Page:The Climber (Benson).djvu/120

110 By midday (this was part of her plan) she felt rather hotter, and lunched downstairs. As a matter of fact, she was extremely hungry, and it required all her self-control not to eat largely. But she exercised it, left the greater part of her cold lamb on her plate, and cut and swallowed a very large slice of cheese, during the interval when stewed plums were left with her. Then, when her coffee came in, she announced she was much, much better, and soon after went ostentatiously out of the house. It was all well done: obviously she ate little lamb; obviously she left the stewed plums alone (though certainly there were many stones in the small flower-bed below the window), and nobody knew of the cheese, which had been on the sideboard, and had not even been offered her.

She took up her place on the beach just in front of the house. That was not the delectable sandy beach to the east, and it consisted of large round stones, and a cloak was necessary to make sitting on it possible. She took with her the later edition of Omar Kayyám, sat with her back to the houses, and her face to the sea, and smoked two cigarettes, the stumps of which she threw far away from her. Then, from not far off, she heard the whistle of a train, and a minute or so afterwards saw a solitary figure coming straight down the road from the station to the beach. Just on his left was Sea View; just in front of Sea View was herself.

The day was dry and windless, and the steps of this solitary passenger were defined. She never looked round, but heard them pause at the corner, and then come straight on. From the pause (and the instructions in her letter), it was clear that he knew where Sea View was; from the pause and the advancing steps, it was clear that he had seen her.

The large round stones slipped and grated below his foot: she heard all that. Then, when the slipping and the grating were close at hand, she turned lazily, as if to see the stranger who was passing. Then she got up quickly, and Omar fell face downward.

"Lord Brayton!" she said in excellent surprise. "How are you? But—but to-day is Thursday, is it not? I—I expected you—but how nice to see you! How quick of you to notice me! I had just come out from lunch. Thursday—yes, Thursday, of course."

There was an undercurrent of embarrassment in her tone that he could scarcely miss.

"But it was Thursday you said?" he asked.