She said: “I don’t want to hustle you. I know how it must be for you. You’ll want to take some of your personal things. You’re welcome to stay until you find somewhere else.”

“I shall go to London for a while,” I told her. “I want to get right away.”

Everyone seemed to understand that.

A gloom hung over the house. The servants were very uneasy. They did not like the idea of a new mistress in the house. I had not realized before how fond they were of me.

Uncle Peter and Aunt Amaryllis arrived. They had come to take me to London and in a few days I left with them.

I did not know what I was going to do. At times I felt a burning anger; at others a listlessness.

I was angry at the reputation they had given my father. I knew that he had been wild in his youth. I knew that he was the father of Tamarisk and it was true that she was the result of a casual encounter, but he would never have deserted a wife and child. He would never have gone through a mockery of marriage with my mother. All the evidence might be against him but in my heart I just knew.

Aunt Amaryllis was very sad. For once she could not think that everything was going right.

Uncle Peter was thoughtful. I knew he was wondering what chance there might be of overthrowing the verdict. He would never accept defeat, of course. But I guessed from his demeanour that, like most, he believed my father guilty of all that had been said against him.

“God help me,” I prayed. “If we had never gone to Australia, none of this would have happened.”

Helena greeted me warmly and so did Peterkin and Frances. Since their marriage they were more absorbed in their work than ever. Helena had changed, too. She was a practiced hostess now and had lost a great deal of her reserve. She was pregnant once more and very happy about that. Matthew’s book had been published and had attracted the notice that Uncle Peter decided it should. He was going to stand for the election which would shortly take place.

“It makes us all very busy,” said Helena. “There is quite a big campaign. Father is putting up the money. He thinks it is certain that Matthew will win the seat. People know how good he is … after his book.”

She was very sympathetic towards me.

“We followed the case every day,” she said. “My mother wanted to bring you here but you had to be there, of course. Father thought it should have been tried in London instead of some little country court. He is wondering whether there could be another hearing.”

She looked at me anxiously and I shook my head. “They’ve given their verdict. They wouldn’t change it. I couldn’t bear to go through all that again.”

“But, Annora, do you believe it’s true?”

“I would never believe that of my father,” I said with conviction.

“No,” she said soothingly, but I guessed she believed, as all the others did, that he had deserted his wife and child.

“What are you going to do?” asked Helena.

I said with truth: “I don’t know.”

“Something will work itself out. You’d always have a home here. I expect Tamarisk and Jonathan would like to see you at Eversleigh … my parents, too.”

“I have to think, Helena. I don’t know what I shall do yet.”

Uncle Peter discussed my future with me. He was crisp and realistic as I expected him to be.

He thought it was a terrible calamity to lose Cador. That was what concerned him so deeply.

When I spoke about the damage they had done to my father’s reputation he shrugged that aside.

“That won’t hurt him now.”

“But, Uncle Peter, you can’t believe …”

He frowned. “I can believe he would have realized he had made a big mistake in marrying that woman and that he wanted to get away from her. But from what I know of him I am sure he would have made some provision for her. It was not his way to steal off and hope to lose himself. That he married the woman … yes, that’s possible. He thought he was out there for the term of his natural life. He adjusted himself. He always liked women. I can see how it happened. But, my dear Annora, how can we be sure? We’re wasting time in conjecture. Let’s look at the practical side. We have to think about you. Have you any plans?”

I shook my head.

“Of course, I should like to probe into this more fully. I think they have skimmed the surface and come to an easy conclusion too quickly. I should like to get a man out to Australia to look into a few things.”

“She had the certificate. The dates and everything fitted. That was what turned things in her favour.”

“It’s cleverly worked out … if worked out it is. But often there is a loophole.” He looked at me through narrowed eyes. “The mistake was to have it tried down in Cornwall. It should have been in London with the very best people working for you. There was a great property at stake.”

“Uncle Peter, I want to forget it.”

“All right. Now what are you going to do? You’re not without means. The family is comfortably off. You have some money from your mother. She can’t touch that. It’s Cador and your father’s property that she is claiming; but I should have thought that a sophisticated lawyer would have brought forward more the fact that you had lived there all your life as his daughter with expectations. You should have been entitled to something. The whole thing was too blithely handed over to her … lock, stock and barrel.”

“I have selected my very own possessions … a few pieces of furniture, ornaments, that sort of thing. Mr. Tamblin is arranging for them to be stored. Then there is Croft Cottage. That belonged to my mother. I suppose that will remain mine.”

“A little property then.”

“Yes, in need of repair.”

“You should get Tamblin to arrange to have it put in order.”

“I don’t want to think …”

“I’ll think for you. It may be small but it’s a property. You might want to use it, or it could be let.”

“You are so practical, Uncle Peter.”

“It pays to be. I think you ought to do something, Annora. Have some purpose in life. You’ve seen the change in Helena.”

“Yes. It’s miraculous.”

“And you know what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to pick yourself up. You’ve got to start all over again. Dear child, you have had a very bad time … blow after blow …”

“One leading to the other, of course.”

“That is how life works. It’s a pity you didn’t marry that young man.”

I was silent.

“If you had,” he went on, “it would have cushioned the blow. I gather his Manor estate is growing and prospering. I remember your father’s saying some time ago that it would rival Cador in a few years’ time.”

“You always think of the material side of everything, Uncle Peter.”

“My dear, it is always a side to consider. All your creature comforts depend on it, and they are not called comforts for nothing. They soften the impact of the slings and arrows. If you had married him you would have a home.” His eyes gleamed. “You could have found a soothing balm in rivalling your neighbour. What does this woman know about great estates?”

“She’ll have Bob Carter to look after it for her.”

“A lot depends on the one at the top. It would have been just what you need. It would have added a zest to life. Zest. That’s what you want, Annora.”

I said: “You would have enjoyed it. I know you would have found means of getting the better of her.”

“And, you are thinking, in a none too scrupulous way.”

“Perhaps.”

“You don’t trust me, do you? You have a long memory. You are thinking of what I did to Joseph Cresswell. It was fair enough to my mind. He wouldn’t have been any good in that post. What did he know about the vice of underground London? I do know of it. I thought I was right in what I was doing. Oh, you are not going to agree with me, of course. It is amazing, Annora, how you have become involved in my affairs. Look at the good I am doing now. They are working wonders at the Mission—all due to my support. That can’t be bad, can it? Does it matter how the money is come by if it does good in the end?”

“That is a question which has often been discussed.”

“And have you found a satisfactory answer?”

I shook my head. “You have been good to me, Uncle Peter,” I said.

“I’ve told you I always had a soft spot for your mother … and now for you. Listen to me. What you will do now is go with Helena and Matthew down to Mobury. There is a lot to do. We must get him in, you understand. You’ll work for him. It’s hard work. You’ll persuade people why they’ve got to vote for Matthew Hume … the reformer. Read his book. It’s illuminating. He’s done a good job. He somehow gets right into the minds of those convicts and some of the stories are pretty grim. It’ll carry you along for a while. Stop your brooding. I’ve told you before that you have to pick yourself up when life knocks you down. You’ve got to think about those poor devils who have been sent into bondage for some petty crime or perhaps for some political attitude. Then you’ll realize how much you have to be thankful for.”

“I’m thankful for you, Uncle Peter. You do me so much good. Talking to you, listening to you, has always helped me.”

“Odd, isn’t it, an old villain like myself?”

I said: “You are a very lovable villain and you almost make me feel your villainies are virtues.”

“That, my dear Annora, is the very essence of villainy.”

I supposed I felt happier in London than I could anywhere else. It was an interesting suggestion that I should travel down to Mobury with Helen and Matthew. My reunion with Jonnie had been rapturous. At first he had not known me but after a while he seemed to, and it soothed me considerably to play with him.

A great deal had been happening in the world. The Queen had married most happily.

“It’s rather put Lord Melbourne’s nose out of joint,” said Uncle Peter. “But he doesn’t seem to mind and I think all of us are glad to see the Queen happily settled.”

She had regained the popularity she had lost over the Flora Hastings and Bedchamber affairs.

“There is nothing the people like better than a wedding,” said Uncle Peter. “A royal wedding makes the people forget the intrigues of the boudoir.”

There had been a hint of my having a season. I would have vehemently declined if the hint had been pursued. I think it was feared that the scandal which Uncle Peter had skillfully managed to divert might be resuscitated and it was well known that the Queen’s husband was, as Uncle Peter said, most definitely prudish.

I was sure Prince Albert would not have agreed with Uncle Peter’s views about directing dubiously acquired money into good causes.

I heard of the alarming incident when an attempt had been made to assassinate the Queen. True, it was only a brainless potboy and he had been declared insane, but it was sobering. The Queen behaved magnificently, of course, as most of her ancestors had in similar circumstances. But it was an indication that life could never be smooth for anyone.

In Mobury I got caught up in the excitement of electioneering, and it became to me a matter of the utmost importance that Matthew should win the seat.

I sat on platforms listening to his speeches. He was turning out to be quite an effective orator. He burned with zeal when he spoke of the necessity of prison reform. He harrowed his audience with stories of what he had seen firsthand. He wanted the laws drastically changed; he wanted better conditions for the poor. He had visited the Mission run by his brother-in-law and his wife, and he knew what he was talking about. People listened to him and were moved.

Helena would sit on the platform smiling and admiring. She reminded me of Aunt Amaryllis; and when I thought of how their marriage had come about I was truly amazed.

She had grown into marriage—and if ever there had been a marriage of convenience that had been one. But now she was contented, reminding me so much of her mother.

To see her thus set me longing for Rolf. What a fool I had been! I had allowed myself to turn away from happiness because of a dream … and something which had happened long ago. He had said he was not there and I had chosen not to believe him. Then I had convinced myself that he wanted to marry me to get Cador.

Perhaps I should go back to Cornwall. I could go to Croft Cottage. I should see Rolf often. Perhaps we could talk about Midsummer’s Eve and perhaps I could explain how deeply it had affected me, how I had lost my illusions, for I had seen ordinary people turn into monsters of cruelty. It had had a great effect on me. It had changed me from a trusting girl into a doubting woman.