Authors: Mary Burchell
'She resents my support of Janet.'
'Oh, no, Felicity ! She may dislike her niece, but she
wouldn't make a major issue of her. She's afraid Stephen Tarkman thinks too highly of you.'
'Thinks — too highly of me?' Mingled with the extraordinary stab of pleasure which that gave her came swift recollection of what Anthea Warrender had said. The few words between Stephen Tarkman and her husband, which she had so willingly handed on. 'Well —- yes, he does think highly of me as a teacher. He told Oscar Warrender so, I understand. But he has to think highly of his staff. Otherwise why should he select them?'
'I doubt if many of them are exceptionally attractive young women,' Mary retorted with a laugh. 'But I'm not going to
labour
the point. I only want to point out that a jealous, utterly self-absorbed woman who thinks you're in her way wouldn't stop at much to discredit you. Ordinarily, you would have your own good sense and integrity to protect you. But by your own admission Stephen Tarkman — your employer, whom you like — would unhesitatingly take her word against yours. Very tricky, if you ask me.'
There was a slight pause. Then Felicity said, 'You're dead right, of course. And thanks for the warning. I'll tread carefully, I promise.'
'You'll need to,' Mary told her drily. 'You'll need to.'
And yet during the first few weeks at Tarkmans everything went with unbelievable smoothness. Felicity was nervous at that first afternoon class, naturally. But the children were so very much like her own pupils at Carmalton - only perhaps more alert and inquiring - that she found herself handling them with the same
easy warmth and enthusiasm.
When she took her first evening class with the older students Stephen Tarkman himself came to introduce her. She was impressed by the way he combined an authoritative manner with a relationship of unforced friendliness towards young people. And she was a good deal touched and pleased by the way he spoke of herself. Without being fulsome, he somehow indicated that they were fortunate to have Miss Grainger among them, and in the informal discussion which followed, he gave her several opportunities to show herself in her most likeable and informative light.
'He doesn't make you feel
he
could do anything,' she told Mary afterwards. 'He makes you feel
you
could.'
'Perhaps that's how he's given Julia Morton the wrong ideas,' retorted Mary mischievously. But Felicity shook her head and smiled.
'She doesn't seem to be around much, I'm glad to say.'
'As a matter of interest, exactly where does she live?' Mary inquired.
'I'm not sure,' Felicity frowned
consideringly
. 'She has a flat in London, I know. I suppose that's her actual home. But the once or twice I've seen her since I went to Tarkmans she's tended to speak and behave as though she also is an integral part of the place.'
'Does anyone speak about her being engaged to Stephen Tarkman?'
'No. No one has mentioned it,' Felicity conceded. 'But perhaps there's been no formal announcement. And Tarkmans isn't what you'd call a gossipy sort of place.'
'I wouldn't call an engagement to Julia Morton a matter of gossip,' replied Mary with a laugh. 'I'd call it a disastrous fact.' But there the discussion ended.
Preoccupied though Felicity was with her new and exciting assignment, she lost none of her affection for and interest in her Carmalton pupils. And chief among these of course remained Janet. The child seemed to have recovered completely from the setback over the school concert, and once more she both astonished and delighted Felicity by her progress.
She was, Felicity knew, as good material as any at Tarkmans and better than all but the most advanced. It was maddening to think that the way had been virtually open for her, only to be barred by her aunt's dislike and spite. With any other child she would already have reopened the subject with Stephen Tarkman. But with Julia Morton's niece there were such very special difficulties in the way. Each time she felt an opening was about to present itself the recollection of their previous sharp disagreement laid an inhibiting restraint upon her, and she found herself unable to take just the right, impersonal line.
She reproached herself for cowardice, but could not bring herself to do anything that might cloud her happy relationship with Stephen Tarkman. It was strictly an employer-teacher relationship but, within those limits, an extraordinarily pleasant, even rich, one. He was not given to over-emphasis, but she knew that she was fulfilling all his high hopes of her, and never in her life had she been happier.
Janet's interests must wait for just the propitious moment, she told herself. If only there could be some informal, easy opportunity, some occasion when she could bring up the subject quite unemotionally, almost lightly.
And then, against all expectation or hope, the occasion presented itself. Anthea wrote from London to say that she would be singing towards the end of that month at Covent Garden. The unusual
'Adriana
Lecouvreur
'
was being staged more or less for her.
'I've always wanted to do it,
'
she wrote. 'It's musically fine and dramatically a honey — including a gorgeous death scene when I'm poisoned by a jealous rival. Would you like to come? I suppose a Saturday performance would be best for you. There is one on the thirty-first. Oscar tells me that Stephen Tarkman will be coming, so he could give you a lift. I take it you no longer have objections to driving in his car! Anyway, let me know if you would like to come and I'll see you have a ticket.'
'You'll go, of course?' said Mary when Felicity breathlessly read out the letter to her.
'Go?
I'd like to see anyone try to stop me! And if Stephen Tarkman really is going too—' She paused, looked more excited than she realized, and then went on more soberly, 'I'll have to leave it to him to suggest any question of a lift.'
'You might give him a useful little nudge in the right direction,
'
Mary suggested.
But, in fact, this was not required. Either by chance or tactful arrangement, the
Warrenders
had smoothed Felicity's path. For when she next ran into Stephen Tarkman in one of the long corridors of the big house, he stopped and said,
'Have you heard from Anthea about the
"Adriana"
performance on the thirty-first? Warrender mentions
in a letter to me that she is inviting you, and suggests that we might drive up to London together. What do you say?'
Felicity just managed not to say that the arrangement struck her as idyllic, that in fact nothing in all the world could be more delightful. With becoming restraint she merely said that, if the arrangement suited him, she would be most grateful for the lift. But no amount of self-control could keep the colour from her cheeks or the sparkle from her eyes.
She wrote her joyous acceptance to Anthea, and from then until the all-important Saturday she quaked at every remote possibility which might threaten the arrangement.
Nothing intervened, however. Both she and Stephen Tarkman remained in perfect health, no unforeseen disaster involved either of them, work was arranged so that the week-end remained blissfully free, and even the weather obliged with the most perfect summer day for their expedition.
In actual driving time the journey was no more than a couple of hours. But they left Carmalton about eleven o'clock, idled pleasantly on the way, and stopped for lunch at an attractive riverside restaurant. Here, over a meal excellent enough to guarantee anyone's good
humour
, she finally broached the subject of Janet.
A discussion about one or two of the more promising students at Tarkmans led quite naturally to an opening, the more so that he had consulted her opinion with an air of having respect for her views. It was not really difficult to say,
'And now may I bring up the subject of Janet
Morton again? It troubles me that the child did herself so much less than justice on that one occasion when you heard her. I'm very anxious to secure a second chance for her.'
He made a slight face and said, with an air of lazy protest which gave little importance to the matter, 'Do we have to dig up that particular bone of contention?'
'Yes, I'm afraid we do.' She managed to smile composedly, though she was secretly dismayed that he should immediately show a degree of antagonism over her very harmless
protégée.
'You've been good enough to show some confidence in my judgment. Why should you feel I am wrong in this particular instance?'
'I wasn't much impressed by her when I heard her.'
'There were special circumstances then, as you know.'
'We're rather going round in circles, aren't we?' He gave a slight, vexed laugh. 'You think I'm prejudiced and I think you are. There doesn't seem to be any meeting point for us about this particular child. Heaven knows there are all too few places at Tarkmans for the number of candidates on which you and I see eye to eye. Can't we just leave out the disputed cases - including Janet?'
'No.'
She added nothing to the monosyllable, although she knew it sounded stark on its own.
'You're a very obstinate person, aren't you, Felicity?'
It was the first time he had actually addressed her by her first name, and the touch of warm intimacy which it introduced into the conversation made her long to withdraw all opposition, rather than risk a cooling of their relationship. But Felicity was a natural fighter for justice, and she knew that in some sense of the term Janet was being denied justice.
She took a deep breath and looked Stephen Tarkman full in the face.
'I don't want to seem difficult about this, and I certainly don't want to make a personal issue of it. But I'd be lacking in professional integrity if I didn't fight for Janet and her chance of full development. She is, quite simply, the most remarkable pupil I've ever had through my hands — and that goes for the amazingly gifted children you have at Tarkmans too. If I agreed to desert her cause I wouldn't be worthy of the trust you have placed in me.'
He frowned and was silent for almost a whole minute. Then he said moodily, 'I told you once before, you let your sympathies with this rather pathetic little girl run away with your judgment.'
'No, you didn't say that,' she told him drily. 'Her aunt did — in front of you. What you told me was that I had allowed myself to become too emotionally involved to be a real support to her. You were both wrong, as it happens. I'm attached to Janet, for she's a likeable child. But what interests me — excites me — is the incredible degree of her musical feeling and understanding. To any teacher a child of that
calibre
is like a diamond. You can't believe you've really found it. Then you're overwhelmed by the responsibility of bringing it to perfection. Don't you see? -I couldn't let her be dismissed, along with other gifted children, as someone who wouldn't make the grade. I'd reproach myself for the rest of my life for failing
the
person I should have helped.'
'You're a very persuasive advocate, Felicity.' He smiled.
'I'm deeply convinced of the justice of my cause.' She also smiled, but her eyes were still anxious.
'I'll see what can be done about it.
'
He reached for the bottle of wine and refilled their glasses, as though that settled the matter.
'Can't you give me something a little more positive than that?' she asked.
'No, I can't, my dear.
'
His tone was rather curt now. 'What's the hurry anyway? The child is young.'
'If I tell you what the hurry is, will you promise not to be annoyed?* she said impulsively.
'No.' But his smile was decidedly indulgent that time. Then, with a hint of curiosity, he added, 'Tell me, all the same.'