forthcoming.
Mrs Prentiss set her untasted cup back on the tray and said quietly, 'You didn't tell me you were getting a new pupil, Janna.'
Janna felt herself flush involuntarily, and kicked herself.
'It—it didn't seem important,' she improvised desperately, but her mother swept that aside with a wave of her hand.
'Not important that it's Rian Tempest's illegitimate child —and a little Eurasian girl at that?' Her voice was full of reproach.
'Who told you that?' Janna was frankly amazed.
'Deirdre Morris. She called round this afternoon. Said that Beth had talked of nothing else last weekend, and was surprised that you hadn't thought it worth mentioning.'
'I see,' Janna said grimly. She was only too well acquainted with Beth's mother, an inveterate gossip. And she had not realised that Fleur's family history was so generally known in the staffroom. She'd had the impression from Vivien that Mrs Parsons wanted the whole thing treated in confidence. Now, it seemed, it was among the titbits to be passed on by Carrisford's most indefatigable newshound.
She put her own cup down with a faint feeling of nausea.
'I suppose I might have known that the faintest breath of scandal would bring Mrs Morris sniffing round,' she said coldly.
Mrs Prentiss sighed. 'Nine times out of ten, I would agree with you,' she said. 'But, Janna, even you can't deny that it's the Tempest name involved here, and that's what makes it so—interesting.' She shook her head. 'I'm only glad poor Mrs Tempest isn't still alive to see what her precious nephew has made of his life. She had such a strong sense of family pride, and what was due to it. And the Colonel even more so.'
Janna hesitated. 'Colonel Tempest is dead too,' she said. 'And—and Rian has bought Carrisbeck House, it seems. He's going to settle here.'
Mrs Prentiss digested this further piece of information in silence for a moment.
Eventually, she said, 'Well, it seems to show a blatant lack of concern for other people's feelings to me. This isn't a big, sophisticated city where one's peccadilloes are viewed with tolerance. It's a small old-fashioned place—yes, a backwater if you like, where people still care about things like morality. I know you thought the Tempests were stuffy, Janna, although heaven knows they were always very kind to you, but the fact remains they were held in very great esteem here, and Rian's behaviour will be viewed by many people as an insult to their memory.'
'Oh, Mother!' Janna leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. 'For a start, no one really knows whether Fleur is illegitimate or not, except possibly Mrs Parsons, and I know that she hasn't told Beth or her mother. I don't even know.'
'Rian has frankly admitted it,' her mother said with some bitterness. 'Apparently Beth met him in the market square the day before she went to London, and was asking him about the little girl. Then she asked him when he would be bringing his wife to Carrisford.'
'Beth would,' Janna muttered.
'That's as maybe. Rian, if you please, replied that he was unable to do so, because he wasn't married and never had been.'
An unwilling laugh broke from Janna. 'I'd give something to have seen her face,' she said. 'Is it too much to hope that her mother was with her at the time?'
'Don't be flippant,' her mother said tartly. 'My sympathy, of course, is for that innocent child.'
'I think you're wasting it,' Janna told her ruefully. 'She seems incredibly self-sufficient—bright, too. In terms of age, she really ought not to be in my class at all, but I know she won't have any trouble in keeping up with them.' She glanced at her mother and saw she was wearing that preoccupied look again. 'You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?'
Her mother started visibly. 'I'm sorry, dear. I was just thinking, that's all.'
'About what? You look very solemn.'
Her mother gave her a clear-eyed look. 'That I'm very glad you're safely engaged to Colin. I'm not blind, Janna. I
Mrs Prentiss set her untasted cup back on the tray and said quietly, 'You didn't tell me you were getting a new pupil, Janna.'
Janna felt herself flush involuntarily, and kicked herself.
'It—it didn't seem important,' she improvised desperately, but her mother swept that aside with a wave of her hand.
'Not important that it's Rian Tempest's illegitimate child —and a little Eurasian girl at that?' Her voice was full of reproach.
'Who told you that?' Janna was frankly amazed.
'Deirdre Morris. She called round this afternoon. Said that Beth had talked of nothing else last weekend, and was surprised that you hadn't thought it worth mentioning.'
'I see,' Janna said grimly. She was only too well acquainted with Beth's mother, an inveterate gossip. And she had not realised that Fleur's family history was so generally known in the staffroom. She'd had the impression from Vivien that Mrs Parsons wanted the whole thing treated in confidence. Now, it seemed, it was among the titbits to be passed on by Carrisford's most indefatigable newshound.
She put her own cup down with a faint feeling of nausea.
'I suppose I might have known that the faintest breath of scandal would bring Mrs Morris sniffing round,' she said coldly.
Mrs Prentiss sighed. 'Nine times out of ten, I would agree with you,' she said. 'But, Janna, even you can't deny that it's the Tempest name involved here, and that's what makes it so—interesting.' She shook her head. 'I'm only glad poor Mrs Tempest isn't still alive to see what her precious nephew has made of his life. She had such a strong sense of family pride, and what was due to it. And the Colonel even more so.'
Janna hesitated. 'Colonel Tempest is dead too,' she said. 'And—and Rian has bought Carrisbeck House, it seems. He's going to settle here.'
Mrs Prentiss digested this further piece of information in silence for a moment.
Eventually, she said, 'Well, it seems to show a blatant lack of concern for other people's feelings to me. This isn't a big, sophisticated city where one's peccadilloes are viewed with tolerance. It's a small old-fashioned place—yes, a backwater if you like, where people still care about things like morality. I know you thought the Tempests were stuffy, Janna, although heaven knows they were always very kind to you, but the fact remains they were held in very great esteem here, and Rian's behaviour will be viewed by many people as an insult to their memory.'
'Oh, Mother!' Janna leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. 'For a start, no one really knows whether Fleur is illegitimate or not, except possibly Mrs Parsons, and I know that she hasn't told Beth or her mother. I don't even know.'
'Rian has frankly admitted it,' her mother said with some bitterness. 'Apparently Beth met him in the market square the day before she went to London, and was asking him about the little girl. Then she asked him when he would be bringing his wife to Carrisford.'
'Beth would,' Janna muttered.
'That's as maybe. Rian, if you please, replied that he was unable to do so, because he wasn't married and never had been.'
An unwilling laugh broke from Janna. 'I'd give something to have seen her face,' she said. 'Is it too much to hope that her mother was with her at the time?'
'Don't be flippant,' her mother said tartly. 'My sympathy, of course, is for that innocent child.'
'I think you're wasting it,' Janna told her ruefully. 'She seems incredibly self-sufficient—bright, too. In terms of age, she really ought not to be in my class at all, but I know she won't have any trouble in keeping up with them.' She glanced at her mother and saw she was wearing that preoccupied look again. 'You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?'
Her mother started visibly. 'I'm sorry, dear. I was just thinking, that's all.'
'About what? You look very solemn.'
Her mother gave her a clear-eyed look. 'That I'm very glad you're safely engaged to Colin. I'm not blind, Janna. I
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