The Catherine Wheel

When they had said good-bye and were going slowly down the long drive Jeremy said,

“Mouldy old place, isn’t it?”

“Frightful! I’m sorry for Jack.”

Jeremy laughed.

“You needn’t be. He’s a cheerful soul, and he’s only there once in a blue moon.”

Jane laughed too.

“Will he marry an heiress? He doesn’t look the sort.”

“He will not. He’s in love with a girl called Molly Pemberton, a tremendously good sort. She hasn’t got a pe

He stopped the car just inside the two tall pillars.

“Jane, I want to talk. The Catherine-Wheel is crawling with constabulary and cousins, so I think we’ll have it out here. When are you going to marry me?”

He had let go of the wheel and taken her hands. She didn’t pull them away, but they were rigid and stubborn in his.

“I haven’t ever said I’d marry you at all.”

“Does it want saying?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Then say it!”

“Jeremy, let go!”

“Say it! Jane-darling-say it!”

She had meant to let him hold her hands for as long as he liked in a perfectly calm and friendly ma

“No-no!”

“Jane!”

She pushed him away.

“No-no-I won’t!”

“Why?”

“Cousins oughtn’t to marry.”

“I’m not your cousin.”

He spoke quite quietly, but it was like a thunder-clap. It stopped the giddy feeling. She blinked and said,

“What?”

Jeremy said it again.

“I’m not your cousin.”

Jane produced another monosyllable. She didn’t seem to have enough breath for anything else. Said,

“Why?”

“I’ll tell you. I’ve been going to. There hasn’t been much chance up to now. But we might as well be comfortable. Stop doing the ‘Unhand me!’ act and relax.”

Jane relaxed. The flood of emotion had subsided. It seemed, as Jeremy had just said, comfortable to have his arm round her. This place behind the pillars was dark. The Cliff road was dark and empty. She said,

“Why aren’t you my cousin?”

“Because I’m not a Taverner at all. My grandfather was Geoffrey Challoner’s son. That’s why I wanted to see the picture. Even I can see that I’m like him.”

“You’re frightfully like him.”

He laughed.

“I ought to be Sir Jeremy Challoner, with that old ruin tied round my neck, you know. Geoffrey was the elder son.”

“Jeremy-how exciting!”

“It is rather. My grandfather told me. You remember he was one of the twins, John and Joa

“What happened? Go on-quickly!”

“A

Jane drew a quick excited breath.

“Did old Jeremiah know?”

Jeremy stared.

“Must have done.”

She shook her head.

“Oh, no-not if the women didn’t want him to. A

“I don’t know. My grandfather didn’t say. You’ve got to remember that A

“Why didn’t they say so at the time? I mean, the baby was Sir Humphrey Challoner’s heir-why didn’t they hand it over to him?”

“Because it would have got them into a peck of trouble. Geoffrey was wanted for the coastguard’s death. Though everybody in the neighbourhood must have known that Jeremiah Taverner was up to the neck in the smuggling trade, having it all come out at a coroner’s court would have been quite another pair of shoes. Anyhow, whatever Jeremiah knew or didn’t know about the baby, he wasn’t for having an inquest on two sudden deaths on his licensed premises.”

“What did he do?”

“Well, I gather he was all for throwing the bodies into the sea, but A

“What did they do with them?”

“Bricked them up in the secret passage together with the marriage certificate which Mary had brought along and a statement signed by A