It might well be that I had been right to get away. We should never have been happy with that shadow between us. It would have flashed into my memory at odd moments throughout my life.
I was glad when we left London for Manorleigh.
Mrs. Emery was shocked at the sight of me. “My goodness me, Miss Rebecca,” she said. “You do look pale … and I believe you’ve lost some weight. Yes, I’m sure of it … and you were like a beanpole before. That’s Cornwall for you. Well, we’ll have to see what we can do. We’ll get some color back into those cheeks and a little more flesh on the bones.”
I would sit at my window and look down at the winged-footed Hermes, at the pond and the haunted seat under the oak tree. If only my mother were here, she would tell me what to do.
Oliver Gerson called. The children and I were pleased to see him. He was one of those people who only have to appear to dispel melancholy. He expressed his great delight in our reunion. He kissed hands all round. Belinda seemed to step right away from her tragedy on his first visit. She jumped about him. Lucie was almost equally delighted.
“This is a joyous reunion, I see,” he said. “I am deeply aware of my own delight but it is gratifying to see that it is shared.”
“Why didn’t you come to Cornwall?” demanded Belinda.
“I had my duties here. I am not a man of leisure.”
“I know,” said Belinda. “You work for my father.”
“Which is very fortunate because it gives me an opportunity to be with his charming family now and then.”
His eyes met mine and he smiled warmly. “I wondered when you were going to return from Cornwall,” he said.
“It was a long time,” said Lucie. “And then Belinda got ill.”
“Oh dear me.” He was all concern, turning to Belinda.
“I’m all right now,” she said. “What are we going to do?”
“Well, first I shall have a conference with your father. After that I shall be free for an hour or so. Could we ride … as we did in the days before you deserted me?”
“We didn’t desert you,” said Belinda firmly. “It was just that we had to go to Cornwall.”
“And now you are glad to be back.”
Belinda did one of her joyous leaps and nodded.
“Well, as they say, all’s well that ends well. Now, if Your Majesty will excuse me …” He made an elegant bow in Belinda’s direction which delighted her. “… I will get to my duty and later we will ride together … all of us, the Misses Rebecca, Belinda and Lucie … and I shall be their guide.”
“Hurry,” commanded Belinda.
He bowed more deeply. “Your wishes shall be granted, my Queen.”
How he charmed her! He came frequently to the house and every day she looked for him. She seemed to have completely forgotten her unhappy experience in Cornwall and reverted to her old self.
He was right when he said he would be a frequent visitor and on those days when he did not come Belinda would be sulky and very difficult to handle. Leah was wonderfully patient. How devoted she was to that child! To Lucie too, I supposed, but Lucie was more docile and she was always making excuses for Belinda.
We often rode at Manorleigh and Oliver Gerson’s company was a help even to me. He was constantly devising competitions for the children, tests in riding and observation so that each ride was full of interest for them. They were always on the alert for what he had decreed they must watch for and he instilled in them a competitive spirit which Miss Stringer said was good for them. She too had fallen under the spell of the Gerson charm.
One day we found an inn with a creaking sign over the door: The Hanging Judge. Belinda was immediately intrigued.
“What does it mean? Is it because he’s hanging up there?”
“Oh no, no,” said Oliver. He’s the hanging judge because he hanged people by the neck.”
Belinda’s eyes were sparkling.
“Come on,” he said. “We’ll go in and have a little refreshment.”
I was uneasy about taking the children into such a place, but he took my arm reassuringly. “They’ll love it,” he whispered. “It will be something new for them. I’ll make sure it is all right.”
He exerted his charm wherever he went. He talked to the landlord’s wife; she nodded conspiratorially and we were all seated in the parlor with its oak beams and air of adventure.
Watered-down cider was brought for the children and we all sat there drinking. Neither Belinda nor Lucie had been in an inn before. Their eyes were round with wonder and it was clear that they thought it a great adventure.
Belinda demanded to know about the hanging judge and he told them that the Duke of Monmouth, the son of Charles the Second, thought he had more right to the throne than the King’s brother James, and how there was a battle and Monmouth was defeated and his men captured and brought before the cruel hanging judge.
“There are gibbets all over the West Country,” he told them; and they listened spellbound.
I thought: How they love horror! I could only think it was because they did not fully understand it.
“You think of the most lovely things,” Belinda told Oliver Gerson.
When they reached home they chattered to Miss Stringer about the hanging judge and the Monmouth rebellion. She was delighted.
“So instructive,” she said. “So good for them. What a delightful man!”
My dreams were haunted by Pedrek. I kept recalling that look of dawning horror on his face when we had confronted him with our suspicions. My first thoughts were of him each morning when I awoke, and he seemed to be beside me all through the day.
I said to myself: I must see him. I must tell him that I believe in him. That whatever he has done, I love him.
I knew there had been a mistake.
I would write to him. I would ask him to forgive me for distrusting him. But I did not write. Between me and that letter was the face of Belinda … distorted with fear … her wide innocent eyes showing so clearly that she could not entirely understand what had happened to her.
In the midst of my uncertainty there came a letter from my grandmother.
My dear Rebecca,
I hope you are feeling a little better. I think you did right to get away—and in any case it was necessary for Belinda. It has been sad for us here. Pedrek is leaving Cornwall. I think it is best really. I think we all need to get away from that terrible time … to try to see things in proportion.
He is going to Australia. There have been discoveries of tin in New South Wales and they are asking for mining engineers to go out there. Of course, Pedrek has not finished his course at the college but he has attained a degree of knowledge and there are of course his grandfather’s connections in the mining field and that will stand for a good deal. He needs to get away. We simply could not go on as we have been after all that has happened. He will be leaving almost immediately and I don’t know how long he will be away.
The Pencarrons are very upset. They don’t know what it is all about. They think there has been some big quarrel between you and Pedrek and they are very sad.
Your grandfather and I have felt very uncertain. We could not bring ourselves to tell them. I think it would have killed his grandmother … and what Josiah would have done, I cannot imagine. They worship Pedrek. Then we wondered whether we should have done something about it … whether it was our duty to. It is such a terrible thing … What if some other child …? On the other hand we could not really believe it somehow. As I said to your grandfather even suppose he lost control for a moment he would have learned his lesson.