Midsummer's Eve

"Never should have been," she grumbled. "I know in me bones as she's no right to this place. I reckon it's all a put-up job, I do. And that Luke Tregern ... what right 'as he ... lording it over us all? King of the castle. Squire of the house.

It's ain't right, Miss Cadorson. It don't work.”

"You say there is gambling and drinking. Who joins them in this?”

"All the riffraff of the countryside. Come from miles they do. Where they find them I don't know. Villains, all of them. And they quarrel something shocking ... him and her. You can hear them shouting. Cador quarrels always took place behind closed doors ... in the way of the gentry. I don't know what we're coming to. Bob Carter comes in to the kitchen now and then. He's always been a friend of Mr. Isaacs. Mind you, he don't want to be seen at Cador. Luke Tregern wouldn't want him around. He sees too much. But Bob reckons it can't go on. There'll be a climax of some sort, he says. That's what worries us all at Cador, for what'll become of us? Oh, it s a sad day when you went, Miss Cadorson ... and none of us jlere believe her tale.

There's a bit of trickery somewhere.”

"The court believed it, Mrs. Penlock.”

"Courts is crazy sometimes. Some of them people couldn't see the [loses before their own faces.”

"It is wonderful to be back.”

I introduced Kitty. "Kitty has come with me from London. I shall need only one maid and Kitty takes good care of me.”

Mrs. Penlock studied Kitty with the calculating eyes she bestowed on the maids she employed, and I was pleased to see that they took to each other.

"You must come up to the house," she said to Kitty. "Some of the maids will like to meet you ... so will we all.”

"Is that wise, do you think?" I asked. "My maid to come to the house?”

"If I didn't have control over me own kitchen I'd walk out tomorrow, that I would,”

said Mrs. Penlock severely.

"I'd like to come," said Kitty.

"Then that's it. I'll send one of them over to fetch you.”

"I hear Mr. Hanson is away," I said.

"Oh yes ... so we're told. He's away quite a lot. Mind you, he knows what's going on but he does give Bob Carter a free hand. Bob says how lucky he was to have stepped into the Manor estate. There wouldn't have been room for him at Cador with Luke Tregern.”

She gave me a sly look and went on: "Bob says Mr. Hanson is not a very contented man lately. I reckon it's time he settled down.”

I had been at Croft Cottage a week when Rolf returned.

I had been living in a state of euphoria which meant that I was a good deal happier than I had been for a long time. I had thought that being here, where there were so many memories of my family, I should have been desolate; but this was not the case. They were constantly in my thoughts; I felt their presence here; and it was as though they were urging me to make something of my life-which I knew was what they would do if they were here.

I took pride in the cottage. I had not yet put it up for sale and hesitated to do this. I kept telling myself that there was plenty of time. Kitty and I went into the town to buy a few things which we needed. I was greeted almost ecstatically by the people whom I had known. Jack Gort scratched his head and said that things weren't what they used to be; and he was not referring to his catch. Mrs. Pendart shook her head and said that it wasn't natural for some to step into shoes that didn't fit ... not by a long chalk.

I guessed that they all deplored the change at Cador and, of course, they would all be very much aware of it. My father and his family before him had exerted a benevolent influence over the community; local troubles were brought to them; their role was that of caring parents.

"Things are different now," was the general comment.

Many of them were uneasy. They knew the great estate was in decline. Farmers were complaining at the lack of repairs to their homes; the place was going to rack and ruin, it was said.

Kitty was often in the Cador kitchen, but I supposed the new owners did not concern themselves much with what went on below stairs; and Isaacs and Mrs. Penlock, much as they disliked the lowering of standards, were still despotic rulers in their own domain.

Kitty had made a friendship with Mabel Tucker whom I remembered as a kitchen maid.

She used to come to the cottage on a return visit. I was very pleased to see Kitty so contented.

Then Rolf came over to see me.

He looked older, I thought. There were a few lines on his forehead which had not been there before, and he looked rather solemn. But his face lit up with pleasure when he saw me. He took both my hands and held them firmly.

"I heard you were back," he said. "I'm so pleased to see you.”

"It's good to see you too, Rolf.”

"I hear you have come back to sell the cottage.”

"That was my intention.”

"That mean you'll be going away ... permanently.”

"I really don't know what I'm going to do. It's hard to say ... so much depends.”

He nodded.

"All this ..." He waved his hand. "Such changes. Sometimes it seems quite unbelievable.”