Part 6 (1/2)

'Oh, that!' Anya shrugged her thin shoulders offhandedly. 'It wasn't too bad, considering. There's an old bed in there, and a couple of old blankets. And Binzer was with me.'

As if remembering the dog's companions.h.i.+p, she put her fingers to her mouth and emitted a piercing whistle as they reached the gates, and both dogs came bounding towards them, their s.h.a.ggy hair falling untidily into their eyes.

'How on earth can you tell them apart?' exclaimed Joanna, half protestingly, as the dogs almost overbalanced her in their enthusiasm, and Anya turned a scornful face in her direction.

'Binnie is a b.i.t.c.h,' she declared, making the most obvious distinction. 'They are different, you know, dogs and b.i.t.c.hes. Just like human beings.'

Joanna endeavoured not to get annoyed. 'So they are,' she countered lightly. 'I'm sorry, I didn't notice.'

Anya looked as though she would have liked to say more, but she didn't, turning out of the gate with the dogs at her heels, following the track down towards the stream.

'I-where are you going?' asked Joanna rather doubtfully, and then felt all her apprehensions return as Anya answered.

'You wanted to be shown the short cut to the village, didn't you?' she remarked innocently. 'Well, this is the way. Come on, I'll direct you.'

Joanna hesitated, hanging back, irritated at the feeling of disappointment she was experiencing. Obviously Anya had every intention of showing her the path by the stream, and while it was possible that she didn't know it was partially flooded, it was also highly unlikely. For a moment Joanna was tempted to tell her that Matt had already explained the situation to her, but then a desire to thwart the - girl overcame all else. She would let Anya show her to the stream. She would let her think she was as ignorant of the dangers as Anya apparently thought her. And when she had gone, as she obviously would, she would double back and take the path through the copse.

The stream was considerably broader than its normal width, tumbling recklessly on its way, noisy as it negotiated the stones that impeded its progress. In summer, Joanna guessed its banks would be a ma.s.s of brilliant colour, but right now the slopes were muddy and even the gra.s.s looked sad, clinging to the earth in grim survival.

'That's the way,' Anya indicated, pointing to the footpath that soon wound out of sight along the bank. 'It's a bit muddy, but it will bring you out at Piper's Bridge, which is just outside the village.'

'All right,' Joanna nodded. 'Thank you.' She paused.

'You-er- you're not coming with me?'

'I don't think so, thanks.' Anya s.h.i.+fted restlessly from one foot to the other. 'Daddy wouldn't like it if the dogs ran wild in the village. I'd better take them back.'

Joanna shrugged. 'As you like. See you later, then.'

'Yes, later,' agreed Anya, hiding a smirk, and Joanna forced a grateful smile before starting on her way.

She wondered how far Anya expected her to get before she lost her balance and slipped into the stream. The water would be freezing, and she could imagine the girl's delight if she had to come squelching back to the house, soaked to the skin. She wondered what excuse she would give her father, and decided that so far as Anya was concerned the end justified any punishment she might have to take.

Joanna waited until she was sure that Anya must have reached Ravengarth, and then turned back. But as she did so she saw the boundary of the copse almost directly above her, and realised that she could reach the trees by climbing the slope, and thus avoid approaching the house again.

It was a damp climb, negotiating as it did knee-high gra.s.ses that soaked the legs of her pants and left them wet and uncomfortable.

Even so, it was worth it to picture Anya's face on her return with the groceries, particularly as she had no intention of telling her she had taken another route.

She skirted the trees, calculating that Matt's directions would bring her to the field directly to her left. Sure enough, there was a stile, just as he had described, and she jumped down into the bristling stubble beyond with a feeling of achievement.

Then she frowned. Matt's instructions had been intended to bring her out into the lane beyond the farm buildings, but the track alongside the hedge she was presently following would bring her to the back of the buildings themselves, and even as she stopped, biting her lip, not sure which direction she ought to take, a Land Rover seemed to appear from nowhere, and came b.u.mping over the field towards her.

She stood still, realising it would be undignified to do any other, and the vehicle drove up to her to stop with a squeal of brakes. A young man climbed down from the driving seat, viewing her with evident interest, and she returned his gaze coolly, refusing to look as embarra.s.sed as she felt.

'Good afternoon.' His accent was not uncultivated, and she managed a faint smile.

'Good afternoon,' she responded. 'Am I trespa.s.sing?'

He grinned. 'As a matter of fact, you are, but don't let it worry you. I detect you're not from these parts.' His eyes dropped down her to rest on the damp legs of her trousers. 'What have you been doing?

Wading in the beck?'

Joanna sighed, glancing back over her shoulder. 'Avoiding doing so,'

she replied ruefully. 'I climbed up from the stream, if that's what you mean. The gra.s.s is very long and wet.'

'I see.' He clearly didn't, but he had accepted her explanation.

'So where were you headed? Heronsfoot?'

'Heronsfoot?' Joanna grimaced. 'Oh, no-Ravensmere.'

'Ravensmere?' He looked surprised. 'I see.'

Joanna frowned. 'I'm not going in the wrong direction, am I? I thought the village was down there.' She pointed beyond the farm buildings to where a narrow lane could be seen, winding down towards a collection of rooftops and the unmistakable sheen of water.

'It is.' The man looked slightly discomfited. 'I was just surprised, that's all. I'm afraid I didn't realise you'd walked all the way from Heronsfoot.'

Joanna looked puzzled now. 'I haven't,' she protested. 'I'm not a hiker, if that's what you think.'

'Well, I didn't think that at first, I will admit,' he conceded, half apologetically. 'But the only habitation other than ours in these parts is Ravengarth, and I know you can't be from there.'

'Oh, but I am.' Joanna ignored his astonished expression, and hurried on. 'I'm employed by Mr Sheldon. I'm An- Antonia's new governess.'

'Good lord!' The young man was obviously taken aback, and Joanna wondered how well he knew the Sheldons. 'Well, you're certainly not my idea of what a governess should look like, so perhaps I may be forgiven for making the error.'

Joanna accepted the implied compliment without comment, and realising she was wasting a lot of time when she had the journey to the village and back still to accomplish, she said: 'Perhaps you could direct me the way to the village, if you don't mind. I'm afraid I appear to have mistaken the directions I was given.'

'What? Oh, sure.' He seemed fascinated by the combination of slanted green eyes and gold-streaked brown hair, loosening again from its knot after the exertions of her climb. 'But we should introduce ourselves, don't you think? I mean, as we're going to be neighbours, so to speak. I'm Paul Trevor, and this is my father's farm.'

Joanna hesitated, and then said abruptly: 'How do you do, Mr Trevor. I'm Joanna Seton. But if you don't mind, we won't waste time in pleasantries right now. These pants are soaking, and I'd really like to get back and change.'

'h.e.l.l, yes!' His eyes dropped to the offending cords, clinging to her slender legs. 'But look---' he glanced up at her again, 'why don't you come home with me and let my mother dry them out for you? I know she'd like to meet you. We don't get many visitors around these parts, not at this time of the year anyway.

Then afterwards I could run you down to the village in the Land Rover to get whatever it is you need.'

'Oh, really, I couldn't put you to that trouble,' Joanna began, but he a.s.sured her it was no trouble at all.

'Someone should have told you the path along by the beck was flooded,' he exclaimed, obviously imagining she had been trying to reach the village that way, and at his words, the recollection of Anya's intentions came surging back into her mind. It would do her good to wonder why Joanna hadn't come hurrying back to the house, and if Paul Trevor chose to drive her back to Ravengarth, so much the better.

'All right,' she said now, ruefully brus.h.i.+ng the damp blades of gra.s.s from her knees. 'If you're sure your parents won't mind,'

'They'll be delighted, believe me,' he exclaimed, offering her a seat in the Land Rover, and with a smile she climbed in beside him.

The farmhouse was one of the buildings she had seen when she climbed over the stile. Set at right angles to a barn with a cowbyre beyond, and general outhouses fronting them across a paved courtyard, it formed the central bar of a three-sided rectangle, which would provide coolness in summer, and protection in winter. There were dogs here, too, that scattered the hens as Paul drove into the yard, and somewhere the lowing of cows indicated that afternoon milking was almost due.