Read Online Mediterranean Nights by Dennis Wheatley - Free Book Online

no wish to continue this chance acquaintance she wished intensely to pour out her woes to some sympathetic ear. Aged Aunt was out of the question—she knew no one of her own age in Monte Carlo, and this young man had brought it on himself, so she leant forward with both arms on the little table, cupped her little, firm, round chin in her hands and continued.
    â€˜It’s like this. Father died when I was quite young, and I never knew my mother. Aged Aunt brought me up. We’ve got a place in Gloucestershire; it’s rather lovely really; not very big, you know—but it’s been in the family for three hundred years. Father was frightfully keen that it should not go to anyone with another name, and, poor darling, he never had a son. He put the property in trust with enough money to keep it up, and in addition to that he put aside a further thirty thousand pounds. I was to live there until I was twenty-one—after that I was to have a year to make up my mind. If I decided to marry my cousin, I was to have the property and he was to have the thirty thousand pounds. If I didn’t he got the place and the thirty thousand went to the hospitals. You see, Father wanted him to keep the name going, but he wanted me to have the place—the money was the bait to make Cousin Henry marry me.’
    The young man’s eyes widened. ‘
Bait
’ he was thinking, ‘the father must have died when his daughter was very young indeed to think that bait would be necessary to entice a man to marry her,’ but he kept his thoughts discreetly to himself and merely said: ‘Seems a bit hard on you, doesn’t it—what’s Cousin Henry like?’
    â€˜I don’t know; he lives in Canada. Last time he was in England I was at school in Paris—he’s coming over again next week.’ An angry light came into Sally’s grey eyes. ‘But whatever he’s like I won’t marry him—I’ve made up my mind about that.’
    â€˜I must say I think it was rather rotten of your father to cut you off like that.’
    â€˜Not really.’ She shook her head. ‘He didn’t mean to, he was awfully rich when he made that will, and he left me the residue of his estate. I shouldn’t have missed the thirty thousand if it hadn’t been for the war, but all his investments were in Russia and he was nearly ruined. It was the shock that killed him, I think. Of course, they couldn’t touch the place or the thirty thousand, but by the time everything was cleared up there was only a little over two thousand for me.’
    â€˜What appalling luck—wills are tricky things, they often pan out quite differently to their maker’s intentions. But what’s all this got to do with your mighty flutter—is it that two thousand that you’ve just done in?’
    Sally nodded gravely, it really was a comfort to talk to this nice young man. That’s it,’ she said. ‘You see I’m nearly twenty-two and I had to make some arrangements for the future—you can’t live on a hundred a year—at least I can’t, but two-fifty is different. There’s a little cottage outside the Park that’s going quite cheap, and I’ve got an idea that I could write a bit. If I could have turned my two thousand into five I could have managed, but that’s impossible now. I suppose it’s charity with Aged Aunt, or some rotten job in London.’
    â€˜You’ve quite made up your mind not to marry Cousin Henry then?’
    â€˜Quite.’ Sally viciously jabbed the butt of her cigarette in the ash-tray. ‘I’ve never seen him and I don’t want to. I’ve hated the idea ever since I was old enough to think. What makes me so furious is that I had such marvellous luck inmy first week, by the fourth night I was up seven hundred pounds.’
    He opened his mouth to speak, but she broke in quickly: ‘If you say