“I don’t know, Kit,” said Alison. “If the old folks need me, I’ll be content to stop. To come back was hard, but after all to be head clerk at the creamery is not a great ambition. One must take some knocks, but sometimes the knocks one is forced to take don’t hurt as much as one imagines.”
She gave Kit her hand and when he took the hill track he was puzzled. Alison knew why he went to Netherhall and why he used control. All the same he fancied she and her relations knew something he did not. Anyhow she did not want another’s lover; Alison was kind, but she was firm and proud. Kit set his mouth and pushed ahead.
CHAPTER XXXII
KIT CLAIMS HIS REWARD
Dinner was over at Netherhall, and Kit thought the old servant who took his bag and coat gave him a queer look. The man said Mrs. Carson had not yet gone to the drawing-room and opened a door.
Kit’s boots were muddy, and now the light was good he saw he had not altogether brushed the calf-meal from his damp clothes. It did not look as if he were expected. Tyson’s remarks bothered him, and he half-consciously braced up.
“Mr. Christopher!” said the servant, and Kit advanced.
The hall was spacious and the ceiling high. Only two tall pillar lamps were lighted, and Kit imagined Mrs. Carson would soon go to the drawing-room. She occupied a chair by the fireplace, and the illumination touched the group about her. All were quiet, and Kit stopped.
He knew he ought not to stop; he hated to be theatrical, but he felt his arrival was dramatic, and for a moment he did not see his part. The people by the fire had obviously got something of a jolt—all, perhaps, but Mrs. Carson, for Kit did not think her surprised. Mrs. Haigh turned her head sharply, and Alan Carson’s face got red. Farther back, Kit saw Jasper on a big couch. His look was inscrutable, but somehow Kit thought him amused.
Then Alan crossed the floor. His embarrassment was marked, and Kit knew he had forgotten his wife was hostess and was jealous for her authority.
“I’m glad to see you back,” he said. “You can hardly have got my letter?”