Free The Four Swans by Winston Graham Page B

she alone of the other sisters knew something of Morwenna’s troubles, and she had seen as soon as they met this afternoon that they were not over. She had hoped and prayed that a few months of marriage, and especially the coming child, would have made her forget `the other man’.. Whether it, was thoughts of her lost love that were troubling Morwenna or merely that her gained love was not to, her liking, Garlanda did not yet know, but having now met Ossie she could see some of the problems her, sister had to face. It was a pity she was not staying, Garlanda thought she might have helped Morwenna more than any of the others. Morwenna was such a soft gentle creature, easily hurt but temperamentally, intended to be happy; in the, next few years she would have to harden herself to deal with a man like Ossie, to stand up to him, otherwise she would go under; become as much like a white mouse and as much in awe of him as those two little girls who crept around. She had to be given strength.
    As for the sister who was staying, Garlanda did not know what she thought and probably never would. For whereas Morwenna’s quietness and reticence were really as open as the day and came only from shyness, so that anyone could soon penetrate to her thoughts and feelings and fears, little Rowella with her thin nose and. narrow eyes and fluttering underlie had been inscrutable from the day she was born. Little Rowella, already three inches taller than Garlanda, was taking only a minor part in the conversation, now that, haltingly, it had broken out again. Her eyes travelled around the room, as they had been doing from time to time ever since she came into it, assessing it forming her own conclusions, whatever they might be, as no doubt she had formed her own conclusions about her new brother-in-law.
    Presently while the other two were chatting, she rose and went to the window. Darkness had almost fallen, but light still, glimmered’ on the river, which shone like a peeled grape among the stark trees.
    The servant came in with candles and drove the last of the retreating daylight away.
    Seeing Rowella so silent, Morwenna got up and went to the window and put her arm round her.
    `Well, darling, do you think you will like it here?’
    `Thank you, sister, I shall be near you.’
    `But far from Mama and your home. We shall need each other.’
    Garlanda watched her two tall sisters but said nothing.
    Presently Rowella said: `The vicar dresses his hair in a very pretty manner. Who is his operator?’
    ‘Oh.. Alfred our manservant, looks after him.’
    ‘He is not at all like Papa, is he?’
    ‘No … no, he is not.’
    `Nor is he at all like the new dean.’
    `The new dean is from Saltash,’ Garlanda volunteered.: `Such a little bird of a man.’
    Silence fell.
    Rowella said : “‘I do not suppose we are so near revolution as the vicar suggests. But there were bad riots at Flushing last week .. How far are we here from Truro?’
    ‘About a mile.‘A little more if one goes by the carriage road.’ `There are some shops there?’ `Oh, yes, in Kenwyn Street.’
    A pause. `Your garden looked pretty. It runs right to the river?’.
    Oh,, yes.’ Morwenna made an effort. `We have great fun, Sarah and Anne and I. When the tide is half in there is a little island that we stand on and pretend we are marooned and waiting for a boat. But if we don’t choose just the right time to escape, our feet sink in the mud and we get wet. And, we feed the swans. There are just four of them and they are quite tame. One of them has a damaged wing. We call her Leda. We steal scraps from the kitchen. Anne is terrified, but Sarah and I - they will feed out of our hand…’
    The darkness was now so complete that they could see only the reflections of themselves in the glass.
    Rowella said. `I have brought a pincushion to stick for you. It is of white satin and quilted curiously, the upper and undersides to be of different patterns. I think you will like