Lord of the Far Island, Victoria Holt [world of reading TXT] 📗

behind his back, his eyes shining with pleasure, dominating the room. On either side of him was a woman—the older one about forty years of age, whom I guessed to be his sister Jenifry, the younger his niece Gwennol, who he had said was about my age.

"Come, Ellen," said Jago. "Come and meet the family. This is Jenifry, my sister."

My heart sank a little as she stepped forward to take my hand. She was almost as dark as Jago and had the same high-bridged nose which gave her the arrogant look which I had noticed in him; the family resemblance was strong.

Her voice was soft and warm. "We are glad you have come, Ellen," she said; but there was something coolly appraising about her eyes which was in contrast to her words. I knew she was assessing me and I felt the same uncertainty about her as I did about her brother.

"It is good of you to be so welcoming," I answered.

"But of course we are delighted to have you at last. Gwennol, come and meet Ellen."

Gwennol was dark too. Her hair was almost black, her eyes dark brown, her nose a trifle retrousse, her mouth wide; and the entire effect was made striking by her soulful dreamy eyes and the alertness her nose and mouth seemed to betray.

"Hello, Ellen," she said. "Welcome to Kellaway Island."

"You two must be friends," said her mother.

"You must show Ellen the castle, Gwennol," said Jago, smiling from one to the other of us.

Almost immediately a servant came in to announce that dinner was served, and Jago put his arm through mine and led the way.

"As this is a very special occasion," he said, "we are dining in the hall. It is a custom reserved for feast days and special occasions, and what occasion could be more special than this one?"

I shall never forget the sight of the hall on that first night in Kellaway Castle. It filled me with wonder and awe which was none the less exciting because there was a strong flavor of apprehension mingling with it.

At one end of the vast room was a door leading to the kitchens through which the servants hurried back and forth; above these doors was the minstrels' gallery; and at the other end was a dais set at right angles to the main room. Antlers decorated the balustrade of the minstrels' gallery and the walls were partially covered with fine tapestries. There was something royal about this hall with its lofty roof, its thick stone walls and the weapons displayed there. Places had been laid at the long oak table and on the dais and already the long benches on either side of the table were occupied. These people, Jago told me later, were those employed on the estate—those who farmed the land, the managers of the various concerns, his clerks, and—I could scarcely believe this—there below the salt were those who worked in a more menial capacity. This was the manner in which kings had feasted in the old days.

The scene he had set was truly medieval and when the minstrels in the gallery began to play softly I was amused by this determination to create an atmosphere of bygone days, and I was touched, too, because I knew it had all been done to honor me.

All those at the long table rose as we entered. Jago led the way to the dais, his arm still through mine, and he stood there at the table with me beside him.

"I have great pleasure," he announced, "in introducing you all to Miss Ellen Kellaway, my ward and cousin, who has come to stay with us, I hope for a very long time. This occasion is to welcome her to the castle and the Island and I know that you are delighted to see her here—as I am."

There was a murmur of assent. I was not sure what was expected of me, so I smiled, and as Jago was holding out my chair for me, I sat down.

There was a shuffling of chairs and everyone did the same. Hot soup was served to us at the table and afterwards the huge bowl was carried to the long table and those there were helped from it.

"What do you think of it?" Jago whispered to me.

"It's incredible. I never imagined anything like it."

He patted my hand.

"It's for you," he said. "To show you how we can do things here—and to let you know how glad we are to have you."

"Thank you," I answered. "You are so kind to me. I have never had such a welcome in the whole of my life."

"Then our purpose is served."

The soup was excellent and followed by venison and as I listened to the musicians softly playing I thought that this hall could not have looked very different three hundred years ago.

Jenifry sat on Jago's left hand and Gwennol was beside me. I noticed several people from the long table taking surreptitious glances at me, and I wondered what they were thinking about all this ceremony. But it occurred to me that they were probably used to it. This was confirmed by Jago.

"Christmas is the time when we can really go back to the old ways," he said. "Then the hall is decorated with holly and ivy, and the carol singers and mummers perform here. It's been a custom of the family for centuries."

"I can see you enjoy carrying on old customs," I said.

"We all do, don't we?" he replied; and Jenifry and Gwennol agreed with him.

"We are trying to discover the exact age of the castle," Jenifry went on. "Of course the place has been added to over the years. It was originally merely a fortress to protect the Island, and very uncomfortable it must have been in those days, until it was made more like a residence. Gwennol's very interested, aren't you, Gwennol?"

"Living here, it grows on you," Gwennol explained to me. "You discover some new aspect of the place and then