The Love Child

She opened her eyes. “Hello, Cilia,” she said.

I just held her in my arms and stepped out onto the balcony.

Everyone cried out joyfully at the sight of us. Carlotta looked at them all in surprise.

“Did you come to see the haunted house?” she asked. She looked at the stranger. “Who’s that?” she said.

I said: “Carlotta, we have been looking for you. You have been naughty again. You were supposed to be in your bed.”

She laughed. She was so enchanting when she smiled and I was overcome with such happiness to have her safe that I could only laugh with her.

“I wanted to see the haunted house,” she explained. “They went.” She pointed to Carl and Benjie. “They wouldn’t take me with them.”

“Well, we’ll get home now quickly,” said Leigh. “Do you realize that they are all worried about you? Sally will have something to say to you, I can tell you.”

Carlotta was momentarily sober.

“A happy conclusion to our search,” said the stranger.

“We are sorry to have intruded on you,” I replied. “And thank you for your help.”

“It was a very interesting encounter. I shall always remember the charming young lady who was asleep in the cupboard. If I take the house I shall call it Carlotta’s cupboard.”

“You must have the house!” cried Carlotta. “I want it to be called Carlotta’s cupboard.

You will have it, won’t you?”

“Just to please you, I am sure that the gentleman will,” commented Leigh.

“My name is Frinton,” said the man. “Robert Frinton.”

I felt my senses swimming. Frinton! Jocelyn had been a Frinton. It was not an unusual name, and yet on the other hand it was not a common one.

“I am Leigh Main and this is my wife, her brother and my half brother. There are rather complicated relationships in our family. Come back with us and have a meal.

That is, if you have time. We must hurry now because they are all anxious about this errant child.”

“What’s errant?” asked Carlotta.

“What you have been,” I replied fondly.

“Is it something nice?” she asked complacently.

Robert Frinton was saying how happy he would be to accept our invitation. He felt almost inclined to buy the house since it would mean that he would acquire such pleasant neighbours.

His horse was at the back of the house, which was why we had not seen it when we arrived, and soon we were all mounted, Carlotta riding with Leigh, and on our way back to Eversleigh.

There was great rejoicing when we arrived. Sally Nullens and Emily Philpots were waiting in the courtyard, and Sally pounced on Carlotta and demanded to know what she had been up to, the bad, wicked girl, giving us all the fright of our lives and going off like that.

Emily said: “And look at your gown. All dirty. And you’ve caught that lovely stitching.

I shall never be able to get that right, you see.”

Harriet smiled on the child benignly; my mother was beaming with delight and my father was trying to look stern and failing completely, while Carlotta smiled at us and said: “He’s going to call the cupboard Carlotta’s cupboard. It’s after me … because I went to sleep in it.”

“People that goes off and worries the life out of everyone don’t get cupboards named after them,” pronounced Sally. I burst out laughing. It was rather wild laughter, I suppose, because Leigh put his arm about me and said, “We’re forgetting to make the introductions.” And he told Robert Frinton who everybody was and my mother said how delighted she would be if he stayed and ate with us, and she would love to hear what he thought of Enderby.

Carlotta was put to bed with a scolding from Sally and Emily. I went hi to see her when I was ready for dinner. She was in bed by then. I think the walk to Enderby’s had tired her out, which was why she had promptly fallen asleep, after the manner of children.

She was none the worse for the adventure, but it struck me that she was growing up fast and we should have to be watchful of her. She was going to be wayward. I had always known that. I would talk to Sally about her the next day.

I kissed her and she smiled happily as I did so; she was half asleep but aware of me. I loved her so much and I wondered how I should feel when I had Leigh’s child, which I supposed I would in time.

I did not believe I could ever love any child as I loved this one.

Over dinner we learned that Robert Frinton was of the same family as Jocelyn.

“There was trouble in our family,” he told us. “A great tragedy it was. My brother and nephew were the victims of that archvillain, Titus Gates.”

“Ah, yes,” said my father, “I remember that well.”

“They confiscated much of his property. My brother was older than I and had the family estate. We lost it all. I have been compensated now but shall never go back to the old place. I was wondering about this Enderby Hall. It has possibilities.”

“It used to be a delightful place,” said my mother. “Once the garden has been cleared up and the house cleaned out, I think it should be all that it used to be in the past.”

“I think so, too,” said Robert Frinton. “I have a fancy for this part of the world.”