Thought it was mine. Left it. "

Gail, crouched in the corner of the seat, her hands cupping her face, was making strangled sounds and Harry's mad, fury- filled gaze jerked from her to his father-in-law taking in his disarrayed clothes. Then with a deep oath he had him by the throat.

He was never clear in his mind about what happened in the first few moments but he did remember banging the big body against the wall, and when it fell to the ground he remembered using both his fists and his feet on it, and all the while the screaming went on, not Gail's now, but Betty Ray's as she tried to pull him off. Then other hands came on him and forced him to the ground. But even as they held him his limbs still reacted to the desire to flay.

When they allowed him to get up someone sat him on a box and he leant against the side of a car, but they still held on to him. The place was crowded with people now; their voices were torturing his ears.

Dimly through the red haze that seemed all about him he saw John talking to a policeman, and he heard Betty Ray's voice, high, hysterical, yelling, spluttering, jabbering

When they led him to a car, which was not his car, he thought clearly again and said, "Gail. My daughter," and John said, "She's all right."

John did not look at him as he spoke, but kept his head down. He became vitally aware of this, and remained aware of it for a long time afterwards.

When he reached the police station he passed out, and while they were awaiting the doctor's arrival they brought him round by douching him with cold water. It was the sergeant's pet treatment for brawling drunks.

"Keep away! Don't come near me." Esther was standing near the head of her bed and Harry at the foot of it.

"You've got to believe me," he said.

"I'll never believe you, That girl, your ... mistress' she hissed the last word 'got round him, like she got round you."

"She only got round him because he wanted her to get round him. And for the tenth time she's not my mistress, and never was my mistress.

I've told you, I've explained. It was only that once. It was snow-madness you could say, but I can't expect you to believe that if you won't open your eyes to the fact of what's been going on for years.

"

"My father's a good man." Her voice was low and trembling.

"He always has been; you or no one else will be able to convince me otherwise."

"He's not a good man, Esther; he never has been. The fact that he's been good to you because you were his only child doesn't make him a good man. Nothing will ever make him a good man, in business or anything else."

"Shut up 1' Her lips were covered with spit de and she dragged her handkerchief first one way then the other across them. Then she said,

" Even if he wasn't a good man was that sufficient reason for you to try to kill him. And you would have killed him if they hadn't torn you off; they all said that. "

"It's a pity they succeeded," he said grimly.

"But I've told you why I went for him, I've told you. He must have frightened her to death when he tried to ..."

"Shut up! Shut up, will you?"

"I won't shut up." His voice rose high now, almost to a shout.

"He" When she put her hands tightly across her ears he Dowea nis neaa.

men alter a moment ne turnea aDouc ana walked to the window, and from there he said, "The fact that he thought it was the Ray girl makes no difference. And you don't believe he was sodden drunk, even though it might act as an excuse for what happened, but you believe I was drunk."

He turned his head now slightly towards his shoulder and said slowly,

"And in a way you're to blame for the final incident, because if you hadn't persuaded him to let me have his car there wouldn't have been two of a kind, and he wouldn't have mistaken it for his own."

When be heard her moan he turned about to see her sitting on the edge of the bed, her head deep on her chest. He made no attempt to go near her, but from where he stood he said, "I'm sorry, Esther."

Now her head jerked up and her face, cold and tight, she cried at him,

"And you'll be sorrier still before you're finished. I don't know where you've been these past three days so it might be news to you to know that Father's seeing this thing through to the end, and if he's so full of guilt as you infer he is, do you think he would dare do that?"

"Your father is capable of doing anything; he's an expert at chicanery and everything underhand. He was clever enough to keep Miss Bateman hidden for fifteen years."

"I don't believe it, not a word of it."

"Then you'd better go and ask her, hadn't you? And she might introduce you to your half-sister."

He was sorry he said^ that for her face now looked utterly bloodless.

After a moment of bitter silence she said through clenched teeth, "It isn't my father's misdeeds that've brought us low, it's yours." She gripped her forearms and rocked herself backwards and forwards now, saying, "We'll not be able to lift our heads in the town again. And what about Gail? And you were sup posed to worship Gail, weren't you;

she was the apple of your eye. Now who's going to look at her after an incident like that, her name splashed across the papers? "

His neck jerked violently up out of his collar as he said, "There's no need for her to be mentioned." He held out the paper he had been holding the while.

"She's not mentioned here, not H wuil^ ctu^LiL'll^1. j. lie wil*- n-.

ttlo1- " A- l-llio ctl li<-h ao i^uill Betty Ray's point of view, that I was jealous of her leaving me and therefore beat up my rival, that's how it reads. There's no need for Gail to be brought into this at all, although if she was I might be able in future to lift my head up in the town, as you term it, because what I did was in defence of my daughter, not through jealousy. God no 1 Yet'--he paused"--I know that what I did to him was what I've wanted to do for years, and all because of you. You were at the bottom of it."

"What I Me? You're blaming me now. You're mad."

"I'm not mad, and you know it. And you also know you've never really been a wife to me. You've given me children, yes, but first and foremost you've remained your father's daughter. You should never have married; you'd have been perfectly happy being Daddy's little girl and after your mother died keeping other women from him ... Yet you'd have had a hard job doing that; he would have beaten you at that. And you know something else? He was jealous of me having you. At first it wasn't apparent, he was being the kind father-in-law; then I knew deep down in me he was out to humble me in your eyes, belittle me; any rise in the world I got must come through him. Even in this house I've had no say, I've never been the master in this house; you've been the master under the direction of your father. "

Slowly she rose to her feet, and her eyes looked remarkably like her father's as she stared at him, and her voice held a semblance of her old control as she said, "In that case you won't mind leaving the house. I've thought it over, and it's quite impossible that we remain under one roof."

Vaguely he had imagined that this might come about but as yet he hadn't faced up to it. He had in a way visualised some form of reconciliation; he had imagined that at least she would see her father for what he really was; but now he knew that had been a vain hope. He said, "What if I don't choose to go, this is my home, my children are here?"

He watched her draw a deep breath into her flat chest before she answered, "This is my house, it is in my name; all the furniture in it was bought with my money. All your salary has done over the years is maintain it. Everything here is legally mine, including the children."