Magic In Vienna Part 3

His, "Hullo, Eileen. You don't remember me, do you? I hope you will be happy here until your parents return," was uttered in a somewhat absent minded way, and Cordelia noticed that he held a book in one hand, one finger marking the place. A pity if he was an absent minded scholar who preferred books to people, she mused and then coloured faintly as Lady Tres...o...b.. said: "This is Miss Gibson, Charles, Eileen's companion."

"How d'you do," asked Cordelia politely. The doctor studied her carefully,

"Mrs Thompson shall take you to your rooms," he said at length, 'we shall be in the drawing room when you are ready I daresay you would like a drink before lunch." He nodded at her and took his mother's arm and led her across the hall to another door, opened it and went inside with her, closing it behind him.

"He's awful," whispered Eileen and caught Cordelia's hand in hers.

"No, dear. I think perhaps he's used to living alone and isn't quitesure what to do with us." She didn't say more because Mrs Thompson hadcome to take them to their rooms.

It was a large apartment; they mounted half a dozen shallow stairs and went down a long pa.s.sage, thickly carpeted, with Mrs Thompson leading the way, talking cosily all the while.

"Side by side." you are," she told them, 'and there's a bathroom foryou to share. The doctor's along the other corridor and Thompson and Iare at the end of his corridor. He thought you'd like to be on yourown. . ."

She opened doors as she spoke, revealing two rooms, furnished very similarly in a rather heavy fashion. There was a connecting door and a view of the street below from their windows.

"Of course," the doctor only rents this place," explained Mrs Thompson,tweaking a bedspread into exact lines, 'he doesn't care for itovermuch, but it's handy for the university and the hospitals, andwe'll be going home in a couple of months." She beamed at them. "Well,I'll leave you to tidy up. You can find your way to the drawing room? If you want any help with unpacking just you ring. I'll be in LadyTres...o...b..'s room putting her things to rights. .."

Left alone Eileen looked at Cordelia.

"I'm not going to like it here," she said defiantly, and peeped at her to see what she would say.

"Well, I don't see how you can say that until we've been here for at least two or three days," said Cordelia matter-of-factly.

"I thought it all looked rather exciting as we drove here, didn't you?

That Palace and those dear little carriages. . we might take a ride. .

"All the same," began Eileen, but Cordelia didn't give her the chance:

"The thing is," she went on calmly/ now we're here, wouldn't it be a good thing to sample some of the things we've been reading about on board; I'd love to see the Schonbrunn Palace and eat a cream cake at Sacher's Coffee House and to go to the Spanish Riding School."

She could see Eileen wavering but she was far too wise to say more.

"Let's tidy ourselves and have that drink," she suggested.

Five minutes later they were ready. They were on the last stair of the steps leading to the hall and about to cross the hall to the half open drawing room door when Or Tres...o...b.. spoke, his deep quiet voice nevertheless very clear.

"By all means let her stay," he sounded bored, "I'm sure that I can rely on your opinion. Mother. I can't say I have felt much interest--a rather dull girl, I should have thought, with no looks to speak of. . ."

Cordelia had stopped, rooted to the spot, her face had paled and her gentle mouth was half open. She might have stayed there for heaven knew how long but Eileen caught her by the hand and whisked her silently back up the steps. Safely on the landing she whispered fiercely: "Don't believe a word of it Cordelia, you're not a bit dull and when you smile you're beautiful. I hate him."

Cordelia managed a smile.

"At least I'm to stay." She breathed the words into Eileen's ear.

"But don't hate him--he's quite right, you know."

Eileen scowled and Cordelia put a finger to her lips and urged her down into the hall again. She said in a high and rather loud voice: "I daresay most people living in Vienna have apartments, I remember reading. . ."

They had reached the drawing-room door, which was a good thing because she had no idea what she was going to say next.

Lady Tres...o...b.. was sitting in an over upholstered chair, a gla.s.s on the small table by her side. She said unnecessarily: "There you are.

Eileen, you may have a gla.s.s of lemonade. Miss Gibson, you would probably like a gla.s.s of sherry."

The doctor was standing at the other end of the room, looking out of the window. He turned to look at them as they went in but apparently he had no objection to his mother taking over his duties for he said nothing before resuming his study of the street outside.

"I shall return home in two days time," observed Lady Tres...o...b...

"You will arrange that for me, Charles? A morning flight I think."

Cordelia and Eileen had sat down side by side on a ma.s.sive sofa and he came to sit in a chair opposite his mother. / "Certainly, my dear, although I should have liked you to stay for longer."

He transferred his gaze to Cordelia and she was startled to see how very blue his eyes were.

"You will remain. Miss Gibson? Eileen's parents will return in rather less than six weeks and I must depend upon you to keep her occupied and happy until then. You must understand that I have my work which keeps me busy and I have little leisure. Your duties are unlikely to be onerous. I have arranged for Eileen to attend a school while she is here," and at the girl's interruption: "Don't worry, Eileen, you will only go to the cla.s.ses you will enjoy. You like painting and drawing don't you? You may go three times a week to art cla.s.s, and perhaps you might like the cookery sessions and the embroidery. . . Anyway, try them out, and if you don't like them, we'll think of something else. Your mother wrote to me and suggested it and I know it would please her, but if the idea of school makes you unhappy, we'll sc.r.a.p it."

Cordelia found this to be a very reasonable arrangement and was relieved to see Eileen's face brighten.

"I can really choose for myself?"

"Of course. There will be plenty of time for you and Miss Gibson to explore Vienna--feel free to go where you like, provided you let Thompson or Mrs Thompson know where you are going." He smiled suddenly and looked years younger.

"I'm afraid I'm not much of an uncle, my dear, you must forgive a middle-aged bachelor."

"Probably," said Eileen, 'when Cordelia and I have been here for a week or two, you'll feel much younger."

His eyes flickered over Cordelia.

"Er--quite possibly. Perhaps the two of you would like to unpack?"

Cordelia got up and walked to the door without saying a word, reminding herself that after all he wasn't any worse than her stepmother, and she was being paid for it. As she waited for Eileen she did a little rapid mental arithmetic five weeks at the salary she was getting, if she saved most of it, would cushion her nicely against the uncertain future.

She had, while they had been on board, spent some time in deciding what she would buy once they were in Vienna, her wardrobe was, after all meagre, but now she realised that half a dozen sacks would do just as well as far as Uncle Charles was concerned and she wasn't likely to make many friends. She would be able to manage very well with what she had.

The pair of them unpacked while Eileen discussed her uncle.

"It's not polite to talk about him when we're guests under his roof,"

reproved Cordelia.

"Well I don't think I like him, I expect he thinks we're a nuisance.

"Quite likely. You see he lives alone and has only had himself to consider. I'm quite sorry for him I daresay he's a very lonely man."

Eileen, under Cordelia's direction, was laying shoes and slippers in a neat row in the clothes closet. "Well, he can get married." She turned to look at Cordelia.

"I don't suppose you fancy him?"

"No," said Cordelia, "I don't think I do, and isn't that a good thing for I don't suppose I'd make much headway, would I?"

They giggled at the very idea, finished their unpacking and went downstairs again.

Lunch was ready as they reached the hall, delayed for half an hour so that Dr Tres...o...b.. could talk to his mother. They ate it in a sombre heavily furnished room, sitting s.p.a.ced out round an oval table. The doctor was a good host; he included Eileen and Cordelia in the conversation and was attentive to their wants, all the same Cordelia was relieved when they went back to the drawing room for their coffee, and presently she gave a speaking look to Eileen and carried that reluctant young lady off to her room.

"Are you going back to the drawing room?" she wanted to know as Cordelia prepared to leave her.

The? Heavens no. Your grandmother and uncle will want to talk together." She could imagine the polite conversation they would maintain if she were foolish enough to rejoin them, concealing their impatience with well-bred courtesy.

"I shall go to my room for a bit, presently I should think we might go out and take a look round.

There's a park close by, unless your grandmother or uncle want you..."

She left Eileen with a book and went along to her own room and did her face and hair again for something to do and then went and sat by the window and watched the street below. She hoped that Uncle Charles wasn't going to dislike her, it was disheartening that he had such a poor opinion of her, but perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing; he'd be more likely to ignore her. And in the meanwhile, here she was in Vienna, living in what to her was the lap of luxury and with untold museums, monuments and palaces to explore. Money to spend too, although she would have to save most of it.

An hour, she judged, seemed a suitable period in which to leave mother and son together; she went through the connecting door to Eileen's room, cast a critical eye over her appearance, and suggested that it might be a good idea to find Lady Tres...o...b.. and discover her plans for the rest of the day.

An unnecessary exercise, as it turned out for Mrs Thompson knocked on the door with the request that Miss Eileen should go down to the drawing room to her grandmother, and Miss Gibson was asked to go at once to Dr Tres...o...b..'s study.

A gloomy, book-lined apartment, she discovered, with dark green curtains draped on either side of the big window and a wide desk set at an angle to the door. The doctor sat behind it, but he got up as she went in and offered her one of the stiff little leather armchairs opposite the desk.

This done, he went to the window and rather impatiently pulled back the curtains so that there was more light in the room. It fell on to Cordelia's face but she didn't turn away from it: in fact she was a practical girl and he'd already decided that she had no looks... He studied her in a detached way for a few moments.

"My mother tells me that Eileen likes you, a sufficient recommendation for you to remain here. But I cannot stress sufficiently that you must take sole charge of her; I have had very little to do with children and my work precludes my partic.i.p.ation in an active social life. I leave you to decide what is suitable for Eileen's entertainment and rely upon you to keep her suitably occupied "In short, Dr Tres...o...b.., you don't want to be aware that we are here." Cordelia spoke quietly in a matter-of-fact voice but the doctor's eyebrows rose.

"You put it rather more frankly than necessary, Miss Gibson, but yes, that is what I wish."

"I shall do my best," observed Cordelia calmly, 'but of course Eileen is a high spirited child, to keep her quite silent will be difficult."

"I am not an ogre," said the doctor sharply.

"I shall expect you to come to me if you need help of any sort and naturally, I wish Eileen to be happy while she is here." He sat back in his chair and said in a more friendly voice.

"You will both take your meals with me; I am seldom home for lunch, but I hope that you will both join me for breakfast and dinner.

Occasionally I have guests, and probably it may be better if you and Eileen dine alone--the talk is usually in German."

Cordelia decided that it was unnecessary to tell him that she knewsomething of that language. And anyway. Lady Tres...o...b.. may havementioned it. She quite understood that neither Eileen nor herselfwere likely to add much sparkle to a dinner party and she agreedwithout hesitation.

"In which case, I don't need to keep you any longer. Miss Gibson. Ibelieve my mother wishes to drive to the shops with Eileen and give hertea at Sacher's. If you care to go out and find your way around for ashort time? Mrs Thompson will give you your tea when you return. Wedine at eight o'clock."

He got up and went to open the door for her. Nicemanners, thought Cordelia, once more in the hall, but what a waste;head buried in his books when he's not examining his patients. Ibelieve he's scared of having us here. Afraid that we'll upset hisbachelor life. She went to her room, dabbed some more powder on hernose, tucked her handbag under her arm and left the house, having beeninformed by Thompson, hovering in the hall that Lady Tres...o...b.. and MissEileen had gone off in a taxi. He smiled at her very kindly andpressed a map of the city into her hand before she went.

"I've marked this building with a cross in ink. Miss," he advised her, 'if you miss your way all you need to do is get a taxi and show the driver the map."

She thanked him, much cheered by his thoughtfulness, and set off in the direction of the ring. From a hasty look at the map, she saw that provided she kept to it, she would eventually get back to the doctor's apartment, for the Ring encircled the inner City and was clearly marked.

She paused uncertainly on the edge of the pavement, deciding whether to

go left or right, and the doctor, watching her from the window of his study, smiled as she turned briskly to the left, where in the distance, she could see the rea.s.suring bulk of the houses of Parliament.

CHAPTER THREE.