Part 11 (2/2)
”Oh, never mind,” said Cyril hurriedly, realizing if Rose did actually understand him, she might think he was calling her a lesbian as well. He fetched up a sigh. ”Deuced pretty girl, what?”
”Yes, indeed and so sad. Did she ever say anything to you about being threatened by anyone?”
”No, on the contrary, my friend Berrow was about to make her an offer.”
”Lord Berrow is quite old, is he not?”
”Stout fellow. In his prime.”
”I am surprised to hear you speak so well of him when it looked as if he was about to succeed where you had failed.”
”Believe me, Lady Rose, our friends.h.i.+p will survive anything. Now, I do not like to hear about murder from those pretty lips of yours.”
”I wonder, sir, if you would mind asking Mrs. Barrington-Bruce to remove the fire-screen?”
Cyril darted off. When he returned it was to find his place had been taken by Sir Peter, who had just arrived.
”When I came in,” said Peter, ”you were flirting with that dreadful toad, Banks.”
”I was trying to find out information about Dolly,” whispered Rose.
”He is an awful pill. Do you think he killed her? He's vicious, I think. There was some scandal.”
”Oh, here he comes,” said Rose, raising her fan. ”Do talk about something else.”
Daisy slipped from the room. On entering the house she had seen a telephone in the hall. She had wanted to phone Becket to tell him she was back in town, but Matthew had gone on a week's leave and the study door was locked. She looked nervously about.
The hall boy, who had been half asleep in his chair, stirred himself. ”You looking for the Jericho, madam?”
”No, I wonder if I might use the telephone?”
”Is it all right with Mrs. Barrington-Bruce?”
”Oh, yes.”
”That's all right, then. I'm just going down to the kitchen. If anyone needs me, ring the bell.”
Daisy waited until the green baize door had closed behind him and then picked up the receiver and asked the operator to connect her.
To her relief, Becket answered the phone. ”It's me, Daisy,” she whispered. ”Why hasn't the captain called?”
”He did not know you were back. He wrote a letter of apology to Lady Rose but she did not reply.”
”Her father reads all her post. He probably destroyed it. The captain should call.”
”I'll tell him. We are going to Oxford tomorrow. The captain wishes to talk to Mr. Jeremy Tremaine.”
”I wish we could go with you. I wish-”
Daisy heard the drawing-room door upstairs begin to open and hurriedly replaced the receiver.
”I sometimes wonder if perhaps I should be focusing my attention on Lord Berrow,” said Rose to Peter.
”He's even more foul than Cyril.”
”That is interesting. A murderer surely must be a foul person. Perhaps I will flirt with him a little when I next see him.”
”Isn't your fiance annoyed when he sees you flirting with other men?”
”Oh, no, he will understand it is all part of research.”
”And what does your oh-so-frequently-absent captain think of me?”
Rose looked at him in surprise. ”He knows you are my friend. You are famous in society for being available to escort ladies who have been left stranded by their escorts.”
He laughed. ”What a reputation to have! Do you not care for me a little?”
”You are a flirt, sir. Of course I value your friends.h.i.+p. Why is Daisy grimacing and winking at me?”
”Miss Levine, may I say, is a most unusual companion.”
”Excuse me.” Rose got up and made her way to the corner of the room where Daisy was standing. ”Why are you making all those funny faces?”
”I phoned Becket to say I was back in town,” whispered Daisy. ”The captain sent you a full letter of apology. Your father must have torn it up.”
Rose was suddenly furiously angry. She knew that her father would bl.u.s.ter and deny that she had been sent any such letter.
”You know, Daisy, I sometimes feel like marrying anyone anyone just to have my own home and freedom.” Rose looked thoughtfully across the room at Peter. just to have my own home and freedom.” Rose looked thoughtfully across the room at Peter.
”Bad idea,” said Daisy. ”Men you marry can turn into heavy fathers.”
”How would you know that, pray?”
”Observation.”
Daisy watched anxiously as Rose went back to join Peter and saw the ease with which Rose chatted and smiled at him. But the captain would surely call that evening.
Harry arrived home late. Becket helped him out of his coat and told him about the destroyed letter.
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