The Master of Highbridge Manor. Susanne James

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      Helen moved away then to speak to someone for a moment, leaving Ria standing next to Jasper. Dragging her eyes away from him, she took a sip of her wine and glanced around, trying to get a handle on her surroundings. There were at least forty members of staff present, she noticed, mostly men, and she tried not to be aware of the glances directed at her by several of them, not responding to their unashamed interest. At the other end of the room she saw a long counter and open hatch from where their food was obviously served, and Jasper followed her gaze.

      ‘I’m afraid we have to help ourselves to everything,’ he said, looking down at her. ‘Waiter service was abandoned long ago.’ His eyes narrowed briefly. Ria Davidson did wear her clothes so well, he thought. The outfit she had on was simple enough, but she somehow managed to make it look outstanding. He smiled suddenly, disarmingly, and Ria smiled back, a welcome surge of pleasure filling her for a moment. He was nice, she thought instinctively. His attitude towards her earlier in the day was probably out of character…Well, she certainly hoped so.

      ‘I’m not used to people waiting on me,’ she said. ‘And, anyway, I prefer to choose what I have to eat.’

      Almost at once, someone struck a gong by the hatch and everyone moved forward straight away. Jasper put his hand lightly on Ria’s arm to push her in front of him. ‘That gong,’ he said, ‘has been in more or less constant use since the first day this school existed.’

      She looked up at him, her eyes bright with interest. ‘Really? The same one?’ she said eagerly. ‘I love that—it’s history, isn’t it?’

      They took their places in the queue and she went on, ‘I have an almost unhealthy liking for consistency, for maintaining things as they always were.’ She paused. ‘I don’t think I like change, that’s the thing, and sometimes I wish I could “stop all the clocks”—do you know Auden’s poem?—“Stop all the clocks, Cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum…” Oh, it goes on and on,’ she said apologetically, ‘but what I’m talking about is not being able to hold on to something you’re enjoying…valuing…or on to good times, generally, I suppose. I mean…contentment with any situation often seems to slip through your fingers before you’ve had the chance to appreciate it.’

      She looked up at him, colour instantly flooding her cheeks as their eyes met, and she shrank inside herself for a moment. What on earth had made her waffle on like that—and what must he think of her? ‘I sometimes feel it would be good for everything to just pause…for a bit,’ she added, her voice faltering for a second.

      He didn’t reply at once, enjoying listening to her…He had spotted the potential in Ria Davidson on their first meeting, he reminded himself. Apart from being a modern, fashionable woman, she was much deeper than her appearance might have suggested, and there was that beguiling thoughtfulness about her that sent his male urges tingling in a familiar way.

      ‘I do know what you mean,’ he said, ‘about the manic passing of time—and I have a lot of sympathy with your outlook. In fact, I see my place in Somerset as the sanctuary I rely on to detach me from all the change and progress and stress you’re talking about. Life, there, does actually seem to stand still sometimes.’

      She looked up at him gratefully. Just so long as he didn’t think she was crazy!

      It was their turn to choose the food they wanted, and Ria was impressed by the variety on offer. There was deliciouslooking chicken, coated in a fine honey glaze, tender pork fillet with onion stuffing, thick slices of baked ham with peach dressing, an interesting-looking vegetarian alternative, plus several different vegetables or salad to go with it all. She looked up at Jasper.

      ‘How can I choose from all this?’ she asked helplessly.

      ‘The menu on our first day back is always rather selfindulgent, ’ he admitted, ‘but we must make the most of it—it’ll probably be mince and mash tomorrow!’

      Helen was standing almost right behind them and she called out, ‘See what I mean, Ria? It never takes much persuasion to get me to stay for dinner occasionally.’

      There was apparently no pecking order at the tables, everyone sitting where they liked and, seated between Helen and Jasper, Ria suddenly felt so overwhelmingly optimistic she could have burst into tears. It must be that glass of wine making her feel so sensitive, she thought, or the tender pork she’d just finished, right to the last morsel. Whatever it was, she wasn’t complaining and, when the glorious creamy desserts appeared at the counter, she felt as if she’d been invited to a wonderful celebration of some sort instead of her first night at her new job! She bit her lip—she hoped she wasn’t going to turn into Cinderella and find that this was all a charade, a terrible mistake that she was here at all. Then she silently kicked herself. Why spoil the evening with these horrible, dark thoughts? Why couldn’t she leave all that behind, once and for all? Was she never going to be able to believe that life could be good, happy and fulfilling once again?

      The meal ended and they all stood up to leave just as Tim Robbinson sauntered across to speak to them. He was obviously younger than Jasper, Ria noted, his mass of brown curly hair framing a happy, uncomplicated face, reminding her of an oversized baby.

      ‘Hi, everyone,’ Tim said good-naturedly. ‘That was a great meal, Jasper.’

      Jasper nodded. ‘Yes, it was.’ He paused. ‘Look, I’ve got a phone call to make,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you’d like to stay and have a few words with Ria, Tim. I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff she wants to find out.’

      ‘My pleasure,’ Tim said at once, smiling at Ria, and for the next twenty minutes or so the two sat chatting together easily.

      Presently, the room emptied and, after saying goodnight to Tim, Ria wandered out of the building, breathing in the balmy air gratefully. She didn’t feel like going to bed yet because she wasn’t at all tired, she realized—her head too full of everything that had gone on, so turning impulsively, she decided to go for a short walk.

      She had spotted a small wooded area behind the tennis courts and, curious to know where it led, she set off, her feet treading lightly over the short grass. Almost immediately, she could see that the path led to the cricket green—the surroundings of this school were almost unbelievably beautiful, she thought, certainly outdoing anything she’d ever known.

      It was nearly dark now, as Ria came to a small gate leading to some open ground where a small flock of sheep were grazing and, leaning over it, she wished that she could hold this perfect tranquil moment for ever. What a fantastic—and rather unusual—slice of luck had come her way, she thought, that the temporary post she’d been looking for had landed her here! Could this be the first small ray of hope that the ball might bounce in her direction?

      As usual, Ria’s introspectiveness threw the events of her life into sharp focus, once again, as she stood there…how different things might have been, she thought…if only. She certainly wouldn’t be here at Highbridge Manor. She would be cradling her longed-for baby in her arms and basking in the warmth and love of a real family. A faint snort of derision left her lips. In her dreams, she thought bleakly.

      Suddenly, and without any warning, her eyes filled and two large tears gently coursed down her cheeks. And she didn’t try to stop them. It was good to cry, so she’d been told. So then, she’d cry. Well, she’d done enough of it in the last year. But it was strange that her feelings of happiness at being here could make her feel so sad.

      ‘Oh, СКАЧАТЬ