The Japanese Screen. Anne Mather

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ nursery when Lucie Castana came to find her. She could tell at once that Lucie was in a fine temper, and she hoped she would not start an argument here in front of the boy. He saw enough of that sort of thing between his father and mother and while Señor Castana was away Susannah had hoped to avoid any unpleasantness. However, her hopes were short-lived. Lucie was in no mood to prevaricate and came straight to the point.

      ‘Exactly what did you mean by going off for the day like that without asking my permission, señorita?’ she snapped angrily.

      Eduardo looked up from his boiled egg in surprise. ‘Don Fernando asked Señorita King to come with us,’ he declared, in his boyish treble.

      Keep out of this, Eduardo!’ Lucie ignored him. ‘Well, señorita? I am waiting for your explanation.’

      Susannah moved away from the tea table. ‘I saw no objection to my joining Eduardo and – and Don Fernando, señora,’ she replied carefully. ‘There is nothing for me to do here when Eduardo is out.’

      ‘I might have had other ideas on the subject, señorita. It is true, you are employed for Eduardo’s sake, but I expect some consideration from you. I will not have you inviting yourself on every expedition that Eduardo makes simply because there is nothing for you to do here!’

      ‘It wasn’t like that, señora—’ Susannah was indignant.

      ‘Do not answer me back, señorita! If I say it was like that, then it was like that, do you understand?’ Lucie’s dark eyes flashed maliciously. ‘I did not realize you were so desperate for male companionship. Of course, while Carlos is away I’ve no doubt you miss his support—’

      ‘How dare you?’ Susannah was trembling with anger. ‘How – how dare you? Exactly what are you implying, señora?’

      Now it was Lucie’s turn to look discomfited. For a moment she had allowed her own feelings of jealousy and frustration to get the better of her, but now she was regretting speaking so bluntly. In the eighteen months they had lived in England she had employed a total of five different governesses for Eduardo, and all except Susannah had left within three months of their employment. Only Susannah had borne the arduous duties pressed upon her without complaint, and Lucie knew that if Carlos came home to find that she, too, had given in her notice, he would be furious.

      Taking a deep breath, she put out an apologetic hand and said: ‘I am sorry, señorita. Naturally, I am not implying anything.’ She forced a faint smile. ‘I – I have a headache, and I was looking forward to taking tea with Don Fernando. Unfortunately he has a business engagement, and I am afraid I allowed my disappointment to erupt into an unjustified anger against you.’

      Susannah linked her fingers tightly together. ‘If you have any cause for complaint about my behaviour—’

      Lucie shook her head impatiently. ‘No, no. Have I not just said I am sorry?’ She half turned. ‘I gather from Eduardo that you have had an enjoyable day.’

      Susannah quelled the urge to tell Lucie Castana exactly what she thought of her as she caught sight of Eduardo’s concerned face. He was not ignorant of what had so nearly occurred, and there was appeal as well as anxiety in his eyes.

      ‘We had a – very enjoyable day, señora,’ she conceded at last, in expressionless tones.

      Lucie studied her profile for a few moments and then walked towards the door. ‘So – we will forget this unpleasantness, si?’ she requested, unable to leave without gaining some sort of assurance from the girl.

      Susannah made an indifferent movement of her shoulders. ‘Very well, señora,’ she agreed without enthusiasm, and Lucie had to be content with that.

      Eduardo went to bed at seven o’clock and usually after this Susannah’s time was her own. Occasionally, when the Castanas were having a party, they asked her to remain in her rooms in case the boy needed her, but these occasions were not frequent.

      Susannah herself did not go out a lot. She liked plays and sometimes a film, and if she was invited to a concert she enjoyed that very much, but she had no regular routine. Her friends were mostly girls from the training college she had attended, and although one or two of them were now married and introduced her to lots of suitable young men, she had no steady boy-friend. She was in no hurry to get married. Her background had not endeared the opposite sex to her, knowing as she did that her mother had been abandoned by her father when he found that she was pregnant. Or at least, that was her interpretation of her mother’s incapacity to care for her herself.

      That evening, Susannah changed out of her formal skirt and blouse, donned an old pair of jeans and a chunky sweater, and settled down with the novel she had been reading for the past few evenings. It was a saga of family life in Cornwall at the turn of the century and up until now had inspired her interest. But this evening she found it hard to concentrate on imaginary characters when her mind kept wandering back over the real events of the day. She had no intention of accepting Fernando Cuevas’s invitation to dinner. She had been employed as a governess long enough to know that getting involved with either a member of the family or with a friend of a member of that family was simply asking for trouble. When she had worked for the American family, the Taylors, she had had plenty of opportunities, but she had learned her lesson well. Now she knew better than to cultivate relationships which in her position could only cause difficulties.

      All the same, that did not stop her from thinking about him. He was the most attractive man she had ever met and although he did not possess the even good looks people referred to as handsome there was something disturbingly magnetic about deep-set, heavy-lidded eyes, a lean intelligent face, and smooth dark hair that appeared to need none of the oily hairdressing so loved by other Latin men she had met. She wondered how old he was – possibly between thirty-five and forty, but she couldn’t be sure. He didn’t look old, but the experience in his eyes betrayed an awareness not evident in the eyes of a younger man. She wondered why he had asked her to dine with him. What possible motive could he have? She didn’t believe his statement about enjoying talking to her, and she was not conceited enough to imagine that he might be attracted by her appearance. It would have been quite an experience, she acknowledged truthfully, but experiences sometimes required a payment she was not prepared to give.

      The following day it crossed her mind that she really ought to ask Señora Castana for Señor Cuevas’ telephone number while he was here in London and ring and explain that she would not be meeting him that evening. But discretion got the better of valour. To bring up such a thing would only create more trouble, and she decided that if he did come to meet her and she did not turn up that would be that.

      But as the day drew towards evening she had second thoughts. What if, when she did not go to meet him, he came to the house? What would she do then? What could she do? And how incensed Lucie Castana would be!

      She put Eduardo to bed at seven o’clock as usual, said good night, and went to her own rooms. Señor Castana was due home tomorrow and Señora Castana had told her that she intended having an early night. There was no reason why she should not slip out of the house, meet Señor Cuevas and explain, and be back indoors again before anyone noticed her absence.

      The decision made, she changed out of her uniform into a pair of rather shabby red velvet pants and a cream ribbed sweater, leaving her hair in the coronet of plaits she had worn all day. At five minutes to eight she left the house, not bothering with a coat but throwing a thigh-length cream cardigan about her shoulders.

      It was a mild evening and the birds were still making a loud noise in the small park across the way. There were СКАЧАТЬ