Never too Late. Бетти Нилс

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ cheered her so that she flung her notebook down and took Podge the elderly spaniel for an extra long walk.

      When she got home there was an Aston Martin Volante outside the front door, dark blue, elegant and powerful. She and Podge circled it slowly before she went indoors, admiring it. ‘Very expensive,’ said Prudence to the dog, ‘and fast—it must drink petrol like I drink tea!’

      In the sitting room her mother and father were entertaining Benedict, but they stopped talking as she went in. She greeted him unselfconsciously, adding: ‘What a nice car you’ve got—I didn’t know that you had one over here.’

      ‘James drove me down for the wedding and I don’t always use it in London. It gets me around, though.’

      ‘So I should imagine.’ Prudence looked at her mother. ‘I’ll help Mabel with tea, shall I?’ She turned to Benedict. ‘Are you staying the night?’

      ‘Your mother kindly suggested it, but I can’t—I’m on my way to Bristol. But tea would be delightful.’ He smiled as he spoke and she remembered the last time they had had tea together and went a little pink.

      ‘I’ll get it,’ she said to no one in particular.

      Over tea Benedict enlarged upon her duties, more for the benefit of her parents than herself, she suspected; he also detailed her journey. ‘I’m going home in a couple of days’ time, perhaps you could follow—let’s see—would Friday suit you? That gets you to Appeldoorn on Saturday, which will give you the weekend in which to find your way around and get to know Sitske, my housekeeper—her husband’s the gardener and odd job man. I believe they’re known as married couples over here—and of course Sibella, she knows you’re coming to live with us, but I warn you she’s quite a handful. I spend as much time with her as I can, but not as much as I should like. I’m sure you’ll fill a much-needed gap for her.’

      ‘Prudence has a way with children,’ declared Mrs Trent comfortably. ‘If she can keep the Sunday School class in order she can certainly cope with one little girl. I think—we both think—that it will be very nice for Prudence to go away for a while and earn her living—it’s quiet here; that didn’t matter when she expected to marry, but now it’s a chance for her to be independent. How providential that you happened to need someone, Benedict.’

      He agreed gravely. ‘And how fortunate that I have found Prudence.’

      He got up to go presently, bidding them quiet goodbyes, adding that he would see Prudence on the following Saturday.

      She went with him to the door, where he paused for a moment. ‘I’ll see you get your tickets in good time,’ he promised, and before she could say anything, had got into the Aston Martin and zoomed away.

      Prudence watched the car turn out of the short drive and go down the village street. She was a good driver herself; she thoroughly approved of the lack of fuss with which he had handled the big car. Tony, she remembered, could never just get in and drive off; things had to be adjusted, knobs turned, lights tested, windows wound up or down, she hadn’t realised until now how that had irritated her. She thought that on the whole she was going to like working for Benedict. Of course, she didn’t know him; he might be a tyrant in his own home, although she didn’t think so.

      She wandered back to the sitting room, wishing vaguely that he had told her more about himself, for in fact he had told her very little. He was a widower, she knew that, and she wondered how long he had been without a wife. Perhaps he had told her father. She found the chance to ask him during the evening, and for some reason felt relief when she heard that his wife had died soon after his daughter was born. ‘Very sad,’ observed her father, and she agreed sincerely; it was very sad.

      ‘He should marry again,’ she observed. ‘It would be so much nicer for his little daughter too.’

      ‘And for him,’ observed her mother quietly. ‘It must be difficult for him, especially with a child. But you won’t be looking after her all the time, will you, dear? He said something about dealing with his English correspondence and giving a hand where it was needed most. How very fortunate that you have your St John Ambulance certificate.’

      ‘I hardly think that I’ll be expected to help out in the surgery.’ Prudence looked up from the letter she was writing to Nancy. ‘Heaven help the patients if I do!’

      She had forgotten to ask about the weather in Holland, but surely Benedict would be biddable about her coming back home to collect more clothes? She packed skirts and blouses and a few woollies and a couple of pretty dresses, and planned to travel in the Jaeger suit she had just bought. Someone had told her that it rained a lot in Holland and was almost always windy, so she stowed her elderly Burberry in the boot and added a handful of headscarves.

      ‘Nothing for the evening, dear?’ enquired her mother.

      Prudence looked doubtful. ‘Well, I didn’t think so— I mean, I’m not a guest, you know.’

      ‘But you’re bound to meet some people.’ Her mother meant young men, of course. ‘Why not take a couple of those pretty chiffon blouses and your black moiré skirt?’

      The tickets arrived two days later—first class, she noticed, and wondered if she was supposed to pay Benedict back out of her salary. There was no note with them, just a slip from a travel agency, but then he had no reason to write.

      She left home early in the morning to call first at Highgate and say goodbye to Nancy and have an early lunch with her before driving on to Harwich. It was raining, a fine drizzle which dulled the countryside to an overall mud colour, but Prudence didn’t allow that to worry her. True, she had hated saying goodbye to her mother and father and Mabel, and Podge, uncannily aware that he would no longer get the long walks she took him each day, looked so forlorn that she felt like throwing the whole thing up and staying at home. But she didn’t—after all, it wasn’t for ever.

      By the time she reached Nancy’s flat the sun, rather on the watery side, had broken through the clouds, which somehow made all the difference, and Nancy made her feel even better.

      ‘You know, Prudence, I’d envy you if I weren’t married and perfectly happy. Just think, going to another country and working for someone as nice as Benedict! James says he’s a splendid man.’

      Prudence picked over the fruit in the centre bowl and chose a peach. ‘Well, if he isn’t I can always come back home!’ she said flippantly.

      She drove up to Harwich without haste; in any case the Mini just wasn’t able to get up much of a speed, and once there she went unhurriedly about the business of getting herself and the Mini on board, and that done, had dinner and went to bed. She was a level-headed girl, despite the red hair. A good night’s sleep was essential if she was to be at her best when she arrived in Appeldoorn. She woke early, had tea and toast in her cabin and had another look at the map. The trip didn’t look too difficult and once she had reached that town all she had to do was to look out for the palace, Het Loo, take the left-hand turn at the crossroads and turn left again up a tree-lined avenue bordering the royal park. She dressed and went up on deck and found it raining again and Holland’s coastline, flat and grey as the sky, only a few miles distant.

      She had expected it to be flat, of course, but a few more trees would have improved the skyline. She looked about her with interest as the ferry crept slowly into the quayside and then, obedient to the polite voice requesting drivers to rejoin their cars, went down to the car deck.

      Customs and Passport control were slow but friendly and she found СКАЧАТЬ