ACCOMPANIED BY ELIZA and with Tristram taking the reins of the pony, Alice left Trethevy in the trap with the protests of her brother ringing in her ears. He had protested that such a journey should be undertaken by him, but it was Sunday and there were services to conduct. As it was he would need to walk to Tintagel to take the last of them and he complained that if it rained, he was likely to get very wet on his way to and from the church.
The route to Lostwithiel took the trio past a field that was part of the Moyle farm and here Eval Moyle was re-building a length of free-stone wall that had been in need of repair for many years.
The wall was alongside the lane and as they approached Moyle ceased work and stood watching them, one hand resting on the stonework. When they drew closer Alice braced herself to ignore the insults she expected him to direct at them as they passed.
None came, although he looked directly at them and kept watching until they passed out of sight along the winding lane.
‘I have been dreading meeting him ever since I heard he had returned from America,’ Alice commented, ‘and the very sight of him frightened me, but perhaps going away has mellowed him, although there was a smugness about him, almost as though for some reason he felt superior. Perhaps it is because he has seen something of the world now and we haven’t.’
‘I don’t believe he’s changed very much,’ Tristram said. ‘He led a temperance parade to the fair yesterday and had there not been a strong force of constables to keep order they would have clashed with the miners. I think that was probably his intention, although I must say he seemed friendly enough with the sergeant from the London police when I saw them chatting together later.’
Recalling what had gone on at the fair and Eliza’s revelation about her past, he suddenly fell silent.
Knowing nothing of his thoughts, Alice commented, ‘Well, he should be returning to America as soon as he has sold his farm. Hopefully it will be soon, then we can all forget about Eval Moyle for ever.’
Talk of the fair made Eliza unhappy and, in common with Tristram, it was the encounter with Maudie and not marriage that were uppermost in her thoughts. The unease she had experienced since then intensified and she felt it was somehow connected with Eval Moyle, yet she could not see how he could be involved with the incident in any way at all.
There were a great many hills between Trethevy and Lostwithiel and the journey took longer than the five hours estimated by Alice. The setting sun was balancing on the far horizon when they eventually reached the top of the hill above the town.
Looking down upon Lostwithiel with its jumble of houses and the ancient castle that together had once constituted one of the most important administrative centres in Cornwall, Alice realised she did not know where the Kendall home was situated. She did not even know the name of the house!
Fortunately, the family were very well known in the area having been established there for centuries and a passing farmhand directed them off the main road to where Pendower Manor, the home of the baronial family, was hidden among trees in the middle of an extensive estate.
It was fortunate they had asked before reaching the small town itself because the road into the town was extremely steep and the already tired pony would otherwise have had to turn around and take them back up the precipitous and winding lane.
Pendower Manor was everything that Helynn had not been. The house was extremely impressive with a number of substantial outbuildings and the whole surrounded by well-tended gardens.
The great wooden door at the pillared entrance to the house was opened by a footman who first asked her name and, when she said she had called to speak to Lieutenant Jory Kendall, invited Alice to take a seat in the impressive marble-floored hall while he informed Lady Kendall of her presence.
Seated in the hall, Alice felt suddenly very nervous. It was not only the thought of meeting with Jory again and trying to explain why she had so assiduously avoided him recently, but also the opulence of her surroundings. Baron Kendall was quite obviously a man of considerable wealth and importance.
She realised, depressingly, that there was a huge gulf between Jory’s social standing and her own as the orphaned sister of an insignificant cleric in a small, unimportant and impoverished Cornish parish. Alice suddenly felt that the dream she had once entertained of one day becoming Jory’s wife was no more than that … a dream. His parents would be seeking a wife for their son from among aristocratic families similar to their own.
Her depressing thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Lady Kendall who was accompanied by an attractive and well-dressed young woman who bore such a close family resemblance that Alice knew immediately she must be a sister to Jory.
Lady Kendell greeted her warmly, saying, ‘My dear, what a wonderful surprise! When Jory returned to Pendower and said he had not seen you during his visit to your home, I thought we were never going to meet you – but where are my manners?’
Waving her companion forward, she said, ‘This is Lowena, Jory’s sister, she too has heard a great deal about you from Jory.’
Lowena Kendall greeted the visitor to Pendower with a smile that emphasised her youthful beauty and Alice guessed correctly that she was the baby of the family. She had such an open expression that Alice took to her immediately.
The greetings over, Alice said, ‘I really must apologise for this intrusion, but I came here to speak to Jory on a most urgent matter concerning his safety.’
‘Oh dear! I am afraid Jory is not in the house. A coast guard messenger arrived this morning to say his presence was required immediately at Falmouth. He remained at Pendower until Jory’s return when they both left to board a steam launch awaiting them at Fowey.’
Alice’s spirits fell at the realisation that her arduous dash across the width of Cornwall had been in vain. Aware of how she must be feeling, Lady Kendall said kindly, ‘Come into the sitting room, my dear, we will order some refreshment for you and you can tell us what this is all about.’
‘I have left my personal maid and a servant with the pony and trap, I wonder whether they might be taken care of? It has been a long journey for them too. They are the young couple who announced their betrothal after being taken to Camelford fair by Jory yesterday. But before I forget I must thank you for the beautiful roses you sent with Jory. Their scent fills my brother David’s rather gloomy rectory.’
‘I am glad they brought you pleasure, my dear, and I will send someone to bring your servants in immediately. Jory has told us all about them. He has a very high regard for the young girl who I believe had a quite remarkable rescue from a shipwreck a few years ago. He also told Lowena and I how she saved him from taking a beating from one of these dissenting ministers. I look forward to meeting them both later. In the meantime Lowena will take you to the sitting-room while I organise sustenance for you.’