Read Online Mine for a Day by Mary Burchell - Free Book Online Page B

heroics.”
    “It’s not a question of heroics.” Frances’s breathing began to quicken dangerously. “That girl—”
    “Be quiet! I won’t have you speak so of Leila.”
    Leila herself was astonished at the tone of authority in which he said that, and Frances dropped her sullen gaze. But she continued—though in a lowered voice:
    “It was her idea. She says it was. Men are so silly. They never see when a girl wants to entangle them. She’s in love with you herself. Anyone can see it, the way she looks at you. She and her cousin seem to be a precious pair, and they’ve made a fool of you between them.”
    “Why, she’s jealous,” thought Leila wonderingly. “He says they don’t get on well together—but she is jealous of anyone who does get on with him.”
    Simon, however, was not noticing that just then.
    “That will do,” he said quietly to his sister, but the quietness of his tone did not hide his anger. “I have reason to be very grateful to Leila for all her help in this unfortunate business, and I won’t have her behaviour called in question. As for your ridiculous invention about her—her being in love with me—” He stopped for a moment, as though something had just occurred to him, and Leila felt her heart stop, too. Then he went on almost immediately, addressing himself to Leila: “I’m sorry you should be embarrassed and annoyed by such nonsense.”
    “I’m not embarrassed,” Leila managed to say rather faintly. And he turned again to his sister.
    “The really important thing is to have your assurance that you will help us to keep Mother in ignorance for the time being.”
    Frances was silent.
    “Frances,” he exclaimed exasperatedly, “can’t you see how important it is? Forget about yourself for once. You’re as anxious as I am that Mother should have the best possible chance. For God’s sake, help us to see that she has it.”
    Frances shot an extraordinarily unfriendly glance at Leila. Then she shrugged and said:
    “Well, since you’ve started this disgraceful business, I suppose the only thing is to keep it up.”
    Leila, for her part, was reluctantly realizing what a singularly unpleasant few days lay before her. Frances set the note for them immediately by enquiring, with malice:
    “Do you want any alterations made in the matter of rooms—now?”
    The pause before the “now” was so significant that Leila felt she was only beating the air when she replied firmly:
    “Yes, please. Of course we were going to get you to do that, anyway.”
    Frances laughed. It was quite a soft laugh, but it expressed such an amount of contemptuous incredulity that Leila felt her colour rise, and Simon said sharply:
    “I think we’ll cut out innuendoes for the weekend, Frances. If you haven’t learned to know me better than that—”
    “It wasn’t about you that I was thinking,” replied his sister, and went out of the room.
    He came across to Leila at once.
    “My dear, I’m more sorry than I can say—”
    “Oh, please don’t!”
    She was not quite sure why she pushed away the arm he would have put round her. In a way, she would have been so glad of this sign of his concern for her. But perhaps her instinct told her that any show of affection, or even anxiety, would be unwise in the next few days. Anyway, she did put his arm away—and then felt remorseful because he looked so extremely rebuffed.
    “Now I’m sorry, Simon.” She laughed uncertainly. “Please don’t pay any attention to me. I’m getting nervy and silly.”
    “Oh, no, you’re not. It’s been a pretty trying day for you, and any girl would be feeling sore with everyone by now. I do apologize for Frances—”
    “You don’t need to.”
    “But I’ve never known even her take up quite such an extraordinary attitude.”
    “Well, she’s jealous, of course,” Leila said.
    “Jealous?” Simon looked utterly astonished. “But why ever should she be?” he wanted to know. And Leila thought: “How stupid