Free The Gabriel Hounds by Mary Stewart Page B

a short pause, then he said, agreeably enough:
    ‘We could certainly find you one.’
    I looked across at Hamid. ‘Do you mind? We can see what my great-aunt has to say, and if I do have to wait and see her later on, would you go back without me? You could call at the hotel and tell them I’m having to stay up here for the night, and – are you free tomorrow?’
    ‘For you, yes.’
    ‘You’re very good,’ I said gratefully, ‘thank you. In that case, could you come for me again in the morning? Wait in the village, don’t bother to come right across as far as the gate.’
    ‘I will certainly come to the gate,’ said Hamid. ‘Don’t you worry about that. But I don’t much like going away now and leaving you here.’
    ‘I’ll be all right. And I simply must see my great-aunt.’
    ‘Of course you must, this I understand. I am sorry, I know it’s none of my affair, but surely it could be arranged that she could see you for a few minutes now, and then I could take you back to your hotel.’
    Beside me, Mr Lethman straightened suddenly. His voice held a weariness and exasperation that was quite obviously genuine. ‘Look, I’m sorry about all this. I’m not making this difficult just for fun, you know, in fact I’m hating the position I seem to have got myself into, having to stall you off when you must think I’ve no standing in the matter at all—’
    ‘I wasn’t exactly thinking that,’ I said, ‘and you havegot standing, haven’t you? I mean, this is her home, and if she’s asked you to live here, there it is, and no arguments. Even if you’re not officially her doctor, I suppose you could call yourself her steward or something.’
    ‘Malvolio in person, yellow stockings, cross garters, and all.’ A flick of feeling in his voice that I didn’t like, gone as soon as heard. He followed it with another of those disarming smiles. ‘But you see the situation’s hardly normal in any way at all. I suppose I’ve got used to it, and in any case this is a damned queer country where one learns to accept almost anything, but I realise this place must seem pretty weird to anyone like yourself coming into it for the first time. It did to me when she first received me. She uses what were the Emir’s rooms – the Prince’s Court, we call it – and an old State Divan is her bedroom. It’s kept pitch dark most of the time. The Stanhope woman did the same out of vanity. I don’t know what your great-aunt’s motive is, certainly not that, possibly just imitation; but I remember when I was taken along there at midnight the first time I wondered what sort of loony-bin I’d landed into. And lately she’s taken to—’ He stopped, and seemed to be examining the tip of one shoe with great attention. ‘How well do you remember your great-aunt?’
    ‘Not really at all. My impression is that she was tall and dark and had piercing black eyes and wore black, things that flew round her like the White Queen’s shawl. She did have a shawl, and she used to pin it with a diamond pin. I remember Mummy saying thather diamonds were filthy. That struck me as funny, I don’t know why.’
    ‘Diamonds? I’m afraid they must have gone long since. I never saw any.’ He sounded regretful, I thought. ‘Actually she’s not so very tall, though I suppose she’d seem so to a child. And as for her clothes now, they’re part of the legend, too.’
    ‘Oh, I know, she dresses like an Eastern male. Well, why not?’ I unclasped my hands from my knees and straightened a trousered leg. ‘I dress like a European one, after all.’
    ‘I wasn’t fooled,’ said Mr Lethman, with the first really human glimmer he had shown. The worried look had lightened a little. He got to his feet. ‘Well, I’ll go and see what the score is. I’ll certainly try to persuade her to see you straight away. It’s possible she may, and welcome you with open arms, but if she won’t, we can make arrangements for you to stay the night. All