Tabitha in Moonlight by Betty Neels Page B

time.’
    And so I would, thought Tabitha, still put out, if I had a socking great Bentley to take me there. ‘I’ve not been to Holland,’ she said out loud. ‘I’ve not been abroad since my father died.’
    â€˜You like travelling?’
    She nodded. ‘Very much, though I haven’t been far.’
    He wanted to know where and she found herself telling him, reluctantly at first and then thawing to his charm and friendliness so that by the time they got up to go she found herself quite good-humoured again.
    â€˜Would you like to swim first?’ he asked as they got into the car. ‘I thought we might take the Totnes road and cut down to Stoke Fleming. We’ve plenty of time, and there’s a good place for lunch at Churston Ferrers.’
    â€˜That sounds nice.’ Tabitha’s voice was cool, hiding the delightwelling up inside her. She thanked heaven in fervent silence that she could swim.
    The beach was almost deserted. Tabitha, behind a convenient rock, put on the despised suit, bundled her hair into a sensible white cap, and ran down to the water’s edge, where she stopped because despite the heat of the day, the water felt unexpectedly cold; it was only Marius’s voice calling to her from some way out that made her plunge in, to forget the chilliness of the water in the delight of swimming. She swam as she danced, with grace and energy; it took her no time at all to catch up with Marius, loitering in shallow water, she suspected, to see if she was up to his standard. Side by side, they swam strongly out to sea and then turning, swam back, more slowly now, to the beach, where they stretched out, the waves breaking over their feet. Tabitha took off her cap and her hair streamed down in an untidy mass, shedding pins. She lay quiet in the sunshine while Marius picked them up one by one and made a tidy heap of them beside her. She eyed them worriedly. ‘I’ll never get my hair up again—it takes ages, and I’ve only a tiny mirror with me.’
    â€˜Well, I’m not surprised. There’s yards of it, isn’t there? Can’t you put it up when we get to Churston Court? Put it all back in again and I’ll race you out to that dinghy.’
    They swam for another half hour or so and finally left the water to lie down again, pleasantly tired, in the warmth of the sun. Presently Marius rolled over and propped his head on an elbow. ‘Nice,’ he observed laconically. ‘Peaceful and warm and delightful scenery—what more could one want?’
    Tabitha opened one eye and found him looking at her, his face a good deal too close for her peace of mind. She shut the eye again and said, for lack of anything else, ‘Um’, thinking that Lilith would have known exactly what to say. Her stepmother had once told her that she had no sparkle and Tabitha, for once, agreed with her. She was still searching feverishly for some scintillating topic of conversation when Marius said:
    â€˜You’re peaceful too. I don’t feel I have to be forever talking trivialities.’
    Tabitha, without opening her eyes, said thank you, fuming silently. He made her sound like a feather pillow, or a middle-aged aunt, or anything else comfortable which could be ignored until wanted. She frowned and he continued: ‘Of course, you have misconstrued my meaning, but for the moment that doesn’t matter. I like your eyelashes.’
    This time Tabitha opened her eyes and sat up. ‘You what?’ she queried in astonishment.
    â€˜Like your eyelashes,’ he repeated patiently. ‘Most women have black spiky ones, but yours are thick and brown and the length they are meant to be. They look like those camel-hair brushes artists use.’
    She went pink, recognizing a compliment and hoping it wasn’t just because she was Lilith’s stepsister. ‘Thank you,’ she said gravely. ‘I think I’ll dress.’ Marius