Winter at Cray (2 page)

The big oak door yielded easily to her touch and she led the way into a blessedly warm hall, where the tall, gaunt figure of Hannah Grayston greeted them.
‘
It
’
s blowing up for snow, Hannah,
’
she greeted the housekeeper.
‘
Will you show Miss Nostrum and Mr. Darrell to their rooms, please?
’
She looked again at Jonathan Darrell.
‘I
’
m afraid you have to share a rather small room, Mr. Darrell, but I think you
’
ll find it quite comfortable.
’

‘I’m
sure I shall, thank you.
’
The smile he gave her was as disturbing as it was unexpected and not in the least like the rather cynical one he had shown earlier. Tt
’
s very good of you to go to so much trouble for us. We
’
re quite used to roughing it, you know.
’

She half-smiled, wondering vaguely at the familiar
‘
we
’
; it made it sound as if he and his blonde companion were a couple in more senses than one, and she had a crazy thought for a moment that perhaps she should have put them in one room. A moment later she dismissed it hastily as uncharitable and hastened on to explain:

‘
In this part of the world, Mr. Darrell, we have a reputation for hospitality, you know, and we can
’
t have it said that Cray was less than expected in that respect.
’

‘
I wouldn
’
t dream of suggesting it,
’
he assured her solemnly, and smiled that slow smile again, so that his brown eyes crinkled at the
corner
s and made him look younger. He was, Louise decided unwillingly, quite disturbingly attractive, something she had thought herself immune to for a long time, and she nodded only briefly before turning away.

Only eight of old Emma Kincaid
’
s family had managed to arrive for the centenary birthday celebration and most of them were gathered together in the big, rather dull room on the north side of the house. Heads were raised when Louise came into the room and enquiring brows asked unspoken questions.

‘
It
’
s the journalist, Jonathan Darrell,
’
she explained, disposing of her coat on to a nearby chair,
‘
and a photographer too.
’

‘
Such is fame,
’
a wry voice commented, and Louise smiled reluctant agreement.

‘
Such is fame,
’
she echoed.
‘
They must think Great
-
gran is very famous to have sent Jonathan Darrell all out here to see her. He
’
s very well known.
’

‘
I saw him from the window—he
’
s very dishy too, isn
’
t he?
’
That was Diamond, of course, Louise thought wryly. Diamond Kincaid always seemed to Louise to be incredibly silly and she wondered if her cousin Colin ever grew tired of hearing his britt
le
ly attractive wife wax enthusiastic over every presentable man she met. He quite obviously adored her, after two years of marriage, but even the fact that they were now parents of a baby girl had done nothing to dim Diamond
’
s eye for attractive men.

‘
He
’
s quite nice,
’
Louise admitted, remembering uneasily the effect of that slow, unexpectedly disturbing smile.
‘
But he
’
s not very impressed with Berren, I
’
m afraid.
’

Diamond laughed, wrinkling her nose.
‘
I don
’
t altogether blame him,
’
she declared.
‘
It
’
s not the cosiest place in winter, is it?
’

‘
Darling
,’
Colin chided her gently,
‘
you shouldn
’
t say things like that about the island; you know how Louise loves it, and it
is
her home.
’

Colin Kincaid
’
s brown eyes apologised for his young wife
’
s lack of tact and Louise wondered for the thousandth time what had brought her quiet, self
-
effacing cousin and his wife together. At thirty-two, and one of the old lady
’
s great-grandchildren, he was slim and tall, with fair hair and rather appealing brown eyes that seemed always to be apologising for something. He was perhaps the best-looking man in the family, apart from her cousin Stephen, although Louise thought he would have been more attractive had he been less boyish
’
and more virile-looking.

She shook her head over his remark to his wife and smiled.
‘
I don
’
t mind, Colin, if people don
’
t like Berren they
’
re at liberty to say so, but it
’
s their loss, I think. I find the island not only beautiful but very peaceful.
’

She saw Diamond
’
s full mouth curl derisively at her defence of Berren and could not control the faint flush that warmed her cheeks. She had never liked the doll-like blonde her cousin had married and she supposed she never would.

‘
Are we all to be interviewed or is it only Grand
-
mama they
’
re interested in?
’
The speaker sat in the window the other side of the room, but the deep voice carried easily to Louise, who looked across at her and smiled. She was very fond of Jessie Ross and knew she shared her own love of the little island.

‘
I think we
’
ll all come in for a share of the limelight, Aunt Jessie,
’
she informed her aunt, her former misgivings returning twofold at the thought of it,
‘
but Great-gran will be the centre of attraction, of course.
’

Jessie Ross was the daughter of Robert Kincaid the younger and bore a remarkable resemblance both to her father and her .grandfather, a fact which endeared her to old Emma Kincaid, who had loved her late husband devotedly. She chuckled at Louise
’
s answer, her eyes dancing.
‘
And she
’
ll love every minute of it, bless her. Tell me, is the young man from the press as personable as Diamond claims?
’
she asked, her eyes on Louise
’
s studiously blank face.

‘
Yes, I suppose he is,
’
Louise admitted.
‘
He
’
s quite good-looking.
’
Good-looking was not quite the way to describe Jonathan Darrell
’
s attraction, she supposed, but it was as far as she was prepared to go. It was with relief that she turned to welcome a newcomer to the room.

She adored her grandfather and smiled at the round, wind-flushed face he presented. Hector Kincaid was old Emma
’
s youngest son, a short, wiry, white-haired man, very much like his mother except that he had inherited his father
’
s brown eyes.
‘
It
’
s blowing up for something pretty foul, I should say,
’
he remarked as he moved across to the fireplace and extended cold fingers to the blaze.
‘
We shall probably be snowed in by this time tomorrow.
’

‘
Oh, darling, don
’
t be such a pessimist,
’
Diamond pouted at him, and Hector Kincaid merely cast her a look that would have quelled anyone less thick
skinned than the tiny blue-eyed blonde. The old man had never had much time for Colin
’
s choice of a wife and he made little effort to disguise it.

For one thing he held rather old-fashioned views on stage people and on young ladies of the chorus in particular, and that was what Diamond had been before Colin married her. For another she looked far less than her twenty years, and Hector considered that Colin should have married someone nearer his own age and not a girl little more than a child.

‘I’m
afraid it may be true, Diamond,
’
Louise told her.
‘
It looks very much like snow and the wind
’
s in the right direction; if it
’
s very bad we shall be stranded here if not actually confined to the house. The boats can
’
t make the crossing if it
’
s dangerous.
’

‘
Talking of boats arriving,
’
Hector said,
‘
has the press arrived in force? I thought I saw someone in a red coat .come off the boat with a man.
’

Louise nodded.
‘
It was the magazine people,
’
she confirmed.
‘
There
’
s a writer and a photographer. The girl is the photographer, she seems rather nice.
’

At the mention of the girl Diamond
’
s fine eyebrows jiggled expressively in a suggestion that was unmistakable.
‘
Cosy,
’
she commented, and Louise bit her lip, remembering her own thoughts in that direction.

Before anyone could comment on the likely truth of the suggestion, there was a brief knock and the grey head of Hannah Grayston the housekeeper appeared round the door.
‘
Miss Nostrum and Mr. Darrell are here, Miss Kincaid.
’
She addressed herself to Louise, then withdrew immediately to allow the two visitors into the room.

Louise felt a sudden and inexplicable shyness as the two strangers came in, Jonathan Darrell ushering his companion politely in first. He looked rather stiffly formal in a well-cut grey suit with a collar and tie and not nearly as much at home as he had in the more casual wear he had arrived in.

The steady gaze of the brown eyes sought and settled on her and she sensed again, but briefly, the hint of uneasiness behind his air of self-confidence.
‘
I hope we
’
re not intrudi
n
g, Miss Kincaid?
’
He made no hesitation before her name this time and she shook her head in hasty denial.

‘
Of course not, please come in.
’
She smiled at Esther Nostrum, neat and trim in a wool suit, and her mind flew, unbidden, again to Diamond
’
s cryptic comment earlier and her own suspicions.

It was her job, she assumed, to take them round and introduce them to the family, but for some reason she was hesitant about it, not least because she was aware of Diamond
’
s avid blue gaze fixed on
J
onathan Darrell.

‘
I expect you
’
d like to meet the rest of the family,
’
she said, attempting a smile.
‘
They
’
re most of them here, though I believe Stephen is still out making the most of the weather before we
’
re snowed in, as we may well be if that snow arrives.
’
She was aware as she spoke of Jonathan Darrell
’
s grimace of dismay and she looked at the dark, expressive face with a trace of exasperation.
‘
You need not worry, Mr. Darrell, you
’
ll be quite comfortable here even if we are snowed in, the house is quite warm.
’

She did not wait for an answer, but led the way, rather stiff-backed, across the room to where Aunt Charlotte sat in her usual
corner
, her thin mouth set into a thin line of disapproval of everything around her.

Charlotte Kincaid was eighty years old, short and stockily built, with a pile of snow-white hair above a broad brow and sharp dark eyes that watched their approach with no enthusiasm.
‘
Aunt Charlotte!
’
Louise raised her voice and bent closer to the old lady.
‘
This is Mr. Darrell and Miss Nostrum, they
’
ve come to see Great-gran.
’