"Oh, I know you hear tales of me, but you mustn't let them affect you. They have been going on for hundreds of years. I am here at the moment so I am the central figure in all the scandals. All my ancestors have shared the same fate, Monsters of Iniquity. That's what they have all been made out to be. We always laughed at the stories circulated about us. Let the people amuse themselves at our expense, we used to say. Their lives are dull. Let them live vicariously through us. Why there is even a story about these fish ponds. Have you heard yet that my great-great-great-grandfather was said to have murdered a man and thrown his body into these very ponds?"
I looked at them and shuddered.
"The ponds flow into the river," he went on, "and it is fast moving at this point because of the flow from the ponds. I'll show you. Come to the end there and you'll see. The river is only a few miles from the sea ... so the poor victim was carried away and his bones now lie somewhere at the bottom of the ocean."
We had come to the last pond and he proved what he had said. The river was certainly fast at that point rushing along its way to the sea.
"This wicked Verringer wanted another man's wife, so he brought him to the ponds, hit him on the head, threw him in and let his body float, by way of the ponds, to the sea. Unfortunately for him there was a witness to the evil deed. That is how we know it took place. Much he cared. He married the lady of his choice and she became one of us. You see, we are a wicked clan."
"You happen to have some records of your family's action if they have only been handed down by word of mouth. It may well be that if we could all trace our family history back so far, we should find skeletons in cupboards."
"That's a kindly thought. It is pleasant to contemplate that we are not the only villains."
There was a sound from above. I turned and saw Teresa standing on the slope which led down to the ponds.
"Are you looking for me, Teresa?" I asked.
"Yes, Miss Grant," she answered. "Miss Barston has a headache and she wants you to sit with her class this afternoon if you are free. She says all you will have to do is watch them. She has set them work."
"Yes, certainly. I'll come back at once. Goodbye, Sir Jason."
He took my hand and kissed it after bowing to Teresa. "It has been a very pleasant afternoon for me," he said.
I joined Teresa. She said: "I saw you hadn't gone riding so I guessed you were walking in the ruins."
"I went down to the ponds and happened to meet Sir Jason there."
Teresa said: "I had to interrupt you. Miss Barston said ..."
"Of course you did, Teresa." "I hope you didn't mind."
"Of course not. As a matter of fact I was trying to get away."
She nodded and looked rather pleased.
His pursuit of me was becoming obvious and people were noticing. He had the temerity to call at the school and suggest to Miss Hetherington that I call at the Hall to inspect the costumes. She told me that when she reminded him that that was a task for Miss Barston he replied that he thought the girls who would wear the costumes should be taught to carry them off with dignity, and that with the special training I had had I should be the one to inspect them.
"It was so blatant," said Daisy. "He knew it and he knew I knew it too. I couldn't help laughing ... at which he joined in. I said firmly: `No. It must be Miss Barston', and he said he would let me know when it would be convenient. I fancy we are not going to hear any more about that. I don't know what to say to you, Cordelia. He has obviously got some interest in you. You are young and good looking and to put it frankly he is a rake. But he really should provide his own women and not look for them in respectable quarters. He has set that woman up at Rooks' Rest and, surely he knows, that in itself- if he were not who he is - should be enough to exclude him from our premises. Unfortunately he is our landlord. He could turn us out at a moment's notice if the whim took him. Moreover we have two pupils from the Hall. They take all the extras and are most profitable. It's a teasing situation. Do you think you can handle it? You are a sensible young woman."
"I think I can. He sometimes waylays me when I ride and the other day I came upon him at the fish ponds."
"Oh dear ... Of course he has every right to be here. We can't ban him from his own property."
I felt myself glowing with excitement. It was rather like a battle and I was deeply involved. I could not, with honesty, say that I deplored his pursuit of me. It was flattering in the extreme and I should be a very unusual woman if I were averse to flattery.
When I next went into the town Mrs. Baddicombe cornered me.
"Oh. I do reckon it'll be wedding bells pretty soon," she told me confidentially. "I do hear there be preparations up at Rooks' Rest. Mrs. Gittings were in here yesterday ... going today she is, taking the little 'un to her sister's place down on the moors. Real pleased she was. There's nothing she likes better and you can see why. It must be a very odd sort of household up there at the Rest."
"I know Mrs. Gittings always enjoys visiting her sister."
"I reckon if it wasn't for the little 'un she wouldn't be working at the Rest. She do live for that child. Poor little mite. 'Tis a mercy someone has a little thought for her. Reckon they want her out of the way for the wedding. Stands to reason the likes of she... well she should be putting in an appearance after the ceremony ... not before."
"So you think the fact that Mrs. Gittings is going away with the child means ..."
"Of course it does, me dear. There'll be a wedding, no mistake. Parson won't like performing the ceremony likely as not, but what can he do? Don't want to lose his living, do he?"
"You can't be sure this is because of the wedding," I began.
"What else? And if it ain't time now, when is it? 'Tis a year since that poor saint went. He's waited his year, and remember there be no male heir for the Verringers as yet. That's got to be thought on. You mark my words, that's what it all means."
I came out of the shop feeling depressed. Could Mrs. Baddicombe be right? Surely if he were on the brink of marriage he would not show such obvious interest in me?
A few days later Miss Hetherington sent for me.
"Here is a note from Sir Jason," she said. "He said he wants you to go to the Hall to discuss the progress of Fiona and Eugenie."
"Go to the Hall ... me! Surely he would want to speak to you about that."
"So I thought, but he goes on to say that he is concerned about Fiona's being launched into society, which will be next year when she is due to leave us, and he_ thinks that with your Schaffenbrucken training he can talk to you about these matters and the special coaching she needs."
"But I know nothing of the launching of girls into English society."
"He was defeated over the monks' costumes, but he never gives up. I am wondering what to tell him."
"I suppose I could go to the Hall."
"My dear Cordelia, I do wonder if it would be wise."
"I think it will be all right. I gather that his wedding is imminent."
"Is it?"
"According to Mrs. Baddicombe."
"She is an excellent news agency," said Daisy, "but I believe she does not always send out true messages."
"According to her, Mrs. Gittings has departed with the child who might prove an embarrassment in the circumstances."
Daisy shrugged her shoulders. "I do wish he would behave more reputably. But as long as it has no adverse effect on the school I suppose it is no concern of ours."
"I can't see how the school can be affected by his conduct. Suppose I went and took the girls with me. They would be there as chaperones."
"H'm," snorted Daisy. "Really this is ridiculous. The annoying part about it is that he knows it and I believe he is laughing at us."
"He is teasing us, I think," I said. "After all, I suppose he will soon be married and perhaps he will change then."