Whisper The Darkness Part 10

Jake himself kept mostly out of the way. Even at meal times, he endeavoured to appear after they had finished, and although he ate the food Joanna put before him, she always had the feeling he would rather have had dry bread. In this respect it was an unsatisfactory situation, but in no other. She closed her mind to the realisation that it was her he was avoiding, and told herself that once he acquired a suitable housekeeper, he would have to recognise what she was doing for his daughter.

So far as Anya was concerned, Joanna's ingenuity amazed her.

Quite by chance really, she had discovered how to engage the girl's attention, and by involving the practical as well as the academic methods of teaching, she had aroused Anya's interest.

It was astonishingly easy, once she had learned how to turn the situation to her advantage. Anya responded to anything that remotely involved the stories she told so avidly, and as soon as Joanna detected this she used it to good effect. Those first intimations of how history and geography could help her developed through Joanna's patient instruction into a genuine interest in both, and gradually it became apparent that Anya was good at anything she really applied herself to. The area around Ravengarth was ideal for their purpose. It was rich in history, for one thing, a blending of Roman remains and nineteenth-century industry, and its lakes and mountains, springs and rock formations were a living indication of the developing geography of northern England. That Joanna's teaching took in science and geology as well was not important; what was important was that Anya was beginning to find the pursuit of knowledge challenging. The secret was to keep it entertaining, and Joanna discovered a quite unexpected ability to achieve this. If Anya was learning to enjoy lessons, Joanna was learning about herself, and the knowledge was amazingly satisfying.

She had written to her mother, a.s.suring her that she had settled down at Ravengarth, but without going into much detail about the actual circ.u.mstances of her employment. She had merely let her mother a.s.sume that there was nothing unusual about the situation, implying a household adequately supervised, where she was actively employed in her capacity as governess.

Without actually coming to Ravengarth, no one would be any the wiser, and Jake's sister would no doubt rea.s.sure both Joanna's mother and her G.o.dmother that it seemed to have turned out well for all concerned.

Paul Trevor appeared unexpectedly one morning almost a week after Joanna's visit to his parents' farm. He came in the Land Rover, parking in the yard much to the indignation of the dogs, who set up their barking, and Joanna came out to see what all the noise was about. She had not expected a visitor, and as Jake had gone to Penrith, ostensibly for some supplies, she had taken the opportunity to spring-clean the living room. Already the house was beginning to show the results of her management, and where once there had been dust and grime now there was the sweet smell of beeswax.

It meant, however, that she was wearing her oldest pair of jeans, a cotton shirt that hung loosely outside her pants, and a scarf knotted round her head, hiding the silken abundance of her hair. She was immediately conscious of this as Paul came strolling across the yard towards her, and her colour rose as he stretched out a provocative finger and wiped a speck of soot from her nose.

'Hi there,' he said, his square handsome face creased into a smile.

'You look as though you're busy. Could it be that you're teaching chimney-sweeping as part of the curriculum?'

Joanna sighed. 'I'm cleaning, actually,' she said, feeling obliged to invite him into the kitchen. 'This is a surprise, Paul. You should have let me know you were coming.'

His expression grew a little wry at this, and with a shrug he answered: 1 didn't think Sheldon would appreciate me coming over when he was around, and when I heard old Coulston telling George at the pub that he was going to Penrith this morning, I decided this was my opportunity.'

'I see.' Joanna glanced round. 'Well-er-can I offer you a drink?

Some coffee, perhaps? I was just about to have one myself.'

'I'd love a cup of coffee,' Paul agreed, though his expression was more perplexed than anything when Joanna filled the kettle.

'But where's Mrs Harris? Couldn't she do that for you? Or is she cleaning, too?'

Joanna sighed, realising that she couldn't evade his questions here as she had done at the Trevors. 'Mrs Harris has left,' she said, setting cups on a tray as she spoke. 'Mr Sheldon is looking for a new housekeeper, but until he does -'

'You're not looking after this place, are you?' Paul interrupted her in an appalled voice. 'My G.o.d! What a b.l.o.o.d.y nerve that man has!

What does he think you are? Some kind of menial or something?'

'Oh, please ...' Joanna glanced apprehensively towards the hall door.

Anya was in the library, reading an article about artesian wells Joanna had discovered in one of the science magazines she had found in the living room, and the last thing she wanted was for the child to imagine she was dissatisfied with the situation. 'I offered to help until someone else could be found. I don't mind, honestly.'

'But this place is too big for one person to handle!' he protested, and she sighed again.

'We don't use all the rooms,' she explained. 'Just a bedroom each, the library, and the sitting room. We eat in here. It's easier.'

'But you-you're not used to this,' Paul objected, pulling out a chair from the table and sitting down rather unwillingly. 'I mean, it's obvious you've been used to a different kind of life ...'

Joanna smiled then. Is it so obvious?' she exclaimed dryly.

'That's no compliment. I don't think I like the idea of being regarded as completely useless.'

'I didn't mean that.' Paul was vehement in his protest. 'Joanna -'.

'I was only teasing,' she a.s.sured him, and turned away to put instant coffee into two earthenware beakers. 'There you are,' she added boiling water to the cup and handed it to him. 'There's cream on the table, and sugar too, if you need it. Help yourself.'

Paul did so, and after taking a mouthful of his coffee, put the cup down and fumbled in his pocket for a handful of notes and silver.

'This is yours,' he said, counting it out carefully. 'The change from those notes you gave to me. I'd hate you to think I'd forgotten it.'

Joanna shook her head. 'I wouldn't think a thing like that, Paul. But thank you, anyway. I was very grateful.'

'Any time,' he a.s.sured her fervently, his eyes on her face revealing the warmth of his feelings. 'But now that's out of the way, there's something I wanted to ask you. Will you have a meal with me one evening? In Penrith, or Keswick. I could pick you up here about seven, and we could drive -'

'I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment.' Joanna had no particular desire to go out with Paul at all. He was a pleasant young man, and she liked him, but she had no intention of getting involved with him. Still, she had to be tactful, and making an apologetic gesture she added: 'Someone has to be here to look after Anya, and until Ja- Mr Sheldon gets someone else -'

If Paul noticed the slip, he showed no reaction to it, but it gave Joanna quite a shock to realise that that was how she thought of her employer. However, Paul's next words distracted her attention, and she listened to him doubtfully as he offered a solution.

'Why doesn't he ask in the village?' Paul suggested rather impatiently. 'I happen to know there are one or two widows who could do with a supplement to their income, and they'd probably be willing to work here now that Mrs Harris has gone.'

Joanna's brow puckered. 'They didn't like Mrs Harris?'

'h.e.l.l no.' Paul grimaced at his language. 'They never forgave her for what she did to Mrs Fawcett, and so long as she was at Ravengarth ...' He shrugged. 'I could ask around.'

'Would you?' Joanna's spirits rose.

Paul hesitated. 'If I do, will you promise to have dinner with me if I succeed?'

Joanna stalled. 'Won't someone from the village want to go home in the evenings?'

Paul frowned. 'You have a point. It's not really a suitable arrangement, is it? You living here alone with Sheldon, and only a child as chaperone.'

'I didn't mean that.' Joanna flushed. The last thing she wanted was to promote that kind of speculation. 'I just meant-if this person, whoever she is, does go home in the evenings, she won't be on hand to look after Anya.'

'You could ask her,' Paul remarked dryly. 'Well, what do you say?'

Joanna pressed her lips together. 'So long as Mr Sheldon doesn't object,' she said at last.

'Why should be?' Paul was indignant. 'From what I hear, he doesn't give a d.a.m.n about anybody but himself.'

'That's not true!' Joanna couldn't prevent the outburst.

'That's not my opinion. Living here like a recluse, never meeting his neighbours, never accepting invitations or giving them. Just because he was cut up in that car crash it doesn't mean he has to cut himself off from other people. What's the matter?

Aren't we good enough for him?'

So that was it. Joanna now understood Mrs Trevor's att.i.tude when they were first introduced. Did it also explain why the villagers regarded Jake as eccentric? And if Mrs Harris had been the reason why none of them would work at Ravengarth, then Jake's self-consciousness about his appearance was unfounded.

Anya chose that moment to put in her appearance, which was just as well, as Joanna had no desire to discuss her employer in personal terms. She came sauntering into the kitchen, and regarded Paul without hostility before turning her gaze to Joanna. She looked much different from die ragged urchin she had first encountered, Joanna thought with satisfaction, and although she still wore jeans and a sweater, they were clean and tidy, and her dark hair was smoothly brushed.

'Can I have some coffee, Joanna?' she asked, darting another glance at Paul as she did so. Joanna had given her permission to use her Christian name whenever they were alone together, but this was the first time she had used it in front of anyone else. It made Paul arch his brows in mild disapproval of the familiarity, and Joanna wondered if the lapse had been deliberate.

'You don't like coffee,' she said now, and the girl pulled a wry face.

'Some milk, then,' she said, shrugging her thin shoulders, and Joanna guessed she just wanted a reason to find out what was going on.

'Did you finish the article?' Joanna asked, pouring milk into a gla.s.s, and Anya nodded.

'I read another article, too, about whales,' she exclaimed, diverted for a moment. 'Did you know they were an-en- endangered spe-species?'

'Some,' Joanna admitted gently, touched by her concern. 'I'm glad you found it so interesting. Perhaps we should incorporate biology into our studies, too.'

'Biology?' Anya frowned. 'What's that?'

'It's the study of animals and plants,' Paul answered her shortly, not at all pleased at this unwelcome intrusion to his conversation with Joanna. 'Look, I'd better be going, Joanna. I'll let you know what luck I have as soon as possible.'

'What is he going to let you know about?' asked Anya curiously, but Paul only gave her an impatient stare.

'Probably tomorrow,' he said, continuing his thread. 'How about coming down to the pub tomorrow evening for a drink?

We could talk it over.'

Anya was wide-eyed by now, and Joanna felt a little irritated by his persistence. 'I think it would be better if you let us know if you have any success,' she declared firmly. 'I'm sure Mr Sheldon would appreciate it.'

Paul shrugged, but he had to accept her decision. However, after he had gone Joanna still had Anya to contend with.

'He fancies you, doesn't he?' she remarked slyly, and Joanna guessed the terms were Mrs Harris's, not hers.

'Mr Trevor is going to try and find a housekeeper for us,' she replied flatly. 'That's all. Now, you can help me carry the china out of the cabinet in the living room. I want to wash it before I put it back.'

'Daddy won't like that,' observed Anya sagely, accompanying her through the door, and Joanna felt the familiar pangs of frustration.

'Why not?' she argued, despising herself for doing so, and Anya grimaced as she offered her opinion.

'We don't get involved with the people around here,' she said, experimentally snapping her fingers. 'And you know how angry he was when he found you were at the Trevors'.

I don't think he'll be very pleased at you asking that man to find someone to work here.'

Joanna felt her temper simmering, and knew it was because Anya was saying all the things she herself had suspected and determinedly squashed. 'I didn't ask him,' she replied now, jerking open the door of the cupboard and almost dislodging a piece of Wedgwood. 'He offered. And I should have thought your father would be only too relieved to think that his problems might soon be over.'

Anya shrugged. 'You'll see,' she said, with an annoying smirk, and for the first time for days Joanna could have willingly slapped her.

As it happened, Joanna was not around when Jake returned.

After cleaning out the cupboards and restoring polish to the floor surrounding the worn carpet, she had decided to wash the curtains, only to discover they were out of soap powder. The generous amount of washing she had done in the last few days had exhausted their supply, and it was something she had forgotten to put on the list Jake had taken with him. Some time, she hoped he would invite her to accompany him on one of his trips to the town, but she doubted it would happen in the near future. There was an alternative, of course. She could ask to borrow the Range Rover and drive herself, and as she intended to discuss Anya's wardrobe in the not-too-distant future, she was hoping to persuade him to allow her to take the girl with her.

For the present, however, only the village store could supply her needs, and as Anya seemed quite happy to continue looking through the science magazines, she walked to Ravensmere alone.

This time she made no mistake in the directions Matt had given her, and she eventually came down the lane into the village feeling reasonably pleased with her efforts.

The village store was a comprehensive one, encompa.s.sing a post office as well as a greengrocers and general dealers.

Because of the demands of tourists in the area, it was quite well equipped, and Joanna carried her basket round the adequately stocked shelves with an unusual feeling of independence. Since leaving London she had not entered a shop of any kind, and she realised how much she had missed it.

The girl at the till she guessed to be the daughter of the owner of the store, and she stared at Joanna rather curiously as she unloaded her shopping beside the small checkout. Joanna pa.s.sed the time of day with her, but refused to be drawn into conversation after Anya's gloomy forecast of Jake's reactions.

However, she emerged from the store aware that she had been very thoroughly inspected. She surmised that Paul had told them about her presence at Ravengarth, and as there were few visitors in the area at this time of year, she could hardly be expected to keep her ident.i.ty a secret.

She was crossing the main street on her way back to Ravengarth when a dark green vehicle braked to a halt beside her. She glanced round carelessly, imagining it to be a delivery van, and then halted uncertainly as she encountered Jake's hard unyielding features.

'Get in,' he commanded, thrusting open the door of the Range Rover from the inside, and with a helpless shrug she complied, not altogether sorry to be relieved of the unaccustomed weight of her shopping bag.

Jake waited until she had closed the door behind her, and then put the vehicle into gear, setting away rather aggressively. The tyres spun on the slightly damp road, but Joanna, noticing his set face, refrained from saying anything which might aggravate an already volatile situation. She didn't know whether he had encountered her by accident or design, but either way he was not pleased, and she waited in slightly nervous antic.i.p.ation for him to speak.

'I thought I made it clear that I do not wish you to shop in the village,' he said at last, his voice harshly controlled. 'It seems you take a delight in doing those things I ask you not to do, and I do not intend to be made a fool of by a girl little older than my own daughter.'

'I'm not making a fool of you,' she protested, turning to look at him.

'I needed some soap powder, so I came to get some. Why shouldn't I? I'm not a prisoner. I do need some freedom. Just because you have some mistaken idea that people care -'

'We won't discuss it,' he overrode her brusquely. 'So long as you're in my employ, you will confine your shopping expeditions to Penrith or Keswick, and as we're on the subject, it is not part of your duties to do the washing.'

'Then who is to do it?' Joanna retorted, incensed by his inflexibility, but he merely shrugged.

'There's a laundromat in Penrith -'

'Laundromats are not for garments that need careful attention.'

His mouth hardened. 'And do the living room curtains need careful attention?'

Joanna hunched her shoulders. 'You've been home.' It was a statement, not a question, and he inclined his head.

'As you say.'

'And Anya told you where I was?'

'As I wanted to visit the vet at Heronsfoot, it was only a short detour.'

Joanna glanced quickly through the windows and realised that in her anxiety she had not noticed they were not on their way back to the house. So he was taking her with him, she thought, trying to be offhand about it, but her churning stomach refused to respond.

'Where is Anya anyway?' she asked, concerned what she might get up to without supervision, but Jake had taken control.

'She's all right. I left her helping Matt build a bonfire,' he retorted, and she breathed a sigh of relief that she had this short respite.

'Besides,' he added shortly, 'I wanted to talk to you, and now seemed as good a time as any.'

Joanna sighed, her elation at this unexpected outing evaporating somewhat. 'I know. You want to express your objections to me cleaning the house.'

'That, of course,' he retorted curtly, 'but there is another matter which has to be disposed of-this penchant you have for interfering in affairs that don't concern you.'