Philippa Carr - Gossamer Cord

He asked about my home and we talked of Caddington and my parents, of Dorabella and how she and I had left school only that summer.

A great deal had happened since then.

There was something about him which led me into talking more than I normally would have done to a stranger, and soon I was telling him about what had happened in the schloss.

He looked grave and said he had heard of the youth movement which was growing very strong in Germany. He was not sure of their new leader, though he had heard that he had done a lot of good for the country.

“You will not wish to go there again for a while,” he said. “But when your sister marries, I daresay you will be visiting here.”

“I imagine we shall. We have been together all our lives…as twins are.”

“Of course.”

“So I can be confident that we shall meet again.”

“It seems possible. Which reminds me—they will be wondering what has happened to me. Do you think the horse will be ready now?”

“We’ll see. I imagine it is possible.”

We rose. Mrs. Brodie gave me a pleasant smile and I guessed it would not be long before others knew that the guest from Tregarland’s had been in her inn parlor with Jowan Jermyn.

In the smithy’s the smell of burning hoof filled the air and Starlight was standing patiently while Jake put the finishing touches to her shoe.

“There,” he said. “She’ll do a treat…a real treat. That be better, eh, old girl?”

I was wondering about paying.

Jake guessed my thoughts.

“That be all right, Miss. I’ll put it to Tregarland’s. ’Tain’t the first time I’ve done this for Starlight.”

As we rode away, I told Jowan Jermyn again how grateful I was to him.

“I cannot think what I should have done if you had not come along when you did, Mr. Jermyn.”

“I am known quite often as J.J. It’s the name you see, Jowan Jermyn. Alliteration’s artful aid. Not so artful on this occasion. Perhaps a little clumsy.”

“Not in the least.”

“Oh, you are determined to be tactful. At school, they became impatient with the two Js and dropped one of them. Jay. I am not sure that I like it. Jay! What is it! A bird. The dictionary says it is also a foolish person. A person who acts recklessly. One who crosses the road recklessly and is liable to be run over is a jay walker. You see, I am rather hoping that, apart from that artful bird, I am not very aptly named.”

“What’s in a name? What of Violetta?”

“What of it?”

“It happens to be mine.”

“It’s charming.”

“From the opera, of course. And my sister is Dorabella.”

“The twin. Also charming. I can’t speak for Dorabella, but you do not really bear a resemblance to La Traviata.”

We rode through the field.

“Keep clear of the trees,” he went on. “In case another should fall. I’ll have them inspected as soon as possible. There may well be others. I expect to be getting a list of damages on the farms, etc.”

We had passed through the fields and come to one of the winding lanes. When we reached the end of it we came to a wider thoroughfare.

He pulled up. “This marks the boundary between Tregarland and Jermyn land. We don’t trespass. Do you know where you are now?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Go straight along…you’ll soon see the sea. So I will say goodbye, or perhaps au revoir, because, if you come down to see your sister, we shall meet again. In secret, perhaps, because your sister will be a Tregarland. Would you agree to such subterfuge?”

“I think I might.”

He bowed his head and lifted his hat. “Then, Miss Violetta, au revoir.”

I started to thank him again but he cut me short.

“It has been a great pleasure for me,” he said.

“For me, too,” I told him.

He turned his horse with an air of reluctance, and, smiling, I did the same, and rode back to Tregarland’s.

There was consternation when I arrived. Where had I been? My mother was anxious. She had expected me back before this.

I told her briefly what had happened.

“Lost her shoe! Good Heavens, you might have had a bad fall!”

“She’s a wonderful horse. Mr. Jermyn said so.”

“Mr. Jermyn?”

Then it was necessary to tell her everything. Matilda Lewyth arrived and heard what had happened.

“He was very good,” I explained. “In fact he was particularly kind and helpful.”

“Did he know you came from Tregarland’s?”

“Oh, yes. I told him I was staying here. He knew something about Dorabella. He says there is a good news service and the blacksmith’s is one of the headquarters of it. After falling off…but not badly, because Starlight was stationary…it was rather fun and quite amusing.”

“Well, I am glad it turned out like that,” said my mother. “It might have been so different.”

Dorabella returned from Plymouth with a beautiful diamond ring which delighted her. She showed it round with great pleasure and that night, as she was officially engaged, champagne was brought up from the cellars and my afternoon’s adventure slipped into insignificance.

Dorabella did come to my room afterwards. She was extremely happy and kept glancing with delight at her engagement ring. She was only vaguely interested in my adventure.

“This Jermyn man sounds interesting,” she said.

“Oh, he was. I was fortunate that he came along when he did.” I told her about the origin of the feud and that did hold her attention for a little while.

“Walked into the sea!” she said. “It’s rather romantic in a way…”

“Romantic! It’s tragic.”

“But not as bad as what happened to the man. Fancy living for the rest of his life like that. And his name was Dermot.”

“It’s a family name evidently.”

“It is all very exciting, anyway. I am glad you had a little adventure, too.”

“This will be a visit we shall always remember,” I said, thinking of sitting in Smithy’s, drinking brandy.

“For ever,” echoed Dorabella, gazing rapturously at her diamond ring.

A few days later we left Cornwall.

It had been decided, after a good deal of discussion, that the marriage should take place at Christmas.

WE RETURNED TO WEEKS of feverish preparations. My mother had a few qualms of uneasiness. She thought it was too soon and they should have waited a little longer.

“Why?” demanded Dorabella. “Why should we wait? What’s the point? And being so far apart it isn’t easy to see each other.”

My mother said: “The spring would have been a good time. Or, say, May…or June…”

“Why? Why?” demanded Dorabella.

My mother looked at her and smiled. “Well, as you both seem so sure…”

“Of course we are sure.”

My mother left it at that, but when we were alone she talked to me, as she often did. She had always discussed a problem with me rather than with Dorabella.

She began: “I wish they had agreed to wait awhile.”

“Dorabella never wants to wait for anything.”

“I know. She is so impulsive. She doesn’t always see things clearly, she doesn’t look at all the possibilities.”

“But you liked the family in Cornwall. You got on very well with Matilda Lewyth.”

“Yes. And, of course, she is in charge. I can’t see any conflict between her and Dorabella over that.”

“Dorabella certainly wouldn’t want to take on the management of the household.”

“No, indeed not. But…”

“They were charming to us,” I went on. “And they seemed to like Dorabella. There was no objection, as there sometimes is in such cases.”

“I don’t know. It is just that it all seems too quick. I should have liked a little time to get…to get to know more…”

“Well, we were there for a week. It wasn’t exactly a conventional household. But perhaps most households are not.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, on the surface they seem conventional sometimes and then you discover all sorts of things are going on under the veneer, if you know what I mean. There is the housekeeper who isn’t really a housekeeper; there’s her son who runs the place; and there is Dermot who doesn’t seem to take much interest in it. And the father just sits there. He reminds me of a puppet master holding the strings.”

“Did he really seem like that to you?”

“It was just a thought that occurred to me. And then there was the feud.”

My mother laughed. “It was amusing that you met one of the enemy. I wonder what they thought of that? They didn’t give much sign…”

“No. That’s what I mean. I had a feeling that something was going on underneath.”

“That’s your imagination.”

“Well, there is something about that part of the world. Superstitions and such like. All those things you mustn’t do, like meeting parsons on the way to the boats, and dropping gloves which have to be picked up by someone else.”

“Your stranger turned out to be a blessing. If you ask me, it’s time they dropped their silly old quarrels about something which happened a hundred years ago. And Dorabella is going into all that. I wonder how she will fit in?”

“Well, she is in love with Dermot.”

My mother nodded, but she was frowning.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “She always falls on her feet.”

“She’s going to miss you.”

“And I her.”

“That’s the disadvantage of being twins. That closeness is wonderful at times, and then comes the inevitable separation.”

“But she is not going to the other end of the world,” I cried. “And I shall go and stay there and she will come here often, I am sure.”