so far far away they'd become unreal. As it was—if Steve Gascoyne was here then somehow the place wasn't isolated, it was overcrowded. And it was the situation here that was the unreal one—so unreal she simply didn't know how to cope with it.
Meanwhile she hadn't answered Charlie, and Steve said laconically, 'I think you've got Ellis stumped, Charl ie. After all, the girl's only just this minute set foot on the place, and it's probably not in the least like she expected. She has a bit of adjusting to do before she decides if she's going to like it or not.'
`Sorry,' Charlie said with a smile. 'Where are you from, Ellis?'
`From Melbourne,' Ellis said, and knew he must be wondering where and how she'd met his brother. But he didn't ask, he was too tactful. She was debating whether she should say she was Jan Webster's cousin when Steve asked abruptly, 'Where's Leanne?'
`Leanne? Oh, she went into Whitemark shopping,' Charlie said, sounding vaguely uncomfortable. They were driving along a white road that glistened with
quartz, and at the end of it was the thicket of trees hiding the house Ellis had seen from the air. Steve didn't pursue the subject of Leanne, but when Charlie pulled up at the gates he let him get out and open them and told him when he came back to the driver's seat, 'You can drop us off in the drive, Charl ie. Ellis and I will sort ourselves out.'
`Okay,' his brother agreed, and added, 'Sorry about Leanne, but you know how it is.'
`It doesn't matter,' Steve said briefly.
The house, when they reached it, was a complete surprise to Ellis The thick trees—she-oaks and tea-trees with a scattering of picturesque `blackboys' under them—ringed a wide clearing that had been made into a garden, and set in the midst of it was an unexpectedly attractive two-storied house. It was like coming on a house in the middle of a forest, Ellis thought, so hidden and secret and away from the world it seemed. It had a grey sloping roof and wide eaves, and enormous windows that from upstairs, as she discovered later, gave a view of the sea. A white quartz-gravelled drive circled a lawn and garden beds, where there were clumps of blue and white agapanthus flowers—the Star of Bethlehem—and belladonna lilies shone like pink lamps from among the trees. It was hard to realise that beyond the sheltering trees there were all those paddocks, stretching away towards wild-looking granite-topped mountains etched against a blue sky.
Charlie pulled up in the shade of a red-flowering gum, and Steve swung the door open and climbed out, followed by Ellis.
`Carry on with what you were doing, Charlie,' he said as his younger brother helped him carry their belongings and the other packages up the steps to where the front door stood open. 'I'll probably join you later.'
Ellis, waiting at the door, felt a tremor of apprehension as the vehicle completed its circuit of the drive and disappeared into the trees, leaving her very much alone with the man whose fiancée she had refused to be.
`Go on in,' he told her. 'The bedrooms are upstairs.'
Ellis hesitated, then turned quickly away from the expression she saw in his eyes and started up the stairway. It was of polished wood, uncarpeted, and the open treads made it look very elegantly light and airy. She said uneasily over her shoulder to Steve, who was following her with the bags, 'I'm sorry Leanne's not here. I—I suppose she didn't know we were coming.'
`She knew I was coming,' he said. 'But I don't warrant a welcoming party as far as Leanne's concerned. She and I have a few differences of opinion.'
`I don't wonder,' thought Ellis, and paused at the top of the stairway so that he could show her where to go.
`You'd better have the spare room,' he decided. `Leanne won't have done anything about Aunt Constance's room.' He moved across the wide hallway whose handsome polished floor was partly covered with thickly piled moss green carpet. There were dark beams in the ceiling, and
Meanwhile she hadn't answered Charlie, and Steve said laconically, 'I think you've got Ellis stumped, Charl ie. After all, the girl's only just this minute set foot on the place, and it's probably not in the least like she expected. She has a bit of adjusting to do before she decides if she's going to like it or not.'
`Sorry,' Charlie said with a smile. 'Where are you from, Ellis?'
`From Melbourne,' Ellis said, and knew he must be wondering where and how she'd met his brother. But he didn't ask, he was too tactful. She was debating whether she should say she was Jan Webster's cousin when Steve asked abruptly, 'Where's Leanne?'
`Leanne? Oh, she went into Whitemark shopping,' Charlie said, sounding vaguely uncomfortable. They were driving along a white road that glistened with
quartz, and at the end of it was the thicket of trees hiding the house Ellis had seen from the air. Steve didn't pursue the subject of Leanne, but when Charlie pulled up at the gates he let him get out and open them and told him when he came back to the driver's seat, 'You can drop us off in the drive, Charl ie. Ellis and I will sort ourselves out.'
`Okay,' his brother agreed, and added, 'Sorry about Leanne, but you know how it is.'
`It doesn't matter,' Steve said briefly.
The house, when they reached it, was a complete surprise to Ellis The thick trees—she-oaks and tea-trees with a scattering of picturesque `blackboys' under them—ringed a wide clearing that had been made into a garden, and set in the midst of it was an unexpectedly attractive two-storied house. It was like coming on a house in the middle of a forest, Ellis thought, so hidden and secret and away from the world it seemed. It had a grey sloping roof and wide eaves, and enormous windows that from upstairs, as she discovered later, gave a view of the sea. A white quartz-gravelled drive circled a lawn and garden beds, where there were clumps of blue and white agapanthus flowers—the Star of Bethlehem—and belladonna lilies shone like pink lamps from among the trees. It was hard to realise that beyond the sheltering trees there were all those paddocks, stretching away towards wild-looking granite-topped mountains etched against a blue sky.
Charlie pulled up in the shade of a red-flowering gum, and Steve swung the door open and climbed out, followed by Ellis.
`Carry on with what you were doing, Charlie,' he said as his younger brother helped him carry their belongings and the other packages up the steps to where the front door stood open. 'I'll probably join you later.'
Ellis, waiting at the door, felt a tremor of apprehension as the vehicle completed its circuit of the drive and disappeared into the trees, leaving her very much alone with the man whose fiancée she had refused to be.
`Go on in,' he told her. 'The bedrooms are upstairs.'
Ellis hesitated, then turned quickly away from the expression she saw in his eyes and started up the stairway. It was of polished wood, uncarpeted, and the open treads made it look very elegantly light and airy. She said uneasily over her shoulder to Steve, who was following her with the bags, 'I'm sorry Leanne's not here. I—I suppose she didn't know we were coming.'
`She knew I was coming,' he said. 'But I don't warrant a welcoming party as far as Leanne's concerned. She and I have a few differences of opinion.'
`I don't wonder,' thought Ellis, and paused at the top of the stairway so that he could show her where to go.
`You'd better have the spare room,' he decided. `Leanne won't have done anything about Aunt Constance's room.' He moved across the wide hallway whose handsome polished floor was partly covered with thickly piled moss green carpet. There were dark beams in the ceiling, and
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