The India Fan (8 page)

I did not want to notice details. I felt myself get very hot. I shut the door and ran and did not stop running until I reached the rectory. I felt sick. I glanced at my face in a mirror. It was scarlet.

I could not believe what I had seen. Lavinia proud, haughty Lavinia doing that with a servant!

I sat down on my bed. What should I do? Lavinia may have seen me. She would have heard the door open. What ought I to do? How could I tell anyonend yet how could I not?

The door opened and Polly came in.

eard you running up She stopped and stared at me. hy, what is it? What the matter?

She came and sat on the bed beside me and put an arm round me.

oue upset,she said. ou better tell old Polly about it.

don know, Polly. I can believe it. I don know whether she saw me or not. It was awful.

ome on. Tell me.

think I ought not to tell anyone ever.

ou can tell me, as it as good as if you kept it to yourself only better because I know what best to do. Don I always?

es, you do. Only swear you won do anything without telling me.

ross my heart.

wear it, Polly.

ere.She licked her finger and rubbed it dry. ee me finger wet, see me finger dry, Cross my heart and never tell a lie,she finished with a dramatic gesture.

I had heard Polly swear that before and I knew she would keep her word.

couldn find Lavinia,I said. went to look for her. You know that old summer house the haunted one someone killed herself in it years ago

Polly nodded.

he was in there with Jos. They were on the floor together and

o!cried Polly, aghast.

I nodded. saw them clearly.

Polly rocked gently back and forth. his is a nice sort of how-di-do. I can believe anything of them two. A regular pair. I like to see her ladyship face when she hears of this.

ou mustn tell her, Polly.

hat! Let them go on till he leaves his signature on the family tree! That wouldn be one for the drawing over the fireplace, I can tell you.

he know that I told. I can tell tales.

Polly sat quietly thinking. or can you let this go on. And I wonder how far it has gone. She a little er madam that one. As for him, I reckon he his father all over again and no girl would be safe from him unless she had her head screwed on right, of course. I reckon it got to be stopped. There could be big trouble and I wouldn like even Lady Harriet to have that foisted on her.

erhaps I should speak to Lavinia.

ot you. You keep out of it. You make her worse. I know her kind. Wee got to do something, though. You leave it to me.

olly, you won tell I saw them, will you?

She shook her head. e given you my promise, haven I?

es, but

on you worry, my love. Il find some way and you can bet your life Il see that you are not mixed up in this.

Polly was most inventive. She found the way.

It was a few days later. I went over to the House as usual. Lavinia was not to be found, nor was Jos. I hurried back to the rectory and told Polly, who was waiting to hear.

She told me to go to my room and read because she wanted me out of the way.

I heard what happened later.

Polly let Holly know that her lover was in the Framling haunted summer house with another woman. Holly wouldn believe her at first, but after a while she went to investigate. Polly assumption had been right. Holly came upon Jos and Lavinia, as Lavinia told me later, flagrante delicto. Poor Holly, she had been deceived by her lover, and finding him in such a position with another womanven though she was Miss Laviniaroused her unbridled fury.

She shouted at him, cursing him and Miss Lavinia. He could not escape, because he was not fully dressed, and it was the same with Lavinia.

Holly shouting was heard and several of the servants came hurrying, thinking a burglar had been caught.

It was disastrous, for it became a matter that could not be hidden from Lady Harriet herself.

Lavinia and Jos had been caught in the act.

There was certain to be a big storm.

I did not see Lavinia for some days. Polly told me what had happened and she had it from the horse mouth via Mrs. Janson, who had had it from Mrs. Bright. Lavinia was confined to her room and something big was about to take place.

Jos could hardly be dismissed, as he was known as Reuben son although he wasno he would have to stay in the stables, because Reuben was too useful to be dispensed with and it was not fair that the sins of the children should be visited on their elders, even though it was the other way round in the Bible. If he had been caught with any of the servants it would have been a venial sinut Miss Lavinia!

always knew what she was,commented Polly. lain as the nose on your face. You can be sure your sins will find you out and Madam Lavinia have surely done that.

We waited to see what would happen and we did not have to wait long.

Lady Harriet sent for my father and they were in conference for a long time before he returned home. As soon as he came back he asked me to go to him.

s you know,he said, ou were always intended to go away to school. Your mother and I used to plan for you before you were born. It mattered not whether you turned out to be a boy or a girl, we both believed absolutely in the necessity of education and your mother wanted the best for our child. As you have heard, there is some moneyot a great deal, but perhaps adequatend that has been set aside for your schooling. Miss York is a very good governess and Lady Harriet will do all in her power to find her another place, and with such a recommendation it should not be difficult. Polly well, she has always known that she could not be with you permanently and I believe she has a sister whom she can join

I stared at him. It was not the thought of school that appalled me. I could only think of the loss of Polly.

avinia will accompany you. Lady Harriet approves of the school and the two of you will be together.

Then I understood. Lady Harriet had decreed that Lavinia must go away. There must be an end to this disastrous affair with Jos. Separation was the only answernd I was to go with her. Lady Harriet ruled our lives.

I said, don want to go away to school, Father. I am sure Miss York is a wonderful teacher and I can do just as well with her.

t is what your mother wanted for you,he said sadly. I thought: And it is what Lady Harriet wants!

I went straight to Polly. I flung my arms round her and clung to her.

olly, I can leave you.

etter tell me,she said.

going to school. Lavinia and I are going.

see. I see. This is because of madam little prank, eh? I shouldn think school is going to stop that one. So you are going away to school, eh?

won go, Polly.

t might be good for you.

hat about you?

ell, Ie always known this would come to an end one day or another. That was certain sure. Il go to Eff. She always on at me to come. There nothing to fret about, lovey. You and me wel always be friends. Youl know where Il be and Il know where youl be. Don be so downhearted. School will suit you, and then when you have your holidays you can come and stay with me and Eff. Eff would be so proud. So look on the bright side, there a love. Life goes on, you know. It never stands still and you can be Polly baby forever.

It was getting better already.

Miss York took the news philosophically. She had been expecting it, she said. The rector had always told her that one day I should have to go away to school. She would find another post and the rector had said she must stay at the rectory until she did. Lady Harriet had promised to help her find another situation, so she was as good as fixed up.

It was about a week after Lavinia exposure that I saw her.

She was smoulderingly resentful. She looked more like a tigress than a spoiled kitten. Her eyes were slightly red, so I knew she had been crying.

hat a fuss!she said. t was that awful girl Holly.

olly wasn any different from you. Jos had made fools of you both.

on you dare call me a fool, Drusilla Delany.

shall call you what I like. And you are a fool to do what you did, with a groom at that.

ou don understand.

ell, everybody else does, and it is why you are being sent away.

ou are being sent as well.

hat is only because you are going. I have to be with you.

She snorted. don want you.

daresay my father could send me to another school.

y mother would not allow that.

e are not your mother slaves, you know. We have freedom to do what we want to. If you are going to be objectionable I shall ask my father to send me away without you.

She looked a little alarmed at that.

hey treat me like a child,she said.

os didn.

She began to laugh. e is a rogue,she said.

hat what they all say.

h but it was so exciting.

ou should be careful.

was if that woman hadn come and found us in the summer house

I turned away. I wondered what she would say if she knew what had led up to her discovery.

e said I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

think they all say that. They think it will get them what they want more quickly.

hey don. And what do you know about it?

e heard

hut up,said Lavinia, and seemed near to tears.

We made a sort of truce. We were both going into a strange place and the only familiar things there would be each other. We were both a little pleased that we should not be alone.

We talked a good deal about school.

We spent two years at Meridian House. I fitted in quite well. I was immediately noticed as a bright child, and as such attracted the attention of the teachers. Lavinia was backward for her age, and showed no inclination to change that state. Moreover, she was arrogant and moody, which did not make her popular, and the fact of her exalted parentagehich she was apt to stress at firstas a deterrent rather than an asset. She had always expected those about her to fit in with her ways and it never occurred to her that she must adapt to others.

There was a boysschool close by and occasionally we saw the boys playing games on the green near the school. This caused a certain amount of excitement among a section of the girls, particularly on Sundays when we went to the village church for the morning service and the boys occupied the pews immediately opposite us. Of course, Lavinia was to the fore among these girls who had a marked interest in the boys. Notes were smuggled across the aisle, and Sunday morning church was the high spot of the week for some girls, for a reason which would not have pleased the vicar or our formidable headmistress, Miss Gentian.

It was during our second year at Meridian House that Lavinia experienced her second disaster, and it was inevitable that it was of a nature similar to the first.

She ignored me for a good deal of the time, remembering me only when she needed help with her work. She had her own little community and they were known as he fast set.They regarded themselves as adult and worldly; they were very daring and knowledgeable of the facts of life. Lavinia was queen of this little band, for though most of them could only theorize on the topic nearest their hearts, Lavinia had had practical experience.

When she was very angry with me she would sometimes refer to me in a tone of complete contempt as ou virgin!

I often thought that if Lavinia had been one of that despised sect I might be at home cosily doing my lessons with Miss York and with dear Polly to run to when an emergency arose.

Polly wrote to me in a rather laborious hand. She had learned to write when Tom had gone away to sea so that she could keep in close touch with him. Her words were often misspelt, but the warmth of her feeling came through to comfort me.

I often thought of her and Eff during that time, and in the summer holidays I did go to see them. I stayed a week and it was wonderful to be with Polly. She and Eff were doing well. Both had an aptitude for business. Polly was soon on friendly terms with the paying guests and Eff supplied the essential dignity which was part of keeping everyone in order.

ee what Father would have called a good team,Eff told me. She was particularly pleased at that time, for ownstairs No. 32(which was what she called the tenants of the lower floor in the most recently acquired house) had brought a nipper with them. They were very content and had the garden for the pram, which was a very comfortable arrangement, and Eff and Polly could pop in at any time and gurgle over the child. Eff always referred to her tenants as op Floor 30,irst Floor 32and so on.

They were wonderful days while Polly listened to my news about school and I learned the backgrounds and idiosyncrasies of Top Floor to Basement Room.

For instance, Top Floor left the tap running and First Floor wouldn do her part of the stairs properly; even Downstairs No. 32 hadn really come out of the top drawer, but of course they were forgiven a great deal because they had brought the nipper.

e a regular little fellow, he is. You should see the smile I get from him when I go out there.So I gathered that, as previously in the case of the Branleys, the nipper made up for his parentsshortcomings.

Going p Westwith Polly, looking at the big shops, walking through the market on a Saturday night when the flares were lighted and the faces of the costers gleamed scarlet in their light, looking at the rosy apples piled onto the stalls, listening to the cries of resh herring, cockles and mussels,past the old quack who swore his remedies would cure falling hair, rheumatic pains and all the ailments that the flesh was heir to it was the greatest excitement and I loved it.

Polly made me feel that I was the most important person in the world to her and it was comforting, even when we parted, that I felt I had not lost her forever.

She loved me to talk about my life. I told her about Miss Gentian, the absolute ruler of us all. real tartar that one,commented Polly, chuckling, and when I imitated Mademoiselle the French mistress, she rolled about with glee and murmured, hem foreigners. Theye real cautions. I reckon you have a real lark with her.It all seemed incredibly amusingmuch more funny than it was in reality.