The Daughter of the Manor. Бетти Нилс

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      Sir William, back in his bed, was glad to see her.

      ‘I’ve got your pills and you can start them straight away,’ she told him cheerfully. ‘And how about a cup of tea and some of that thin bread and butter Nanny cuts so beautifully?’

      She sat down on the side of the bed. ‘I don’t suppose you feel like sausages for supper. How about scrambled eggs and creamed potato and jelly for pudding?’

      ‘That sounds good.’ Her father smiled at her. ‘We shall be lost without you when you marry, my dear.’ He paused to cough. ‘You are quite sure, aren’t you? Tony is a successful young man—he’ll want to live in London.’

      She shook her head. ‘Not all the time—he was talking about coming down here whenever we could. He loves this house, you know.’

      Her father said drily, ‘It is a gold-mine for anyone with enough money to put it in order. As it is, it’s mouldering away. At least it will be yours one day, Leonora.’

      ‘Not for years, Father.’ She got up and fetched a glass of water and watched him while he swallowed his pill. ‘Every four hours,’ she warned him. ‘Now I’m going to get your tea.’

      She dropped a kiss on his head and went down to the kitchen, where, since Nanny was making the scones, she got her father’s tea-tray ready and presently bore it upstairs.

      Back in the drawing room with her mother, she drew a chair closer to the fire. ‘I must say that Dr Galbraith seems to be a very pleasant man. Charming manners, too. We must invite him to dinner one evening, Leonora—remind me to make a list of guests. We must think of something delicious to give them.’

      Leonora said, ‘Yes, Mother,’ and bit into a scone. ‘I dare say Father will enjoy that once he’s feeling better.’

      Her mother said vaguely, ‘Oh, yes, of course, dear. What did you have for lunch? So kind of the doctor to give you a meal.’

      When Leonora had told her she added, ‘Ah, yes, I know the restaurant you mention. The food there is good but expensive. I dare say that, being a single man, he can afford such places. I’m surprised that he isn’t married, but I expect he is merely waiting until he is settled in at Buntings. A doctor, especially one with a country practice, needs a wife.’

      Leonora murmured an agreement, and wondered why he should need one more than a GP with a town practice.

      ‘He would have done very well for you,’ went on Lady Crosby, ‘but of course you’ve already got a fiancé in Tony. Most suitable and such a charming man.’

      Leonora thought about Tony. He was charming and fun to be with. He teased her a good deal, told her that she was old-fashioned and strait-laced. ‘I’ll forgive you that,’ he had told her, laughing. ‘You’ll change once I get you up to town.’

      She had pointed out that she didn’t want to change. ‘I wouldn’t be me,’ she’d told him, aware that she had irritated him. The next moment, however, he had been laughing again; perhaps she had mistaken the look on his face. They would be happy together, she felt sure; she looked at the diamond on her finger and told herself how happy she was at that very moment just thinking about him.

      That night she dreamt of Dr Galbraith, and the dream persisted in staying in her head all next day. She did her best to dispel it by writing a long letter to Tony.

      Her father was feeling a little better, although he was still coughing a good deal and looked tired. She wondered uneasily what would be done if the antibiotic didn’t do its good work; Dr Galbraith hadn’t said that he would call again…

      He came the next morning and, since she was upstairs with the Hoover, it was her mother who opened the door to him.

      ‘Dr Galbraith—how kind of you to call again. Just in time for coffee. I’ll get Leonora or Nanny to bring it to the drawing room.’ She smiled her charming smile. ‘I do hate having it by myself…’

      Any opinion the doctor might have had about this remark he kept to himself.

      ‘I called to see Sir William and, much though I would enjoy a cup of coffee, I can’t spare the time— I have quite a few visits to make this morning.’ He smiled in his turn. ‘If I might go up?’

      ‘Oh, dear, we could have had a nice little chat. Do you want me to come up with you? Leonora is hoovering the bedrooms; I’m sure she’ll see to anything you may want.’

      The Hoover was making a good deal of noise; he had time to study Leonora’s back view before she turned round. She was wearing a sensible pinny and had tied her hair in a bright scarf; the Hoover, being past its prime, tended to raise almost as much dust as it sucked up.

      She switched it off when she saw him, wished him a good morning and said, ‘You want to see Father? He had quite a good night but he’s chesty…’

      She whipped off the pinny and also the scarf and led him into her father’s room.

      The doctor pronounced himself satisfied with his patient but added that he would need to remain in bed for several days yet. ‘Get up for an hour or so, if you wish,’ he said, ‘but stay in this room. I’ll come and see you again in a couple of days or so.’

      Going downstairs with Leonora, he observed, ‘Your father is by no means out of the woods. He has escaped pneumonia by a whisker and anything other than rest and a warm room, plenty to drink and plenty of sleep is liable to trigger off a more serious condition. He’ll do well if he stays where he is—don’t let him get out of bed for much more than an hour or so.’

      He sounded just like the family doctor, thought Leonora waspishly, but then that was exactly what he was. Did he need to be quite so impersonal, though? After all, they had had lunch together…

      Her mother came into the hall as they reached it and he bade her a pleasant goodbye, added a few reassuring words about Sir William’s condition, smiled briefly at Leonora and drove away, leaving her feeling vaguely unsettled.

      Tony came at the weekend, breezing into the house, explaining that he had torn himself away from his work to take them by surprise.

      ‘You look as though you need a bit of cheering up,’ he told Leonora, who certainly didn’t look her best after four days of coping with her irascible parent. ‘How is Sir William? Not too bad, I hope?’

      ‘He is better, but he has a bad chest; he’s getting up today for a few hours but he mustn’t go outside until his cough has cleared up.’

      ‘Where is that delightful mother of yours?’

      ‘She went to Colonel Howes’ for coffee.’ Leonora hesitated. ‘Tony, would you mind awfully if I left you for a bit? I’ll get some coffee for you and there are the morning papers in the drawing room. I haven’t quite finished the bedrooms and I must make a bed for you. You are staying?’

      ‘Well, of course, if it’s too much bother…’ He contrived to look hurt and she said quickly, ‘No, no, of course it’s not, and I shan’t be long.’

      ‘I’ll go and have a chat with your father,’ suggested Tony, getting out of the chair into which he had flung himself.

      ‘No— СКАЧАТЬ