Deception by Margaret Pargeter Read Free Book Online

good breakfast. He had
shown Thea the warm, straw-covered barn where the big
brown hens laid their eggs, and she had scrambled him two
for his breakfast. She had piled them high in mounds on
fresh-made toast, spread with lots of golden butter, as she
couldn't find any bacon. The larder proved even less of an
Aladdin's cave, this morning, than it had done the previous evening.
    When
she asked Jamie why there was no bacon, he just shook his head.
It was Martha who replied that they couldn't afford such
luxuries, that Himself wasn't made of money. Thea said nothing more, her last
encounter with Murray making her instinctively cautious, but
her list of mental notes was growing. There were things
she vowed she would have out with him, once he was well again and she was firmly
established.
    She
watched Jamie finish off his milk and, when he asked if
he could have some more, she filled up his glass. When Martha
grumbled that if he drank all the milk there would be
none left to get cream for butter, Thea took no notice. After
he had finished, she told him to run upstairs and say goodbye
to his father, then get his school satchel.
    While
he was gone, Martha continued to grumble over the milk. It was
quite clear that she considered Thea was taking too much upon
herself too soon. 'I used to do the milking,' she finished,
on a less aggressive note, 'but now I can't because of my
rheumatism. Mr Logan does it these days, but he won't be able tp again until
he's better, which mightn't be until this afternoon.'
    'This
afternoon!' Thea thought the old woman must have taken leave of her
senses. 'Why, he isn't fit to be out of bed! After I take Jamie to school I'm going
to find a doctor.'
    'You'll
get no thanks for it! Mr Logan knows what's wrong with him. It's this foreign fever.'
    'I
don't know what it is, but I can see he's very ill. If the worst comes to the
worst,' Thea promised rashly, 'I'll milk the cow myself!'
    'You?'
Martha was taken aback. 'Where did a girl like you learn to milk?'
    'On
a farm,' Thea replied evenly. She had, in fact, often passed the long weeks
between school terms helping an elderly couple on a
nearby farm. She couldn't have for gotten everything the
Freemans had taught her.
    Unimpressed,
Martha sniffed. 'If you once take it on, you might get landed
with it for good. Never say I didn't warn you.' When Thea remained silent, she shot
her another glance out of sharp brown eyes.
'I never thought Mr Logan would ever
take on someone like you as a house keeper, although I don't suppose you'll last long. Six, he's had,
in the last few years.'
    'Six!'
    Smugly,
Martha nodded. 'I thought that would surprise you! I could tell
you all their names, if you doubt me. None of them stayed more
than a week or two.'
    Hastily
declining Martha's offer, Thea took a deep breath, asking impulsively, 'What
about Mr Murray's wife?'
    Martha
replied shortly, her tone betraying a reluctance to talk of it,
'She's dead, and good riddance. She never was the wife for him, and he knew it.'
    The
woman's remarks were so frank, Thea felt shocked. She wouldn't have felt
surprised to have heard that Murray had murdered his wife,
with Martha as a willing accom plice. Through the night
he had sounded as though he'd hated her. Martha, apparently,
hadn't liked her either, but then Martha would be hard to please.       
    'I'm
sorry.' Rather helplessly she stared at Martha, not knowing
quite what to say. 'Jamie must be very lonely sometimes.'
    'Aye,
and Himself, too,' Martha rejoined soberly. 'Mr Logan needs a
woman, but I don't think he will ever marry again. Mind you, there
are those who would like to make him change his mind, the widow of his late
brother being one of them, but I doubt if any of them will succeed.'
     
      CHAPTER
THREE
    If Martha had given her food for thought, it was
a while before Thea had time to ponder over what she had learnt. After
taking Jamie to the village she dropped him off at his school,
then, going back the same way as she