MOUNTAIN HERITAGE

Elizabeth Ashton

Young Mea Marlow met Lucian Becker in Switzerland - the first man she had met, in fact, since leaving school - and lost no time falling in love with him. But Lucian, it was clear, had been earmarked by Mea's beautiful mother as her next husband, so Mea would just have to forget him. But how could she do that when he was impossible to avoid?

CHAPTER ONEMea Marlow travelled towards Lucerne in a mood of joyful anticipation, for she had finally left school and was going to join her mother at long last. The shadow cast by her stepfather over her life had been removed; never again would she be exposed to his biting sarcasms and barbed taunts. She had tried to feel regret for his passing for her mother's sake, but that was impossible; she could only experience relief. Frederick Marlow had insisted that he did not like children and had tried to ignore his wife's daughter by a former marriage, banishing her to a convent school when she was small and for the last two years to an expensive establishment where he had said nastily, looking at her as if she were a noxious insect, he hoped they would be able to teach her how to behave in polite society and put a bit of polish on her.She could have forgiven him for his antipathy, for she knew she was not an attractive child, if he had not separated her from her mother, decreeing that she must spend her holidays at school. Only very rarely when her husband was absent had Sonia Marlow been able to take Mea away. But she always chose smart French resorts, Trouville or Le Touquet, never, to Mea's sorrow, country where there were mountains. Mea, from her earliest years, had had a passion for mountains and had read every book she could lay her hands on about famous climbs.Now Frederick was gone, her schooling was finished and her mother would be waiting for her on the platform in a place that was surrounded by mountains. Could any prospect be more delightful?Mea had almost worshipped her beautiful mother; she had seemed to the child to be a visionary creature of glamour and charm. It was extraordinary that she could have produced her insignificant, elfish self. Her mother's occasional visits to her school and the rarer holidays were to Mea like the descent of a goddess from Olympus and she was pathetically grateful for those few contacts. Sonia was always lavish with endearments when they met, gave her presents now and then, but often forgot her birthday, and was mean with pocket-money.'If only I could see you more often,' she would sigh. 'But I have so many engagements, and you know how difficult Freddie is.'Mea accepted her excuses, believing her stepfather was the obstacle. She was too blinded by adoration to suspect the selfishness, vanity and indolence that were Sonia's principal characteristics.When Frederick died, Mea had expected to see more of her, but Sonia had only once visited her daughter during the year following her widowhood.'There's so much to see to,' she told her upon that occasion. 'And you might as well finish your time here as poor Freddie planned.' She wiped away a facile tear. She was well aware that black became her, but Mea secretly thought her heavy mourning was a trifle ostentatious, and then was furious with herself for criticising her mother. Naturally Sonia was broken-hearted, she had adored Frederick, but oh, how Mea wished that her mother had turned to her for comfort.The last term ended and Sonia wrote to tell her to come to join her at her hotel in Switzerland, as she preferred living in hotels to running a house. 'I'll meet you at the station, and I'm counting the days until I see you,' she concluded.But to Mea's intense disappointment Sonia was not on the platform when she descended from the train. As the passengers thinned she could see no sign of the lovely graceful figure for which she sought so eagerly. It is always a little depressing to be unmet at journey's end, and she was alone in a strange country. She had travelled from France where her school was located.Mea sighed and hefted her suitcase; her trunk containing all her other possessions had been sent on ahead. Lucerne drowsed in the spring sunshine, showing entrancing glimpses of blue lake and white buildings beyond the station. She supposed she could find a taxi to take her to the hotel. She was a forlorn little figure in her neat navy skirt and jacket, a residue from her convent uniform, her shoulder-length hair pushed back behind her ears as she moved towards the exit.Before she reached it, she halted and her eyes widened fearfully. A man had come on to the platform and for a second she fancied she was seeing an apparition. The slim tall figure with its air of elegant assurance, the undefinable thing called style that marked his movements and was expressed in his well-cut clothes was unpleasantly reminiscent of Frederick Marlow. Almost she expected him to say in his indolent drawl:'Well, well, here's the bad penny turned up again,' which he had said more than once.The man moved into a better light and she saw with relief that the likeness was entirely superficial. This man's hair was dark, whereas her stepfather had been blond, his eyes were a clear grey instead of a cold blue, under straight black brows, and his lean face was tanned a deeper hue than Frederick ever achieved. The grey suit he wore, the matching blue tie, socks and shirt were sartorial touches akin to the deceased man's taste, but Frederick had not held a monopoly in dandyism. He was regarding her quizzically and Mea became aware that she was staring. Hastily, averting her head, she picked up her case which she had dropped in her perturbation and moved forward.'Allow me.' A brown, sinewy hand closed over the handle of her case and she quickly withdrew her own hold as their fingers touched. 'Miss Marlow, isn't it?'His voice was deep and pleasant with a faint foreign intonation, proclaiming that he was not an Englishman. Frederick had been British, though he had lived and worked abroad, but Mea could not shake off the repugnance with which his chance resemblance to the other man had filled her.'Yes, I am,' she admitted, 'but how did you know? I mean ... I haven't a clue who you are,' and could have kicked herself for sounding so naive.'Ach, then I'd better introduce myself,' he said gravely, though there was a glint of laughter in his eyes. 'I'm Lucian Becker.''I'm afraid that conveys nothing to me, Mr Becker.'The thin-lipped mobile mouth twitched with amusement at her air of childish dignity.'Hasn't your mother mentioned the Beckers? We're very old friends of her and her husband.'Mea shook her head. 'My mother doesn't often write and rarely mentions her friends.' And yet the name sounded vaguely familiar, though she could not think where she had met it before.'Jawohl, I suppose she thought you wouldn't be interested. Actually I've come to meet you in her stead. She has a migraine and doesn't feel well enough to come out in the sun.'That was typical. Sonia always developed a migraine when she sought to evade an onerous duty. With a pang, Mea recognised that meeting her had fallen into that category.'I'm sorry to hear that,' she said mechanically, 'but you needn't have bothered. I can find my own way to the hotel.''I'm sure you can.' There was still a glint of laughter in his eyes. She seemed to be causing him some amusement. 'But it wouldn't be very gallant to allow you to do so, would it? I suppose at your school you were warned to beware of strange men, but I'm not exactly a stranger. Our families have always been connected, and my father and yours were lifelong friends.'Startled, she stared at him, then recollected that he would not know Frederick Marlow had not been her father, but this was neither the time nor the place to enlighten him.'What strange eyes you have,' he went on, a sensuous indolent note coming into his voice while he assessed her. 'Are they brown, grey or green? They seem to change continually.''They're hazel,' she said shortly, finding the remark too personal. 'Are you French, Mr Becker?''Ach no, German Swiss.'They had passed through the station and he beckoned to a taxi.'It's not far to the hotel, but your case is heavy,' he told her.'Then let me take it, I didn't find it so.'Which was untrue, and she was being almost rude, but his advent had disconcerted her. He had given her a jolt with his likeness to Frederick and that had started an unwelcome train of thought. Sonia had been a widow for a year and was still beautiful. He had said they were great friends, which might mean nothing or a lot; and he was obviously her type; her mother favoured elegant men about townFrederick had been just such another. Mea's eager anticipation faded at the prospect of having to share Sonia with a male admirer whom she instinctively distrusted and disliked.A taxi drew up in front of them, precluding a disclaimer from Lucian about the weight of her case. When they were seated inside, she asked:'How did you recognise me?''There was only one young woman on the platform answering to your description,' he replied, eyeing her quizzically.'I suppose Mother told you to look out for a naive, dowdy schoolgirl,' she suggested with heightened colour.'I would prefer to say fresh and dewy,' he told her, not denying the schoolgirl.Mea was not sure that she appreciated this amendment. Her schooldays were behind her and she was ready to take her first steps in the adult world. Fresh and dewy sounded maudlin, but she wished that she had taken more trouble with her appearance, packed her suit and worn something more 'with it'; had her hair waved and put on some makeup. She had been waiting for her mother to take her in handand pay for the result. She had not much pocket-money. But she had not expected to be met by this elegant sophisticate. He was what her schoolmates would have called a dish and they would have raved their silly heads off about him, but Mea had always been contemptuous of their crushes, she had her dreams but they were not concerned with boys.'I'm over eighteen,' she told Lucian defiantly, for it occurred to her that her mother might have said she was younger to disguise her own age if she wanted to impress this young man. Sonia liked to have some presentable male in tow, an aspect of her that her daughter did her best to ignore, for it tarnished the bright image she had created of her, but after all, Sonia Marlow was a wealthy and beautiful widow and it was only to be expected that men would pay her attention, though this one looked a little young for her.'With all your life before you,' her companion said meditatively. 'What do you plan to do with it?''I haven't decided yet,' Mea told him, wondering if he expected her to sayget married. 'First I'm to have a holiday and then I think I should train for some sort of job, but I haven't any particular bent.'Mea's schooling had presented a conflict of ideas, sacred and profane, as she described them to herself. At sixteen she had been removed from the simple pious atmosphere of a convent school to be sent to the smart academy Frederick had selected for her. The Pensionnat aux Demoiselles Superieurs was designed to train affluent young ladies as prospective brides for wealthy suitors, and familiarise them with haute culture social usages. Mea suspected that her stepfather intended to foist her upon some pre-selected husband and so dispose of her, an idea that infuriated her with its callous disregard for her feelings. So she had not been receptive to Madame Durand's teaching, nor tried to enhance her appearance.Lucian said casually: 'Why bother? You're sure to get married.''To gain a meal ticket?' she asked scornfully. 'I ... I haven't much use for men.'Not his sort, definitely. Last summer she had spent a fortnight with her mother at Le Touquet and she had been unable to blind herself to Sonia's susceptibility to young male admirers. She said their company rejuvenated her, but at least she had been shrewd enough not to give them presents. This one seemed to be the latest addition to her collection, though he looked too forceful to allow himself to be made into any woman's retriever.'Indeed?' he inquired with a glint of amusement in his eyes. 'You were able to make a study of the species at your convent?''I left the convent two years ago,' she said frigidly. 'My next school was very different. It organised dances and invited the local young men to partner us. Only those considered suitable, of course. I was usually a wallflower.''I can only say they showed very poor taste not to appreciate you.'Mea ignored this attempt at flattery.'Why should they?' she demanded bluntly. 'They bored me as much as I bored them. Their only idea was to try to flirt, and, I'm no good at that.' Lucian looked still more amused. 'Seriously though, a profession is never a waste of time, even if one does marry.'He hunched his shoulders in a comical gesture of distaste.'Ach\ The good Lord preserve me from career women!''I'll have moved out of your orbit long before I've attained any proficiency,' she said consolingly, for her future was nothing to do with him.'Sonia tells me you'll be staying with her indefinitely,' he protested, 'and we shall meet frequently, for she consults me about all her problems.'Mea registered the use of her mother's first name. Obviously he was on familiar terms with her. She hoped he was not cultivating her for what he expected to get out of her. Dismayed by that idea, she shot him a sidelong look and was disconcerted to meet his keen gaze fixed upon her speculatively. She surmised he might be wondering how such a handsome mother could have produced such a nondescript daughter, or, more sinister, whether her coming would interfere with whatever intentions he had towards Sonia. Neither suggestion sweetened her towards him. Hastily she turned her head and stared out of the window. He must be at least ten years younger than Sonia, and having gauged her weakness, might be using his good looks and undeniable charm to sponge on her. Like many young people she disliked intensely having to think of her mother in an amorous context. Mothers were sacrosanct. But Sonia had never been a real mother to her since her earliest infancy. Frederick Marlow had come between them. Mea had idealised her as a glamorous figure who could do no wrong, but her illusions had begun to fade at Le Touquet. Sonia was human like everyone else, too much so where young men were concerned, and she felt a fierce wave of resentment against the man sitting beside her for intruding upon her reunion with her mother.Beautiful Lucerne was especially so in the spring when the blossom in its many orchards was out. The lake, emerald with purple shadows, lay deep between encircling hills that became mountains at its further end. With its many red roofs, white buildings and clean streets, decorated with flowers in window boxes and gardens, the town presented a feast of colour that was almost theatrical.The Hotel Beau Rivage was cream-tinted, its walls on the street side decorated with mural paintings. On the other it faced the water. Although an old structure it was fitted with modern conveniences.As Mea and Lucian entered the impressive commissionaire advanced to meet them.'Ah, Herr Becker!' he exclaimed gutturally, for Lucerne is in a German-speaking canton. 'So this is Madame's daughter.'His deep-set eyes studied Mea from top to toe; he also was seeking a replica of the famous beauty, which Mea was not. She was of a much slighter build than Sonia, who was above medium height and endowed with ample curves, and her elfish face was more piquant than pretty, but-her hazel eyes were lovely, her nose straight, even if her mouth was too wide, and her brown hair had a copper glint. The man looked disappointed and Mea reflected that it would always be her fate to be overshadowed by her mother so long as she were in her vicinity.'The Fraulein would like to go to her room after her journey,' Lucian prompted.'Ach, so.' The man pushed the register towards Mea and turned to reach for a key on the board behind him. Lucian looked over her shoulder as she wrote her name.'Mea,' he commented. 'Unusual.''You'd hardly expect my mother's daughter to have an ordinary name,' she countered.'Ach wohl, she is romantically inclined,' he observed. 'I hope you and I are going to be friends, Mea?''We can't tell at this stage, can we?' She met his glance frostily, suspecting that he was trying to establish good relations with a prospective stepdaughter. A porter picked up her suitcase, and taking her key, she gave Lucian a cool little nod and followed the man into the lift.The Hotel Beau Rivage was at the end of the lake where the river ran out of it, and the sound of running water permeated the rooms. Mea's on the second floor had a little iron balcony overlooking it. To the left could be seen from it the mediaeval covered footbridge that at this point, where the lake narrowed, was able to cross it. Pilatus' craggy summit was visible to the right, above the intervening wood-covered fells. After admiring the view, Mea started to unpack. Her trunk had arrived and had been placed in the room. She discarded her prim navy suit, putting on in its place cream slacks and a green tank top, garments that had become almost a uniform with young people on holiday. It was late afternoon and she wondered if Sonia were well enough to see her. She was longing for a cup of tea, but was too diffident to ring for one. Since she would be expected to dress for dinner, she took out her evening gowns, shaking her head over their simple girlish style. Sonia had bought her clothes and insisted upon emphasising her youth. Mea had not minded, but now she wished she had something sophisticated to wear until she realised her dissatisfaction was due to a desire to impress Lucian Becker, and she felt annoyed with herself. The less she was noticed by that young man the better she would be pleased.The buzz of the house phone interrupted her labours. Reception informed her that Frau Marlow wished to see her daughter and gave her the number of her room, which was on the floor below.Mea found her mother lying on a chaise-longue wearing a becoming negligee with her blinds drawn against the afternoon sun so that the light was dim. She looked very lovely and incredibly young, and held out white rounded arms to her daughter. Mea bent down to kiss her and became enveloped in a cloud of Chanel No. 5.'So sorry I couldn't get to the station,' Sonia cooed. 'My head was too bad to go out in the sun. I sent Lucian, I knew he'd look after you.''That's all right, Mummy,' Mea told her. 'Is the head better now?' Sitting down beside her, she began to stroke the broad white forehead with her finger tips, above the beautiful blue eyes. Sonia. had also permanent golden hair that was not permitted to show a grey hair, while her enamelled complexion was a work of art.Sonia frowned. 'Now you're grown up, darling, you must use my name,' she said firmly. 'Mummy sounds so silly.''You mean, call you Sonia?' Mea asked blankly, feeling her mother was trying to deny her motherhood.'Why not? Most young people do nowadays, especially when their parents are still youthful. I was so very young when you were born, and I don't look my age, so my friends tell me. We might be taken for sisters.'Mea thought that was very unlikely. From what she could recall, Sonia must be on the wrong side of forty, and though she had worn well, there was none of the dewy freshness about her looks that Lucian had remarked upon; rather she suggested ripeness.'We're not in the least alike,' she pointed out, fearful that Sonia might resent her because she made her feel old.'I suppose not,' Sonia agreed. 'Stand up, darling, where I can see you.' Mea obediently rose and her mother's eyes swept critically over her slight figure. 'You've grown since I last saw you, but you're dreadfully skinny. Did Madame Durand starve you?''Of course not,' Mea laughed. 'It's fashionable to be thin, and I don't put on weight easily.''But men like curves.' Sonia lifted a rounded white arm and gazed at it complacently. 'You're like your father,' she went on, and Mea started; during Frederick's lifetime, Sonia's previous marriage and husband had been taboo subjects, for he was a jealous man. 'He was always as spare as an ash plant,' she continued, 'you've got his colouring too.' She frowned. 'Heredity can be quite embarrassing.''Tell me about him,' Mea entreated eagerly, sitting down by her mother's feet. 'Is he still alive?'Although she had lived with both her parents until she was five, Mea had only dim recollections of a big old house and a remote shadowy person called Daddy, nor could she recall his name.'I believe so,' Sonia told her indifferently. 'I haven't seen a notice of his death, and it would be sure to be reported, as he made quite a name for himself with his books.''He's an author?''Sort of; he's an authority on antiques, and they're dreadfully dry. He published something only last year. Of course he's much, much older than I am, but when I married him I was flattered that he seemed to want me, and he was something of a celebrity even then. I soon found-out my error. He expected me to live in the family mausoleum in Wiltshire while he went off on expeditions. It was all a terrible mistake, darling, we got so bored with each other and he was highly relieved when I ran away with Fred.'Mea absently ran a finger along the back of the couch. Her life had been spent almost entirely among women and she had missed a masculine element. Frederick's dislike of her had been reciprocated, but the man Sonia was describing so contemptuously was her real father, and she felt drawn towards him, though he could have no paternal feelings for her as he had made no attempt to contact her throughout her childhood.She said wistfully; 'Hasn't he ever inquired about me?'Sonia laughed scornfully. 'He didn't even ask to have access to you.''Oh!' Mea was inexplicably hurt. Noting her expression, her mother said soothingly: 'Now don't start being sentimental about him, pet, you've got on very well without him for a great many years and he's not interested in anything that isn't five thousand years old or two miles high.''Do antiques grow on mountain tops, then?' Mea laughed.'Rocks do. He's an archaeologist, to be precise, or geologist, I'm not sure which, but enough about him. About youI'm afraid I'm not very energetic nowadays. Will you be able to amuse yourself?''I expect so, but I feel I ought to consider training for something. I can't idle away my life.''Dear me, how dreadfully earnest that sounds, but wouldn't it be a waste of time? You'll end by getting married, and it's much better to get a man to keep you than to try to keep yourself.''Isn't that rather an old-fashioned idea?' Mea asked disdainfully.'It's a sensible one,' retorted Sonia, who had married two affluent men and appeared to be contemplating a third. 'But not a foreigner, darling, look out for a nice reliable Englishman. Don't be misled by continental glamour.'Was she being warned oil Lucian Becker?'I'm not looking but for anyone,' Mea declared. 'I'm going to be independent.''How boring!' Sonia yawned. 'Ah! here's tea.' Someone had knocked on the door. 'Come in! I ordered it so we could enjoy a cup together.''I'm dying for one,' Mea confessed as a waiter wheeled in a tea trolley. Sonia sat up.'Pour out for me, darling.'Mea moved behind the teapot as the waiter drew up the blinds and the semi-darkened room was flooded with light. She could see then that Sonia looked older than when she had seen her last. Like a full-blown rose she was poised on the edge of disintegration. In a few more years she would no longer be able to keep time at bay.As the waiter withdrew Sonia began to talk about the amenities of the place. There were many excursions from Lucerne, ascents of the Rigi and Pilatus and one over the Three Passes. Also the Burgenstock, where one could stay all night to watch the dawn and sunrise over the Alps. 'I did them all with Freddie,' she said, 'but they'd be too much for me now.''I don't mind going by myself,' Mea assured her. Her heart had leapt at the mention of mountains.'You mustn't do that, darling. I'm sure Lucian will take you wherever you want to go and he's very knowledgeable about the countryafter all, he is a native, though he always seems to want to be somewhere else, but he has promised to settle down now.' She glanced slyly at Mea's unresponsive face. 'He'll be only too delighted to oblige ... me. He's quite devoted to me and rather a lamb, don't you think?'Mea did not consider that lamb was an appropriate description of Lucian Becker, though he might turn out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. She said hastily:'I wouldn't dream of troubling Mr Becker, however lamblike he may be. But is he free? I mean, doesn't he do anything?''He's been abroad a lot, but now he's come home his father wants him to come into the family business and get married.''And being so obliging he'll agree to his father's wishes on both counts?' Mea inquired sarcastically.'He's an only son and it's quite time he married,' Sonia pointed out, 'provided a suitable wife can be found for him.''Is he incapable of choosing for himself?''In this country parents like to be consulted,' Sonia observed drily. 'He's probably got a bride lined up of whom they approve.' This suggestion seemed to start an unwelcome train of thought, for she frowned abstractedly. Then she went on: 'So there's no need for you to be awkward, darling, you won't be in any danger. You're much too young to interest him.''Reciprocated. He's the last man to interest me,' Mea declared, a little stung by the imputation.Sonia's face cleared and she looked pleased. 'Then you'll be quite safe together, a sort of ... er ... uncle and niece relationship. That'll keep him in the family, so to speak. I don't want to lose him, he's far too useful.'A somewhat ambiguous statement. Mea was familiar with her mother's rambling style of conversation, and she hoped that she did not really mean father and daughter.Sonia seemed far too involved with this young man, who might be mercenary. The rich widow and the impecunious fortune-hunter was a situation all too common and a disagreeable one.She said carefully:'I'm sure he thinks the world of you, but are you sure he hasn't got an eye on your money?'Sonia laughed merrily. 'Lucian doesn't have to bother about money. The Beckers are loaded.' But the mention of money seemed to trouble her, for her face puckered, and she said plaintively: 'I'm a bit worried about the future, darling. Everything gets more expensive every day and though dear Freddie left me comfortably off, he tied up the capital in a very peculiar way.'Mea was not interested in how her stepfather had left his money, though if she could have foreseen the future she could have saved herself some heartbreak if she had inquired. But she did not consider it was any of her business, and she knew Sonia always declared she was ruined when she had been extravagant. If she really needed to retrench she could stay at a less expensive hotel. What did nauseate her was the connection with Lucian and its overtones. Had Sonia got her eye on the Becker money, or was her cavalier prepared to take her on for the sake of her income which was still extensive in spite of inflation and so make himself independent of his parents? He looked expensive, and undoubtedly would know how to spend if not to earn.One thing was certain, her hopes of a closer understanding with her mother were fading, for Sonia would have no use for her daughter, might even find her presence embarrassing, if her thoughts were fixed upon subjecting this interloper, for so Mea termed him. Lucian Becker's advent had spoilt everything for her.She looked wistfully at her mother's beautiful face. Sonia could still dazzle a younger man if she wished to do so.'I'm afraid I didn't take to Mr Becker,' she said curtly.'You mustn't be prejudiced,' Sonia said severely. 'Anyway, he'll do for an escort until you know your way about. You've been very sheltered, darling, and I shouldn't like you to pick up just anybody.''As if I should!' Mea exclaimed impatiently.'I would like you to get to know him.'For some reason Sonia seemed to want her to approve of Lucian and there was only one interpretation to put upon that.She asked bluntly: 'You're not thinking of marrying again?'A flash of surprise showed in the blue eyes, then they narrowed to a look of cunning.'I might think of it,' Sonia said complacently. 'I miss having a man and being a widow's a bit of a drag< Would you mind very much? After all, you want to go off and have a career, so it shouldn't make any difference to you.'Mea did mind. It would not have been so bad if her mother had chosen a suitable mate instead of a young wastrel like Lucian Becker, which seemed to her so undignified.'So long as you're happy,' she said doubtfully.'Oh, I'll make sure of that, but in the meantime, since Lucian is prepared to act as courier for you, you will be nice to him?'Mea had not much vanity, but the implication that she was so juvenile and unattractive that she could be no possible threat to Lucian's fidelity was a little galling. Her mother had said they would be quite safe together;evidently she was not sure that he would not seek other diversions since she herself could not accompany him everywhere. If she knew he was with Mea her mind would be at rest. That was the only reason Mea could think of for having him thrust upon her. She would have much preferred to find a companion who would appreciate her for herself instead of being taken out to oblige Sonia. On the other hand she would have an opportunity to observe him at close quarters and discover if his feelings for her mother were genuine. She was still suspicious of his motives and the reality of his intention to earn his living. Up to now he had apparently lived the life of a playboy, a species she detested. She liked men who were doers, not tailor's dummies. Mr Becker was too well groomed, too suave and too like Frederick to have any appeal to her. Women were supposed to go for the same type and he was as sophisticated, arrogant and selfish as her stepfather had been. The thought of a second one in the same mould was more than Mea could bear. Up to now the idea of finding employment had been nebulous, there had been no urgency about it, but if she desired to escape before Sonia's remarriage she must begin to make plans. Fortunately she could cook. During the holiday weeks she had been forced to spend at the convent, she had occupied herself in the kitchen. The Sisters had smiled upon her enthusiasm and endeavoured to help her. Now she would always be sure of employment, for cooks were in demand.In answer to Sonia's plea to be nice to Lucian, she said reluctantly:'I'll try to be pleasant to him for your sake. Will he be coming to dinner tonight?''I don't think so. He doesn't dine here, but he often drops in during the evening for a rubber of Bridge. You play, of course?'Mea shook her head. Although Madame Durand included it in her list of social accomplishments, Mea had never attained any proficiency in the game which she disliked.'Oh dear, what a pity! It's the only thing one can do in the evenings here. But you'll come and watch? You mustn't feel excluded.'Which was precisely what Mea would feel.Dressing for dinner was part of the regime at the Pensionnat, so Mea had several long gowns. For tonight, she selected a pale green crepe dress with demure short sleeves and a V-shaped neck. The long folds gave her height and the colour turned her eyes to emeralds, but its simplicity did not please her. It emphasised her youthfulness and would confirm Lucian in his belief that she was still adolescent. She considered he was an adversary and if she were to do battle with him on her mother's behalf, she would have felt more confident had she looked more sophisticated.Studying herself in the long glass on her wardrobe door, she recalled that she had been told she had her father's colouring. Sonia had said he was still alive and living in Wiltshire. She tried hard to remember what he had looked like, but he remained elusive, though she recalled he had been grave and aloof and completely at a loss as to how to cope with a lively five-year-old. That would be why he had raised no demur when Sonia had been granted custody of their daughter; no doubt he had thought a little girl should be with her mother; he might have inquired about her, but as far as she knew he had never done so. Frederick Marlow had insisted that she took his name and she could not recollect what it had been originally. For some time she had passionately resented her father's indifference, but as the years passed she forgot him, and her mother never referred to him. But today she had spoken of him and Mea's interest was reawakened. It was possible that now she was grown up he would be more compatible to her than Sonia was. For today's reunion had been disappointing. She had come with such high hopes of enjoying real companionship with her and being a solace to her in her widowhood, but Sonia had Shown in a few short moments that she did not need her, being absorbed in her pursuit of the eligible Lucian Becker. Moreover, a grown-up daughter's presence could embarrass her as she strove to match Lucian in years, for Mea had no intention of assisting her to perpetuate a schoolgirl image. She was, at nearly nineteen, an adult.Though she had fully intended to make her own way through life, her ideas had been vague, but now if she wished to avoid witnessing Sonia's courtship and nuptials, she would have to act promptly. Though she had not been to England since her mother's flight, she was still a British subject, it, not France, was her country, and she decided that it was there she would like to work. When she arrived there she would look up her father, and possibly he might be pleased to see her, and would offer her some sort of base in a strange new world. It should not be hard to locate him, since she knew now that he wrote books. His publishers would give her his address in Wiltshire, though first she would have to make her mother divulge his name, which continued to elude her.Looking out at the brilliant, almost theatrical beauty of the Swiss scene, she experienced a wave of nostalgia for grey skies, green fields and the quiet dignity of an English country house.

CHAPTER TWOUsed to early rising at school, Mea woke next morning when the other guests at the Beau Rivage were still slumbering. For a little while she lay luxuriating in the knowledge that she need not get up unless she so wished, but the bright sunlight outside called to her and she was soon on her way to the shower. Sonia had told her the night before that she always breakfasted in her room and did not like to be disturbed before ten o'clock; nor would the meal be served before eight-thirty in the hotel dining room. Mea ran downstairs, past spruce Swiss maids polishing the corridors and out into the freshness of the early morning. Though the visitors might linger abed, the town was already astir. Shopkeepers were raising their blinds and dusting their wares. Fresh flowers and fruit were being delivered by vans in the streets, and Mea paused awhile to gaze at the carved chalets and bears in the souvenir shops and displays of Swiss embroidery. Then she crossed the ancient covered bridge over the river with its macabre paintings set at intervals along its eaves depicting various activities, each figure accompanied by the skeletal shape of Death to remind the frivolous that life is uncertain.The river Reuss ran merrily beneath the bridge on its exit from the lake that it had joined at its further end after its turbulent passage down from the mountains. Mea watched the rippling water for some time, wondering if it too was contaminated as the waters of so many lakes were reported to be becoming, a sad commentary upon man's capacity for defilement. Then she looked up at the sky.There were no clouds and the Rigi and Pilatus confronted each other across the water sharply defined against the blue sky. Further south the more distant peaks were snow-covered.Finally, feeling hungry, Mea retraced her steps to enjoy a meal of fragrant coffee, fresh rolls, butter and honey on the terrace of the hotel.On such a lovely morning even the thought of Lucian Becker could not vex her and she resolved that she .must see something of Switzerland before she embarked upon her pilgrimage to England.It was past ten when she went up to her mother's suite. Sonia was wearing another diaphanous negligee, but her face had been carefully made up and her hair coiffured. In spite of all her art, Mea's youthful bloom that could meet the morning sunshine without alarm made her look faded. Mea halted abruptly inside the door which she had entered in answer to Sonia's 'Come in,' as she saw Lucian Becker was with her mother. He was lounging gracefully against the lintel of the door opening on to the balcony, hands in the pockets of his well cut cream slacks, a short-sleeved crochet tee-shirt exposing his arms and the brown column of his throat. The sunlight found blue lights in his dense black hair, and the casual garb made him look lithe, young and a little dangerous. Involuntarily Mea thought he looked more like Sonia's son than her fianc.'Good morning, darling,' Sonia greeted her languidly. 'I suppose you've had breakfast? Lazy old me has only just got out of bed, and I only have fruit juice for breakfast.''Yes, I've breakfasted.' Mea bent to kiss her mother, who was sprawling languidly on her chaise-longue. 'Good morning, Mr Becker,' she added casually as she straightened herself, 'you're an early visitor.''Guten Tag, Mea,' he said lazily, eyeing appreciatively her bright colour and wind-blown hair. 'I see you too have been out already.''It's such a gorgeous morning I had to go out,' Mea told him.'Such energy!' Sonia sighed. 'Lucian darling, do draw the blind, the strong light hurts my eyes.' Mea suspected she feared the morning light would show up signs of age.Lucian let the venetian blind drop with a rattle and the daylight was muted.'I fancy Mea is surprised by my early call,' he observed, thereby betraying that he had noticed the faint disapproval she had meant to hide. The creature seemed to live in her mother's rooms. 'It's entirely on your account that I'm here, Fraulein.''Mine?' She stared at him in astonishment.'If you've quite recovered from your journey, I thought you might like to go up the Rigi, since it's a fine day.''That's very kind of you,' she told him frostily, for she did not want to go anywhere with him if that was the idea. 'Will you come, M ... Sonia?''Me?' Sonia looked horror-stricken. 'My dear child, it would kill me! No, you go along with Lucian, since he happens to be free.'Mea tried to think of an excuse to refuse, and mistaking the reason for her hesitation, Lucian said:'It won't be too exhausting, since I propose to go up by the funicular. We can have lunch on the top and the views ought to be excellent as it's so clear. You can see the Jungfrau from the summit.'Her heart leaped at the thought of being among the mountains, but she would much prefer to go up by foot, instead of by rail.'Isn't that cheating?' she said doubtfully.'What is? Ach so, the train.' His eyes travelled over her slight figure. 'You're hardly robust enough to make a mountaineer, and the Rigi isn't exactly a climb, just a long trudge, so why walk when you can ride?'And long trudges aren't in your line, Mea thought scornfully, while Sonia shuddered.'Darling, you couldn't possibly walk up, you'd get all hot and dusty and quite exhausted.''I'm tougher than I look,' Mea informed them, 'but I expect I would be asking too much of Mr Becker. I wouldn't like him to become hot, dusty and exhausted.' Her eyes dwelt derisively upon his immaculate clothing. Now, surely, he would withdraw his invitation.But he only seemed to be amused, the light grey eyes meeting hers in the darkened room with a faint hint of challenge, while Sonia said in the sort of tone used to a refractory child, 'Darling, that's what the railway's been put there for, to save unnecessary exertion. And must you be so formal? Why don't you call him, Lucian? I want you to be friends.'Lucian bowed slightly in a foreign manner. 'I'd be honoured if you would.'All pals togetherSonia, Mea, LucianMea thought contemptuously. Her mother had no idea of how she resented the thought of another stepfather, and such a juvenile one. Sonia would lay herself open to unkind comments. As for herself, she had no wish to become intimate with this man whom she despised. She made one more effort to evade the Rigi expedition.'I don't want to leave you alone all day, Sonia, when I've only just arrived.''There'll be plenty of other days,' her mother pointed out. 'I haven't quite got over my migraine, so I'd like to have a very quiet day, and it isn't always Lucian is at liberty.So you must take this opportunity when it's such lovely weather.'Lucian grinned. 'We've been given our marching orders.' He glanced at his wrist watch. 'Can you be ready in ten minutes, Mea? That'll give us nice time to catch the boat to Vitznau. Bring something warm to put on, it may be chilly on the summit.''Run along, pet, don't worry about me,' Sonia urged.There was no help for it, but in spite of her reluctance to spend the day in Lucian's company the prospect of an expedition was exciting, though she would much rather have essayed the Rigi on foot instead of sedately sitting in the funicular, but that she supposed would take a long time besides being much too energetic for the elegant Mr Becker.The lake was jade and amethyst as the steamer cut through its placid surface. Red-roofed white houses lined the shore amidst cascading blossom and the tender green of young leaves.The Rigi was a tall peak with a truncated top jutting up from the lake into the azure sky, the hotels on its summit visible to the naked eye.'Nearly six thousand feet,' Lucian told Mea. 'You'll find a change in the atmosphere up there. It's a haunt of skiers in the winter. Do you ski?'She shook her head. 'Both my schools were situated in flat country, but I can skate. Do you ski?'He smiled. 'I wouldn't be Swiss if I didn't.''And the Swiss are a very practical people.''What's that a propos of?''Just a thought.' Being a foreigner he would have different values from her own, and dowries were common among continental brides. Money attracted money, as if it would not be much more equitable if rich men married paupers and vice versa, but Cinderella and King Cophetua belonged to the realm of fantasy.They were leaning over the ship's rail watching the dramatically coloured water swirl by. His hand grasped it next to hers, long-fingered, lean and brown, it was a capable hand, a strong hand more suited to an outdoor man than a frequenter of banking establishments and ladies' boudoirs. Determined to dislike him, Mea refused to consider that he might be other than he seemed, and surely no sportsman would ascend the Rigi by rack and pinion?The car crawled up the mountainside, exposing fresh vistas of lake and mountain the higher it rose. The air became thinner and cooler. Mea was glad of the white woolly cardigan she had brought to wear over her sleeveless tank top. There was a fresh breeze blowing when they stepped out of the station that tangled Mea's hair into becoming disorder. As promised they had a fine view of the Bernese Oberland and could identify the Jungfrau.'I would give anything to climb it,' Mea said almost passionately, 'I mean really climb it, not go by rail or chair up, to the Joch.'Lucian smiled indulgently. 'Climbing is a special skill. If you're a plainswoman you will have had no chance to learn it.''Worse luck, but I suppose one can make a beginning somehow. Mountains have always fascinated me. That my family ... Mother ... could never understand. She hates all sports and games except cards. She's a real hothouse plant and I'm not like her at all.''An orchid and a wild rose,' Lucian said absently. He was looking at her delicately tinted cheeks, and Mea laughed, faintly embarrassed. She suspected this man made a point of complimenting every female who came within his range.'And you of course favour orchids,' she sought to remind him of his allegiance.'No. I find them too artificial.'Not the right reply at all. Was it Sonia's money that was the lure? With a rich wife he would not have to go into business or do anything at all if he did not wish to do so. She turned her attention to the Jungfrau's distant snows and straightway forgot him and the problems he presented.'To be on top of a mountain,' she said dreamily, 'I can imagine it, with nothing between you and the sky and all the earth spread beneath you. What a feeling of triumph after the arduous going, the satisfaction of having accepted a challenge and won!'Lucian looked in surprise at her rapt face.'You're on the top of a mountain now,' he reminded her.'Yes, but I was brought up and I didn't encounter any glaciers or crevasses or any other hazards. There's no sense of achievement about this. I'm not even out of breath.'She met his gaze expecting mockery, but there was no derision in his quiet regard.'If you're so keen perhaps something can be arranged.''Oh, I wasn't really serious,' she said quickly. 'I know it means hiring guides and gear which would be terribly expensive, and Mother wouldn't understand.'He smiled sardonically. 'I'm sure she wouldn't. But if you can manage to come down to earth, what about lunch?''A good idea, I'm hungry.' She turned reluctantly from the mountains and her hands went to her disordered hair. 'Oh dear, I must look a mess, but I suppose there'll be a powder room.''You look charming,' he said gravely.'Now you're laughing at me.''Indeed I'm not, but it's only the very young who can manage to look alluring en deshabille.'Mea knew he must be thinking of her mother's elaborate toilets.'Do I seem very young to you?' she asked tentatively.'Delightfully so.'At least he had a nice way of putting it, she thought as they walked towards the hotel, but to him she would always be Sonia's schoolgirl daughter. But how could she be anything else, and surely she had no wish to be.They ate an elaborate meal which Mea enjoyed, her appetite sharpened by the keen air. Lucian asked her about her school life, skilfully drawing her out to reveal her thoughts and feelings. He seemed amused to learn that it had started in a convent.'You never felt you had a vocation?' he asked teasingly.'Me? Good heavens, no!''I thought teenagers went through a period of wanting to be nuns, especially if they were connected with convents.''Some may do, but I never did. The world's too exciting to want to renounce it.''You have a zest for life which is very attractive. I'm glad your parents' neglect hasn't embittered you.''My parents? Well, poor Mummy did her best,' Mea insisted loyally. 'But my stepfather regarded me as an encumbrance. He didn't like being reminded that Mother had been married before.'In the tense little pause that followed she realised that what she had told him was news to him.'Ach Himmel, you mean Frederick Marlow wasn't your father?'She looked at him in consternation. 'Oh lord, it didn't occur to me that you didn't know. What will Mother say?'He grinned wickedly. 'We won't tell her you've let pussy out. Frederick was a great friend of my father's, I always understood he was a good sort of fellow, so I'm surprised he was so mean about you, but when a man's in love ...' He shrugged his shoulders. 'What happened to your father? Did he die?'Mea would have liked to have said yes, but the lie was too dangerous, particularly as she meant to go in search of him. Haltingly she gave him the bare facts, striving to soften Sonia's desertion in a favourable light.'She married too young and they weren't compatible,' she concluded.She, saw that he was regarding her sternly and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Was he judging Sonia too hardly? If only she had been more discreet!'What I can't understand is how any man could abandon his daughter to Sonia's tender mercies,' he declared unexpectedly.'He thought I should be with my mother.''But such a mother! And you never were with her.'Mea's face puckered anxiously. 'Oh, please, Mr Becker ... Lucian, don't let anything I've said prejudice you against Mummy,' she said piteously, for though she was antagonistic towards Sonia's romance, she could not bear to think that she might be instrumental in breaking it.He smiled reassuringly. 'My dear child, I had your mother weighed up long before you appeared on the scene.''Then what I've told you makes no difference?''None whatever.'Mea was not satisfied. Did he mean he was so infatuated with Sonia that he could overlook her previous attachments, or ... what seemed more likely ... he was not serious about her at all? That would be a terrible blow to her mother's vanity and all Mea's protective instincts were aroused. She did not want Sonia to be hurt.'I'm afraid you're a flirt, Mr Becker,' she said severely.'Have I tried to flirt with you?' 'Some of your remarks might be interpreted as heading in that direction,' she told him, 'but of course your interest in me is paternal.'At which he laughed so heartily that she was disconcerted.'I'm not sure I like you,' she said desperately.'You'd better not quarrel with me until I've paid for that enormous lunch you've eaten.''Now that I call blackmail. Did I really eat such a lot?'He leaned forward and patted her hand. 'Forget it. It pleased me to see you enjoying your food. None of that "can't eat this, mustn't eat that" because of your figure. Believe me, I consider myself privileged to entertain you.'She thought he was overdoing it. 'Mr Becker ...' she began protestingly.'Didn't we agree you were to call me Lucian?' he interrupted.'To please Mummy.''Who wishes to be referred to as Sonia, doesn't she? You're living in an informal age, my girl.'Mea said hastily to avoid misunderstandings;'But I'm not permissive.''Heaven forbid! Does using my first name make you so?'She looked straight into the mischievously glinting grey eyes.'It might be the thin edge of the wedge.''Jawohl, you find it exciting to imagine I'm a wicked predator and a menace to maiden innocence, but it's too nice a day to sit here arguing about it. Come and look at the Lake of Zug on the other side of the mountain. I assure you, my little nun, you're perfectly safe with me ... in daylight.'He spoke flippantly, so that she was not sure if she had offended him or not, springing to his feet as he did so, and the waiter came hurrying to present their reckoning.Apparently he was not offended, for upon their descent from the Rigi, Lucian insisted upon taking the steamer to the further end of the lake and giving her another meal at the small town of Altdorf with its relics and statue of William Tell. Here at the foot of the St Gotthard Pass the country was much more rugged than at the Lucerne end of the lake, the hills rising steeply from its shores. The main road from Lucerne, the Axenstrassa, was cut out of the rock face. Their early dinner or late tea, she was not sure which, was eaten in a typical Swiss restaurant all varnished wood and deep eaves. To her query that Sonia would be expecting them back for dinner, he returned that a day out didn't end until sunset and they might as well see all they could as he did not know when he would be free again. An observation Mea found depressing, as she realised she would not have enjoyed herself half so much alone as she had with Lucian. Whatever else he was, he made an entertaining companion.The sun had set and the dusk was gathering as they travelled back on the boat. The lights were coming on all along the lake shores, throwing wavering reflections on the darkening water, the mountains retreated behind a violet veil.'I must thank you for a truly wonderful day, Lucian,' Mea said with genuine gratitude as the landing stage came in sight.'I'm glad that you enjoyed it,' he told her conventionally. 'It's a pity Sonia does not feel equal to undertaking excursions, I should like to take you over the Three Passes and show you the Rhone Glacier, but I'm afraid you'll have to go on your own.''Oh, I shan't mind that,' she exclaimed quickly. 'I mean, I can't expect you to do any more for me. You're starting a new job, aren't you?''Yes, and I'm afraid I'll find being stuck in one place a bit trying,' he admitted. 'I'm not used to desk work, but my old man needs my help and I suppose it's time I settled down to a regular occupation. He's been very tolerant of my youthful enthusiasms.'Which information Mea interpreted as confirmation of her first impression of him, an idler and a playboy, but now his playtime had lasted too' long and he was rather too mature to take kindly to new disciplines and she was afraid his father would have some disappointments ahead of him.'He's also urging me to marry,' Lucian went on, 'since I'm the last of my family, but that's a responsibility I'm very reluctant to assume.''But a wife could be such a help to you,' Mea said eagerly, anxious to make up for the slip she had made when she had mentioned Sonia's first husband. 'I mean, your businesses banking, isn't it? You will need someone to act as hostess when you entertain your colleagues, and to represent you on committees and things.'Her ideas upon 'the duties of a businessman's wife were vague, but if he were to become an important person in the life of the town, she was sure Sonia would support him admirably, and ensure that he kept his nose to the grindstone.Lucian said: 'What a dreary prospect, but I suppose I must resign myself to becoming staid and conventional.''And to putting on weight with each new dignity,' Mea suggested mischievously. He would lose his still youthful good looks, and his hair would retreat, she thought maliciously as the boat touched the pier. He put his hand on her arm to steer her down the gangway and she laughed.'You are amused at the prospect before me?' he inquired. 'You think I'll be a ludicrous figure in board rooms and escorting my wife to municipal dinners?''Never ludicrous,' she protested. 'But I was picturing you some years hence as a revered city father.''Don't you think I'm worthy of reverence?''Definitely, especially when you have a wife and perhaps a family.''But of course I want a family. That will be the compensation.'But was not Sonia a little old to oblige? Mea wondered if he realised how old she was. Nor did she think Sonia would appreciate more children. But that was their affair. She meant to be out of the country long before the wedding.The promenade beside the lake side was brightly illuminated. Pollarded trees were trained to form a trellis over their heads and as they walked beneath it, it threw a tracery of shadows over them. The water had turned inky black, the sky, moonless, had become a purple pall spangled with silver. The hotels atop the Rigi formed their own galaxy high above the illuminations of the town. The fragrance of fruit blossom scented the air.'It seems a shame to go indoors on such a wonderful night,' Mea said wistfully.'Must you?''But of course. I've left Mother alone all day.''She won't miss you, she spends her evenings playing Bridge. Are you also dedicated to it?''No, I only play under compulsion and then very badly.''That wouldn't suit Sonia.' The hotel was in sight, and Lucian stopped, laying a hand on her arm. 'We could walk up through the woods, and have a drink at the Sonnenburg.''That sounds delightful,' she told him, finding she did not resent his touch. 'But no, Bridge or no Bridge, Sonia will be expecting us.'She was surprised by his suggestion. He did not seem in any haste to join Sonia, but it would be reprehensible of them to continue to neglect her when she had been alone all day. Nevertheless Mea sighed, for she was reluctant to bring this magical evening to an end. At that moment, a man wearing a Tyrolean hat with a jaunty feather in its brim came abreast of them and recognising Lucian halted to call a greeting. He stood out from the cosmopolitan throng sauntering along the lakeside in their bright play clothes, for his face was ruddy and weatherbeaten above his neatly trimmed beard and his suit was thick for the time of year, obviously a peasant's Sunday best.'Gruss Gott,' Lucian called, 'what brings you down from your mountains, Gaston?''Herr Becker!' Gaston raised his hat and came eagerly up to them. He told them in German that his sister who lived in Lucerne had been ill and he had come to visit her. 'You have not to the Oberland been for many months, mein Herr,' he concluded reproachfully.'I haven't had much time to spare since I came back from South America,' Lucian began, and the man interrupted, his face lighting up.'So you went? You in the Southern Andes have climbed? Ach Himmel, it is there that the virgin peaks are to be found still. Did you conquer one?''Unfortunately no. The weather was against us, but I had some good climbing when I was not being by a tornado buffeted or a deluge soaked.'Mea could follow their German and she was bewildered. She remembered vaguely some newspaper reports of the activities of an intrepid team that had ventured into the wild inhospitable country of Patagonia, but she had not noted any of the names. Now she recalled that a Luke Becker had been among them, the first name being given incorrectly. The mountains were not very high but the climate in the Patagonian Andes was appalling, even so, in their zeal for new conquests, mountaineers had turned their attention to them. That this man whom she had despised as an indolent playboy had been one of that daring team utterly confounded her.'But you again will go,' Gaston said positively. 'Ach, Herr Lucian, if only I could go with you, but I grow too old for such strenuous ventures.''I shall not be going again,' Lucian said sadly. 'My duty keeps me here. My father wants my help and it will be adding and subtracting from now on.''Not for you, mein Herr, the mountains will call to you again.''Then I must remain deaf to their voices. But I can still climb with you in the Oberland, though the ascents are becoming tourist routes nowadays..Even the North Face of the Eiger has been achieved.''Ja, you always want the first to be,.' Gaston affirmed.Lucian recalled Mea's presence, 'My apologies, but it is some time since I've seen Gaston.' He presented her to the Swiss, speaking in English. 'We have been up the Rigi.' He smiled ironically. 'By the Rigi Bahn.' Gaston seemed to understand him. His shrewd blue eyes studied Mea critically. 'Ach, you have at last a Shatzchen, mein Herr.'Lucian laughed but did not contradict him, although it was Sonia who was his sweetheart, if such a word could be used in connection with their relationship.'The Fraulein considers we were cheating.'Gaston's lips parted in a wide grin and he addressed Mea directly. 'You like to steigen mountains, Fraulein?'She shook her head. 'I've never had the opportunity, but more than anything else I would like to climb a mountain, but on my two feet.''And with your two hands,' Gaston laughed, a deep rumbling sound. 'We should something about it do, eh, Herr Lucian?''But I'm not in your class,' she said quickly, and saw him frown at the idiom.'You are English, Fraulein?' he inquired in her own tongue.Mea looked her surprise. 'You not only understand English but speak it?''Gaston has picked up a little of most languages,' Lucian told her. 'He takes parties of many nationalities up the Jungfrau and the Eiger.'The man sighed. 'It is not as it used to be. There are too many people in the world and such a lot of them come to the Alps. I know your language well, Fraulein, for I used to climb with an Englishman who was one of the best mountaineers I've ever met. But he had the accident and could climb no more. Ach nein, it was not on the mountains, there he was more nimble than a chamois. The only man I know who is his equal is Herr Lucian.'Mea turned on her escort. 'You never told me,' she complained.He smiled wickedly. 'I was loth to dispel the charming picture you had formed of me. Er ... some people consider mountaineers mad and uncouth.'She suspected that he meant her mother, but she was hurt that he should believe she shared Sonia's weakness for elegant men about town. He should have known her better than that. Then in flashed across her mind that he did not know her at all, nor she him; they had merely shared an enjoyable expedition together. At least she had enjoyed it, but possibly being an expert he had been bored, but if so he had disguised it very well.Gaston was talking to Lucian volubly, relapsing into German.Then Lucian turned to her, saying:'Gaston thinks that I should indulge your wish. With two experienced climbers you could come to no harm. He wants an excuse to lead a select party, being weary of raw tourists who are the only people who engage guides nowadays.''But I'm raw too,' Mea pointed out.'Nein, New,' Gaston exclaimed. 'You have a feeling for the mountains, nicht wahr? I should be honoured to initiate you.''I might disappoint you,' she said diffidently.He looked at her keenly. 'You would not. Ach, at my age I do not make mistakes, but I suggest, Herr Lucian, that we take an easy mountain to start with, one not too high. The Himmelstock would be a good one, it is mostly snow, and with an early start we could do it in one day.'Lucian said, smiling, 'Well, Mea, are you game?'She could hardly believe that her most cherished dream might be coming true. Flushed and, stammering a little, she exclaimed:'It would be lovely, if... if I'm not imposing ...''Don't be so humble, girl,' he intervened. 'Gaston said you would be doing him an honour.''But... but don't I have to have a lot of equipment?''You possess trousers and a warm anorak? You can hire boots. Ropes and axes will be our business.'Mea clasped her hands, her eyes shining like stars in the light spilling from the lamp standards. 'Thank you so very, very much. It'll be wonderful!''What a child you are!' Lucian exclaimed brusquely, as if her enthusiasm embarrassed him, but Gaston smiled understandingly.'You will let me know when you can come, Herr Lucian? You can leave a message for me at the post office at Interlaken.''I will do that.'They discussed various details including booking accommodation at a hut on the night before their climb, and then Gaston took formal leave of them.'This is Auf Weidersehen,' he said to Mea, shaking her hand. 'You remind me of someone ..He shook his head. 'No, it could not be possible.''Auf Wiedersehen,' she returned shyly. 'I hope your sister will soon be better.''Danke, Fraulein, she is already on the mend.'As soon as Gaston had gone. Mea attacked Lucian vehemently.'Why didn't you tell me you were a mountaineer? You know I'd got you all wrong, and I hate duplicity. I don't remember what I said on top of the Rigi, but it must have sounded ridiculous to you. I... I misjudged you.''I'm trying to dissociate myself from my past interests,' he told her seriously. 'And my future prospects should be of more concern to you.'For her mother's sake, she supposed, but she was too excited by the discovery that he was a climber to pay much heed to his words.'I actually thought you were decadent,' she admitted shamefacedly.He laughed merrily. 'Are you sure you know what that word means? I'm certain you didn't learn it at your convent.''It's nearly three years since I left the convent, so you needn't treat me as an ignorant teenager,' she flashed indignantly.'Aren't you still in your teens?' he inquired mockingly. 'And you don't know anything about life or men, my innocent, do you?'She stayed resentfully silent, since she could not contradict him. At the entrance to the hotel he stopped and said gently:'I'm quite a bit older than you are, but I hope you won't hold that against me. I'm glad you're not precocious, Mea. I don't care for young women who pretend to know it all before they're twenty, and your lack of sophistication is refreshing.''Thank you, kind sir,' she returned sarcastically, inwardly seething. He made her feel as if she were still in the kindergarten.'I don't expect Sonia will raise any objection to our mountain climb,' he went on. 'There won't be any danger and she has asked me to take you about. I've still got a few days' holiday due to me.''Well, she did press for the Rigi trip.' Mea hoped Sonia's complacence would be extended to the mountain one. 'Also she wants me to get to know you in ... er ... a paternal capacity.'She shot hint a barbed glance, for she suspected he did not altogether fancy a fatherly role; a grown-up stepdaughter could be a little ageing to a man not yet in middle life, and that was why he kept trying to emphasise her youth and crudity.His answering glance was quizzical.'I'll be delighted to accommodate you in any capacity,' he said ambiguously.Her mind reverted to the Himmelstock.'Then I hope you won't be dreadfully bored climbing with a greenhorn.''I'll enjoy watching your reactions.''Which I hope will be all they should be,' she said as she mounted the two steps into the vestibule.'Gaston was confident and he doesn't make mistakes. I'll let you know when I can come. Now I'll say hello to Sonia and then I must be off. She'll be in the lounge, I expect.'She was, and at the card table. As she happened to be dummy, she was free to talk. If Mea had bloomed in the morning, Sonia was radiant by artificial light. She wore a dress of deep peacock blue, that exposed her beautifully moulded neck and shoulders, and not one of her golden hairs was out of place.'You're late,' she said, glancing distastefully at Mea's trousers and cardigan. 'Have you had dinner?''We had supper at Altdorf,' Lucian told her absently. His eyes held an inward brooding look. Mea sensed intuitively that his encounter with Gaston had disturbed him. It was not going to be easy for Herr Becker and Sonia to tame this wild man of the mountains. Looking at his keen profile, the lean hardness of his body that his clothes could not disguise, she wondered how she could have been so blind as to be so mistaken about him. Lucian was a doer, not a loafer.Sonia was regarding her daughter with an odd satisfaction.'You've caught the sun, darling, and, your hair looks like a bird's nest and I'm afraid your nose is going to peel.' She turned to Lucian. 'It was good of you to devote so much time to my little girl. I hope she's thanked you properly and you weren't too terribly bored. I know the Rigi must seem stupid to you.''No mountain ever seems stupid to me,' Lucian returned, 'and I'm happy to give the child a day out. Can I order you a drink or something, Mea, before I go?''Aren't you staying for a rubber? ' Sonia cried, some of her complacency slipping.'Not tonight, Sonia. I must be off.'Mea declined any refreshment, and said she would go to bed. She was puzzled and hurt by her mother's reception; she seemed to want to denigrate her in front of Lucian and he had responded by calling her a child. She must be jealous after all. She went disconsolately to her room after saying goodnight to Lucian. He had not mentioned the Himmelstock, and she was afraid her mother would veto the expedition if and when he did.

CHAPTER THREEFreezing darkness at three o'clock in the morning greeted Mea as she stumbled out of the hut, for acting on the golden rule of always beginning a climb an hour earlier than is thought necessary, their start had been put forward to that eerie hour. They had spent the short night at a mountain climbers' hut at the foot of the glacier after a walk through barren uplands from the pass where Lucian had left his car. The hut had been full but not crowded, though no other party was for the Himmelstock, they were after more ambitious climbs. The glacier gleamed ghostly white, a frozen cascade descending between two mountains; an immense and utter stillness was so intense the climbers spoke in whispers. Dim snow slopes rising upwards were discernible in the gloom, and above was the spangled vault of the sky.Mea moved away from the hut as if in a dream; so often she had imagined this scene, but now she was here in actual fact, it seemed to have no reality. Gaston was uncoiling the rope that was to link them together and Lucian handed her her ice axe, and together they moved down towards the glacier the snow crunching beneath their boots. When they reached the bergschrund, Lucian, unfamiliar in woollen cap and windcheater, fixed the rope about her waist. It was hardly necessary for seasoned climbers, but there might be crevasses and he was running no risks with a novice.Gaston led the party, with Lucian bringing up the rear, and Mea trod in the guide's footsteps, as she made her way through the broken ice of the glacier. They crossed it without mishap, and were already high on the snow slopes when the first wan light crept down the mountainsides.They came to an ice wall, but it was only about twelve feet high. Gaston cut steps in it as he advanced to give Mea a foothold, and she went up it as agile as a goat. Beyond was a steep but well defined path between rock faces, ending in a couloir or gulley, a narrow cleft in the mountainside, with a not impracticable slant, which she climbed without difficulty. Above was a narrow ridge of snow-covered rock that wound up towards the summit crest. It was solid, but to one side it overhung precipitous depths of darkness, a test for head and nerve. Mea did not suffer from vertigo; she knew the climb, as climbs went, was a simple one, but no one including herself knew what her reactions would be. So far she had encountered no difficulty and she sensed that her companions were pleased with her. Then suddenly Gaston's snow steps in front of her that she was carefully following glowed pink as though the earth was shining through from an incandescent centre, as the dawn lightened the sky. Pink changed to gold and the whole mountain slope became bathed in light as the rising sun approached the horizon. The air grew warmer and the snows began to take on unearthly colours as new life returned to the mountain peaks. The ridge ended in a steep snow slope, a mere walk for a mountaineer, but they retained the rope in case of a slip. But Mea did not slip. Once or twice Gaston looked back at her with wonder in his eyes, noticing the confident way in which she handled her axe against the snow slope and the neat manner in which she moved. Great golden rays shot up into the sky as the sun rose. Rounding a corniche at which Gaston glanced a little anxiously corniches were unpredictable, they could suddenly break off and fallthey reached a ledge above which a short steep path went up between two bastions of rock. Gaston detached himself from the rope, and said to her:'Go first, Fraulein.'Surprised, Mea obeyed unquestioningly as, freed from the rope, she scrambled up the short ascent with Lucian behind her to step out on to a small plateau with nothing between her and the sky except the sun-warmed air. She was on the summit of the mountain. All around her were the giants of the Oberlandthe Schreckhorn, the Eiger and the Finsteraarhorn, the tallest of the lot, its great pointed top rising in imperial majesty.Gaston said: 'Your first peak, Fraulein, but I am sure it will not be the last. You climbed like a veteran.'She turned to him, her face glowing.'I hope you're right, it's marvellous. Thank you, thank you both!'The two men smiled at her enthusiasm, and reaching for her mittened hand, Lucian solemnly shook it.'Congratulations, Mea.'They had not embarked upon this expedition without opposition. Although Sonia had delegated Lucian to take Mea about, she had violently opposed it with a vehemence that was rare with her. It seemed as if she had some personal animosity against mountain climbing. Lucian had refused to listen to her objections, but Mea, who had no wish to be a bone of contention between them, had said sorrowfully:'Of course I won't go, Mummy, if you don't want me to.''For God's sake let's have no more of that "Mummy"!' Sonia had cried stridently. 'You know my name, and don't look so damned dutiful. We don't want any martyrs. Climb your wretched mountain if you're so set on making a fool of yourself, and if Lucian is prepared to carry you down. You're sure to lose your head and fall into a cornice or whatever.''I think you mean a crevasse,' Lucian said calmly, not in the least disturbed by this outburst. 'But Mea's not going to fall into anything. Thank you for giving us your blessing.'Sonia looked at him in surprise and then laughed unwillingly.'You're a cool customer, darling. Have it your own way, but don't say I didn't warn you. Mea's no athlete.'Mea had thought her mother was hardly in a position to judge of that; she had associated with her so little, and she had been taught to ride and skate. Sonia was regarding her with a curiously malevolent expression as if she wanted her to disgrace herself in Lucian's eyes. That she had determined she would hot do.Nor had she, and as she stood on top of the Himmelstock, she knew she would never be satisfied until she had climbed one of the famous peaks. But that was an ambition that would have to be shelved until she had saved enough money to make it possibleher own money. The need to obtain a job was becoming more pressing, for her relations with her mother had deteriorated during the few days they had been together. It was Lucian who had come between them. She turned to look at him and found his gaze was fixed on the far distant ranges of the Valais, his companions forgotten. She wondered if he were regretting his renunciation. Something in his attitude made her think of a caged eagle. The Himmelstock was child's play to him, who had climbed the world's most inaccessible mountains, and she sensed that the urge was still there to go in search of unexplored heights. Mountaineers assisted by modern transport were seeking virgin peaks in Alaska, Greenland, even the Antarctic. She could understand the exultation of treading where no man had ever trodden before and conquering the hitherto inaccessible. But such urges would have to be resisted if he were to carry out his expressed intentions. Business tycoons could not afford the time to range the remote corners of the globe and Sonia would not allow it; she had already been emphatic upon the subject of mountains. Perhaps that was the reason for her antipathy, she feared their pull might rival her hold over Lucian, for he was only half tamed. But such perception would be unusual in Sonia, who never delved deeply into character and motives.Gaston interrupted her musing by saying suddenly:'Have you a near relative who is a mountaineer, Fraulein? It seems to me that you have a natural affinity with mountains, but I have never heard of a Marlow in Alpine circles.'Lucian looked at her questioningly, since he knew she was not a Marlow, but she could not enlighten him.'I don't know much about my relations,' she said vaguely. Her father could not have been a climber, for Sonia had said his subject was something else, but perhaps her grandfather? Suddenly she felt an intense curiosity about her origins. She had inherited little from her mother, and Sonia had said she resembled her father in appearance. There might be other traits which would put her in sympathy with him, and she did not even remember his name. Her lips set resolutely. She would make Sonia divulge it and she would get in touch with him before she decided upon her future. He might have shrunk from assuming responsibility for a small child, but a grown-up daughter would make no demands upon him and he might even welcome her. It would be a great comfort to have an anchorage of her own, someone belonging to her when Sonia married Lucian.She turned speculative eyes in his direction, her glance sliding over the tall lithe figure that looked so much at home amid the rock and snow, aware of a faint ache in her heart. He and Sonia would not, she felt sure, be compatible and the gap in age would widen as the years passed. She did not want to be within reach to witness the probable disintegration of their relationship, when she would be expected to sympathise with Sonia. Or was she being pessimistic, since both might settle comfortably into a middle-aged groove. She found that prospect even more depressing. Lucian was still young and here on the mountain, his right element, he appeared a creature of the open spaces, akin to the savage peaks. Chained to an office and an ageing wife he would be diminished. Then she gave herself a mental shake; she was being fanciful. He had made his decision and was probably quite satisfied with it. His fate was no business of hers.They bivouacked on the summit. Lucian had brought coffee and sandwiches in his knapsack. The sunlit air was warm on their faces, around them the great peaks were sharply etched against the blue sky, there being no mist or cloud to soften their stark black rock and white snow. At Mea's request, Lucian named them for her. When he came to the Eiger, Gaston gave a snort of disgust.'I read an account of the conquest of its North Face,' Mea mentioned shyly.'With the contents of an ironmonger's shop,' Gaston explained his disapprobation.Then followed a lively discussion between him and Lucian on the merits of modern 'hardware' climbing, of which Gaston was contemptuous.'We've used pitons for years,' Lucian pointed out, 'and it's a logical step from them to carabiners, etriers and bolts, without which certain rock faces were declared unclimbable. Such equipment is not outlawed by the Alpine clubs any more than nylon ropes and down-padded anoraks which are so much lighter than the old gear.'Gaston shook his head stubbornly. 'It does not go for me, but I am not a cragsman. Fraulein,' he appealed to Mea, 'I cut steps for you on the ice wall, did that not seem more natural to you than driving in nails?''Pitons weren't necessary on such a short climb, and it wasn't sheer,' Lucian told him, and Mea said deprecatingly:'I haven't enough experience to give an opinion.''Very diplomatic,' Lucian approved. Gaston went on to speak of past exploits. It transpired that Lucian had once taken him to the Himalayas and it was the high spot of his life, though they had only climbed a minor peak.'Now I grow too old,' he said sadly, 'but the years cannot take my memories from me.'Mea silently concurred. However long she lived she would never forget this hour spent on the summit of the Himmelstock in perfect harmony with her two companions. Her perplexities slipped away from her as trivialities amid the vast serenity of the landscape. The peaks had been there long before she was born and would still be there ages after she was dead. Compared with their timelessness, her short life was but a minute flash.All too soon it was time to start down again, and the descent was much faster than the ascent. Lucian explained that it was better to climb early, for by afternoon the warmth of the sun thawed the melt water that annealed stones and rocks to the mountain side and they could fell upon the heads of the unwary. As it was they saw a minor avalanche, a great corniche became dislodged and fell with a roar into the valley far below, but it was at some distance from them, and Gaston had mapped their route on solid ice and rock.They left Gaston at the hut where he was to await the return of other guides and go back with them to Interlaken.'You will have plenty of time to reach Lucerne tonight,' he told them, shaking Mea's hand. 'It has been a great privilege to assist at your first climb, and I am sure it will not be the last.' 'I hope not,' she said conventionally.'Those who have felt the call of the high places always come back,' he insisted, and looked at Lucian, who shrugged his shoulders.The sun was hot during their walk to the car. Mea stripped off her anorak and Lucian insisted upon carrying her gear as well as his own. At the car she changed her boots for sandals. The car slid away from the black and white world of the high peaks into the brilliantly coloured lowlands, with their emerald grass, red-tiled buildings, and lakes of every shade from azure to purple. The country was almost too beautiful, Mea thought, it did not look real. Lucian too had discarded his outer clothing, and sat at the wheel, his dark hair ruffled, bare-armed, looking virile and attractive.He asked as they sped down the twisting road:'You were very thoughtful up on, the summit. I suppose you'll soon be leaving us.'She was amazed by his discernment.'I never meant to stay for ever,' she told him. 'Yes, I'll go to England and find a job there.''If you must work, why can't you do so out here?''I think it would be better for all concerned if I went away,' she said a little bitterly. 'I mean to look up my father.''Who perhaps has married again.''He would still be my father. I feel somehow, though of course I may be quite wrong, we'll be what the Spanish call simpatico.''Which you are not with your mother?''We don't communicatebesides, now I'm grown-up she feels I'm too much of a give-away. People can do arithmetic, you know.'Lucian laughed but made no comment. Presently he drew into the side of the road and told her:'There's a rather fine waterfall here you ought to look at since you may not come this way again.'They got out of the car and crossed to a stone wall. Mea stood with her hands on the coping gazing at the fall of water, the stream at that point dropping a sheer hundred and twenty feet before continuing on its way. Ferns and flowers grew among the rocks to each side of it and a rainbow formed of sun shining through spray hung over it.Lucian laid a sinewy brown hand over hers.'You badly want someone to belong to, don't you, liebchen, but what you need is a husband.'His hand over hers felt hard and cool and her nerve ends tingled at the contact. Suddenly she knew what was behind her preoccupation with him, her speculations about him, her antagonism to his marriage; she was drawn to him as a woman is drawn to a man she desires, and even her initial disdain had been because he attracted her and she believed him to be despicable. Now she had seen a reverse side of him which proved he had all the masculine attributes she admired, he had become irresistible. But he was not for her; he regarded her as a child, he had indulged her wish to climb a mountain and was showing her the waterfall as a father or an uncle humours a likeable young person. But she could not bear to accept such a relationship, for she was no longer a child and what he had awoken in her was the first stirrings of her womanhood. Now more than ever she must go away. Very gently she slid her hand from under his.'I'm not averse to marriage,' she said lightly, 'but it must be to an Englishman. Mixed marriages are always a bit dodgy and I'm more likely to find someone suitable in England than here.'She was proud of her cool reply which gave no hint of the sudden tide of emotion seething through her veins. She kept her eyes on the falling water, though she was conscious of Lucian's presence beside her in every fibre of her being and the fact that their shoulders were almost touching.'So you don't fancy a Swiss?' he asked equally lightly. 'I can assure you they make quite good husbands.''I shan't be staying long enough to form an opinion.''Don't go, Mea.' There was a note of pleading in his voice. 'I'm sure your mother needs you more than you believe, and we haven't had time to get to know you. You're chasing a chimera in searching for your father. Besides, I was hoping we'd climb another mountain together.'She darted a swift look up at him. His eyes were very soft, or was it illusion caused by the dark surrounding lashes? His wide mouth curved in a coaxing smile. She had a wild urge to throw her arms about his neck and declare that nothing would make her leave him. She was shocked by the vehemence of her feelings and hastily assured herself that it could only be a sudden infatuation because she had met so few men and he was so very personable. She could not have fallen in love in so short a time.Composedly she managed to say:'That is a great inducement, but it wouldn't do. Mother didn't approve of this expedition and she'll be upset if I contemplate another one.'Her wide hazel eyes held a hint of reproach; he more than she should consider Sonia's wishes.'Are you going to let her prejudices govern your life?' he demanded.'No, but I owe her obedience while I'm living with her.''Very estimable!' But his tone implied the opposite. 'Will she approve of this father quest of yours?''I don't suppose so, but what I do over there won't be anything to do with her once I've got there, and after all, my primary object is to get a job.''In what capacity?''Cooking.'He exploded into laughter. 'You're crazy, child!''What's wrong with that? I'm quite a good cook and they're always in demand, and in England I shan't need a work permit. I'm still a British subject.''England will seem strange to you since you've lived most of your life in France. You'll be lonely, Mea.'That she was used to, but did not say so.'Oh, I'll soon make some friends,' she said bravely.He still looked dissatisfied, but Mea felt she could not stand any further catechism. She would be lonely, but nothing could be worse than watching him court Sonia while her own infatuation grew. To fall in love with her prospective stepfather was humiliating, preposterous, almost indecent.'My affairs aren't really any business of yours, Lucian,' she reproved him gently, 'though it's kind of you to be interested.''Kind!' he exclaimed explosively.'Well, it is, but not to worry. I'll manage.'Lucian turned his attention to the waterfall. With his eyes on the rainbow arc above it, he said slowly:'The idea is entirely unnecessary. Frederick Marlow was not indifferent to your future. He made ... er ... arrangements for it.''How do you know that?' Mea stared blankly at his enigmatic profile.'He lived mostly in Switzerland and my father was his greatest friend and executor of his will. We've looked after Sonia's affairs for her since she became a widow. Frederick intended to arrange a marriage for you and left money to be settled upon you when it was contracted.'How exactly like her stepfather to decide her fate without even consulting her! With her eyes blazing she cried indignantly:'But that's utterly preposterous! Not content with separating me from Mummyfor he did, you knowhe intended to dispose of me when I was grown up by foisting me on to some strange man and bribing him to take me with a dowry.'Her eyes sparkled like green jewels, they always went all green when she was angry and a wild rose tint flushed her cheeks. Lucian turned his head to look at her with admirationand something else.'Little spitfire,' he said with amusement. 'That husband would have his work cut out to tame you if you were determined to dislike him!''As I'd be sure to do if he were Frederick's choice.'His eyes narrowed and he said a little stiffly: 'That's sheer childish prejudice. Frederick was, being generous to you, we still arrange marriages among our best families. Admit you werehow shall I put it? Something of a problem to him.''I know I was.' (And I'd be the same to you, she thought.) 'But I'm a personality in my own right, not a puppet to be directed as he saw fit. I suppose that finishing school was to prepare me for the position he'd planned for me. It would have been much better sense to let me train for a profession.''Marlow disliked emancipated women,' Lucian told her dryly. 'Ach, Mea, the man is dead and his intentions were good. You might give him credit for that.''Certainly, since he's gone and can do me no more harm.''Vindictive, aren't you? I hope I never get on the wrong side of you.' He turned his regard away from her to stare at the rocky wall on the far side of the waterfall. 'Mea sensed that her reactions had somehow displeased him; perhaps he too wished to see her safely bestowed upon some man out of Sonia's way. She did not think she was vindictive, but she could feel no gratitude towards Frederick, who had taken her mother away from her and condemned her to so many lonely holidays at school.With his eyes still on the rocky heights, Lucian asked curiously:'You're not interested in the amount of the settlement?''Not in the least, and I wouldn't touch a penny of it.''What reckless independence! But then you never have been really hard up, have you?''I've had all the necessities, but I want to earn my own living.''So you keep saying, but you may find it a lot harder than you anticipate. Most work is a daily grind and you'll have no time to do the things you want to do. On the other hand you could have comfortable security.''The price is too high.''Are you sure?' He turned to her with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. 'Before deciding wouldn't you like to know whom Marlow had in mind for your husband?''I couldn't care less,' she declared vehemently. 'Some prosperous, pompous, portly plutocrat, I suppose, whose only recommendation is his bank balance.'The corners of Lucian's mouth twitched; he regarded her enigmatically for several seconds, then turned his attention back to the scenery.'What marvellous alliteration,' he drawled, 'prosperous, pompous ... etc. But seriously, child, money is not to be despised.''You would say that. Swiss bankers make it out of other people's wealth, don't they?' He shrugged his shoulders, and she went