Beyond The Blue Mountains - Plaidy Jean (читать книги бесплатно полностью без регистрации сокращений .txt) 📗

Carolan was looking at her hands; they were small and beautifully shaped, it was now possible to see. She sat there, admiring them. The nails were beginning to lose that raggedness, and what had been a rim of immovable black was now light grey.

“Well,” said Margery, ‘you look as if you’ve lost a penny and found a sovereign.”

“Mr. Masterman came in while I was putting her, clothes away.”

“Oh, he did, did he!”

Was it possible? Why not? Even half a man could surely not be blind to all that budding loveliness. When she opened her mouth and showed those sharp white teeth, she seemed to promise all sorts of things if a man could get round her to give them.

“I am sure he hates the thought of my being there.”

“Indeed, Miss, and why should he?”

“Just because he’s a stickler for rules, and he hates to have his broken.”

“And why shouldn’t he hate to have them broken? What are rules for if they are to be broken?”

“Stupid rules should be broken.” Carolan threw back her head and laughed.

“How I despise that man!” She thought of his standing there, eyeing her coldly, the dress over her head. He would doubtless think she had merited some punishment, but he had said nothing, and she was sure it was because he could not bring himself to tell his wife that he had seen her almost naked. Squeamish! Cold as ice.

Now Margery was suddenly angry. Envy had stifled her admiration. Mr. Masterman might in her opinion be only half a man, but she respected him as she had never respected anyone else in her life. He was the master and a good master. She would have no disrespect shown towards him in her kitchen!

Ah, Miss Carolan, so sure of yourself, eh! she thought. Now you’re in for a mighty big shock. Perhaps you will not sneer at a man of honour so easily in future. Perhaps you will wish that your gay Marcus was a little more like the master.

“You’ll be seeing your lover very soon now, me lady, I’ll be bound!”

Carolan stood up.

“You have seen him?”

“No, I have heard of him though.”

“Margery. You know something. Tell me. Oh, please tell me.”

Margery was trembling with excitement; she threw her apron over her head and rocked with laughter.

“Margery! Margery! What is it? Do tell me, please.”

Margery brought her apron down to the level of her eyes; she peeped slyly over it.

“It makes me laugh. I reckon that man’s about the biggest handful any woman ever had to look after. Promise you’ll not be too hard on him.”

“Margery! Margery! What do you mean?”

“He’s such a sharp one … sharp as a needle, that’s him! He’ll get on in the world. I reckon he never wanted nothing but what he got it.”

“If you will not tell me…”

“Hoity toity! What airs you give yourself these days! You’ll be setting your cap at the master next. A regular pair you be. A regular pair!”

“Set … my cap at the master! What a ridiculous thing to say!”

“Aye! You laugh at that, me lady. I reckon you’ll be wishing you had someone as reliable and as steady for a lover. There’s something to be said for steadiness, I’ll tell you.”

“What is it you know?”

“Just this. Your fine lover has left his Clementine Smith. He’s with his new friend and partner. He’ll be coming to see you soon. He couldn’t before; the lady was a jealous piece.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, you don’t see, don’t you? You ain’t so sharp, are you, me love? Still, I’ll tell you. When he came here, all gay and loving, and looked at you with his heart in his eyes, remember, eh?

“Oh,” he says, “there’s Clementine! Mustn’t keep the lady waiting?” So after having kissed you on the mouth, off he goes home to bed with Clementine Smith.”

“That’s a lie of course!” said Carolan.

“Of course it’s a lie. You only have to look at him to see it. There he goes. A kiss for you and a kiss for Esther and a kiss for old Margery. A bow for Jin and a smile for Poll. He’d give any number of women what they wanted, and all in just as long as it took to get from one to the other!”

Carolan said: “Where did you hear this… this… gossip?”

“Now, no need to get so worked up, dearie. I heard it from James, who had it from one of her servants. There he was, living in the house like the master of it. It was Darling Clementine and Darling William … Why, he even changes his name like he changes his women!”

Margery was disappointed; Carolan was flying into no passion; she had sat down at the table and was picking up crumbs off the cloth with a wet forefinger and putting them into her mouth. True, her eyes burned; so did her cheeks; but she was very still. Margery laid a hand on her shoulder, suddenly penitent. She recalled how she herself had felt on discovering the first infidelity of the pedlar.

“I wouldn’t take, it to heart, lovey,” she said. Then is men all the world over, and there ain’t so much to choose between any of “em.” Carolan said slowly: “So that is where I saw her! I knew I’d seen her before.”

“What’s that, dearie?”

“Nothing.”

“Look here, Margery’ll get Poll to make us a nice cup of tea.”

“If you think to comfort me,” said Carolan harshly, ‘spare yourself the trouble. I always knew the kind of man he was.”

“Poll!” cried Margery. It was Esther who put her head round the door. Poll was doing something in the yard, she said.

“Then you make us a cup of strong tea, will you?” said Margery.

“We’ve just had bad news.”

“Bad news? Carolan …”

A smile touched Margery’s lips. This girl was in love with him too.

“About your friend, your gentleman friend who come into my kitchen and made so free with his kisses, him that was… er… servant to Miss Clementine Smith.”

“Bad news of Marcus?” said Esther, white to the lips.

“Well, not such bad news of him. He gets his fun out of the whole business and asks for more.”

Carolan could not bear the telling to come from Margery.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Esther,” she said wearily.

“Do you remember that woman on the ship? A dark woman who was very angry because we had such freedom when we were becalmed. Well, she was Clementine Smith. Either Marcus must have had some arrangement with her before he came out, or she must have taken a fancy to him on the ship.”

“I gathered that he had been lucky. She took him into her household, and was quite a kind woman, I thought.”

Carolan shrugged her shoulders impatiently.

“Oh, Esther, it is( time you stopped being so young and innocent. She was in love with him. She took him into her house as her lover. I do not suppose she would have taken him on any other terms.”

The colour flowed under Esther’s skin from the open neck of her dress to the roots of her hair.

She’d be lovely, thought Margery grudgingly, if she had a bit more life in her.

“Poor… Marcus!” said Esther.

“Poor, poor Marcus!” echoed Carolan ironically, and got up.

“And where do you think you are off to. Miss?” demanded Margery, feeling that she had not reaped half the fun she had expected from such promising seed.

“I have work to do for Mrs. Masterman.”

Out she walked, like the mistress of the house, and none would guess, except by her heightened colour, that she suffered anything at all.

Margery set herself to enjoy teasing Esther. She conjured up pictures of the lovers to make the girl blush. But it was poor fun, and she kept thinking of Carolan, angry and unhappy upstairs in the mistress’s room.

Carolan was thinking, What a fool I was! I do not seem to learn anything by my experiences. I knew him; I knew what he was, and I believed that it was luck that gave him a soft position in Miss Clementine Smith’s household, driving her horses, while for others it was slavery and the lash. What a fool! And he doubtless laughing at me all the time. His affectionate words have no meaning behind them. He is shameless, graceless. He could come here, speak of marriage to me, when all the time he was living with her, using her for his comfort. All he cares for is his comfort; he will lie, bribe steal for it. What a fool I have been! I should be thankful to have found out in time.