Bella Poldark by Winston Graham Read Free Book Online

would be happy to get my hands on ... But his long time in the Army has changed him. Nowadays he would always, most tiresomely, be on the side of the law.'
    They had ambled as far as the decline leading to Nampara Combe. You could hear the thin hissing of the wind like running water through the wheat stalks, under the black clouds and the hot sun peering.
    'Well,' said Valentine, 'this is as far as I shall come.'
    'Where do you intend to operate from?'
    'What? Oh, my little shipping activities?'
    'Yes.'
    'Officially, Padstow to Rosslare and return. As we have been doing with the Adelaide until she foundered. Straightforward, and all above board, as you might say.'
    'And below board?'
    'Ha. We call in on the way there and back. Basset's Cove, chiefly. Isolated, and a moderately safe haven on this damned inhospitable coast.'
    'I wondered what you were doing running aground near Godrevy. But have a care not merely for rocks. Basset's Cove is not entirely unpopulated. There are a few cottages. And whispers sometimes get to the wrong ears.'
    'It's a chance one takes, Cousin. This county thrives on whispers.'
    Ross hesitated. 'Talking of whispers, are you by any chance becoming over-friendly with Agneta Treneglos?'
    Valentine bent to pat his horse's neck. 'Where did that come from?'
    'The whisper? Does it matter? If it is not true.'
    'How can one judge what is over-friendly? I have seen quite a little of the dear girl of late. She misses Horrie. She lacks young company.'
    'She has younger sisters.'
    'Male company. I find her interesting.'
    'The other night when you were returning from Mingoose House . . .'
    'Oh, that was my little kitchenmaid. Can't recall her name for the moment. . .'
    'Carla May?'
    'How brilliant of you to remember, Cousin.'
    'So long as you do not confuse that name with the name of Agneta.'
    'It seems unlikely, don't it?'
    'It is for you to say. Her father is an unagreeable person if crossed. Years ago Francis, when a young man, used to fight with John, and often enough I was drawn in. They were not malicious quarrels, but when it came to John and Richard against Francis and me there was little quarter asked or given.'
    'Should this concern me?'
    'Agneta is the apple of her father's eye - in spite of her handicap. With Horrie married, John finds his family dispersing and prizes the more those he has left. Anyway he is not a man to be trifled with.'
    Valentine pulled at his bottom lip.
    'Agneta needs fresh company. She responds to it. Because nature has been a trifle casual with her intellectual equipment, it does not follow that she is not capable of enjoying life. If she does not understand a joke when you first tell her and if she then sees it when you have explained it to her, she will laugh more loudly than anyone. Her sense of taste and smell are as acute as any animal's. Why should she not enjoy herself in any way she can? I must confess I find her interesting.'
    Ross looked at his companion. 'You are a strange young man, Valentine.'
    'And of course,' Valentine said, 'she's so grateful.'
    Christopher left on the Thursday. His mission, if not accomplished, was progressing. It had been provisionally agreed that before Christmas, if the weather remained open, Demelza should take Bella to London, in the company of Caroline Enys, who was quickly drawn into the plan. There they would see Dr Fredericks. In the meantime Caroline had said she would invite her aunt, Mrs Pelham, who seemed to know everything and everybody, to discover for them how famous Dr Fredericks really was and what other teachers might be consulted before any positive step was taken. Demelza found herself in a cross-current of emotion. (Perhaps she would have felt something in common with John Treneglos.) To 'lose' Isabella-Rose -which was almost what it amounted to - only two and a half years after Jeremy's death was something that all her instincts cried out against. With Clowance obstinately remaining in Penryn, there would only be little