The Man at Mulera (4 page)
Authors: Kathryn Blair
“
I suppose
I
’
d better,
”
she said stiffly.
“
Well, the manager
’
s house is still empty. I
’
ve had to engage a new man but he can
’
t get here till the end of the month, which leaves the house free for about three weeks. I
’
ve had the place kept clean and aired. The house and furniture are mine, except for a few extras which Dick collected. I gave their clothes to the mission.
”
He paused.
“
I suggest you live there with Keith for the present. I
’
ll give you my own servant, Ali, and you
’
ll be safe as the Bank of England. In the course of three weeks we ought to be able to decide on some permanent arrangement.
”
“
I have exactly eight and a half weeks before school reopens.
”
“
So?
”
He didn
’
t seem impressed.
“
What do you do at that school—just teach?
”
“
And look after a few weekly boarders. They
’
re all under nine.
”
“
Sounds like a frightful life for a gir
l.
What made you go in for it?
”
“
I like children.
”
“
You
’
re not much more than a child yourself. How old are you?
”
“
Twenty-two!
”
He studied her as if she were something a little rare in the way of saplings. Lou stood it for half a minute.
Then:
“
Do you have to stare like that?
”
she asked.
“
Just curious,
”
he said with sarcasm.
“
You
’
re a genus I haven
’
t met before.
”
Lou forbore to make the obvious retort. She looked f
l
eetingly at the arrogant line of his nose, and said disdainfully,
“
I
’
ll accept your arrangement because I
’
ve no choice
. I
’
d
better pack Keith
’
s t
h
ings.
”
“
Ali will do it
.
We
’
ll have a drink and go down there before lunch.
”
He looked at his hands.
“
I
’
ll have a wash. Excuse me?
”
Alone, Lou found that her teeth were rather tight and her knees pressed together. Then she realized that Ross Gilmore was the cause of both, and tried deliberately to slacken; she couldn
’
t let the man become that important
.
But he was guardian, with herself, of Dorothy
’
s son! Not only a joint guardian, it seemed, but self-appointed manager of the whole situation. And he simply took it for granted that she, being about ten years younger than he and a woman, would acquiesce and be grateful! If his conceit weren
’
t so palpable it would have been utterly
incredible.
Resolutely, she stood up, and at that moment Keith came round the
corner
of the house and mounted the steps. He gave her a grubby smile which looked a little pathetic and weary.
“
I can
’
t find it,
”
he said.
“
What have you lost?
”
she asked gently.
“
Ali found a crane for me yesterday. It had a big crest and was nearly tame. I wanted to keep it.
”
“
Birds do fly away, you know. We
’
ll have to get you a pet that wants to stay. I put your bar of chocolate on your bedside table. Go and have a wash and bring it out here, to eat.
”
He trailed off, came back in a few minutes with Ross, who carried a tray of drinks.
Ten minutes later the three of them were in the wide front seat of the estate car; Keith sat between Lou and Ross, and he stared absorbedly up at the trees he had always known. As the road wound down through the coffee plantation and out on to a lower plane which was covered with the white bolls of cotton, Lou watched the little boy for some sign of emotion. But perhaps he was too young to feel much except his own personal and physical pains; he remained a little solemn but smiled when he saw that the car was heading for a group of silvery-leaved napini trees which shaded the manager
’
s house.
It was a pleasant little bungalow of white adobe and thick grass thatch, the ends rounded and the windows smallish and rather high, so that they were shaded by the extended thatch. There was a porch with a bed of flowers at each side of the stone posts, and the yellow-painted door bore a small black knocker which must have been imported from England; it was an iron replica of a bulldog.
Ross
unlocked the door and dropped the key into
Lou
’
s
hand.
He
preceded her, drew up a Venetian blind and said casually to the child,
“
You
’
re home again, old chap. Ali will bring your things down this afternoon.
”
Keith drew a sigh, a
blend of pleasure and bewilderment.
“
Didn
’
t Mummy come?
”
The request was so unexpected that tears stung Lou
’
s eyelids. Ross answered casually,
“
She
’
s still away. You
’
ll have great fun showing Lou the house. Run along and see if your room is still there.
”
When the child had ambled out into the corridor, Ross turned a hard glance upon Lou.
“
Don
’
t get sentimental about bricks and thatch and the bits of furniture they used. And for heaven
’
s sake don
’
t dissolve every time the child mentions his parents. He
’
s over the worst of that
.
”
“
I
’
m sorry, but it
’
s all very new to me.
”
She swallowed.
“
You don
’
t have to teach me how to look after a child. In a day or two Keith and I will be very happy together.
”
“
Good. The Westons
’
servant still lives in a round hut at the back, and Ali will probably bunk with him. They
’
ll share the duties of the house and I
’
ll come down each night myself to lock up
...
”
“
I can turn a few keys!
”
“
Like the one you forgot last night
,
”
he mentioned coolly.
“
I was tired and a bit upset I must have known instinctively that you
’
re not interested in women.
”
There was a brief silence. Then with a shrug of indifference he said,
“
Fine, but there are others in the district who are quite impressionable. If anyone comes calling without invitation you might remember that
.
Let me know if there
’
s anything you need.
”
“
Thank you.
”
She paused, lifted her chin but did not look at him.
“
I hope you
’
ve accepted the fact that I regard this arrangement as only temporary. You
’
re not
my
guardian, you know.
”
He gazed straight at her, dug his hands into his pockets as if to point the fact that he was giving her all his attention.
“
Some time,
”
he remarked conversationally,
“
someone will take exception to those clipped little comments and the air of independence. And when it happens, the fact of the independence being rather bogus won
’
t help you a bit
.
”
Large grey eyes flashed at him.
“
You resent me because I won
’
t be bullied. I don
’
t care, so long as you realize it. I
’
ll co-operate with you over Keith because I have to, but apart from that we
’
re not likely to have a single thing in common!
”
“
You
’
re probably right
”
He was unmoved and tolerant
“
I
’
ll have a word with Daniel—he
’
s the Nyasa house
-
boy—and then get along. At the moment I
’
m my own plantation manager, but I
’
ll find time to come over later.
”
And with a touch of satire:
“
Make yourself thoroughly at home, Miss Prentice. Maybe it
’
s what you need for those jumpy little nerves of yours. So long.
”
He was gone, leaving Lou quite taut with an emotion which was only half anger. The other half seemed to be a mixture of frustration, sadness and a kind of need. Need? Lou was sure she didn
’
t need anything, particularly from Mr. Gilmore! All that man cared ab
o
ut was his beastly plantation and guarding his rights.
When the estate car had sped away she explored, tentatively, and came upon Keith sitting on the floor of his room near the open toy cupboard. He turned to look at her, showed her a tiny bus which had lost a wheel.
“
A big marble got stuck between the wheels and this one came off,
”
he complained.
“
It
’
s such a nuisance.
”
“
We
’
ll make a bag for the marbles and rig up a shelf for the smaller toys to keep them safe,
”
she promised him.
He was engrossed, so instead of asking him to show her the house she carried on alone. The main bedroom was plain, large and high-ceilinged. There were twin beds in a dark wood, a matching dressing-table and stool and white-painted wardrobe cupboards. The second bedroom, which she would use, was sparsely furnished in pale green enamelled wood. The curtains and bedspread were of rose
-
colored linen and there was a small soft rug of many colors beside the bed.
Lou fo
un
d the linen cupboard, got out sheets and pillowcases and went back into her room to make up the bed. The mattress felt dry but she would take no chances with Keith
’
s. It could go outside in the sun.
Gradually, during the next few hours, Lou recovered from the harrowing sensation of being here with Dorothy
’
s child in Dorothy
’
s house. Keith was so much at home, so unaware of tragedy, that her heart was soothed and she found herself loving him as a reality far more than she had loved him as a small but far-away relative. For his sake she would put away the sadness and loss. He was hers now
...
well, hers and Mr. Gilmore
’
s.
That rankled, of course. Not for anything would she have blamed Dick and Dorothy for this predicament in which she found herself, but it did look as if rather a nightmare were in store. Because, naturally, she couldn
’
t stay here in Nyasaland, and just as certainly the man wouldn
’
t let her take Keith home to England.
Why couldn
’
t he have been someone gen
tl
e and sympathetic, someone who would have admitted that looking after a little boy was woman
’
s work? A normal sort of bachelor would have been relieved to delegate the task; he
’
d have been satisfied to receive a monthly letter reporting on progress. But not Ross Gilmore. That big teak-brown individual had to assert himself. He was the type to take control in any situation, and somehow Lou knew that he never gave in. Still, she had as many rights where Keith was concerned as he did, and come what may she would stick out for them. She had no intention of being intimidated by Ross Gilmore!