when
everything else was,' Mrs Parry said with a sigh. 'It was a great
grief to her, and Gethyn knew that, so he went all over Wales
tracing them after the sale and buying them back for her. They were
all in the paddock at the back of the house waiting for her when she
got here. I'll never forget her face and nor will Gethyn, I daresay.
She always did think the world of him ...' Mrs Parry broke off in
sudden embarrassment as if aware that the tenor of her remarks was
hardly likely to recommend them to Gethyn's wife. 'But they weren't
enough, of course, for the pony-trekking, so Huw Morgan
suggested he go in with her as a kind of sleeping partner. He and
his sisters had always ridden, but when the girls married and moved
away the horses were just there, eating their heads off.'
'It sounds an ideal arrangement.' Davina was not sure of her
reaction to an implication that there might be a warmer than merely
cousinly feeling between Gethyn and Rhiannon. She was a lovely
creature with that wild, rather coltish beauty which, for Gethyn,
would not be spoiled by hostility or resentment. She frowned to
herself, realising now the probable reason for Rhiannon's overt
dislike. . But it gave her also a glimmer of hope. If Gethyn was
attracted to his young cousin—if he was already in love with her,
then wouldn't he be more than ready to accede to the divorce? With
a slight pang, she recalled the sensual pout of Rhiannon's lower lip
and the fullness of her breasts under the faded shirt. Gethyn would
be more fortunate with his second choice, she told herself.
Rhiannon would not poison their wedding night with her qualms
and doubts, but then she and Gethyn would not be strangers to each
other. Perhaps they were even lovers already.
But a glance at Mrs Parry's serene expression and untroubled eyes
told her that this could not be true. It was impossible that they could
be carrying on such a relationship beneath this roof without her
being aware of it, or even suspecting as much, and there was none
of the guilt of hidden knowledge in her smile as she thanked Davina
for helping her with the vegetables.
Davina guessed she wished to be alone to put the finishing touches
to the meal and made a tactful withdrawal. Some of the guests
staying at Plas Gwyn had returned while she was in the kitchen, and
when she pushed open the sitting room door she seemed,
disconcertingly, to be confronted by a sea of unfamiliar faces. But
mutual introductions were soon completed and Davina found
herself drawn into the general conversation. It was taken for
granted that she was there on holiday like themselves and she was
soon the recipient of a number of maps and guide books which, she
was assured, would help her make the most of her time at Moel y
Ddraig.
There were a number of games in a cupboard at the far end of the
room, and before long she had succumbed to the lure of Snakes and
Ladders with some of the younger members of the group.
'I saw a snake today,' said Timothy Fenton, a freckled
eight-year-old, with a disarming air of earnestness as he slid his
counter up the rungs of a ladder. 'I thought it was an adder, but Dad
said it was only a grass snake.'
His tone made it clear that in the excitement stakes, grass snakes
were virtual non-starters. Davina repressed a shudder.
'I'm not very keen on snakes,' she admitted, and Jenny, Tim's
younger sister, sent her a grateful look. 'Are there many round
here?'
'Millions,' said Tim cheerfully. 'But you're O.K. as long as you stick
to the paths, or at least that's what Mr Lloyd said. He said snakes
won't bother you as long as you don't disturb them by treading on
them or anything.' Again the implication was clear that Mr Lloyd's
words were law second only in importance to that of the Medes and
Persians. 'We walked right up the stream to the waterfall. I wanted
to go behind the waterfall to find the dragon's cave, but Jenny
wouldn't. She spoils everything,' he
everything else was,' Mrs Parry said with a sigh. 'It was a great
grief to her, and Gethyn knew that, so he went all over Wales
tracing them after the sale and buying them back for her. They were
all in the paddock at the back of the house waiting for her when she
got here. I'll never forget her face and nor will Gethyn, I daresay.
She always did think the world of him ...' Mrs Parry broke off in
sudden embarrassment as if aware that the tenor of her remarks was
hardly likely to recommend them to Gethyn's wife. 'But they weren't
enough, of course, for the pony-trekking, so Huw Morgan
suggested he go in with her as a kind of sleeping partner. He and
his sisters had always ridden, but when the girls married and moved
away the horses were just there, eating their heads off.'
'It sounds an ideal arrangement.' Davina was not sure of her
reaction to an implication that there might be a warmer than merely
cousinly feeling between Gethyn and Rhiannon. She was a lovely
creature with that wild, rather coltish beauty which, for Gethyn,
would not be spoiled by hostility or resentment. She frowned to
herself, realising now the probable reason for Rhiannon's overt
dislike. . But it gave her also a glimmer of hope. If Gethyn was
attracted to his young cousin—if he was already in love with her,
then wouldn't he be more than ready to accede to the divorce? With
a slight pang, she recalled the sensual pout of Rhiannon's lower lip
and the fullness of her breasts under the faded shirt. Gethyn would
be more fortunate with his second choice, she told herself.
Rhiannon would not poison their wedding night with her qualms
and doubts, but then she and Gethyn would not be strangers to each
other. Perhaps they were even lovers already.
But a glance at Mrs Parry's serene expression and untroubled eyes
told her that this could not be true. It was impossible that they could
be carrying on such a relationship beneath this roof without her
being aware of it, or even suspecting as much, and there was none
of the guilt of hidden knowledge in her smile as she thanked Davina
for helping her with the vegetables.
Davina guessed she wished to be alone to put the finishing touches
to the meal and made a tactful withdrawal. Some of the guests
staying at Plas Gwyn had returned while she was in the kitchen, and
when she pushed open the sitting room door she seemed,
disconcertingly, to be confronted by a sea of unfamiliar faces. But
mutual introductions were soon completed and Davina found
herself drawn into the general conversation. It was taken for
granted that she was there on holiday like themselves and she was
soon the recipient of a number of maps and guide books which, she
was assured, would help her make the most of her time at Moel y
Ddraig.
There were a number of games in a cupboard at the far end of the
room, and before long she had succumbed to the lure of Snakes and
Ladders with some of the younger members of the group.
'I saw a snake today,' said Timothy Fenton, a freckled
eight-year-old, with a disarming air of earnestness as he slid his
counter up the rungs of a ladder. 'I thought it was an adder, but Dad
said it was only a grass snake.'
His tone made it clear that in the excitement stakes, grass snakes
were virtual non-starters. Davina repressed a shudder.
'I'm not very keen on snakes,' she admitted, and Jenny, Tim's
younger sister, sent her a grateful look. 'Are there many round
here?'
'Millions,' said Tim cheerfully. 'But you're O.K. as long as you stick
to the paths, or at least that's what Mr Lloyd said. He said snakes
won't bother you as long as you don't disturb them by treading on
them or anything.' Again the implication was clear that Mr Lloyd's
words were law second only in importance to that of the Medes and
Persians. 'We walked right up the stream to the waterfall. I wanted
to go behind the waterfall to find the dragon's cave, but Jenny
wouldn't. She spoils everything,' he
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