Pilgrim’s Rest

Judy had a feeling that she was going to hear more than she wanted to about Gloria’s mum. It was a relief when she departed kitchenwards. But oh, what a lot of cleaning there was to be done, and what a little time there was going to be to do it in!

When she heard the click of the door along the passage and saw out of the tail of her eye something large and male in a dressing-gown limp over to the bathroom, she went hurriedly in to do the room.

Rooms are interesting. They tell you a lot about the people who live in them. This one told her something about the Pilgrims. Because it was, she thought, the nicest room in the house, and only nice people would give the nicest room in the house to a more or less pe

She turned back to the room and looked at it between curtains gay with flowers. There were a couple of deep, comfortable chairs, and a spacious sofa, as well as the bed, which had a most expensive and up-to-date spring mattress. There were bookshelves against the walls, books piled on the bedside table, a radio set-everything, in fact, that kindness could suggest to soften an invalid’s lot.

As Judy got on with her work she felt pleased about this. She thought slightingly about Frank Abbott, who had tried to put spokes in the wheel and stop her coming down to such nice people. These feelings were confirmed when she presently ran out into the garden to see how Pe

chapter 7

The sun shone for two days. Roger Pilgrim went away up to town. Pe

“It’s bored of being a little girl. It’s a lion-it’s a very fierce, stamping lion. Make it a tail to go swish, swish!”

Judy pi

A few minutes later Miss Janetta called her, and she found herself involved in looking for a ring which had fallen and rolled. Miss Netta, in a pale blue dressing-gown, continued to arrange her elaborate curls, and to say at intervals, “I can’t think where it’s gone,” or, “It must be somewhere.” By the time Judy had found it and emerged into the passage she was hot and dusty, and Pe

She had. Before she reached it Judy could hear the growling noise which meant that Pe

Jerome Pilgrim sat forward in his chair. He wore a camels-hair dressing-gown, and he looked very large. One side of his face was handsome still, but drawn and haggard. The other, partly screened by a lifted hand, showed a long puckered scar which ran from temple to chin. The eyes which looked from those hollow sockets were dark and moody. The hair above the frowning brows was almost black except for a long white streak which carried on the line of the scar.

Pe

“Did something bite your face? Was it a lion?”

The deep, rather harsh voice said,

“Something like that. You’d better run away.”

Pe

“It’s not a fierce lion any more. It’s a kind lion. It won’t bite. Does it hurt where the bad lion bit you?”

“Sometimes.”

Pe

Judy heard him laugh. It wasn’t a merry sound.

“Well, no-they didn’t.”

“Silly people!” Pe

Jerome Pilgrim sat up with a jerk as Judy came round the door. She said in the most matter-of-fact voice she could manage,

“I’m so sorry, Captain Pilgrim-Miss Janetta called me and she got away. She isn’t really used to being in somebody else’s house yet. Come along, Pe

As she spoke, his hand had gone up to his cheek. Pe

“Not come-stay. Man tell story-’bout lion-”

“Pe

Judy got a frown, Jerome Pilgrim an enchanting smile.

“It wants a story. ’Bout a fierce pouncy lion.”

Judy could see him slipping. She thought it would be frightfully good for him to take Pe

“She’d love it if you would-and I’d get on about twice as fast. But not if it would be a bother-”

There was a spark of bitter amusement in the dark eyes.

“She gets her way a good deal, doesn’t she? But you’d better take her away-I don’t want to give her bad dreams.”

He wasn’t prepared for the bluntness with which she came back at him.

“Don’t be stupid! Why should you give her dreams?”

If the words were blunt, she had a friendly smile and a friendly voice. A pleasant-looking young thing-nice brown hair, nice teeth, blue overall-looked at him as if he was a human being and not an object of pity. His hand had dropped. He said,

“Well, I’m not very pretty-am I?”

He thought she looked surprised.

“Because you’ve got a scar? What difference does it make? Men don’t have to bother about their complexions. As for Pe

She went away without really giving him time to answer, leaving the door as she had found it. She left the bathroom door open too. As she cleaned the bath and tidied up, snatches of Androcles and the Lion came to her-snatches of Pe