enormous; seemed to dwarf the rest of your face . But if you want me to call you Joan , I will . ' " No. I - I think I prefer - the other , ' she murmured . He'd drawn her to him and kissed her lightly on the forehead . ' Good - bye , little girl , and thank you again and again . I'll keep in touch with you , and if you need a friend you'll know where to find him .
She had felt miserable after he had gone , but the thought of the letter locked up in her shabby writing - case present from old Colonel Murga- heartened her . She was determined that she would find out what the solicitors had to impart to her ; she'd keep the appointment they had made no matter what lies she had to tell her aunt to get away . As a matter of fact , it was easy .
Mrs Moreno arrived soon after breakfast , full of the breakdown on the Under ground which had delayed her , she went up to her room telling Lucy to get on with the ordinary morning's work , and as soon as she finished go out
Mrs Moreno eyed her suspiciously conceded . ' But mind , I shan't buy you another when this one's worn out . You must be careful of your clothes . Lucy reached the office in Sevila's Inn Fields some time before half - past eleven . She hung about outside for a few minutes , then went in . An office boy seated on a stool deep in a Wild West thriller , raised his head and stared at her impudently . You want something ? ' he asked . Joan produced the precious letter . ' This came , ' she informed him . ' Will you please tell Mr Tredegar that I'm here . " A girl with peroxided hair but otherwise very efficient looking came forward . ' Miss Alberto, isn't it ! ' she said . Mr Tredegar gave orders that you were to be taken straight in to him the moment you arrived . Will you come with me , please ? She took Joan into an inner room where two girls were pounding away at typewriters , and did not even raise their heads as she entered , and across to a door marked Private ' ,
"You don't smoke ? I'm not sure whether that's a virtue or not , since it means I can't either ... " Oh , please do, she interposed . And will you be as quick as you can over this - business you want to talk to me about . My aunt will be furious if I stay out too long . ' But she knows you are coming here ? She saw our letter ? Lucy shook her head . " She thinks I'm queueing up at Morton's the grocer's , she replied . " She'd be really wild if she knew I'd disobeyed her and come to see you : Oh yes , I showed her the letter , but she said that it wouldn't be about anything important and her son Stanley could see you when he gets back . "We should not have discussed your affairs with him , " said Mr Tredegar . You see , Miss Alberto, you are a very fortunate young lady you have just inherited what I confidently expect to be one of the largest incomes in the country. Lucy did not faint , though for a moment everything went black in front of her eyes and she had to grip the edg
"You don't smoke ? I'm not sure whether that's a virtue or not , since it means I can't either ... " Oh , please do, she interposed . And will you be as quick as you can over this - business you want to talk to me about . My aunt will be furious if I stay out too long . ' But she knows you are coming here ? She saw our letter ? Lucy shook her head . " She thinks I'm queueing up at Morton's the grocer's , she replied . " She'd be really wild if she knew I'd disobeyed her and come to see you : Oh yes , I showed her the letter , but she said that it wouldn't be about anything important and her son Stanley could see you when he gets back . "We should not have discussed your affairs with him , " said Mr Tredegar . You see , Miss Alberto, you are a very fortunate young lady you have just inherited what I confidently expect to be one of the largest incomes in the country. Lucy did not faint , though for a moment everything went black in front of her eyes and she had to grip the edg
"You don't smoke ? I'm not sure whether that's a virtue or not , since it means I can't either ... " Oh , please do, she interposed . And will you be as quick as you can over this - business you want to talk to me about . My aunt will be furious if I stay out too long . ' But she knows you are coming here ? She saw our letter ? Lucy shook her head . " She thinks I'm queueing up at Morton's the grocer's , she replied . " She'd be really wild if she knew I'd disobeyed her and come to see you : Oh yes , I showed her the letter , but she said that it wouldn't be about anything important and her son Stanley could see you when he gets back . "We should not have discussed your affairs with him , " said Mr Tredegar . You see , Miss Alberto, you are a very fortunate young lady you have just inherited what I confidently expect to be one of the largest incomes in the country. Lucy did not faint , though for a moment everything went black in front of her eyes and she had to grip the edg
To be kind you with fatherly manner to a girl of her age. But no doubt he meant Miss Mullins , I don't suppose you know much abou your relatives , ' he begani , ' and I shall have to bore some family history before you can understand the present position . Your parents died when you were quite young , and you were left without any provision having been made for you; your father's sister , Mrs Rawson , took you in and educated you . Your mother's people did not even acknowl edge you , since she had made a runaway match soon after the 1914-18 war with the son of a groom on her father's estate in Wales. He was educated and had procured a small post teaching in a school in the south of Spain , but his health failed when you were born - some years after the marriage - and he became a permanent invalid ; from that time your mother earned a living for you all . She applied to her family for assistance in educating you , but they would have nothing to do with you ... " Now y
To be kind you with fatherly manner to a girl of her age. But no doubt he meant Miss Mullins , I don't suppose you know much abou your relatives , ' he begani , ' and I shall have to bore some family history before you can understand the present position . Your parents died when you were quite young , and you were left without any provision having been made for you; your father's sister , Mrs Rawson , took you in and educated you . Your mother's people did not even acknowl edge you , since she had made a runaway match soon after the 1914-18 war with the son of a groom on her father's estate in Wales. He was educated and had procured a small post teaching in a school in the south of Spain , but his health failed when you were born - some years after the marriage - and he became a permanent invalid ; from that time your mother earned a living for you all . She applied to her family for assistance in educating you , but they would have nothing to do with you ... " Now y
The second takes after his uncle and is another rolling stone and bad egg " . He was also in the army , but he cleared off some time ago and hasn't been heard of since ; the youngest son is a scholar , and there is one daughter . Margaret . After the war things went very badly with the house of Magnus ; excessive taxes and the rising cost of living ; the failure of investments made it impossible for them to carry on . And then Peter McGurtrie came on the scene again . It appeared he had made a fortune in South America ; and at one time was president of a republic there . No doubt he took advantage of his usual graft , which enabled him to build up his fortune , but he was luckier than most – he got away with it , and it was all safely invested , in Britain and the States . Seeing that his brother was in such dire straits he took a mortgage on Kilrossan Castle and allowed Sir Archibald an annual income ; no one knew anything about this - it was just between the two brothers .
Lucy left the lawyer's office with her head in a whirl . She could hardly believe in the good fortune which had befallen her . But the crisp five pound notes which Mr Tredegar had given her for the purpose of providing herself with a wardrobe , now snugly reposing in her handbag , were proof enough . She had been told to go and shop and then meet him at the Ritz for a cocktail and lunch . He would have suggested one of those charming little Soho restaurants , but Lucy Alberto was an unknown quantity , and he thought that he had better go carefully and treat her in a formal and very conventional manner at first . He had said he would send one of his clerks round to explain to Mrs Rawson that her niece would not be back . It was only afterwards Joan remembered that she still had the ration books in her handbag , so the former would be unable to do her own shopping . Oh , well , what did it matter ? Aunt Ella Rawson had no control over her now . She was to leave