listening.
Luke White said with an odious drawling sound in his voice,
“And what good do you think you’re doing by saying you won’t?”
Eily sounded breathless.
“I’m saying it because I’m meaning it.”
“And what good do you think you’re doing by meaning it? I’ll have you in the end. If you’d a grain of sense you’d know that and come willing.”
He must have reached out and caught hold of her, because there was a half-stifled “Let me go!”
“You’ll listen to me first! And you’ll give me a nice kiss, and then you can go—for this time.”
She said, “I’ll scream. You’ve no business here. I’ll tell Aunt Annie.”
“Annie Castell—that makes me laugh!And what do you think you’ll get out of telling Annie Castell?”
Her voice wavered.
“I’ll tell Uncle.”
“You won’t! If you want to start anything like that, there’s two can play at telling. Where had you got to this evening when I spoke up for you and told Castell Annie had sent you out on an errand? I lied for you and got you out of the mess you’d have been in if he’d known where you was. Along of John Higgins, wasn’t it? Keeping company like—sweethearting like—holding hands and kissing, or perhaps a bit more. For all he’s so pious, I bet you don’t sing hymns all the time you’re with him!”
“Luke—let me go!”
“In a minute, when I’ve said what I want to. Here it is. You go snivelling to Castell or you go running away to John Higgins, and I’ll cut his heart out. If you want to wake up some night and find your bed a-swimming in his blood, you run off and marry him, and that’s what you’ll wake up to some fine night. I’ll not swing for him either—you needn’t think it—I’d not give you that satisfaction. I’ll have an alibi that the two Houses of Parliament couldn’t break, not if they tried ever so. And I’ll have you too, whichever way it goes and whatever you do. You can choose whether you’ll come willing and now, or whether you’ll let it come to what I said and have John Higgins’ blood on you first. And now you’ll kiss me proper.”
Jane went back down the four steps, and made a noisy stumble on the bottom one. Just as she did so she heard Eily cry out. Hard on that Luke White cursed. Jane ran, and almost bumped into him as he came out of the bedroom looking dangerous and nursing a hand. When he saw her he stopped for a moment and said,
“Eily called me in to see to the catch of your window. It slipped and caught my finger.”
Jane watched him nearly to the end of the passage before she shut the door.
Eily stood by the chest of drawers which served as a dressing-table. She had a fixed sick look, her eyes staring, her face dead white. She was holding Jane’s nail-scissors. There was blood on the blades. She was wiping it off with her finger and staring at it.
Jane went close up to her and put an arm round her shoulders.
“I heard what he said. Why do you stand it?”
Eily went on wiping the blades with her finger.
“There’s nothing else I can do.”
“Of course there is! You ought to tell Mr. Castell and your aunt.”
A faint shudder went over Eily like a ripple going over water.
“You don’t understand.”
“You could walk out of here and marry John Higgins. He wants you to, doesn’t he?”
“I can’t be doing that.”
“Because of what Luke said? He was just trying it on. You could go to the police. There, that’s three things you could do. And you can put those scissors down—they give me the creeps. You stuck them into his hand, didn’t you?”
The dark blue eyes widened. There was another of those slow shudders. Jane said half impatiently,
“I shouldn’t worry—he was asking for it.”
She turned round to the glass, exclaimed at what it showed her, and began to get busy with cleansing tissue.
Eily put the scissors down and moved a step or two away. All the time Jane was doing her face she was aware of her, standing there with
Luke White said with an odious drawling sound in his voice,
“And what good do you think you’re doing by saying you won’t?”
Eily sounded breathless.
“I’m saying it because I’m meaning it.”
“And what good do you think you’re doing by meaning it? I’ll have you in the end. If you’d a grain of sense you’d know that and come willing.”
He must have reached out and caught hold of her, because there was a half-stifled “Let me go!”
“You’ll listen to me first! And you’ll give me a nice kiss, and then you can go—for this time.”
She said, “I’ll scream. You’ve no business here. I’ll tell Aunt Annie.”
“Annie Castell—that makes me laugh!And what do you think you’ll get out of telling Annie Castell?”
Her voice wavered.
“I’ll tell Uncle.”
“You won’t! If you want to start anything like that, there’s two can play at telling. Where had you got to this evening when I spoke up for you and told Castell Annie had sent you out on an errand? I lied for you and got you out of the mess you’d have been in if he’d known where you was. Along of John Higgins, wasn’t it? Keeping company like—sweethearting like—holding hands and kissing, or perhaps a bit more. For all he’s so pious, I bet you don’t sing hymns all the time you’re with him!”
“Luke—let me go!”
“In a minute, when I’ve said what I want to. Here it is. You go snivelling to Castell or you go running away to John Higgins, and I’ll cut his heart out. If you want to wake up some night and find your bed a-swimming in his blood, you run off and marry him, and that’s what you’ll wake up to some fine night. I’ll not swing for him either—you needn’t think it—I’d not give you that satisfaction. I’ll have an alibi that the two Houses of Parliament couldn’t break, not if they tried ever so. And I’ll have you too, whichever way it goes and whatever you do. You can choose whether you’ll come willing and now, or whether you’ll let it come to what I said and have John Higgins’ blood on you first. And now you’ll kiss me proper.”
Jane went back down the four steps, and made a noisy stumble on the bottom one. Just as she did so she heard Eily cry out. Hard on that Luke White cursed. Jane ran, and almost bumped into him as he came out of the bedroom looking dangerous and nursing a hand. When he saw her he stopped for a moment and said,
“Eily called me in to see to the catch of your window. It slipped and caught my finger.”
Jane watched him nearly to the end of the passage before she shut the door.
Eily stood by the chest of drawers which served as a dressing-table. She had a fixed sick look, her eyes staring, her face dead white. She was holding Jane’s nail-scissors. There was blood on the blades. She was wiping it off with her finger and staring at it.
Jane went close up to her and put an arm round her shoulders.
“I heard what he said. Why do you stand it?”
Eily went on wiping the blades with her finger.
“There’s nothing else I can do.”
“Of course there is! You ought to tell Mr. Castell and your aunt.”
A faint shudder went over Eily like a ripple going over water.
“You don’t understand.”
“You could walk out of here and marry John Higgins. He wants you to, doesn’t he?”
“I can’t be doing that.”
“Because of what Luke said? He was just trying it on. You could go to the police. There, that’s three things you could do. And you can put those scissors down—they give me the creeps. You stuck them into his hand, didn’t you?”
The dark blue eyes widened. There was another of those slow shudders. Jane said half impatiently,
“I shouldn’t worry—he was asking for it.”
She turned round to the glass, exclaimed at what it showed her, and began to get busy with cleansing tissue.
Eily put the scissors down and moved a step or two away. All the time Jane was doing her face she was aware of her, standing there with
Similar Books
