Mistress of Elvan Hall Read Free Page A

with a start, aware that all three were looking at her questioningly.
    “Ah ... yes, yes,” she replied, unwilling to admit that she had missed half of what had been said.
    “Come on then, Stephen my dear. Help me carry the tray.”
    The older man got up a trifle reluctantly, his stooped figure showing frailty.
    “I’ll carry the tray,” offered Francis. “Here, let me do it, Mrs. Drummond.”
    He took the tray from her and followed her to the kitchen. Stephen turned and looked at his daughter.
    “It isn’t easy to decide about new paths, my dear,” he said gently. “Sometimes the old well-trodden ones are best. Sometimes new ones are pitted with holes.”
    And sometimes they lead to treasures unknown, thought Anne, though she didn’t say so. A rush of affection for her father made tears prick her eyelids. He had been disappointed when she and Graham called off their marriage, but only because of his concern for her.
    “I know, Daddy,” she whispered, kissing him. “But working for Mr. Wyatt is an old path, don’t forget.”
    “Ah ... work,” murmured Mr. Drummond. “Girls were meant to be home-makers, not workers. Here’s Mr. Wyatt now.”
    He held the door open for Francis, then closed it behind both of them, and Anne was face to face with the man she loved for the first time since she left the office.
    “Shall ... Shall ... shall we sit down again by the fire?” she offered nervously, and he nodded his agreement. Again the heightened colour was in his cheeks, and she felt that he was as nervous as she. This, oddly enough, served to calm her down, and she smiled pleasantly as she drew up a chair for him.
    “Now,” she commanded, “tell me why you’ve come.”
    Francis Wyatt hitched forward a little on his chair, then regarded Anne gravely.
    “Your marriage ... did not take place, then... ” he said slowly.
    “No. But there’s no need for you to feel responsible for me in any way. I know my position has been filled. I take it that Miss Dalton is proving efficient?”
    Francis nodded, though his thoughts seemed elsewhere.
    “Very efficient. She oils the wheels very effectively. Er ... please don’t think me impertinent, but was the decision to call off your marriage really by mutual consent?”
    “Of course,” she said quickly. “Graham is really too young for marriage. He’s a man, certainly, but he wants to get to know the world a little before he’s tied to a small corner of it. We’re the same age, you know, but women are usually more ready to settle down than men ... though perhaps not so much nowadays.”
    “And you let him go.”
    “Of course,” she said crisply.
    She was becoming nervous of his searching questions, afraid of betraying the true reason behind her break with Graham. She clasped her hands and threw back the heavy golden hair, with a small toss of her head, then smiled at him.
    “As I say, you mustn’t feel responsible for me, Mr. Wyatt.”
    He frowned.
    “How long have you worked for me, Miss Drummond?”
    “Two ... almost two years.”
    “Two years. We ... got to know one another quite well. I found you a soothing influence on my life. I felt your ... understanding. I need someone like you. In fact, I need you at Elvan Hall.”
    So it was another job! Anne bit her lips as she began to assimilate what that would mean. Francis Wyatt often stayed at his flat in Carlisle during the week and was only home at weekends, and during the week she would be at the beck and call of his mother.
    Anne remembered Mrs. Wyatt and recoiled a little. How could she work for a woman like her, who probably treated her underlings high-handedly, and whose orders were likely to be ill-considered in the first place?
    “ I ... er ... at Elvan Hall?” she queried hesitantly.
    “The house requires to be renovated, as I explained to you once before. It hasn’t been touched for some years, but care must be taken in order that the age and character of the house be preserved. I ... I feel