Beyond the Storm (13 page)

A
LICE, ELIZA AND
Hugo Trevelyan set off for the Cornishman’s home after lunch on Saturday. The
handsome
cavalry officer was in a jocular mood, urging the pony to a speed that had his two passengers clinging to their seats, but on this occasion Alice did not encourage him in his recklessness.

She told him firmly that he had given the pony more than enough exercise on their last outing and warned him that unless he drove in a more sedate manner
she
would take the reins and he could
continue
the remainder of the journey in the saddle of his horse, which was already showing signs of rebelling against the unaccustomed manner in which it was travelling behind the pony and trap.

Much to Eliza’s surprise Captain Trevelyan meekly accepted Alice’s ultimatum and slowed the pony’s pace to one that was far more comfortable for the two women. Somehow, his meek
capitulation
made Eliza even more uneasy than if he had disputed Alice’s warning.

It proved to be a lengthy journey, along lanes and roads that were, at best, indifferent, especially when their route took them across the bleakness of Bodmin Moor, where there was a wind that Hugo said was present for much of the year, day and night, his statement verified by the branches of the few trees that existed here bowing low in an acute angle, in deference to the power of the moorland wind.

Alice had never ventured this far from Trethevy during all the time she had been living there and she knew little of the moor, but she found the feeling of lonely space here awesome. ‘Is it as bleak as this where you have your house?’ she asked Hugo,
somewhat
nervously.

‘Good Lord, no! Helynn Manor is in a beautiful valley beside the River Lynher and well sheltered from the wind. There has been a manor house there for almost eight hundred years. Those who built it knew exactly what they were doing and studied the elements well before building something as substantial as a manor house.’

‘Is it a very large house?’ Alice queried.

‘Large enough,’ Hugo replied, ambiguously. ‘Far too large for my father to be living in on his own, especially since my sister is no longer around to look after him.’

‘You have a sister?’ Alice had never thought of Hugo as having brothers or sisters. His behaviour had led her to believe he was an only child, used to having his own way since boyhood. ‘Where is she now?’

‘Sadly she died while I was in India.’

‘Oh, I am so sorry! What was the cause of her death?’

‘According to my father she died of a broken heart, badly let down by a young naval officer from a good family near Lostwithiel.’

Apparently concentrating on guiding the pony through a flock of sheep grazing on either side of the narrow moorland track, Hugo spoke without turning his head to look at Alice, but Eliza believed he was fully aware that he had her employer’s immediate interest.

After a few moments silence Alice asked, hesitantly, ‘This naval officer … What is his name?’

Still not looking at her, Hugo replied, ‘Kendall. Lieutenant Kendall.’

‘Not Lieutenant
Jory
Kendall?’

‘Why yes, I’m sure that’s his name.’ Appearing surprised, he added, ‘Do you know him?’

‘Yes. At least, David and I – and Eliza – know a Lieutenant Jory Kendall, he is a naval man but was with the Coast Guard service when we first met with him.’

‘That must be him, he certainly spent a great deal of time on land for a naval man. Long enough to court poor Isabella and lead her to believe he would marry her, only to change his mind and forsake her in a most heartless manner. My sister’s death had a serious effect on my father, which is partly why I returned from India. I am his only son and am most concerned for him.’

Alice was only half-listening to what he was saying about his family affairs. She found it difficult to equate what Hugo Trevelyan had said with the Jory she knew, but Jory
did
come from Lostwithiel and, although she was aware he had four brothers, he had once told her in conversation that he was the only one of the brothers to leave home and join the navy.

‘Are you alright, Alice?’ Hugo was looking at her in apparent concern.

‘Yes.’ She made a great effort to pull herself together, she did not want to let him know she was upset, or that it was because of what he had said about Jory. Changing the subject abruptly, she asked, ‘How far are we from your home now? It feels as though there might be rain in the air and it would be nice to reach the house before it becomes any worse.’

Seated behind Captain Trevelyan and Alice in the trap, Eliza had listened to their conversation with utter disbelief. Of all the men she had ever met, Jory Kendall was the one she most trusted and respected. She refused to believe he was guilty of deceiving any girl to the extent that she would die of ‘a broken heart’.

She remained quiet for the remainder of the journey, thinking of what had been said.

Helynn Manor was not what either Alice or Eliza had been
anticipating
. It was large, certainly, but there was an air of neglect about the house and gardens that both women found
disconcerting
. It looked as though nobody cared about the house any more and, hemmed in by hills and tall trees, it seemed as if it was trying to hide from the world.

The manor was older than Alice had imagined it would be, much of the present building dating from the fifteenth or
sixteenth
centuries. The architectural style, coupled with the close proximity of surrounding trees gave the house a gloomy,
overshadowed
feel.

The interior did nothing to dispel this image. Dim light
entering
the house through small diamond-paned windows disclosed heavy, ageing furniture that echoed the neglect of the house as a whole.

Hugo Trevelyan entered the house ahead of the women and, walking behind with Alice, Eliza whispered, ‘It’s creepy!’

Alice was of the same opinion but in a bid to bolster her own sinking feelings as well as Eliza’s she replied, in an equally low voice, ‘It is
old
, Eliza. It must be one of the oldest manor houses in Cornwall, but I am surprised that Captain Trevelyan’s father has not come out to greet us.’

‘And where are the servants? Eliza questioned.

Entering the hall, her question was partially answered when a grey-haired and frail woman dressed in sombre black appeared from one of the doorways set around the large, irregularly shaped entrance hallway.

A stern glance taking in the new arrivals, she addressed Captain Trevelyan, ‘We expected you home a week ago, and who are these…?’ She indicated Alice and Eliza with a movement of her head without looking at them.

Extending a hand towards Alice, Hugo said, ‘This is Miss Kilpeck, sister of the rector of Trethevy and her maid, Eliza. Alice, meet Miss Grimm, she has been housekeeper at Helynn since before I was born.’

Eliza thought the housekeeper’s name was most apt, but the housekeeper was talking to her. ‘It’s a good job you’re here, girl, we don’t pay servants unnecessarily at Helynn and with only Mr Trevelyan in the house I can do all that’s needed but with Captain Trevelyan and an uninvited guest in the house you will be earning your keep. The sooner you get out of those fancy clothes of yours and go into the kitchen, the better, although what you are going to feed to everyone I don’t know.’

Hardly able to believe the attitude of the gaunt housekeeper, Alice said sharply, ‘Eliza is here as my personal maid and
companion
, she is not here to take on a house servant’s duties at Helynn!’

Aware that Alice was still upset at what Hugo Trevelyan had said about Jory Kendall and anxious that her employer should not become embroiled in an argument with the rude and eccentric Miss Grimm, Eliza said hastily, ‘I don’t mind helping out in the kitchen if they are short-staffed, Miss Alice.’

‘It sounds more as though there
are
no other servants, Eliza, and you will tend to my needs before considering any other duties.’

Turning to Hugo who had listened to the exchange in silence, she said, ‘Perhaps you will be kind enough to show me to my room, Hugo, while Miss Grimm shows Eliza where she can obtain some water. I would like to freshen up after the journey. While I am doing that with Eliza’s help you might like to sort out whether we should stay, or return to Trethevy.’

Leaving the tight-lipped housekeeper standing in the hall, Hugo led the way upstairs and on the way said, ‘I must
apologise
for Miss Grimm. She has been here so long she feels she is in
a position to dictate everything that goes on at Helynn – as she actually does! My father is in his dotage and has always left her to run the household. He has frugal tastes and Miss Grimm has always kept a tight grip on the purse strings. There is a butler somewhere about, but he is much the same age as my father. There
are
servants who come in to clean and carry out household duties, but it is Miss Grimm who dictates
when
they work and she obviously felt they were not needed today – but here is your room. Settle yourself in. I will find the butler and have
him
fetch water, while I sort out Miss Grimm and have her show Eliza to her room.’

It was not the butler but Eliza who brought water to Alice’s room and, as toiletries were being laid out on a marble-topped table in a corner of the bedroom, Alice sat on the edge of the bed and with a gesture of despair, said, ‘What sort of an establishment have we come to, Eliza? It started off as such a happy day, but first there was what Captain Hugo said on the way here about Lieutenant Jory, and now this!’

For the first time in the three years she had been working for Alice, Eliza saw tears well up in her eyes. It made her very unhappy and she said vehemently, ‘I don’t believe what Captain Trevelyan said. Lieutenant Jory just isn’t that sort of man – and I know how much he thinks of you. He made that very clear to me when he called at the rectory and wrote you a letter while he was there.’

For a moment Alice’s spirits rose, but then she said
despondently
, ‘No, Eliza, Captain Trevelyan had no reason to lie to me, he was not even aware that Lieutenant Jory is known to me. It must be true.’

‘Something might have been said about who it was brought the fish you had for dinner the other night,’ Eliza persisted.

Alice shook her head unhappily, ‘It wasn’t even mentioned. Had it been Captain Trevelyan would no doubt have commented
on the name then. I am as sceptical as you, Eliza, possibly more so, but I fear it must be true, even though it is painful to think about.’

Eliza knew better than to continue to argue with her mistress, but she did not trust Hugo Trevelyan – and she refused to believe ill of Lieutenant Jory Kendall. Either the Indian army cavalry officer was deliberately lying, or there was an explanation for what Jory Kendall was supposed to have done.

‘Your room isn’t too bad but I dread to think what mine will be like. Miss Grimm said it needed to be got ready and she’d call me when it was done, but I don’t suppose she’ll be in any hurry to do anything.’

‘Whatever the room is like make no comment on it, you’ll not be sleeping there. As soon as she has shown it to you and gone away bring your things down here. We’ll make up a bed for you on the chaise-longue. I doubt if either of us will sleep very soundly but I would rather not be alone in this house at night.’

Eliza was tidying her employer’s toiletries and as she worked, Alice said, ‘I wonder what Captain Trevelyan’s father is like? It’s strange that he hasn’t appeared to greet a house guest.’

‘Perhaps he’s taking an afternoon nap and nobody likes to wake him,’ Eliza remarked. ‘There doesn’t seem as though there’s very much to stay awake for around this place. We haven’t seen anything of the butler, either. I hope he’ll prove a bit more helpful than Miss Grimm.’

Just then both women could hear the sound of slow footsteps on the stairs and Eliza commented, ‘Perhaps this is him coming up the stairs now.’

It
was
the butler and he introduced himself to Alice as ‘Jenkins’. Not only was he probably older than Miss Grimm, but he was also profoundly deaf. When Alice asked him where his master was he gave a toothless grin and replied, ‘I haven’t been out
today, so it could be raining, but you needn’t worry about it, the roof doesn’t leak on this side of the house.’

Having imparted this piece of information, he said, ‘When your maid has finished here she can use the servants’ stairs at the far end of the passageway to go up to her room, it is the first on the left. I’ll go up there now and check for myself that she has everything she is likely to need. It’s a duty that is usually carried out by Miss Grimm, but the stairs are steep and she has trouble with her knees. I hope you will enjoy your stay at Helynn manor, Miss, it is a long time since we last had a visitor.’

Giving Alice just the hint of a bow, Jenkins turned and left the room.  

Seating herself heavily on the bed, Alice said, ‘So much for finding the butler more helpful than Miss Grimm. He is as deaf as a post! What do you make of the situation we have found
ourselves
in, Eliza?’  

Assuming the round-shouldered posture of the aged butler, Eliza replied, ‘I haven’t been out today, Miss Alice, so it might be raining, but the roof doesn’t leak in this part of the house.’  

After a few moments of surprised silence, Alice began to giggle and the tension and foreboding that had taken charge of both women since their arrival at Helynn Manor began to crumble – but the respite would be short-lived.

T
HE EVENING MEAL
was prepared by Eliza and an
ever-grumbling
Miss Grimm from a goose, owned, killed and plucked by a neighbouring farmer. It would be accompanied by a mixture of vegetables collected by the equally disgruntled butler from a walled garden belonging to the house and apparently tended by a part-time gardener who was not paid for his services but allowed to use the plot to supply his own large family.  

The cooking utensils in the kitchen were old and in a bad state and there was a dire shortage of such things as spices, cooking fats and even butter. When Eliza asked for salt for the potatoes she was given a jar with only a thin sprinkling of the condiment in the bottom.  

In sheer exasperation, Eliza said, ‘Surely the Trevelyan family isn’t so poor that it can’t afford salt? Even the poorest household in the land would have more than this!’  

‘The wealth, or otherwise, of the Trevelyan family is none of your business, my girl. You get on with what you need to do and hope they leave enough left over to keep you from going to bed with an empty belly.’  

‘If I thought they were going to eat it all I’d have mine first and tell ’em we’d been given a one legged bird!’ Eliza made the comment in a jocular manner, but Mrs Grimm had no sense of humour.

‘You’ll do no such thing! You may be able to do what you like with that woman you work for, I doubt if she has any more
breeding
than a servant girl herself. Master Hugo never did have any taste when it came to women, but in this house a servant knows her place.’

‘It seems to me it must be a
hiding
-place,’ Eliza retorted, ‘and a very good one too. It doesn’t look as though there’s been a servant around the house for months –
years
even. As for Miss Alice, she’s the sister of a rector and her father was something very
important
in a cathedral, a Bishop, or a Pope or something and I’m her lady’s maid, not a kitchen slavey. I’m only doing this here because I don’t want
her
going hungry, she’s not used to it. But I’m not staying in this kitchen listening to you saying things about her. I’ll leave
you
to get on with the cooking and tell Miss Alice why!’

‘Oh, no you won’t!’ As Eliza wiped her hands on her apron, Miss Grimm moved to block the kitchen doorway. ‘You’ll stay here and do whatever needs doing. You’ve got far too much spirit for a girl in service, but you’re loyal to your mistress and there’s no fault in that. If what you say is true she’s got a better
background
than others he’s brought to Helynn.’

‘Captain Trevelyan’s brought women to the house before, and you think she’s like
them
?’

‘One night, when he’d been drinking, he boasted that there was always a woman to warm his bed in India and it’s something he’s got used to, but if you think I’m being disloyal to my employer by telling you this, then you can think again. I owe Hugo Trevelyan nothing. I was taken on by Mr Albert, Hugo’s father, and the late Mrs Trevelyan, bless her soul. It was Master Hugo’s ways that put her in an early grave and turned the mind of his father, him and the death of Miss Isabella, their daughter – although she was nearly as wild as her brother.’

Eliza’s show of spirit seemed to have tapped an unexpected well of humanity within the severe exterior of the housekeeper
and she continued, ‘I’ll be glad when Master Hugo returns to India and the house gets back to normality again, or as normal as it can ever be with poor Mr Albert the way he is. Fortunately, there are only a few days left before he goes and I doubt whether we’ll ever see him again. He’s already milked the estate so dry we’ll have even more of a struggle keeping things going than we have had these last few years.’

Eliza listened to Miss Grimm in increasing alarm. It was quite evident that Helynn Manor and its occupants were in as
penurious
a state as it appeared to be, but it was what had been said about Captain Hugo Trevelyan that she found particularly
disturbing
.

‘Miss Alice would
never
have come to Helynn had she known all this about him. The only reason she agreed to come here was she felt beholden to Captain Trevelyan because he probably saved her life when the pony pulling the trap she was in bolted. He managed to stop it before it reached a sharp bend in the lane where it would have certainly overturned. She’s led a very
sheltered
life and is nothing like any of the women you’ve been talking about. Do you think she’s in real danger? What can I do?’

‘You can do nothing right now, it will be dark very soon with no moon tonight. Get on with the cooking and feed them all, but when you go upstairs and help your mistress to dress for dinner warn her about Master Hugo. He will be alright while we are about, but when the meal is over and we are sent away he will begin drinking heavily, no doubt trying to persuade your
mistress
to join him. The best thing she can do is leave him on some pretext, go to her room and lock herself in. There are strong bolts and it’s a stout door.’

Giving Eliza an appraising look, she added, ‘The trouble is
you
are a pretty young girl, Eliza, and I’ve seen by the way Master Hugo looks at you that he is fully aware of that. If he can’t have your mistress then he’ll come after you and the doors of the
servants
’
rooms are flimsier than the others. You’ll need to be on your guard.’

Eliza went cold at her words, it was as though time had gone into reverse and she was back at the home of Lady Calnan, fearing the unwelcome advances of her employer’s husband.

Was history about to repeat itself and take away the happy life she had enjoyed during the three years since she had been cast ashore as a shipwrecked convict on the Cornish coast?

When dinner was almost ready to be served Eliza left the now almost friendly Helynn housekeeper in charge of the kitchen and went in search of Alice.

She was in the sitting room and seemed relieved to see Eliza, readily agreeing to her suggestion that she should accompany her to her room and help her dress for dinner.

Once in the room, Alice said, ‘I was so relieved to see you, Eliza, Captain Trevelyan took me for a walk around the garden and made some amorous and highly improper advances. I was quite upset but when I insisted we return to the house he took me to the sitting room and tried hard to persuade me to drink with him. I declined, but it certainly never influenced
his
drinking. He had a great deal and I fear he will be quite drunk – dangerously so – by the time we have finished dinner.’

‘You are probably right.’ Eliza told Alice what the Helynn housekeeper had said about Captain Trevelyan; his women, his habits, and her suggestion of what Alice should do when he began to drink heavily.

Alice was horrified. ‘This is
terrifying
, Eliza, I realise now how stupid I was to come to Helynn knowing so little about him, but he seemed such a
gentleman
. He fooled Reverend David too, he would never have allowed me to come here had there been even the slightest hint of Captain Hugo’s true character. Oh dear, I wish we were able to harness up the pony and trap and return to
Trethevy right away, but it would be utter folly to attempt it now, in the dark, but we will leave first thing in the morning. In the meantime there is no question of you sleeping in a servant’s room. You will sleep in this room and we will bolt the door against him. It is always possible, of course, that Captain Trevelyan’s father can do something about him, but he still has not put in an
appearance
and I find that most disturbing.’

‘He has something seriously wrong with him,’ Eliza explained, ‘Miss Grimm said his mind had been turned by the goings on of Captain Trevelyan. I don’t know exactly what she means by that, but it doesn’t sound as though he is in any state to do anything.’

‘That is certainly not reassuring,’ Alice agreed, unhappily, ‘but if he does not join us for dinner I will demand to be taken to him.’

Alice was aware that although she spoke with her usual authority, it was no more than empty bravado. She was in a very difficult situation – and probably a most dangerous one. There was no possibility of her and Eliza leaving that night, with or without the goodwill of Captain Trevelyan.

Aware that Eliza knew this too, Alice added, ‘If Captain Trevelyan refuses to take me to him you and I will come up here, bolt the door and leave Helynn at the first opportunity in the morning.’

As Alice finished talking, her glance went to the bedroom door which was now closed – and she gave a gasp of dismay.

‘The door, Eliza … look at the door. There
are
no bolts,
somebody
has removed them! We have no way of keeping
anyone
out. What is going on, Eliza? What is happening to us?’