There was something about Stanford Lloyd that was almost too good to be true. He was a banker, and he looked like a banker. He was rather a handsome man though not young. He was very polite to me and thought dirt of me though he tried not to show it.
Well, I said when he had finally taken his departure, thats the last of the bunch.
You didnt think much of any of them, did you?
I think your stepmother, Cora, is a double-faced bitch if I ever knew one. Sorry, Ellie, perhaps I oughtnt to say that.
Why not, if thats what you think? I expect youre not far wrong.
You must have been lonely, Ellie, I said.
Yes, I was lonely. I knew girls of my own age. I went to a fashionable school but I was never really free. If I made friends with people, somehow or other theyd get me separated, push another girl at me instead. You know? Everything was governed by the social register. If Id cared enough about anybody to make a fuss but I never got far enough. There was never anybody I really cared for. Not until Greta came, and then everything was different. For the first time someone was really fond of me. It was wonderful. Her face softened.
I wish, I said, as I turned away towards the window.
What do you wish?
Oh I dont know I wish perhaps that you werent werent quite so dependent on Greta. Its a bad thing to be as dependent as that on anyone.
You dont like her, Mike, said Ellie.
I do, I protested hurriedly. Indeed I do. But you must realize, Ellie, that she is well, shes quite a stranger to me. I suppose, lets face it, Im a bit jealous of her. Jealous because she and you well, I didnt understand before how linked together you were.
Dont be jealous. Shes the only person who was good to me, who cared about me till I met you.
But you have met me, I said, and youve married me. Then I said again what Id said before. And were going to live happily ever afterwards.
Chapter 13
Im trying as best I can, though that isnt saying much, to paint a picture of the people who came into our lives, that is to say: who came into my life because, of course, they were in Ellies life already. Our mistake was that we thought theyd go out of Ellies life. But they didnt. Theyd no intention of doing so. However, we didnt know that then.
The English side of our life was the next thing that happened. Our house was finished, we had a telegram from Santonix. Hed asked us to keep away for about a week, then the telegram came. It said: Come tomorrow.
We drove down there, and we arrived at sunset. Santonix heard the car and came out to meet us, standing in front of the house. When I saw our house, finished, something inside me leaped up, leaped up as though to burst out of my skin! It was my house and Id got it at last! I held Ellies arm very tight.
Like it? said Santonix.
Its the tops, I said. А silly thing to say but he knew what I meant.
Yes, he said, its the best thing Ive done Its cost you a mint of money and its worth every penny of it. Ive exceeded my estimates all round. Come on, Mike, he said, pick her up and carry her over the threshold. Thats the thing to do when you enter into possession with your bride!
I flushed and then I picked up Ellie she was quite a light weight and carried her as Santonix had suggested, over the threshold. As I did so, I stumbled just a little and I saw Santonix frown.
There you are, said Santonix, be good to her, Mike. Take care of her. Dont let any harm happen to her. She cant take care of herself. She thinks she can.
Why should any harm happen to me? said Ellie.
Because its a bad world and there are bad people in it, said Santonix, and there are some bad people around you, my girl. I know. Ive seen one or two of them. Seen them down here. They come nosing around, sniffing around like the rats they are. Excuse my French but somebodys got to say it.
They wont bother us, said Ellie, theyve all gone back to the States.
Maybe, said Santonix, but its only a few hours by plane, you know.
He put his hands on her shoulders. They were very thin now, very white-looking. He looked terribly ill.
Id look after you myself, child, if I could, he said, but I cant. It wont be long now. Youll have to fend for yourself.
Cut out the gipsys warning, Santonix, I said, and take us round the house. Every inch of it.
So we went round the house. Some of the rooms were still empty but most of the things wed bought, pictures and the furniture and the curtains, were there.
We havent got a name for it, said Ellie suddenly. We cant call it The Towers, that was a ridiculous name. What was the other name for it that you told me once? she said to me. Gipsys Acre, wasnt it?
We wont call it that, I said sharply. I dont like that name.
Itll always be called that hereabouts, said Santonix.
Theyre a lot of silly superstitious people, I said.
And then we sat down on the terrace looking at the setting sun and the view, and we thought of names for the house. It was a kind of game. We started quite seriously and then we began to think of every silly name we possibly could. Journeys End, Hearts Delight and names like boarding-houses. Seaview, Fairholme, The Pines. Then suddenly it grew dark and cold, and we went indoors. We didnt draw the curtains, just closed the windows. Wed brought down provisions with us. On the following day an expensively acquired domestic staff was coming.
Theyll probably hate it and say its lonely and theyll all go away, said Ellie.
And then youll give them double the money to stay on, said Santonix.
You think, said Ellie, that everyone can be bought! But she only said it laughingly.
We had brought pâté en croûte[52] with us and French bread and large red prawns. We sat round the table laughing and eating and talking. Even Santonix looked strong and animated, and there was a kind of wild excitement in his eyes.
And then it happened suddenly. А stone crashed in through the window and dropped on the table. Smashed a wineglass too, and a sliver of glass slit Ellies cheek. For a moment we sat paralysed, then I sprang up, rushed to the window, unbolted it and went out on the terrace. There was no one to be seen. I came back into the room again.
I picked up a paper napkin and bent over Ellie, wiping away a little trickle of blood I saw coursing down her cheek.
Its hurt you There, dear, its nothing much. Its just a wee cut from a sliver of glass.
My eyes met those of Santonix.
Why did anyone do it? said Ellie. She looked bewildered.
Boys, I said, you know, young hooligans. They knew, perhaps, we were settling in. I dare say you were lucky that they only threw a stone. They might have had an air gun or something like that.
But why should they do it to us? Why?
I dont know, I said. Just beastliness.
Ellie got up suddenly. She said:
Im frightened. Im afraid.
Well find out tomorrow, I said. We dont know enough about the people round here.
Ellie got up suddenly. She said:
Im frightened. Im afraid.
Well find out tomorrow, I said. We dont know enough about the people round here.
Is it because were rich and theyre poor? said Ellie. She asked it not of me but of Santonix as though he would know the answer to the question better than I did.
No, said Santonix slowly, I dont think its that
Ellie said:
Its because they hate us Hate Mike and hate me. Why? Because were happy?
Again Santonix shook his head.
No, Ellie said, as though she were agreeing with him, no, its something else. Something we dont know about. Gipsys Acre. Anyone who lives here is going to be hated. Going to be persecuted. Perhaps they will succeed in the end in driving us away
I poured out a glass of wine and gave it to her.
Dont, Ellie, I begged her. Dont say such things. Drink this. Its a nasty thing to happen, but it was only silliness, crude horseplay.
I wonder, said Ellie, I wonder She looked hard at me. Somebody is trying to drive us away, Mike. To drive us away from the house weve built, the house we love.
We wont let them drive us away, I said. I added, Ill take care of you. Nothing shall hurt you.
She looked again at Santonix.
You should know, she said, youve been here while the house was building. Didnt anyone ever say anything to you? Come and throw stones interfere with the building of the house?
One can imagine things, said Santonix.
There were accidents, then?
There are always a few accidents in the building of a house. Nothing serious or tragic. А man falls off a ladder, someone drops a load on his foot, someone gets a splinter in his thumb and it goes septic.
Nothing more than that? Nothing that might have been meant?
No, said Santonix, no. I swear to you, no!
Ellie turned to me.
You remember that gipsy woman, Mike. How queer she was that day, how she warned me not to come here. Shes just a bit crazy, a bit off her head.
Weve built on Gipsys Acre, said Ellie. Weve done what she told us not to do. Then she stamped her foot. I wont let them drive me away. I wont let anyone drive me away!
Nobody shall drive us away, I said. Were going to be happy here.
We said it like a challenge to fate.
Chapter 14
Thats how our life began at Gipsys Acre. We didnt find another name for the house. That first evening fixed Gipsys Acre in our heads.
Well call it Gipsys Acre, said Ellie, just to show! a kind of challenge, dont you think? Its our Acre, and to hell with the gipsys warning.
She was her old gay self again the next day and soon we were busy getting ourselves settled in, and getting also to know the neighbourhood and the neighbours. Ellie and I walked down to the cottage where the gipsy woman lived. I felt it would be a good thing if we found her digging in her garden. The only time Ellie had seen her before was when she told our fortunes. If Ellie saw she was just an ordinary old woman digging up potatoes but we didnt see her. The cottage was shut up. I asked if she were dead but the neighbour I asked shook her head.
She must have gone away, she said. She goes away from time to time, you know. Shes a gipsy really. Thats why she cant stay in houses. She wanders away and comes back again. She tapped her forehead. Not quite right up here.
Presently she said, trying to mask curiosity, Youve come from the new house up there, havent you, the one on the top of the hill, thats just been built?
Thats right, I said, we moved in last night.
Wonderful looking place it is, she said. Weve all been up to look at it while it was building. Makes a difference, doesnt it, seeing a house like that where all those gloomy trees used to be? She said to Ellie rather shyly, Youre an American lady, arent you, so we heard?
Yes, said Ellie, Im American or I was, but now Im married to an Englishman so Im an Englishwoman.
And youve come here to settle down and live, havent you?
We said we had.
Well, I hope youll like it, Im sure. She sounded doubtful.
Why shouldnt we?
Oh well, its lonely up there, you know. People dont always like living in a lonely place among a lot of trees.
Gipsys Acre, said Ellie.
Ah, you know the local name, do you? But the house that was there before was called The Towers. I dont know why. It hadnt any towers, at least not in my time.
I think The Towers is a silly name, said Ellie. I think well go on calling it Gipsys Acre.
Well have to tell the post office if so, I said, or we shant get any letters.
No, I suppose we shant.
Though when I come to think of it, I said, would that matter, Ellie? Wouldnt it be much nicer if we didnt get any letters?
It might cause a lot of complications, said Ellie. We shouldnt even get our bills.
That would be a splendid idea, I said.
No, it wouldnt, said Ellie. Bailiffs would come in and camp there. Anyway, she said, I wouldnt like not to get any letters. Id want to hear from Greta.
Never mind Greta, I said. Lets go on exploring.
So we explored Kingston Bishop. It was a nice village, nice people in the shops. There was nothing sinister about the place. Our domestic help didnt take to it much, but we soon arranged that hired cars should take them into the nearest seaside town or into Market Chadwell on their days out. They were not enthusiastic about the location of the house, but it was not superstition that worried them. I pointed out to Ellie nobody could say the house was haunted because it had been just built.
No, Ellie agreed, its not the house. Theres nothing wrong with the house. Its outside. Its that road where it curves round through the trees and that bit of rather gloomy wood where that woman stood and made me jump so that day.
Well, next year, I said, we might cut down those trees and plant a lot of rhododendrons or something like that.
We went on making plans.
Greta came and stayed with us for a weekend. She was enthusiastic about the house, and congratulated us on all our furnishings and pictures and colour schemes. She was very tactful. After the weekend she said she wouldnt disturb the honeymooners any longer, and anyway shed got to get back to her job.
Ellie enjoyed showing her the house. I could see how fond Ellie was of her. I tried to behave very sensibly and pleasantly but I was glad when Greta went back to London, because her staying there had been a strain on me.
When wed been there a couple of weeks we were accepted locally and made the acquaintance of God. He came one afternoon to call upon us. Ellie and I were arguing about where wed have a flower border when our correct, to me slightly phoney-looking, manservant came out from the house to announce that Major Phillpot was in the drawing-room. It was then that I said in a whisper to Ellie: God! Ellie asked me what I meant.
Well, the locals treat him like that, I said.