HER KINGDOM

A STORY OF THE WESTMORELAND FELLS

BY

AMY LE FEUVRE

WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED

LONDON AND MELBOURNE 1929

Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

My Heart's in the Highlands "The vividly human and moving story of Rowena and her wonderful power of influence in the lives of others will do every one good to read. Charmingly told in Amy Le Feuvre's best manner."—Northants Evening Telegraph. A Girl and Her Ways "Miss Le Feuvre writes with much charm and insight of the escapades of a modern girl who is fortunately possessed of the right spirit that enables her to overcome her difficulties."—The Record. Jock's Inheritance "Miss Le Feuvre has never written anything more beautiful or more amusing. The tone is as usual, excellent, and the story cannot fail to interest one and all."—Church of England Newspaper. Noel's Christmas Tree "Miss Le Feuvre has a classic style, and seems to be able to pierce straight into the heart of human beings. It is a humane book, written by a brilliant novelist."—Cornish Echo. Adrienne "The story of a really unselfish girl, touchingly and beautifully told."—Country Life. "The story of Adrienne is delightful and particularly touching, and the

author is to be heartily congratulated on evolving such a magnificent story."—Cornish Echo.

CONTENTS

BOOK I

STRANGERS

CHAP.

I. AN ASTOUNDING PROPOSAL

II. THE STRANGE MARRIAGE

III. MAKING FRIENDS

IV. LEFT TO HERSELF

V. THE FIRST SUNDAY

VI. A RAMBLE IN THE FELLS

VII. SLOWLY GAINING GROUND

VIII. A LONELY GIRL

IX. LOUISE'S DEPARTURE

BOOK II

FRIENDS

I. MISSING

II. THE "BEST OF THE BARGAIN"

III. AWAY FROM HOME

IV. NEIGHBOURS

V. FIRESIDE TALKS

VI. AN ERRAND OF MERCY

VII. OFF ONCE MORE

VIII. AN ENCOUNTER IN THE FELLS

BOOK III

LOVERS

I. "I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT YOU"

II. RECONCILIATION

III. IN THE SHADOWS

HER KINGDOM

BOOK I

STRANGERS

CHAPTER I

AN ASTOUNDING PROPOSAL

THE family lawyer had left her; she had listened with tightened lips, as through a labyrinth of legal phrases, he had informed her that she could only count upon five-and-twenty pounds per annum to feed, clothe, and provide for herself a roof to shelter her. She found herself smiling at the very absurdity of it. For six-and-twenty years she had lived in ease and comfort, almost in luxury. She had read in books about these reverses, but never had she imagined that they would come to her. She had not been educated for adversity, and she knew that not for a moment could she compete with the hundreds of trained certificated women who were flooding the labour markets throughout the country.

Anstice Barrett had lived for the greater part of her life in a country village in Norfolk. Her father had retired from the Army when he came into his small property, and when he was only a major in rank. He had foolishly commuted his pay, as the old house wanted more repairing than he could afford at the time; and he married late in life. Anstice had been brought up by resident governesses, and when, at sixteen, her mother died, she had quietly assumed the reins of government and become mistress of the sweet old manor house.

Unknown to her, Major Barrett, when difficulties arose, had purchased a life annuity for himself. He never thought of his girl's future. Whilst he lived, he had all the comforts he needed. Even through the War, when his ill-health prevented him from taking any part in it, there was little lack of all simple necessaries of life. He had the old-fashioned idea that women could not understand or handle money, and Anstice was kept in absolute ignorance of her father's exact income. At his death, she was suddenly and overwhelmingly enlightened. The manor house was mortgaged up to the hilt. Major Barrett had been in the hands of moneylenders for the previous five years, and the only thing that was preserved from the wreck was a small sum belonging to Anstice's mother in trust for her.

On this wild wet morning in March, Anstice was facing certain poverty. The loss of her home was a crushing blow, but she did not realize how bad things were, until she was told the exact amount of her future income.

Now she stood at the mullioned window of the old library, watching the lawyer drive off in his car, and wondering if she could and would awake from this horrible dream.

In a few minutes, she shook herself free of the torpor which seemed creeping over her.

She went out into the old hall, got down her waterproof cap and coat, and in a few minutes was walking briskly down the drive and out along the country-road. The wind and rain buffeted her face, and beat her back, but she braced herself to meet it, as mentally she was bracing herself to meet the disaster that had come to her.

She conned over her few relations; some cousins in town, busy in trying to make their very small income provide them a modicum of pleasure, combined with a sphere of usefulness. They had visited her at the manor house from time to time, and had envied her, her peaceful environment.

Then there was her father's brother living at a ranch in Australia, with a large growing family of sons and daughters. Finally there was an old cousin of her mother's, a Lady Lucy Harcourt, who lived about ten miles off with a companion, who had been with her for about twenty years. It was this cousin who came uppermost in her mind now.

"I think I shall go over to her, and get some advice. She's practical and sensible. Of course, I must do something at once. There is no time to be lost."

But she did not retrace her steps, she walked on for a couple of miles through pinewoods, and taking shelter in the depths of them, seated herself on a fallen tree-trunk to review the situation.

It was a good two hours later when she returned to her home; and then found that the very person she was needing had arrived in her car to lunch, and was waiting for her in the drawing-room.

Lady Lucy looked at the girl critically as she entered the room.

Anstice was tall and fair with deep blue eyes and pale gold hair which was coroneted round her head in a very unfashionable manner. She had determination in her chin and lips, sunny good temper in her eyes, and two dimples which came and went in her softly rounded cheeks.

"My dear!" exclaimed Lady Lucy. "You look blooming! What a complexion you have, and all without any artificial aid! It is good to be young."

Anstice laughed as she put up a hand to her blushing cheeks.

"I've been out in the wind and rain, Cousin Lucy. I never expected you over such an afternoon as this, but oh! I am glad to see you—"

Then soberness crept into her eyes and stayed there.

"It is nearly a month," she said, "since father left me, and only to-day did Mr. Stone tell me exactly what I may expect in the way of income. It has staggered me."

"I feared it would," said Lady Lucy gravely. "I knew more than you, poor child, have known. I should think you are left without a penny-piece!"

"That is a fact—twenty-five pounds a year. I must earn something at once. I am not afraid of work, and I am young and strong, but my capabilities for earning are almost nil."

"I have come over to-day for the express purpose of talking matters over with you. But all my ideas have been turned topsy-turvy by a visitor who arrived last night. I have just seen him off by train. Is that your luncheon bell? I may stay, may I not?"

"I shall be delighted. It is so good to have some one to talk to. I have been alone since—since his funeral."

They went into the dining-room together. The elderly house-parlour maid being present the whole time, they only talked about trifles, but when the meal was over, they went back to the drawing-room. Anstice stirred the fire, and then dipping into a low-cushioned chair opposite her cousin she looked expectantly at her.

"Have you any advice to give me?"

"My dear," said Lady Lucy, hesitating a little, "I have not only advice, but a—a post open for you, ready for you to accept, and that is what has brought me over. The last time I saw your poor father, he made full confession to me of the hash he had made over his money affairs. He lost a good deal in a foolish investment he made a few years ago, but he was insistent that you should not be told. And so I knew what a predicament you would be in."

She paused. She was an upright, handsome old lady, with very piercing dark eyes, and with great dignity of manner.

Now she seemed ill at ease.

"I had better tell you about my visitor first. You met him once at my house. He is a nephew of my late husband's, Justin Holme, a very handsome fellow, but of a roving disposition."

"I remember him. He was just married, and I heard afterwards that it was rather an unhappy affair. Didn't she leave him?"

"No. She was going to do so; but she was hurt in a motor accident, and the boy, the only one, was born prematurely, a cripple. She died at his birth, leaving two little daughters as well as this boy. Justin took to yachting. He has always been crazed for the sea. His house is in the wilds of Cumberland, by the lakes."

Anstice's gaze wandered out of the window. She was not interested in Lady Lucy's nephew. Her own future filled her thoughts.

"The poor man," went on Lady Lucy, noticing Anstice's abstraction and hurrying over her words, "has been distracted by his home worries. His girls seem mischievous hoydens, and a succession of governesses passes through the house. He has tried schools, they run away from them, or are expelled; the governesses make love to him, and scandal is busy. He spends or likes to spend most of his time away in his yacht; just now, there is the usual difficulty of servants, and he is at his wits' end. He came to me for help. And when we were talking things over, I thought of your love for children and the wonderful gift you have for managing them. And, my dear, he remembers you quite well. He said yours was not a face which could be forgotten. But he said no more. He seems to have turned into a woman-hater. Perhaps I ought not to say that, for he's anxious about his children; his boy especially, who is too young and delicate to go to school. Well, I won't beat about the bush. It won't be an easy task, but you will have a beautiful home, and you are nothing if not courageous."

"Am I to be governess and housekeeper in one? I couldn't do it, Cousin Lucy. I have not had the education to teach."

"Oh no, you won't have to teach. You can get some one else to do that. And he is nearly always away, so you would be entirely your own mistress."

"A lady housekeeper?"

Anstice felt dubious.

"He has already tried a good many. Why should I succeed more than any of the others?"

"Well, my dear, I won't say any more. He must speak to you himself. He has business in town, but he has promised to come down one day next week, and you must come to lunch and talk over things with him. It seems to have come at the right moment for you. I do hope you will agree to do it."

Lady Lucy seemed extraordinarily nervous. Anstice, who was very perceptive, wondered if there was anything in the background which she was keeping from her.

"He wants me to keep house and superintend the education of his children while he is away from home? I think if there's scandal about all the young women whom he has had there, that I may come in for my share!"

"No, no, my dear. That is just what he is going to prevent. I had better say no more. You must see him and talk to him yourself. Promise me, you will come over to lunch next Tuesday."

"My car is sold, how can I get to you?"

"I will send mine over for you. My dear Anstice, I have always been fond of you, and I foresee that happy days may be in front of you. You are not the girl to go up to London, and join the typewriting class, and starve in dingy lodgings, whilst you're doing it. Now I must be off! Will you order my car?"

Anstice rang the bell. She said little more to her old cousin, but wished her good-bye with rather wistful eyes.

Lady Lucy heaved a long sigh as she drove off, and murmured to herself:

"I don't believe she'll hear of it; but he must break it to her himself. I can't. He's a nice fellow, but is as hard as granite! A really charming character, spoiled by one bad woman."

And Anstice sat in her chair before her drawing-room fire all that afternoon, thinking, thinking, thinking!

Tea roused her, and for the rest of the day she occupied herself with the sad task of sorting out and destroying all her father's private letters and papers.

When Tuesday came, and Lady Lucy's car arrived, Anstice stepped into it, feeling that a great deal hung upon her personal interview with Mr. Justin Holme.

Lady Lucy welcomed her affectionately, but seemed vexed that Mr. Holme had sent a wire to say that he was delayed in town, and would not be down till between three and four in the afternoon.

Anstice told her she was glad to hear it.

"My interview is purely a business one with him. It will not take me long to discover what his actual needs are. But I must stipulate for a good salary."

"My dear, you need not think of money. He can well afford to give you all you need. I think one of his disadvantages through life has been too much money. He spends most of it in travelling all over the globe, but I always think he would have been a happier man, had he been obliged to earn his livelihood."

Anstice sat chatting with her old cousin in her drawing-room for a couple of hours after lunch. Miss Dawe, Lady Lucy's companion, took advantage of the occasion to go into the neighbouring town to do some shopping. And then about four o'clock, Lady Lucy's car returned from the station with the guest.

He came striding into the drawing-room with such vigour that he seemed to bring a fresh atmosphere into the quiet there.

"We do not need to be introduced," he said to Anstice, as he shook hands with her. "May I express sympathy for your loss?"

"Thank you," Anstice said.

He looked at her quickly; but after that first moment, his gaze never met hers again. She was a graceful figure in her black gown, which seemed to enhance the fairness of her hair and skin. He would not sit down, but stood on the hearth-rug and talked to Lady Lucy. Anstice saw a man with a strong resolute face, and a smile that might have been sweet, had it not been for a cynical twist to the lips. His hair was dark, his eyes hard and restless. His voice was a peculiarly pleasant one. Lady Lucy was not herself, she seemed nervous and distrait, and at last she rose from her seat.

"I will leave you now to discuss your business together."

"No," remonstrated Anstice. "Why should we turn you out of your room? Let us go to the library."

So to the library they went. It was a big, rather shabby room, used by Miss Dawe for cleaning bird-cages and arranging flowers. The books lined against the walls were old and fusty, and never used.

Anstice stood looking out of the window upon the lawns outside. Then Justin Holme drew up a chair for her before the fire, and she sat down. He began to pace up and down the room, and she was amused to see that he seemed to be getting nervous.

She spoke first to put him at ease.

"Well, Mr. Holme, my cousin tells me you want some one to look after your house and children in the North. You have heard that I am selling up my home, and looking for a job. Do you think I shall suit you? Of course, I must hear a few more particulars first."

He drew a quick breath.

"Of course, of course. It is a comfortable old house close to the river and lakes; but is well above them, so it's healthy. It is lovely. I don't want to conceal that fact. There are a few nice neighbours. My children adore their home; that's the only point we have in common. They won't stay at school, and I'm tired of trying to force them to do so. The boy is mostly confined to his couch. They're all three chock-full of mischief, and are thorough rebels of the first water! But I hear you have a flair for troublesome children."

"I love any child," said Anstice, with warmth. "They're the freshest, most wholesome things in creation, with all their powers and possibilities awaiting them."

"I rather think my youngsters only want a little more understanding. But as far as education and training go, they're little heathens."

"Do you want me as a governess or a housekeeper, or both?"

"No," said Justin Holme, turning his back upon her and gazing out of the window, "as neither—I want you as a wife."

"A wife!"

Anstice repeated his words, in utter amazement and incredulity.

He turned round, but though he faced her, his eyes were on the glowing coals. He would not meet her indignant gaze.

"Listen to me, please."

He spoke sternly.

"I give you my name to give you the right position in my house. I am sick of the constant changes there. It will be a mere matter of form, but you will have a home, and every comfort, and a chance of creating order out of chaos and of influencing my young barbarians. I am nearly always away. You must look upon me as a negligible quantity. My aunt said you would be the one for the position. I asked her to find some one for me. We are strangers, I know. But I believe in my aunt's judgment, and now I have seen you, I believe in you."

"A very one-sided bargain, isn't it?"

Anstice's tone was cool and aloof.

"I am to be debarred of my freedom, and only gain a roof as a shelter, and a very strenuous life of struggling with unruly children and servants. And I am to be married to you so as to ensure my being a permanency."

"Yes. It sounds diabolical," said Justin, with a short laugh; "but it's the only way out of my difficulties, as far as I can see, and it is all I can offer you. A home, and the possible love of another person's children. That, I believe, might appeal to some women. But you are free to take the offer or refuse it. I shall settle something on you, of course, and you will have your own banking account and cheque book. You will not be stinted in money and will have a free hand in most things. You can think it over and let me know in a week or so. If you agree to my proposal, I want to settle things up before I take a trip out to the South Sea Islands. We could be married at a Registrar's in town. I won't suggest a Church Service, as it is a strictly business arrangement between us and nothing more. And then I would take you down home and introduce you to the youngsters, and leave you with them. I should go off with an easy mind, for by hearsay I have formed a high opinion of your capabilities."

Anstice could only gaze at him in absolute bewilderment of mind. Did he really imagine for a moment that she would assent to such an astounding proposal? She found herself smiling at the very idea of it.

"You are a most extraordinary man," she said after a moment's silence. "Do you go through life entirely one-sided? Do you never think of other people's desires and needs?"

He was pacing up and down the room, and reminded her of a caged animal. Now he half turned towards her, and his tone was hauteur itself:

"I am thinking of a great many people in this venture, myself last of all. It won't affect me or touch my life. It is the need of my children that makes this step essential. I must marry again for their sakes."

"Oh, don't call it marriage. It is a business arrangement." Anstice spoke hotly.

She was furious with her cousin for letting her in for such an interview as this. She was humiliated, and indignant at having such a proposal made to her.

"I had better decline your kind offer at once," she said, and her tone was biting. "We need not prolong the interview, need we?"

"I am sorry if I have offended you by my proposition. I should not have spoken to you, but your cousin gave me to understand that you are one of these modern women who prefer to be independent and live a single life. It's what I prefer myself, and she said you were a passionate child-lover. You would be absolutely free and unfettered. You would have been willing to come to me as a lady housekeeper or governess. Am I not offering you a better position than either of those?"

He spoke very quietly, almost despondently.