Authors: Unknown
"It would. She would never be ready in time, for one thing, and Charles travels too fast for another. He's off to San Francisco at the end of the week. Business comes first where Charles Is concerned," he added a little bitterly. "He lives in the family home in Scotland, but it's only a
pied-a-terre
as far as he's concerned. Most of the time he's travelling, very fast and very far. All the same, I suppose he does feel a certain obligation towards the old lady, since die's still the head of the family. When she wants to visit him she tells him so and he lays everything on. She's very fond of Scotland."
More and more, Mrs. Abercrombie was reminding Elizabeth of her mother, but the thought of Charles Abercrombie remained disconcerting. He had only to disapprove of her and her hopes of a visit to Scotland would be crushed, at least for the time being.
"Qantas has a reputation for taking care of elderly passengers," she pointed out to her own disadvantage. "You would only need to see your grandmother on the plane at Sydney and your brother could pick her up at London airport."
They went down in the lift.
"You don't know my grandmother!" Jason chuckled. "She could manufacture a dozen reasons on the journey to change her itinerary and not turn up anywhere near London, especially if she were to travel alone. A message would be waiting at the airport to tell Charles where she'd stopped off and he would be furious. My brother hasn't the time nor the inclination to chase all over the globe looking for her, so he wants me to find a suitable companion for her on the journey. A watchdog, if you like."
"I'm not the type," Elizabeth informed him, her heart sinking. "I'm quite sure I wouldn't be able to cope with —a self-willed old lady who was determined to have her own way."
"Why not?" They walked along the sidewalk in the autumn sunshine. "Several times you've referred to Scotland as 'home'," he pointed out. "You must really want to go."
"That's not the point," she objected. "We're not discussing my lifelong ambition or my desires, just my ultimate suitability for the job. I'd have to be quite certain that I could do it properly to—everyone's satisfaction."
"Don't let the thought of Charles frighten you." He took her arm to guide her across the busy street "By this time next week he'll be far away."
But waiting in London when they got there, Elizabeth thought. Then, suddenly, it seemed that she was making too much of Charles Abercrombie's reactions to her appointment as his grandmother's secretary-companion. By the time they met in London they would be saying goodbye and she would be free to travel to Scotland on her own. She had saved enough money to keep her in board and lodgings for six months, and the fact that her air travel would now be paid by the Abercrombies left her with a healthy balance for sightseeing in the fair land of her mother's birth.
A quick excitement stirred along her veins at the prospect as they turned into the restaurant of Jason Abercrombie's choice.
Looking at him across the table in one of the glass-enclosed booths which were a feature of the place, she found him agreeably attractive. He told her that he played a great deal of tennis and watched cricket at Trumper Park whenever he could, but his great love appeared to be sailing. He owned a small racing dinghy and had a part share in an ocean-going yacht.
"Sydney is the sailing man's paradise," he assured her. "Can you think of another city so well equipped with accessible bays, for instance? Even Charles has to admit that we have the advantage of good weather over here, although he's completely sold on the Western Highlands for his odd sojourn at sea."
Charles again!
"You make your brother sound too busy even to enjoy himself," she remarked.
"Abercrombie's comes first with Charles. It always has. Abercrombie's and Glen Dearg. He believes in roots, you see—Abercrombie roots going deep into the soil of Scotland for over three hundred years. We're an offshoot here, something that grew out of the Clyde connection quite naturally when an Abercrombie brother decided to settle overseas at the end of the last century."
"As you did in this," she suggested.
Jason Abercrombie hesitated for a second.
"I hadn't a lot of "choice," he answered slowly. "It was considered good for me at the time, and so I was sent to Sydney. I'm glad now, in a way, and Charles keeps an eagle eye on the business side of things. Flying to Australia to check up is like crossing the street as far as he's concerned."
Elizabeth felt curiously uneasy, wondering why Charles Abercrombie had left the choice of his grandmother's travelling companion to his brother when he so obviously liked to keep the reins tightly in his own hands, but probably it was a minor issue so far as he was concerned, not important enough to merit his attention to any significant degree.
She studied her menu while the waiter handed Jason the wine list. The restaurant was secluded and evidently expensive and he seemed to be well known to the management because more than one waiter hovered near their table and their first course was served immediately. Elizabeth savoured the quiet luxury of her surroundings with deep appreciation.
"Living in a bed-sit was never like this!" She smiled into her companion's appraising eyes. "It's very kind of you, Mr. Abercrombie."
"Not to mention!" he said. "I like congenial company when I go out for a meal. I could have eaten with Charles, and it was only by the merest fluke that he went out to Rushcutters' this morning."
Otherwise, Elizabeth thought, he might have conducted the interviews and she would not have been sitting facing Jason at this moment.
"Had your brother any specific qualifications in mind?" she asked apprehensively.
"At a guess, he'd be looking for perfection," Jason grinned. "But not to worry! Grand'mere will settle everything. Even Charles knows that and bows to the inevitable most of the time."
"I can hardly wait to meet your grandmother."
He glanced at his watch.
"We mustn't keep her waiting, but we've got plenty of time for a comfortable chat Tell me what you think of Sydney," he demanded.
"It isn't Brisbane, but you can let that pass. I was born and brought up in Queensland and I love it very much."
"Yet you're willing to leave it for a very long time."
"Six months. It isn't really long. Years ago I made up my mind to travel whenever I could. It was something I had to do, like every other Australian whose parents came from the 'old country'. My mother spoke so much about Scotland that I feel I know it already."
The immensity of the adventure upon which she had set her heart struck Elizabeth with a suddenness which was momentarily disconcerting, but somehow she thought that Jason Abercrombie would understand how she felt.
"It's my country, too," he said with surprising sincerity, "and one day I may go bade there, though not for keeps. I belong out here, I guess, and Charles can have his hills and lochs when he is finally head of the family. At the present moment Grand'mere is still head girl and loving every moment of it She's still a force to be reckoned with. She went to Scotland from France as a very young bride and die's been Abercrombie's ever since. Like most Frenchwomen, she has a keen business brain and she kept things ticking over when Grandfather. Abercrombie died until my father was able to take over in his turn. Grandfather was a wily old bird, I guess, when he left her most of the shares and a controlling interest in everything."
"Which means she has the final say," Elizabeth mused. "You said you were alike in many ways, you and your
grandmother," she prompted. "Does that mean you also have an astute business brain?"
He shook his head.
"That's where I let the side down," he confessed. "If it weren't for Charles's watching brief I'd be sunk. Hence Big Brother's periodical visits to Sydney."
They lingered over their coffee, served with a delightful assortment of small sweetmeats which Jason ate with enjoyment.
"I
come
here particularly for the 'afters'," he announced. "They're a speciality of the house and Grand'mere loves them." He consulted his watch. "I'll take her along some in a box. Don't worry about the interview," he added as they waited for the sweetmeats to be gift-wrapped. "She's the easiest person in the world to know. Like me," he suggested brightly.
"I wasn't thinking about your grandmother," Elizabeth confessed.
"Who, then?"
"I was wondering about your brother. He could so easily find me unsuitable."
"I'll put in a good word for you," he promised as he settled his bill. "It will carry weight with Grand'mere, at least."
Elizabeth determined to forget Charles Abercrombie. Like a passing ship, he would soon be lost on the horizon and, even if she had to meet him again in London on a specified date, it would be briefly.
When they reached the sidewalk Jason hailed a passing taxi.
"Rose Bay," he directed, getting in beside her.
Glad of his company, Elizabeth settled back against the cool leather upholstery to enjoy the ride. Rose Bay was a part of Sydney which she had not visited before and she looked about her eagerly. The busy streets, already thronged with afternoon shoppers, seemed warm and friendly, a happy augury for her coming interview with the head of the Abercrombie family, and Jason kept up a bright flow of conversation to assure her that nothing could possibly go wrong. She confessed inwardly that it would be a terrible blow to her if she didn't get the job, because it all fitted in so well with her plans.
They came to the Bay, turning down a side street lined with large, detached houses built during the Victorian era for the prosperous merchants of the town who were sailors at heart. Most of them looked out to sea, either directly or across little enclosed parks where the trees were already shedding their leaves, and here and there Elizabeth caught a glimpse of white-clad figures intent on a game of bowls or cricket while the season lasted.
The taxi driver pulled up on a comer where another side road led off to a row of houses even more secluded than their neighbours.
"No entry," he announced. "You'll have to walk from here."
Jason was already at the door.
"It isn't far. Just beyond the three posts." He paid the driver and tucked a friendly hand into the crook of her arm. "If we come by car we have to go round the other way, but the cabbies won't go round if they can help it."
"What about your grandmother?" Elizabeth asked. "Does she drive?"
"No," he smiled. "The cabbies go round the other way!"
Walking quickly, they went through between the posts into a sort of cobbled enclosure which looked as if it might have been a coachyard at one time.
"Here we are," Jason announced. "These old houses were converted into flats some time ago and they're just the job for people of Grand'mere's vintage. They're modern without seeming to be, and they have convenient lifts."
They went in at a heavy oak door, shooting up to the first floor in an electric lift which spilled them out on to a broad landing which had originally been an upper hall. Two wide oak doors confronted them and Jason rang the bell on the nearest one.
Elizabeth held her breath, wondering about first impressions and what an old lady of seventy-three would be looking for in a secretary-companion.
The door opened and Jason led her forward, kissing his grandmother on the cheek as they passed.
"Grand'mere, I've brought you the most efficient secretary-companion in Sydney," he announced lavishly. "You're bound to like one another, because I felt it in my bones as soon as we met."
"You fee! too many things in your bones,
mon cher!"
The voice was strong and vigorous, with a hint of laughter behind the words of reprimand. "But no doubt the young lady will make her own decision once you have gone."
"Am I not invited to tea?" he asked plaintively. "You have no heart, Grand'mere. I was looking forward to muffins and toast."
"If I know you, Jason, you have just finished an excellent lunch," his grandmother admonished. "Be off with you and let me manage my own affairs!"
Jason effected the necessary introduction with a rueful smile in Elizabeth's direction.
"You see how I'm treated! Grand'mere," he added, "this is Miss Elizabeth Drummond. Her mother was a Scot and she's very eager to go to Scotland."
"Indeed?"
Elizabeth found herself looking into a pair of brown eyes as shrewd as Jason's but without guile. Mrs. Abercrombie was taller than her grandson by several indies and she carried herself with a dignity he would never achieve. Her back was ramrod-straight, her piled-up hair snow-white and her skin, like fine old porcelain with the patina of age on it but without flaw. There were no wrinkles on her face except around the eyes, which suggested that she laughed often, and her mouth was firm and kind. She shook Elizabeth by the hand as they faced each other in the pleasant hall.
"We'll talk in here," she suggested, "where the sun lingers."
A door stood invitingly open on the right and she ushered Elizabeth into a pleasant sitting-room as her grandson prepared to take his leave.
"You must have work
to do," she told him firmly, "even if Charles is in Sydney for a few days."
"You'll come back to the office?" Jason suggested, looking at Elizabeth as he put the box of sweetmeats down on a table.
Elizabeth nodded.
"If you wish."
Mrs. Abercrombie went to the door with her grandson while Elizabeth looked about her. The sitting-room was large and expensively furnished in excellent taste, and it led on to a long, enclosed balcony overlooking a small park adjacent to the bay. Tall trees laced the skyline, while the glass effectively shut out the roar of traffic from the busy thoroughfare beyond. There was a stillness about the atmosphere which belonged to a bygone age, yet the distant view dominated the bays and the comings and goings of little ships. Yachts still cruised on the blue water and speedboats wove their impatient way out towards the headlands, although autumn had already set in and there was little time for sailing.