She opened the boot of the car and threw in the suitcase, then climbed behind the wheel.
“Must we really part, Elizabeth?” said Edward incredulously. “Won’t you think it over? Why this sudden decision?”
“Carol knew you never loved me; she knew when we were first engaged.”
“Carol knows nothing of my feelings. Where are you going now?” said Edward with dignity. “I have the right, I think, to know where you are taking my son.”
“To grandfather’s, of course.”
We can pass it off to the outer world by pretending she went to support her mother, thought Edward in a flash; old Hardaker’s burnt-out car will be found soon, Mrs. Hardaker will be in hysterics—yes, it will appear quite natural.
“Well, I shan’t attempt to stop you, Elizabeth. I shan’t attempt to exercise my authority over you, that’s not my idea of how to behave,” he said with a noble air. “You’re tired out with nursing Edmund, you don’t know what you are saying; I shall hope you’ll return home tomorrow afternoon—” she’ll have had enough of her mother by then, he thought—“and we’ll forget all this and be happy together.”
He stooped to kiss her cheek, but she turned her head sharply aside. Offended, he stepped back, and gave her a small stiff bow as the car drove away.
It was only after its sound had died away in the distance that he remembered: the blood-stained spanner and jack handle lay in the boot of the car she drove. If her case became stained—if Mr. Hardaker’s body should be intact—
Frantically he leaped into his own car and drove after her to Ramsgill House. But he was too late.
* * *
Extract from the Hudley Weekly News:
To Woollen and Worsted Manufacturers, Cloth Finishers, Dyers and others,
Re Messrs. J. L. Hardaker, Ltd.
(In Voluntary Liquidation after the Recent Sad Events)
By order of the Trustees for the Shareholders
Messrs. X, Y and Z
have been instructed to offer for SALE BY AUCTION, on the premises, on Tuesday –th, 196–, at eleven o’clock precisely All those Extensive Freehold Manufacturing Premises known as
RAMSGILL MILLS, Ramsgill, Hudley.
The works, which have been well laid out, occupy a commanding position on the main Hudley-Annotsfield Road, with a
GROUND AREA of 14,000 square yards.
The buildings, which are of substantial construction and in good condition, contain a
FLOOR SPACE of 75,000 Square Feet.
Also, on the four following days at 10.30 a.m. each day, piecemeal
The whole of the MANUFACTURING PLANT AND MACHINERY, comprising the following lots …
A Note on the Author
Phyllis Bentley was born in 1894 in Halifax, West Yorkshire, where she was educated until she attended Cheltenham Ladies College, Gloucestershire.
In 1932 her best-known work, Inheritance, was published to widespread critical acclaim and commercial success. This was in contrast to her previous efforts, a collection of short stories entitled The World’s Bane and several poor-selling novels. The triumph of Inheritance made her the most successful English regional novelist since Thomas Hardy, and she produced two more novels to create a trilogy; The Rise of Henry Morcar and A Man of His Time. This accomplishment made her a much demanded speaker and she became an expert on the Brontë family.
Over her career Bentley garnered many awards; an honorary DLitt from Leeds University (1949); a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (1958); and an OBE (1970). She died in 1977.
Discover books by Phyllis Bentleypublished by Bloomsbury Reader at
www.bloomsbury.com/PhyllisBentley
A Modern Tragedy
Crescendo
Inheritance
Love and Money
Noble in Reason
Ring in the New
Sleep in Peace
Tales of the West Riding
Take Courage
The Rise of Henry Morcar
This electronic edition published in 2012 by Bloomsbury Reader
Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP
First published in Great Britain 1965, Victor Gollancz Ltd.
Copyright © 1965 Phyllis Bentley
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eISBN: 9781448210312
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