Tabitha in Moonlight by Betty Neels Page A

laughing silently. His voice was bland.
    â€˜Probably. How’s Podger?’
    Tabitha had gone a little red in the face because he had snubbed her, gently it was true, but a snub all the same, and she was sensitive to snubs. She discussed Podger’s well-being politely, and just as politely enquired if her companion would like more coffee, and when he declined asked: ‘What is to happen to Podger? Mr Bow is devoted to him. Have you—that is, do you know anywhere where they can be together?’
    Mr van Beek got slowly to his large, well-shod feet. ‘Oh, yes, I’vethought all that sort of thing out. I believe it will work very well. I’ll go, you must be tired and I didn’t intend to stay so long.’
    Tabitha went to the door with him, seething silently because he had snubbed her for the second time. She thanked him once more for bringing the chocolates and added: ‘Please thank Lilith for me when you see her. I—I don’t go home very often, I’m sure you’ll see her before I shall.’
    He nodded in a casual manner as he got into the Bentley. His goodbye was equally casual.
    Meg eyed the almost untouched sandwiches which Tabitha took into the kitchen.
    â€˜You’ve hardly eaten a thing, Miss Tabby. What a nice gentleman that was. I felt sure you would want him to stay until you got back from the hospital.’ She gave Tabitha an innocent look and Tabitha cried:
    â€˜Meg, you didn’t say that! You didn’t persuade him to stay?’
    Meg was indignant. ‘Of course not, love—he just said did I mind if he waited for you, and he looked so pleasant and friendly, I just couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to talk to him. I didn’t do wrong, did I, love? Don’t you like him?’
    Tabitha was at the sink and she didn’t turn round. ‘Yes, I like him very much, Meg,’ she said, and changed the subject quickly before Meg could ask any more questions.
    It was later, as she got ready for bed, that she allowed herself to think about Mr van Beek’s visit and its reason. There was only one good answer—he wanted to get on good terms with her, so that he would have an ally to plead his cause if Lilith should prove capricious. Probably he didn’t realize that she and Lilith avoided each other as much as possible, and what reason had he for thinking so when Lilith asked him to deliver chocolates to her stepsister? She could hardly tell him that Lilith had sent them as a token of a triumph which she didn’t want Tabitha to miss. It was the kind of gibe in which she excelled, although he would have seen it as a thoughtful gesture from the girl he was attracted to, to a possible sister-in-law. She frowned at the thought; she didn’t want to be Mr van Beek’s sister-in-law, she wanted to be his wife: The knowledge of this exploded inside her head like a bomb and left her trembling. She said out loud with only Podger to hear: ‘I must be mad! Whatever induced me to…oh, Podger, what shall I do?’
    Podger was asleep; as though she might get an answer from themirror she went to it and stared at her reflection, which stared back at her, solemn-faced and sad. He had called her Cinderella; she hadn’t much liked it at the time, now it vexed her. She began to hunt through the dressing table drawers until she found what she sought—a beauty case the nurses had given her last Christmas and which her stepmother had advised her, quite kindly, not to make use of—as she had pointed out in her light, cold voice, Tabitha’s face was better without anything other than a little powder and lipstick, by which Tabitha understood her to mean that it was best not to draw too much attention to a plain face. So she had buried it away beneath a pile of undies and almost forgotten it, but now she opened it, poking among its contents and selecting them with experimental fingers. When she was satisfied with her