“He thrives on it.”

“What is it … for the elderly?” asked Jean-Louis.

“Quite the contrary … for the very young. Mothers … and babies. It’s really a maternity hospital.”

“Such matters are his speciality,” said Isabel. “He’s a very good man.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that, Isabel,” said Derek.

“Well, I say it when he can’t hear it,” she said. She turned to us. “He has done a great deal of good work. He has saved many a life … mothers and children.”

“It seems very noble,” I said.

“He says it is his work. He could of course live quite comfortably … without working.”

Derek smiled apologetically to us. “Isabel is a firm supporter of my brother,” he said. “He … Charles … inherited a great deal of money. It gave him an opportunity to set up his hospital.”

Just at that moment Lottie came running in. She was flushed and excited and stopped short when she saw that we had visitors.

“This is our daughter,” I said. “Lottie, come and meet our guests.”

I was proud of her for I could see they were deeply impressed by her beauty. She smiled, and when Lottie smiled she was completely enchanting. I thought I could see Gerard in that smile. It could not fail to charm everyone as he had charmed me.

She was bubbling over with excitement and when she had curtsied and the introduction was over she could not wait to burst out: “I’ve been exploring.”

“And what did you find?” asked Jean-Louis.

“There are two houses … not very far away … close to each other … or fairly close.”

“I’ll warrant one of those was Enderby,” said Derek, and he described it.

Lottie nodded. “But it was in the other one that I found the baby. Oh, mama, it was the dearest little baby. It was lying in a sort of cradle in the garden … and I couldn’t help going through the gate to look at it!”

“Oh, Lottie, have you been trespassing?”

“Yes, but it didn’t matter. There was a nurse and a lady.”

“It must have been Grasslands,” said Isabel.

“There were two big lawns in front of the house.”

“Grasslands, certainly.”

“Well, I played with the baby. It liked me. It’s a little boy … named Richard.”

“That is the Mather’s baby,” said Isabel. “It must be about six months old … perhaps not so much.”

I couldn’t stop myself saying: “Evalina … !”

“Yes.” said Isabel. “Evalina Stirling. She married Andrew Mather, you know. They say the new baby is the apple of his eye.”

“She was a very kind lady,” said Lottie. “She says that I’m to call whenever I want to. She said she was ever so pleased that we’d come to Eversleigh. She said she knew you. mama.”

“Yes,” I said slowly. “I did meet her.”

I felt rather uneasy. I kept remembering that occasion when I had seen her with Dickon in the barn; and I could recall exactly the steely look in her eyes and the words which had implied that she knew what had happened between myself and Gerard.

I was very occupied during the next few days and was glad of the help I received from Mrs. Jethro and Isabel. I was relieved that Jethro had dismissed those servants who had been brought in by Jessie Stirling, for he said, you never knew how mixed up in it all they were. He thought that some of them were not sorry to go after what had happened. He knew one or two girls in the village who would be suitable and if I approved they could have a trial. Isabel’s servants were helpful. They had friends whom they could recommend and in a very short time we had the place staffed and I was able to feel that it was becoming my own.

There were problems, of course. Lottie would have to have a governess. At Clavering she had taken lessons at the vicarage, but both Jean-Louis and I agreed that she should have her own governess now that she was growing up. Getting the house in order was a trifling matter compared with running the estate. Criminal though he was, Amos Carew had been an excellent manager and although he was dishonest, he had got the best out of the estate.

“What we need,” I said to Jean-Louis, “is a first-class manager. Someone like James Fenton.”

“We shall be extremely lucky if we get anyone as good as James,” said Jean-Louis.

“I wonder how he likes farming with his cousin?” I mused.

“Well, he was the sort of man who would strike out on his own one day, I daresay,” said Jean-Louis.

“We must look round for someone to manage the estate,” I insisted.

“I’ll be all right for a while,” Jean-Louis replied.

It was sad. Before his accident he would have been equal to the task of looking after an estate the size of Eversleigh. I knew now though that we could not wait too long before finding the right man. After the experience of Amos Carew we should have to be careful. I think I should always be suspicious of everyone after having known him. Sometimes I woke up out of a nightmare when I was looking into a masked face which I believed to be Dickon’s. I would always awake with a terrible start and have to convince myself that it was all a dream; and in any case my would-be murderer had not been Dickon. He had been my savior.

I was in discussion with Mrs. Jethro one afternoon when one of the servants came to tell me that I had a visitor.

I was so certain that it was Isabel that I did not ask who it was.

“She’s in the winter parlor, madam,” said the servant.

I hurried down and opened the door, smiling. I stood absolutely still. The woman who rose from the chair was not Isabel. I felt a tingle of fear run through me. It was Evalina.

She came forward smiling.

“I thought I’d better be neighborly,” she said.

I stammered: “It was good of you to call.”

“Well, we live close now, don’t we? You mistress of Eversleigh Court and me of Grasslands.”

I nodded. “Would you care for some refreshment?”

“Oh no. I’m getting so fat. I’m a little too fond of the good things of life. Aren’t we all?”

“I suppose so. Do sit down.”

She did so. I sat too. I felt my heart beating uncomfortably.

“It seems a long time,” she said. “But it’s not all that time, is it?”

“I hear you have a little boy.”

“My Richard.” She looked straight at me smiling. “What a blessing! Nothing like little ones, is there? My poor Andrew … he’s overcome with joy. You can imagine. He never thought for a moment there’d be a child. Well, life’s full of surprises, isn’t it?”

“I am sure he is delighted.”

“Just as your dear husband was when you told him you were expecting, I daresay. These men … they do like little ones, don’t they? … particularly when they’ve given up all hope.”

“I am sure the little boy has brought great happiness to you both.”

“Yes … just like your little girl. I say, what a little beauty, eh? Wait till she’s a bit older! She’ll have them all buzzing round her, won’t she? Little bit of honey, that’s what she is … and you can’t keep bees off honey. I told Andrew what a little pet she was. Nice laughing ways … Frenchified, I said to Andrew.”

She was bailing me. Why had she come here like this? I was beginning to wish I was back at Clavering.

But I was not going lo let her intimidate me with her innuendos.

I said: “How is your mother?”

“Oh … I never hear a word from her now. … She’ll be off somewhere. Shouldn’t be surprised if she’s gone abroad. It wasn’t her fault, you know. It was Amos. He always made her do what he wanted. There’s some men like that. You and me … we’re lucky. We’ve got our two dear little children. It was funny the way they took to each other. My little Richard just laughed up at her and wouldn’t stop looking. He don’t do that to everyone, I can tell you. It was as though they knew they were two of a kind.”

“Two of a kind?”

“Yes, my little Richard and your little Lottie. A sort of fellow feeling. Funny how these children are.”

She was looking at me insolently. I was thinking: Dickon was here. They were together. … Was she telling me something? Did she mean that she and I were of a kind?

Her eyes were sparkling.

She said slowly: “I shall never forget the first time we met. You came to Eversleigh … and there was that man over at Enderby, that French gentleman. He was a charmer, wasn’t he?” She laughed. “Well, he went off, didn’t he? Very different they are at Enderby now. The Forsters … not the sort you’d expect to find in a house like that. The doctor’s a fine gentleman. Have you met him? You’d like him.” She laughed. “Different from the French gentleman. … A bit on the gloomy side … but a change is nice, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked suddenly.

“Oh, nothing. Just rambling on. I do, Andrew tells me. He likes it … he laughs at me. He’s a very grateful man. Well, who wouldn’t be, presented with a son at his time of life? Just what he’d always wanted and never thought he could get.”

She started to laugh.

I stood up. I said: “I know you’ll forgive me. As we have only just come there is so much to do.”

She rose drawing on her gloves. She was very properly dressed for the call.

“Well, we’re neighbors now,” she said. “There’ll be plenty of opportunities for little chats.”

She took my hand and smiled into my face.

I thought she looked sly, menacing.

I conducted her to the door and watched her walk away.

I felt more than a twinge of alarm.

The idea of giving a housewarming party came to me when I was with Isabel one morning. We were becoming good friends and I found her presence very comforting. She knew so much about the customs of the neighborhood and was on good terms with most of the people.

She was saying that I should meet some of the families round about; there might only be three big houses but the farms were occupied by some very pleasant people and although there were a few of these on the Grasslands and Enderby estates most of them belonged to Eversleigh.

Then I said: “There must be a gathering … a party.”

Isabel was delighted with the idea. “I believe in the old days,” she said, “there was one given every year at the big house.”

“That would be in Carleton’s day, I should imagine. Perhaps my great-uncle General Eversleigh continued the tradition.”

“Well, it lapsed when the last Lord Eversleigh was there.”

“He was too ill, and I daresay Jessie didn’t relish having half the neighborhood there.”

“I wonder she didn’t invite them in her role of mistress of the house.”

“There must have been some lengths to which even Jessie wouldn’t go. But now I think, it’s a good idea to get back to the old ways.”

“I am sure everyone will be delighted.”

“You must help me draw up a list of the guests.”

We spent a pleasant hour doing this.

“I hope you won’t forget my brother-in-law.”

“The doctor. No, of course not. If he wishes to come. Perhaps he will be too involved with his work. Will you ask him?”

“I will indeed. And what about some of the people in the town? The solicitors, for one thing?”

“Oh yes. Mr. Rosen … both senior and junior.”

“There, you see. It is quite a formidable list. Oh … I don’t think it will be necessary for me to ask my brother-in-law. I can hear voices. Yes, it is he. You can ask him yourself.”

So that was how I met Charles Forster again.

I had forgotten how tall he was. Also that air of melancholy. It was not my custom to find unhappy people interesting. I was attracted by lively characters—people like Gerard and my dear Lottie. But Charles Forster fascinated me from the first. I wanted to know more about him; why he wore that air of almost desperation. His face was thin with high cheekbones and very deepset gray eyes; the gray wig drawn from his face and tied at the back with a black ribbon was perhaps a little out of date but he was the sort of man who would make no concessions to fashion—in fact I believed he would be entirely unaware of it. His dark blue coat was full and came to the knees, hiding his plain cloth breeches; his long muscular legs were encased in light brown stockings and as he came in he carried a three-cornered hat unadorned by feathers.

“Charles!” cried Isabel, her face lighting up with pleasure. “How nice to see you. Here is Mistress Zipporah Ransome. You have already met … some time ago.”

He took my hand and we looked steadily at each other.

“You’ve forgotten me,” I said.

“Indeed I have not. You were staying at Eversleigh.”

“Yes … and now I live there.”