didn’t suggest that there was anything disgraceful about him. According to her, he was the family hero.”
“He was very successful,” Will said drily. “But you won’t hear any of the good family stories from Bertha. She’s been there so long, she identifies with the Frasers. Come to think of it, I believe there is a remote connection, some great-great-great-ancestor in common.”
“Really?”
“Oh, we’re all inbred,” Will said solemnly. He gave me a look of mock alarm. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in genealogy as well as antiques.”
“Why not?”
“Somehow subjects like antiques and genealogy make me think of the Colonial Dames. Sweet old ladies in flowered hats.”
I had to laugh.
“Sorry to destroy your image, but I am interested in both. After all, me boy, the McMullens were kings of Ireland oncet.”
“They were?”
“No, they were not,” I said, abandoning the brogue. “Peasants, that’s what they were. And proud of it. But just because my granddaddy came over in the hold of a boat doesn’t mean I can’t be interested in other people’s family trees.”
“I think it’s very broad-minded of you,” Will said.
“So do I. You inbred aristocrats, with your receding chins and feeble-minded offspring, are the ones we peasants have to clean up after all the time.”
Will’s hand went up automatically to explore the contours of his chin. Then he grinned.
“Maybe you’ve got a point there.”
“Not about your chin, that was a distinctlyweak argument. Hadn’t we better be getting back? If I’m late for lunch, Mrs. Willard will glare at me and I’m scared of her.”
“We’ve got plenty of time. There’s something I want to show you on the way back. With your tastes, you’ll find it absolutely fascinating.”
Instead of going back by the path we had taken to reach the house, Will led me down the track—I refused to call it a road. We went toward the cliff, shaking off cats as we proceeded. When we reached the edge of the cliff, only the two Siamese were still with us. Even the splendor of the view could not keep me from glancing uneasily at the animals as they strolled and rolled near the cliff edge. The drop was not sheer, but it was steep and rocky; down below, the green waves dissolved into rainbow-shot lather amid glistening dark flanks of rocks.
The cats continued to follow us as we walked down the road. Farther down, where the track joined an unpaved but well-graveled road, Will turned aside into the pines. The gloom cast a corresponding shadow over my spirits. The cats didn’t share my feelings; their black tails were cheerfully erect as they prowled. Suddenly one gave a hoarse chirrup and leaped a fallen log, to disappear in the underbrush. Its mate was right behind it, ears lifted and hopeful.
“Won’t they get lost?” I asked.
“They know these woods better than I do.”
An unearthly howl came echoing back through the enclosing branches, and Will shook his head sympathetically.
“She missed that one.”
“They have the weirdest voices!”
“You should hear Mitzi when she’s in heat. Sounds like a lost child, or a sick baby.”
I gave my companion a startled look, but Will’s tanned face was as relaxed as his slouched body. So, I thought, he really doesn’t know. Why doesn’t Ran tell him?
Maybe, after our conversation, I should have been prepared for what Will was leading me into. But I don’t see how I could have anticipated the reality; the location of the place was certainly unusual. I came to an abrupt stop on the edge of the clearing, and stared.
The pines around the open space were so tall and dark that they gave the effect of a surrounding wall. Only when the sun was directly overhead would any but a twilight, diffused light enter here. At this hour the beams fell directly down upon the grass; the contrast was so extreme that the place looked like a stage set, illuminated by spot-and footlights.
The trees were not the only
“He was very successful,” Will said drily. “But you won’t hear any of the good family stories from Bertha. She’s been there so long, she identifies with the Frasers. Come to think of it, I believe there is a remote connection, some great-great-great-ancestor in common.”
“Really?”
“Oh, we’re all inbred,” Will said solemnly. He gave me a look of mock alarm. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in genealogy as well as antiques.”
“Why not?”
“Somehow subjects like antiques and genealogy make me think of the Colonial Dames. Sweet old ladies in flowered hats.”
I had to laugh.
“Sorry to destroy your image, but I am interested in both. After all, me boy, the McMullens were kings of Ireland oncet.”
“They were?”
“No, they were not,” I said, abandoning the brogue. “Peasants, that’s what they were. And proud of it. But just because my granddaddy came over in the hold of a boat doesn’t mean I can’t be interested in other people’s family trees.”
“I think it’s very broad-minded of you,” Will said.
“So do I. You inbred aristocrats, with your receding chins and feeble-minded offspring, are the ones we peasants have to clean up after all the time.”
Will’s hand went up automatically to explore the contours of his chin. Then he grinned.
“Maybe you’ve got a point there.”
“Not about your chin, that was a distinctlyweak argument. Hadn’t we better be getting back? If I’m late for lunch, Mrs. Willard will glare at me and I’m scared of her.”
“We’ve got plenty of time. There’s something I want to show you on the way back. With your tastes, you’ll find it absolutely fascinating.”
Instead of going back by the path we had taken to reach the house, Will led me down the track—I refused to call it a road. We went toward the cliff, shaking off cats as we proceeded. When we reached the edge of the cliff, only the two Siamese were still with us. Even the splendor of the view could not keep me from glancing uneasily at the animals as they strolled and rolled near the cliff edge. The drop was not sheer, but it was steep and rocky; down below, the green waves dissolved into rainbow-shot lather amid glistening dark flanks of rocks.
The cats continued to follow us as we walked down the road. Farther down, where the track joined an unpaved but well-graveled road, Will turned aside into the pines. The gloom cast a corresponding shadow over my spirits. The cats didn’t share my feelings; their black tails were cheerfully erect as they prowled. Suddenly one gave a hoarse chirrup and leaped a fallen log, to disappear in the underbrush. Its mate was right behind it, ears lifted and hopeful.
“Won’t they get lost?” I asked.
“They know these woods better than I do.”
An unearthly howl came echoing back through the enclosing branches, and Will shook his head sympathetically.
“She missed that one.”
“They have the weirdest voices!”
“You should hear Mitzi when she’s in heat. Sounds like a lost child, or a sick baby.”
I gave my companion a startled look, but Will’s tanned face was as relaxed as his slouched body. So, I thought, he really doesn’t know. Why doesn’t Ran tell him?
Maybe, after our conversation, I should have been prepared for what Will was leading me into. But I don’t see how I could have anticipated the reality; the location of the place was certainly unusual. I came to an abrupt stop on the edge of the clearing, and stared.
The pines around the open space were so tall and dark that they gave the effect of a surrounding wall. Only when the sun was directly overhead would any but a twilight, diffused light enter here. At this hour the beams fell directly down upon the grass; the contrast was so extreme that the place looked like a stage set, illuminated by spot-and footlights.
The trees were not the only
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