She Came Back

They all looked at her. Philip looked at her. She seemed frankness personified, her colour a little risen, her lips smiling, her left hand with the big sapphire of A

“Perfectly right-that sort of thing is no good at all-sheer waste of time.” Her light eyes went maliciously to Emmeline. “What we want is to be practical. Why does Philip say that she isn’t A

Impossible for common sense to take a more irritating form. The voice, the darting glances passing from Emmeline to Lyndall and back to Philip, had a singularly antagonizing quality.

Mr. Codrington looked resigned and said,

“Perhaps Philip will answer that.”

Philip looked straight in front of him over the top of A

He told his story as he had told it in the parlour-the fall of France – Dunkirk -the desperate bid to get A

When he had finished, Emmeline had a question ready,

“You went over to get A

Miss Jocelyn shook the platinum head with its unsuitable fly-away hat.

“I thought Theresa’s craze for her ridiculous! I told her so, and she didn’t like it. People very seldom like the truth, but I make a point of saying what I think. I said it to Theresa, and she quarrelled with me. Nobody can say that it was my fault. We met at A

As everyone else round the table shared this opinion, there were no comments.

Emmeline said quickly,

“Please let Philip answer my question, Inez. He saw A

“Yes.”

“Then how much alike were they? That is what we all want to know.”

Philip looked at her. Milly Armitage thought, “He’s horribly strained. It’s worse than any funeral-and it’s going to go on for hours.”

Then that expressionless voice:

“I wasn’t thinking about likeness, I’m afraid. It was after midnight. I had to break in at the back of the house. Pierre woke up and got the girls. You say I saw them together- we were in the kitchen with a single candle. I hustled them off to get ready. I sent Pierre for the other people. The girls only came back just before we started.”

Emmeline persisted.

“But you did see them together-you must have noticed whether there was a likeness.”

“Of course there was a likeness.”

“A

Emmeline threw her a look.

“Hair doesn’t always stay the same colour-does it, Inez?”

Lilla wanted to laugh, and it would be just too dreadful if she did. Those terrible platinum curls! Why couldn’t people let their hair go grey when it wanted to? And then all at once she stopped wanting to laugh and thought, “It’s horrid- they’re not kind.”

Philip was speaking to Aunt Emmeline.

“A

“Then you don’t know how much like A

Thomas Jocelyn spoke for the first time. He said,

“This is all very painful, but it will have to be cleared up. You say A

“They didn’t ask for anyone else.”

“And you were quite sure that the girl who died in the boat was A

“I was quite sure.”

“It would have to be a very remarkable likeness to deceive you. But, on the face of it, this likeness must have existed. If this is not A

“It was A

“You certainly thought it was A

The two Jocelyns looked at one another. Philip had always respected his uncle’s judgment. He respected it now. He had also a good deal of affection for him. He said in a thoughtful tone,

“I agree that it might happen. I don’t agree that it did happen.”

CHAPTER 12

A

“Uncle Thomas, I’ve got to thank you-at once, without waiting-because you’ve cleared it all up for me. I can see how it could have happened-without Philip knowing. You’ve shown me not only that it did happen, but just how it happened.” Her hand dropped, her eyes went to Philip. “I’m afraid I said some rather horrid things when we talked about it, and I’m sorry. I want to ask you to forgive me. You see, I didn’t understand how it could have happened. I couldn’t get over the feeling that I had been left-” Her voice died. She looked away from Philip, who had not looked at her. She leaned back in her chair and for a moment closed her eyes.

Without moving, Philip was aware of all she did. Behind perfect control his thoughts were turbulent and racing. How clever-how damnably clever-the slight gesture, the failing voice. A

Everyone about the table shared a momentary embarrassment. Lilla sat a little closer to Perry. She slipped her hand inside his arm and squeezed it. She had the air of a small bright bird seeking shelter. Her fur coat, open at the neck, showed glimpses of a rose-coloured jumper, a string of milky pearls, a diamond clip. Everything about her was warm, and soft, and kind. She leaned against Perry, who was the most embarrassed person there. Scenes were the devil, and family scenes were the devil with knobs on. He thought the world of Philip, and he wanted him and everyone else to be as happy as he and Lilla were.

The silence was broken by Emmeline. Her husband’s remarks had surprised her very much. It wasn’t at all like Thomas to-well, to take charge like that. And he had interrupted her just as she was about to take charge herself, a thing she felt very well qualified to do-much better qualified than Thomas. She said now in her most decided voice,