For Kicks - Страница 41

"Daniel!" Elinor exclaimed.

"Mr. Adams said you had gone."

"Yes. I left something behind. I came back for it."

"Lady Elinor Tarren," said Adams with deliberation, coming round behind me, closing the door and leaning against it, 'came to see if you had conducted the experiment she lent you her dog whistle for. "

It was just as well, after all, that I had gone back.

"Oh, surely I didn't say that," she protested.

"I just came to get the whistle, if Daniel had finished with it. I

mean, I was passing, and I thought I could save him the trouble of sending it. "

I turned to him.

"Lady Elinor Tarren," I said with equal deliberation, 'does not know what I borrowed her whistle for. I didn't tell her. She knows nothing about it. "

His eyes narrowed and then opened into a fixed stare. His jaw bunched.

He took in the way I had spoken to him, the way I looked at him. It was not what he was used to from me. He transferred his stare to Elinor.

"Leave her alone," I said.

"She doesn't know."

"What on earth are you talking about?" said Elinor, smiling.

"What was this mysterious experiment, anyway?"

"It wasn't important," I said.

"There's… er… there's a deaf lad here, and we wanted to know if he could hear high pitched noises, that's all."

"Oh," she said, 'and could he? "

I shook my head.

"I'm afraid not."

"What a pity." She took a drink, and ice tinkled against the glass.

"Well, if you've no more use for it, do you think I could have my whistle back?"

"Of course." I dug into my money belt, brought out the whistle, and gave it to her. I saw Humber's astonishment and Adams' spasm of fury that Humber's search had missed so elementary a hiding place.

"Thank you," she said, putting the whistle in her pocket.

"What are your plans now? Another stable job?

You know," she said to Humber, smiling, " I'm surprised you let him go.

He rode better than any lad we've ever had in Father's stables. You were lucky to have him. "

I had not ridden well for Humber. He began to say heavily, "He's not all that good…" when Adams smoothly interrupted him.

"I think we have underestimated Roke, Hedley. Lady Elinor, I am sure Mr. Humber will take him back on your recommendation, and never let him go again."

"Splendid," she said warmly.

Adams was looking at me with his hooded gaze to make sure I had appreciated his little joke. I didn't think it very funny.

"Take your helmet off," he said.

"You're indoors and in front of a lady. Take it off."

"I think I'll keep it on," I said equably. And I could have done with a full suit of armour to go with it. Adams was not used to me contradicting him, and he shut his mouth with a snap.

Humber said, puzzled, "I don't understand why you bother with Roke, Lady Elinor. I thought your father got rid of him for… well… molesting you."

"Oh no," she laughed.

"That was my sister. But it wasn't true, you know. It was all made up." She swallowed the last of her drink and with the best will in the world put the finishing touches to throwing me to the wolves.

"Father made me promise not to tell anyone that it was all a story, but as you're Daniel's employer you really ought to know that he isn't anything like as bad as he lets everyone believe."

There was a short, deep silence. Then I said, smiling, "That's the nicest reference I've ever had… you're very kind."

"Oh dear," she laughed.

"You know what I mean… and I can't think why you don't stick up for yourself more."

"It isn't always advisable," I said, and raised an eyebrow at Adams.

He showed signs of not appreciating my jokes either. He took Elinor's empty glass.

"Another gin and Campari?" he suggested.

"No thank you, I must be going."

He put her glass down on the desk with his own, and said, "Do you think Roke would be the sort of man who'd need to swallow tranquillizers before he found the nerve to look after a difficult horse?"

"Tranquillizers? Tranquillizers? Of course not. I shouldn't think he ever took a tranquillizer in his life. Did you?" she said, turning to me and beginning to look puzzled.

"No," I said. I was very anxious for her to be on her way before her puzzlement grew any deeper. Only while she suspected nothing and learned nothing was she safe enough.

"But you said…" began Humber, who was still unenlightened.

"It was a joke. Only a joke," I told him.

"Mr. Adams laughed about it quite a lot, if you remember."

"That's true. I laughed," said Adams sombrely. At least he seemed willing for her ignorance to remain undisturbed, and to let her go.

"Oh," Elinor's face cleared.

"Well… I suppose I'd better be getting back to college. I'm going to Slaw tomorrow for the weekend… do you have any message for my father, Daniel?"

It was a casual, social remark, but I saw Adams stiffen.

I shook my head.

"Well… it's been very pleasant, Mr. Humber. Thank you so much for the drink. I hope I haven't taken too much of your time."

She shook Humber's hand, and Adams', and finally mine.

"How lucky you came back for something. I thought I'd missed you… and that I could whistle for my whistle." She grinned.

I laughed.

"Yes, it was lucky."

"Goodbye then. Goodbye Mr. Humber," she said, as Adams opened the door for her. She said goodbye to him on the doorstep, where he remained, and over Humber's shoulder I watched through the window as she walked across to her car. She climbed in, started the engine, waved gaily to Adams, and drove out of the yard. My relief at seeing her go was even greater than my anxiety about getting out myself.

Adams stepped inside, shut the door, locked it, and put the key in his pocket. Humber was surprised. He still did not understand.

He said, staring at me, "You know, Roke doesn't seem the same. And his voice is different."

"Roke, damn him to hell, is God knows what."

The only good thing in the situation that I could see was that I no longer had to cringe when he spoke to me. It was quite a relief to be able to stand up straight for a change. Even if it didn't last long.

"Do you mean it is Roke, and not Elinor Tarren after all, who knows about the whistle?"

"Of course," said Adams impatiently.

"For Christ's sake, don't you understand anything? It looks as though October planted him on us, though how in hell he knew…"

"But Roke is only a stable lad."

"Only," said Adams savagely.

"But that doesn't make it any better.

Stable lads have tongues, don't they? And eyes? And look at him. He's not the stupid worm he's always seemed. "

"No one would take his word against yours," said Humber.

"No one is going to take his word at all."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to kill him," said Adams.

"I suppose that might be more satisfactory." Humber sounded as if he were discussing putting down a horse.

"It won't help you," I said.

"I've already sent a report to the Stewards."

"We were told that once before," said Humber, 'but it wasn't true. "

"It is, this time."

Adams said violently, "Report or no report, I'm going to kill him.

There are other reasons. " He broke off, glared at me, and said, " You fooled me. Me. How? "

I didn't reply. It hardly seemed a good time for light conversation.

"This one," said Humber reflectively, 'has a motorcycle. "

I remembered that the windows in the office's wash room were all too small to escape through. The door to the yard was locked, and Humber stood in front of his desk, between me and the window. Yelling could only bring Cass, not the poor rabble of lads who didn't even know I was there, and wouldn't bother to help me in any case. Both Adams and Humber were taller and heavier than I was, Adams a good deal so.

Humber had his stick and I didn't know what weapon Adams proposed to use; and I had never been in a serious fight in my life. The next few minutes were not too delightful a prospect.

On the other hand I was younger than they, and, thanks to the hard work they had exacted, as fit as an athlete. Also I had the crash helmet. And I could throw things. perhaps the odds weren't impossible, after all.

A polished wooden chair with a leather seat stood by the wall near the door. Adams picked it up and walked towards me. Humber, remaining still, slid his stick through his hands and held it ready.

I felt appallingly vulnerable.

Adams' eyes were more opaque than I had ever seen them, and the smile which was growing on his mouth didn't reach them. He said loudly, "We might as well enjoy it. They won't look too closely at a burnt-out smash."

He swung the chair. I dodged it all right but in doing so got within range of Humber, whose stick landed heavily on top of my shoulder, an inch from my ear. I stumbled and fell, and rolled: and stood up just in time to avoid the chair as Adams crashed it down. one of the legs broke off as it hit the floor, and Adams bent down and picked it up. A solid, straight, squMre-edged chair leg with a nasty sharp point where it had broken from the seat.

Adams smiled more, and kicked the remains of the chair into a corner.

"Now," he said, 'we'll have some sport. "

If you could call it sport, I suppose they had it.

Certainly after a short -SQafiepf time they were still relatively unscathed, wh^^Fw^^some more bruises to my collection, together With fast bleeding cut on the forehead from the sharp end of Adams' chair leg. But the crash helmet hampered their style considerably, and I discovered a useful talent for dodging. I also kicked.