The Devil on Horseback (40 page)

“And there is no time to change or anything like that. Do come now.”

So I went with her and to my utter astonishment discovered that the visitor was Joel Derringham. I looked at him in amazement and he took my hands in his, “You look surprised to see me,” he said.

I am completely taken aback. “

“I had come tp the south of France from Italy and I heard from home that you had gone to France. I thought it would be a good idea to call on the Comte and his family. I went to the chateau and was informed of Marguerite’s marriage and that you had accompanied her to Grasseville.

So here I am. “

“You will stay a while, I trust,” said Margot, very much the chat elaine

“It is delightful of you to offer hospitality and I should be very pleased to take advantage of it.”

“Minelle,” said Margot imperiously, ‘you will entertain our guest while I make arrangements for his room to be prepared. What of refreshment, Joel? We dine at six. “

“I have had something at an inn and shall be quite happy until six, thank you.”

We sat down and when we were alone he looked at me steadily.

“It is good to see you again,” he said.

“Much has happened since our last meeting,” I replied rather tritely.

“A great deal. I was sorry to leave so abruptly.”

“Oh, I understand.”

“How did you come to leave England?”

My mother died, as you know, and the school did not prosper without her. It seemed a solution to come with Margot when the opportunity was offered to me. “

He nodded.

“You have changed little, Minella. Your mother’s death was a great blow to you, I know.”

The greatest I ever suffered. “

He winced slightly and I realized I had told him that his abrupt departure had not affected me so much.

“She was a wonderful woman,” he said.

“My father was always talking of her.”

But not so wonderful, I thought, that her daughter could be considered worthy of his son. Not that I would have taken him, I assured myself haughtily. But how pleased my dear mother would have been had that union been possible.

“Have you enjoyed your tour?” I asked.

“It is not yet over.”

“I thought you were on your way home.”

“By no means. It was simply that I heard you were in France and I very much wanted to see you. This country is a boiling cauldron of discontent.”

“I know. One can’t live here without being aware of it.”

“It is not the safest place in the world for a young Englishwoman.”

“That’s true enough.”

“You should not stay here. I cannot understand why the Comte has not arranged for your return to England.”

I said nothing.

Margot returned.

“I will show you your room. I am sure you will wish to wash and perhaps change. You have, brought a manservant with you, I see. He is being looked after. I am so pleased you have come. I am sure Minelle is too.”

She looked at me a little mischievously and then she took him to his room.

I went to my own. I was really quite shaken by my enounter with him.

It brought back memories of home. I could see my mother clearly, her eyes dancing with excitement as she showed me the handsome riding kit spread out on the bed.

It was not long before Margot appeared. She sat in her favourite chair facing the mirror so that she could admire her reflection as she talked.

“He is more handsome than ever,” she cried.

“Did you not think so?”

“He was always considered to be good-looking.”

He is a very pleasant young man. I have a special interest in him because at one time they had decided that I might marry him. “

“You are glad you didn’t?”

“I wonder what he would have said about Chariot? I don’t think he would have been quite as lenient as Robert, do you?”

I have no idea. “

“Oh, haughty! The fact was, if I remember rightly, that he was quite interested in you. Wasn’t that the reason why he was sent off in a hurry?”

“That’s all in the past.”

“But the past is revived, Minelle. He has revived it by putting in an appearance. I like him. I am sure Robert will be jealous when he hears I was once meant for him. But then I shall tell him where Joel’s true fancy lies. I believe he has come here just to see you.”

“Nonsense.”

“Very uncdnvincingly said. I thought you always prided yourself on your adherence to the truth and logic. Of course he has come to see you.” She was serious suddenly.

“Oh, Minelle, it’s the right thing it is really. If he wants to take you home to England you should go.”

Do you want to be rid of me? “

“What a cruel thing to say. You know I’d hate you to go. I’m not thinking of myself.”

“A novel experience for you.”

“Stop this silly bantering. It’s serious. Things are bad here. There’s going to be an explosion at any minute. What do you think is happening? What of my father? I knew how he feels about you … and you about him. You’re a fool, Minelle. You don’t know him. I told you from the first he’s got the devil in him. He’s no good to any woman.” “Margot, stop it.”

“I won’t. I’m worried about you. We have been through the Chariot affair together. I’m fond of you. I want you to be happy … like I am. I want you to know what it means to marry a good man. If you marry Joel Derringham you’ll have a good life. You know you will.”

“Shouldn’t we wait until he asks me? He hasn’t, you know, and he showed clearly not so long ago that as people were thinking along those lines it would be well for him to get away.”

That was his people. Silly ideas they have. “

“But he must have agreed to go.”

“He did it because he’d always obeyed them. Now he’s grown up he’s changed his mind.”

“You do run on, Margot. You always did. He is merely paying a visit to old friends. Let’s leave it at that, shall we?”

She came to me and took my hand. Then she kissed me gently on the cheek.

“I know I’m a selfish butterfly, but there are people I love. Chariot, Robert and you, Minelle. I want you to be happy. I’ll come to England and your children and mine shall play together in the gardens of Derringham Manor. You’ll come to Grasseville and when we’re old we’ll talk about these days and we’ll laugh and laugh and live them again in our memories. That’s how I want it to be. That’s the best way. In your heart you know it. Oh, I am so glad he has come.”

Then she kissed me swiftly on the cheek and ran from the room.

We rode together, Joel and I. We talked of old times. How it brought it all back 1 It filled me with a bitter-sweet nostalgia. Those happy days when a new ribbon for a dress was so important, and my mother and I used to sit on our little patch of lawn and talk about the future.

“I know how you miss her,” Joel said.

“You were wise to get away, although it is unfortunate that you should come to this country at this time. But to have stayed in the schoolhouse would have meant you kept your sad memories with you.”

“When are you returning home?”

“Any time now … perhaps sooner than I had thought.”

“Your family will not wish you to be in France just now, I am sure.”

“No. As a matter of fact several people I know are making hasty plans to leave. Here in this ratiher remote country spot you have no idea how quickly the situation has been changing and for the worse. I believe the Court is rapidly diminishing. People are finding excuses for leaving Versailles.”

“It sounds ominous.”

“Indeed, yes. Minelle, you must come back to England.”

Where should I go? “

“You could come with me.”

I raised my eyebrows and said: “Where to?”

“I have been thinking about this ever since I left. I was a fool to go. I don’t know why I did. I kept asking myself that for months. Then I promised myself that I would break right away and make new interests, but I couldn’t. The fact is, Minella, I have been thinking of you every day since I last saw you. I know now that I shall go on doing that. I want you to marry me.”

“What of your family?”

They will come round. My father has never been harsh. Nor has my mother. Before anything, they want my happiness. “

I shook my head.

“It wouldn’t be wise. There would be opposition. I should not be accepted.”

“My dear Minella, we’d overcome all that in a week.”

“I shouldn’t want to be accepted on sufferance.”

“If that is the only reason why you hesitate …”

“It is not,” I replied.

Then why . “

“In a case like ours where the marriage would be considered unsuitable…”

“Unsuitable! That’s nonsense!
Your parents did not seem to think so. Let’s face it, Joel. We should go back to the small community in which I lived for some years as the schoolmistress’s daughter. I was even teacher to the children of your friends and neighbours. Don’t let us shut our eyes to that. In a small community it persists for ever. I am better educated than your sisters simply because I was able to assimilate knowledge better than they were-but that doesn’t count.

They are the daughters of Sir John Derringham, Baronet, Squire of the Manor. I am the daughter of the schoolmistress. In a society like that it is an unbridgeable gulf. “

“Do you mean to tell me that a woman of your spirit would allow such a silly convention to deter her from what she wanted?”

“If she wanted it enough it wouldn’t, of course.”

“You mean that you don’t love me.”

“You make it sound unfriendly. I like you very much. It’s a great pleasure to see you again, but marriage is a serious matter … a lifelong affair. I think you are rushing into this. You see me as a damsel in distress. I am stranded here and revolution creeps nearer.

Where can I go? You would rescue me like a medieval knight. It’s very commendable but not enough to build a marriage on. “

“You can’t forget that I went away. If I had stayed .. i. defied my parents … it would have been different.”

“Who can say? So much has happened since then.”

‘you were sorry when I went? “

“Yes, I was sorry. I was a little hurt, but it was not a deep wound.”

“I am going to suggest that you and I are married here, now … in France. Then we shall go back to England … husband and wife.”

“That’s very bold of you, Joel. How would you face your parents?”

“You are trying to hurt me. I understand. I hurt you when I went away.

But believe me, I regretted it. I regretted it deeply. Look at it my way, Minella. I had lived with my parents all my life except when I was at the university. We are an amicable family. We always try to please each other and consider what the others want. It is second nature to us. When my father implored me to go away and consider for a while, I naturally obeyed him even though my deepest inclination was to stay. When you know my father, you will understand. Now when I take you back as my wife he will welcome you, because that is what will make me happy. He already admires you. He will learn, to love you. Minella, please don’t let the past influence you. Forgive me for what I did. You think it is weakness . and so it is, but what happened has made me sure of what I want now and I know that without you I can never be really happy again. There are things in my life which you will find irritating. I am cautious . over-cautious. I rarely act without thinking. It’s my nature. So when I fall in love, because it is the first time -and it will be the last-I am unsure of my emotions. It was only when I went away and communed with myself that I understood. Now I know that more than anything I want to marry you. I want to take you back to Derringham, I want us to be together there for the rest of our lives. “

White he was speaking it was as though my mother had come to stand beside him. I could almost see the joy in her eyes, the tears falling down her cheeks.

“Well, Minella?” he asked gently.

“It can’t be,” I said.

“It’s too late.”

“What do you mean… too late?”

I mean that it is not the same as it was. “

If I had asked you before I left . it would have been different, you mean? “

“Life is not static, is it? I have grown away from Derringham. A few days ago I had no idea that I should ever see you again. Then you come back and say marry me. You ask me to decide to change my life in a few minutes.”

I see,” he said. T. should have waited. I should have let you become accustomed to seeing me again. All right, Minella, we’ll wait. Take a few days. Think of all it would mean. Remember those walks and rides we had together and all the things we talked of. Do you recall them?”

“Yes, they were good times.”

There will be many good times, my dear. Well go back where we both belong. Well be together. Well watch the seasons come and go and each year we’ll grow closer to each other. Do you remember how we got along right from the first? Our minds fitted, didn’t they? I’ve never been so stimulated by anyone as I was during our walks together. Minella, it is what your mother would have liked more than anything. “

I was deeply moved at that moment. He was right. She, who had always wanted the best for me, had wanted this desperately. I thought of her plundering the dower chest to buy clothes for me. I could almost hear her gleeful whisper: “It was not in vain after all For her sake I should consider this.

He could see that I was hesitating and he cried triumphantly: “Yes, Minella, we must have time to think of this. But, my dearest, don’t be too long. We are on the edge of a volcano here. I shall not feel safe until we are aboard the packet and alight on English soil.”

I was relieved that I had not to give an immediate answer. I wanted to be alone to think.

I was not in love with Joel. I liked him, respected him, trusted him, understood him and could see ahead of me to the kind of life I would have with him. He was eminently eligible. He was the man my mother would have chosen for me.

And the Comte? Did I love him? I didn’t know. All I did know was that I was more excited by him than I had ever been in my life. Did I trust and respect him? How could I trust and respect a man whom I suspected of murdering his wife? Did I understand him? How could I know what was going on in that devious mind? And the life I might have with him? I thought of his wife’s words. He had an obsession for me, but how long would it last? I thought of his mistress waiting like a spider to catch her fly. And the background of our lives -this tortured country where the holocaust was likely to break forth at any moment. And then what would happen to people like the Comte and his family?