The House of Seven Fountains by Anne Weale Read Free Book Online Page B

gingham dress that she had worn all last summer and a homemade dress of apple-green silk. She was surveying both garments with dissatisfaction when Ah Kim tapped at the door and pattered in.
    “Missy go club. I iron dress,” she announced.
    Deciding that the green silk was probably the most suitable for the occasion, Vivien handed it over. She had had another shower and was brushing her hair when the amah returned. Freshly pressed, the dress looked more presentable, but nothing could hide the fact that it was too slack at the waist. Then Vivien remembered the cyclamen scarf she had bought at the airport in Rome. Ah Kim had put all her belongings away, but after a quick search she found the scarf in the top drawer of the tallboy. It was large enough to twist around her waist like a cummerbund with the loose ends falling over her left hip, and with the faulty waistline concealed, the whole appearance of the dress was improved.
    “Nice,” Ah Kim said, nodding her head.
    Just before eight Vivien heard the roar of an engine coming up the drive, and a few seconds later a low-slung cream roadster swung around the last bend and drew up in a flurry of gravel. As Julian sprang out of the driver’s seat, she saw that he was wearing a white dinner jacket and was thankful that she had not put on the faded pink gingham.
    “Hello there. You look very cool and charming,” he said, coming onto the veranda and raising her hand to his lips in a gesture that would have seemed affected in any other man.
    His glance took in the comfortable cane furniture and the streamlined cocktail cabinet that Chen had wheeled out a few minutes earlier.
    “Hmm, quite a place you have here,” he remarked. “Your godfather had an odd sense of humor. The first part of the drive is certainly guaranteed to deter uninvited visitors.”
    “Yes, isn’t it,” Vivien agreed, recounting how she had almost jumped out of the Rolls earlier that day.
    “Poor kid. I ought to have come with you,” he said, smiling down at her.
    “I wished you had then,” she admitted. “Would you like a drink?”
    “I’ll mix you a Barclay Special,” he said, raising appreciative eyebrows at the selection of wines and liquors in the cabinet. “Well, how do you like your property now you’ve looked it over?”
    “It’s the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen. I wish I could live here.”
    “I thought that was the idea,” Julian said, shaking the cocktail mixer with an expert hand.
    “Oh, no, this is just a short visit,” she explained.
    “Too bad. I hoped you were going to be a permanent addition to the community. What are your plans, then?”
    “I’m not sure yet,” she said thoughtfully.
    “Here’s to the present. The future can take care of itself. ” He handed her a glass. She sipped the cocktail cautiously.
    “Like it?”
    She nodded politely, unwilling to admit that to her inexperienced palate it tasted unpleasantly bitter, like medicine.
    “By the way, news of your arrival has spread like the proverbial wildfire,” Julian told her. “I was hoping to lead you into the club and watch their faces when I introduced you, but it seems that two of the old tabbies saw you driving through town in Cunningham’s car and lost no time in spreading the word.”
    “Yes, I saw them. They looked completely flabbergasted. I’m rather dreading meeting everyone,” she said hesitantly.
    “Don’t worry. I’ll look after you,” he promised. “If you’ve finished your drink, we may as well get started. You should bring a wrap. It gets chilly later on.”
    Vivien bit her lip. The only wrap she possessed was a thick yellow cardigan. But, as she hesitated, Ah Kim appeared in the doorway with a white silk shawl over her arm.
    “Night very cold. Missy take this,” she said, darting a quick shy glance at Julian.
    “Thank you, Ah Kim.” Vivien silently blessed the amah for her thoughtfulness.
    “I’ll put the hood up or your hair will get blown about,” Julian