I was so firmly convinced that I must go that I almost believed some instinct was warning me to do so. In that case I would not tempt myself by studying these pictures further. I would go to the room they had given me, and try to rest in preparation for the long journey back tomorrow.
I walked towards the door and as I turned the handle it refused to move. Oddly enough in those seconds I felt
a real panic. I could have imagined that I was a prisoner, that I could not escape if I wanted to; and then it seemed as though the very walls were closing in on me.
My hand was limp on the handle and the door opened. Philippe de la Talle was standing outside. Now I under stood that the reason I couldn’t open it was that he had been on the point of coming in.
Perhaps, I thought, they don’t trust me here. Perhaps someone always has to be with me in case I attempt to steal something. That was absurd, I knew, and it was unlike me to think illogically. But I had had scarcely any sleep for two nights and was deeply concerned about my future. It was understandable that I was not quite myself.
“You were on the point of leaving, mademoiselle?”
“I was going to my room. There seems no point in remaining. I have decided to leave tomorrow. I must thank you for your hospitality and I am sorry to have troubled you. I should not have come.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“You have changed your mind? It is because you think the repairs beyond your capacity?”
I flushed angrily.
“By no means,” I said.
“These pictures have been badly neglected criminally neglected … from an artist’s point of view that is but I have restored far worse. I merely feel that my presence is resented in this place and that it would be better for you to find someone … of your own sex since that seems to be important to you.”
“My dear Mademoiselle Lawson,” he said almost gently, ‘everything rests with my cousin to whom the pictures belong . to whom everything in the chateau belongs. He will be back within a few days. “
“Nevertheless I think I should leave in the morning. I can repay you for your hospitality by giving you an estimate for restoring one of the pictures in the gallery which you will find useful when engaging someone else.”
“I fear,” he said, ‘that my niece has been rude to you.
My cousin will be annoyed with me if he does not see you. You should not take any notice of the girl. She’s quite ungovernable, when her father is away. He is the only one who can put fear into her. “
I thought to myself then: I believe you are afraid of him too. And I was filled with almost as great a desire to see the Comte as I was to work on his pictures.
“Mademoiselle, will you stay for a few days and at least hear what my cousin has to say?”
I hesitated, then I said: “Very well, I will stay.”
He seemed relieved.
“I shall go to my room now. I realize I am too tired to work satisfactorily today. Tomorrow I will make a thorough study of the pictures in this gallery and when your cousin returns I shall have a clear estimate to give him.”
“Excellent,” he said, and stood aside for me to pass.
As soon as it was light next morning, refreshed after a good night’s sleep, I arose exhilarated. I intended to have a look at the chateau grounds and perhaps explore the neighbourhood. I wanted to see the little town, for the old church had struck me as being about the same period as the chateau; and no doubt the hotel de ville was as ancient.
I had had dinner in my room yesterday evening and it had been excellent. Soon afterwards I had gone to bed and slept immediately.
Now the morning brought optimism with it.
I washed and dressed and rang for breakfast. The hot coffee, home-made crusty bread and butter which arrived almost immediately were delicious.
As I ate I thought of the events of yesterday and they no longer seemed as strange as they had the previous night. I had yet to discover what sort of household this was; all I knew at present was that it was an unusual one. There was Cousin Philippe, in charge during the absence of the master and mistress; a spoilt girl who behaved badly when
her father was absent no doubt because when he was there she was in such awe of him; there was the weak and ineffectual governess and poor grey old Nounou, the nurse who had no more control over her than the governess had. Apart from that there was Joseph the groom and numerous servants, male and female, necessary to care for such a vast establishment. There was nothing unusual in such a household; and yet I had sensed mystery. Was it the manner in which everyone who had mentioned him had spoken of the Comte? He was the only one whom the girl feared. Everyone was in awe of him. Everything depended on him.
Certainly whether or not I stayed did.
I made my way to the gallery, where I enjoyed a peaceful morning examining the pictures and making detailed notes of the damage to each one. It was a fascinating task and I was astonished how quickly the morning passed. I forgot about the household in my absorption, and was astonished when a maid knocked at the door and announced that it was twelve o’clock and that she would bring dejeuner to my room if I wished.
I found that I was hungry and said that would be very agreeable. I packed up my papers and went back to my room, where the maid served me with a delicious soup, followed by meat and salad, in its turn followed by cheese and fruit. I wondered if I should eat alone in my room all the time I was here that was if I met with the approval of Monsieur Ie Comte. I was beginning to think of him as Monsieur Ie Comte and to say his name to myself with a kind of mockery.
“Others may be afraid of you, Monsieur Ie Comte, but you will find I am not.”
The afternoon was not a good time for working, I had always found; besides, I needed a little exercise. I could not, of course, explore the castle itself without permission, but I could look at the grounds and the countryside.
I had no difficulty in finding my way down to the court yard to which
Joseph had brought me, but instead of going out to the drawbridge I crossed the loggia connecting the main building with a part of the chateau which had been built at a later date and passing through another courtyard I found my way to the south side of the castle. Here were the gardens, and, I thought grimly, if Monsieur Ie Comte neglects his pictures he does not his gardens, for obviously great care was bestowed on them.
Before me lay three terraces. On the first of these were lawns and fountains, and I imagined that during the spring the flowers were exquisite; even now, in autumn, they were colourful. I walked along a stone path to the second terrace; here, laid out with parterres, were ornamental gardens, each separated from the next by box hedges and yews neatly clipped into various shapes, predominant among them the fleur-delis. Typical, I thought, of Monsieur Ie Comte! On the lowest of the terraces was the kitchen-garden, but even this was ornamental, neatly divided into squares and rectangles, some separated from each other by trellises about which vines climbed; and the whole was bordered by fruit trees.
The place was deserted. I guessed that the workers were taking a siesta, for even at this time of the year the sun was hot. At three o’clock they would be back at work and continue until dark. There must be many of them to keep the place in such good order.
I was standing under the fruit trees when I heard a voice calling:
“Miss! Miss!” and turning saw Genevieve running towards me.
“I saw you from my window,” she said. She laid her hand on my arm and pointed to the chateau.