Curse of the Kings (8 page)

I went back to Keverall Court in a daze. I was dreaming again. That was my only comfort. I dreamed that Tabitha was taken ill; she couldn go. Someone must take her place, said Sir Edward. know,cried Tybalt. hat about Miss Osmond? She was always interested.

How ridiculous and how unkind to wish an illness on Tabitha!

am surprised, Miss Osmond,said Lady Bodrean. have been ringing my bell for half an hour.

sorry. I forgot the time.

orgot the time! You are not here to forget time, Miss Osmond. You are not paid for that, you know.

Oh, why didn I tell the disagreeable old woman that I would serve her no longer!

Simply because, said my logical self, if you did you would have to do something. You would have to go away and how would you ever see Tybalt if you did?

I had somehow betrayed my inability to accept my position with resignation and this was something Lady Bodrean seemed to have made up her mind to enforce.

She reminded me far more than was necessary that I was a paid servant. She tried to curtail my liberty whenever possible. She would send me on an errand and time me. She would make me walk round the gardens with her carrying her basket while she cut flowers; she would tell me to arrange themnd my efforts in this artistic endeavor had always amused Dorcas and Alison. They used to say, f anyone can disarrange a bowl of flowers, that is Judith.At the rectory it was a joke; here it was a serious matter. If she could humiliate me, she did; and she was seeking and finding many opportunities.

At least, I said to myself, this has taught me what a happy home Dorcas and Alison gave me and I ought to be forever grateful for that.

I shall never forget the day she told me that there was to be a ball at Keverall Court.

f course a young lady in my daughter position must be brought out formally. I am sure you realize that, Miss Osmond, because although you yourself are not in the same position, you did learn something of gracious living when you were allowed to take lessons here.

raciousness is something that I miss nowadays,I retorted.

She misunderstood. ou were very fortunate to be allowed to glimpse it for a while. I always think it is a mistake to educate people beyond their stations.

ometimes,I said, t enables the sons and daughters of erudite churchmen to be of use to their betters.

am glad to see you take that view, Miss Osmond. I have to confess you do not always show such becoming humility.

She was an exceedingly stupid woman. I had learned that Sir Ralph had married her for her fortune. Why he should have done so was beyond my understanding when he was a rich man in his own right. But what I could understand was why he had acquired his reputation for seeking consolation elsewhere.

ow,she went on, here will be a great deal for you to do. Invitations to be drawn up and sent out. Youe no idea, Miss Osmond, what giving a ball like this entails.

can hardly be expected to,I replied, oming from such a stratum of society.

ear me no. It will be an education for you to learn. Such experience for one in your position is so useful.

shall do my humble best,I retorted with irony.

But that, of course, was lost on Lady Bodrean.

Jane, Lady Bodrean personal maid, winked at me. nice cup of tea?she said. e got it all ready.She had a little spirit lamp in her room, which she had made very comfortable.

I sat down and she poured out.

y word, she got it in for you.

gather my company doesn give her much pleasure. I wonder she doesn allow herself the treat of being rid of it.

know her. She enjoying herself. She likes tormenting people. She was always like that. Ie been with her since before she married. She got worse.

t couldn have been very comfortable for you.

h, I know how to handle her. Sugar, Miss Osmond?

hank you. Yes,I said thoughtfully, he does seem to dislike me more than is warranted. Mind you, I am ready to admit I don perform my duties with great efficiency. I can imagine why she doesn do what she is always hinting she will. Dismiss me.

he doesn want that. Who she going to torment then?

here a fairly large staff to choose from. Surely from among you all she could find some highly tormentable type.

h you joke about it, Miss Osmond. Sometimes I think youe going to explode though.

o do I,I said.

remember you coming here for your lessons. We used to say, y word, that one got more spirits than all the rest of them put together. Regular little firebrand!

nd now you see the metamorphosis of Judith Osmond.

h? Ie seen it happen before. The nursery governess before that Miss Graham. Nice spirited sort of girl, she was. But she hadn been here long when things started to happen. Sir Ralph had his eyes on her and when Lady Bodrean got to work My word, she changed. In the old days Sir Ralph, he were a one. No woman safe from him. He changed a lot too. He got quieter. Ie seen him have some funny dizzy turns too. Slowed him down a bit. Theree been some scandals.She came closer to me and her lively brown eyes were alight with pleasure. omen,she said. ouldn leave a pretty girl alone. The fur used to fly. Many times Ie heard being in the next room, you know. Couldn help but hear even if I tried not to.

I could picture her, ear to keyhole while a younger Don Juan of a Sir Ralph stood accused before his wronged wife.

fter a while she seemed to make up her mind that there was nothing she could do about it. He go his way, she go hers. He wanted a son, of course. And there wasn another child after Miss Theodosia. So Master Hadrian came to live here. But she, her ladyship, seemed to be more of a tartar every day; and once she gets her knife into someone she going to use it.

I said: should get out, I suppose.

Jane moved farther towards me and whispered confidentially, ou could find a better place. Ie thought about this. What about Miss Theodosia?

hat of her?

his ball well, it a sort of coming out. All the fine rich gentlemen of the neighborhood will be invited. Then theyl have balls and such like goings on. You know what it all leading up to.

iss Theodosia is being paraded before them, in all her charms, and by no means the least of these is the nice golden dowry glittering round her neck. oung gentleman, show your credentials and make your bid.

ou always had your answer, didn you? I used to say to Miss Graham, y goodness, that one got a bit of lip, she has.But what I getting at is this. Before long theyl find a husband for Miss Theodosia, and then youe her friend so

, her friend. Please don let Lady Bodrean hear you call me that. I sure she would be most indignant.

ow youe getting bitter. It all along of once being treated like one of them and now finding yourself here in a paid job. You have to be clever. Now you and Theodosia were together as children. You were the one who used to order her about. Theodosia not like her mother. Suppose you remind her of your friendship.

ngratiate myself with the daughter of the house?

ou could become friends with her again and when she marries you see what I mean? Miss Theodosia wants a companion and who better than her old friend. What do you think of it?

achiavellian!I said.

ou can laugh. But I wouldn like to think of spending my life looking after an old tartar like that.

uppose Theodosia doesn marry?

heodosia not marry! Of course she will. Why theye got the man for her already. I heard Sir Ralph talking to her ladyship about it. Quite a to do there was. She said: oue got an obsession with those people. I think you wanted Hadrian for Sabina.

h?I said faintly.

wouldn mind taking a bet with you, Miss Osmond, that before the year out the engagement will be announced. After all there a title. Money, well I not so sure of that, but Miss Theodosia will have enough, won she? When her father dies shel inherit everything I reckon. Why shel be one of the richest young ladies in the country. Of course, I wouldn say theye exactly poor, but money always useful and they say that he has poured a fortune into this work of his. A funny way of squandering your money I must say. When you think of what you can do with it and it all goes in digging up the ground in foreign places. They say some of those places are so hot you can hardly bear it.

I said, although I knew the answer already: o for Theodosia theye chosen ?

he son, of course. Mr. Tybalt Travers. Oh yes, he the one theye chosen for Theodosia.

I could scarcely bear to sit there and listen to her chatter.

Sir Edward and Tybalt had returned to Giza House and they came to dine at Keverall Court. I contrived to be in the hall when they arrived, pretending to arrange some flowers.

Tybalt said: t Miss Osmond, isn it?As though he had to look twice to make sure. ow are you?

the companion now, you know.

es, I heard. Are you still reading?

vidly. Mrs. Grey is so helpful.

ood. Father, this is Miss Osmond.

Sir Edward gave me his vague look.

he the one who dressed up as the mummy. She wanted to know what it felt like to be embalmed and placed in a sarcophagus. She read several of your books.Now Sir Edward attention was on me. His eyes twinkled. I think the mummy adventure amused him. He was more like Tybalt now.

I wished that I could have stayed there talking to them. Lady Bodrean had appeared at the top of the staircase. I wondered whether she had heard my voice.

y dear Sir Edward and Tybalt!She swept down the stairs. thought I heard you talking to the companion.

I went to my room then and stayed there all the evening. A respite from my tyrant because she was busy with her guests. I pictured them at the dinner table and Theodosia looking pretty in pink satinentle, amenable, with an immense fortune which would be so useful in financing expeditions to exotic places.

I don think I ever felt quite so hopeless as at that moment, and with the recent encounter with Tybalt fresh in my mindhich confirmed everything I had ever thought him was more certain than ever that he was the only man for me. I asked myself whether I should offer my resignation without delay.

But, of course, that was not my nature. Until he was married to Theodosia I would continue to dream and hope.

I walked the dogs over to Giza House and as I did so a voice called udith.

I turned and there was Evan Callum coming out of Giza House.

udith,he cried, his hand outstretched to take mine, his is a pleasure.

heard you were coming,I said. t is so good to see you.

nd how is everything with you?

hanged,I said.

nd not for the better?

he rector died. You know that Oliver married Sabina, and I am now companion to Lady Bodrean.

He grimaced.

h,I said with a smile, see you have an inkling of what that means.

worked in the house once, you remember, as a sort of tutor to you all. Fortunately my work did not come under her jurisdiction. Poor Judith!

tell myself fifty times a day not to be sorry for myself. So if I not you must not be.

ut I am. You were the best of my pupils. You had such an enthusiasm; and that is one of the greatest assets in this profession.

re you accompanying them on this expedition?

nfortunately, no. I not experienced enough for such an honor. Therel be much coming and going between Keverall and Giza, I believe. Sir Ralph is being persuaded to help finance the project.

e was always vitally interested. I hope theyl succeed in getting what they want.

ybalt has no doubt of it.He looked round him: ow this brings back the old days. You, Hadrian, Theodosia, Sabina. Oddly enough the one who was least interested was Sabina. Have they changed?

abina has become the rector wife. I see very little of her. My duties do not give me much time. I visit Dorcas and Alison when I can manage it and I come over here to see Mrs. Grey who has been so kind in lending me books.

n our subject of course.

f course.

ood. I could not bear for you to tire. I hear Hadrian will be home at the end of the week.

didn know. I am not told such things.

oor Judith. Life unfair sometimes.

erhaps Ie had my share of luck. Did you know that I was found on a train?

n abandoned child!

ot exactly. It was in an accident. My parents were killed and no one claimed me. I might have gone to an orphanage never have met any of you never have found a piece of a Bronze Age shield and never read any of the books from Giza House.

always thought you were the rector distant cousin.

any people did. Dorcas and Alison thought it would be kinder to let it be known that I was some sort of distant relation. But I was unknown. And my great piece of luck was that they took me in and life was wonderful until now. Perhaps I have to pay now for that marvelous piece of luck I had in the beginning. Do you think life works out like that?

o,he said. his is just a phase. They come to all of us. But Theodosia at Keverall, and she a friend of yours. She would never be unkind, I sure.

o, but I see little of her. I am always kept so busy dancing attendance on her Mamma.

He gave me a compassionate look.

oor Judith,he said, erhaps it will not always be so. I shall hope things change for you. We must meet often.

h, but the social barriers will be set up between us because when you visit Keverall Court you will come as a guest.

should soon leap over any barrier they put between us,he assured me.

He said he would walk with me and I was greatly comforted by his return to St. Erno.

Hadrian arrived at the end of the week. I was in the garden whither I had been sent to gather roses when he saw me and called to me.

udith!He took my hand and we studied each other.

Hadrian had become good-lookingr perhaps he had always been so and I had not particularly noticed before. His thick brown hair grew too low on his foreheadr did I think it was too low because one of Tybalt most striking features was his high forehead? There was something inherently pleasant in Hadrian and however bitter he became the twinkle was never far from his blue-grey eyes. He was of medium height and broad-shouldered; and when he greeted me, his eyes always lit up in a manner which I found comforting. I felt that Hadrian was one of the people on whom I could rely.