Stars of Spring Read online

  But life was to be a struggle, and Miles suggested that, until he managed to find a house, Chris should remain with Joanne. Then the letter arrived informing Joanne of her inheritance. She and Glee would go to Portugal and Joanne would become a farmer.

  ‘It solves all my problems,’ she had said. ‘There’ll be no need to pay someone to mind Glee during the school holidays—and I’m sure I can make enough to keep us both.’

  Miles was sceptical, and also angry that Joanne, at so young an age, had the responsibility of a child who was not her own. Glee ought to be sent back to her father, he had said.

  ‘Send Glee away?’ Joanne exclaimed, staring at him. ‘You really mean that?’

  He shook his head resignedly.

  ‘No, Joanne, I don’t. But what trouble she caused when she decided to put in an appearance!’ And he added, without any apparent reason for it, ‘She’ll cause a good deal more, I’m thinking, before she grows up and finds herself a husband.’

  ‘How can you say so? Why should she?’

  ‘You?—Aren’t you wanting to get married?’

  Joanne shrugged.

  ‘If someone loves me he’ll take Glee as well,’ was all she said, and the matter of Glee and her future was dropped. Miles and Chris became resigned to the idea of Joanne’s going to Portugal to farm her land, to grow maize and grapes, and enough food for her own and her young niece’s requirements.

  The children’s high-pitched chatter brought Joanne back; she saw her sister’s expression and laughed ruefully.

  ‘I was miles away,’ she owned.

  ‘In Portugal?’

  ‘Partly.’

  ‘Tell me all about this man whom our outspoken Glee calls a snob?’

  Joanne related what had happened, and by the time she had finished a troubled frown had settled on Chris’s brow. ‘You don’t believe him about the state of the farm?’

  ‘Certainly not. It was a ruse to get me to sell.’

  ‘Perhaps you’re right ... nevertheless, don’t you think you should make some inquiries before you go?’

  ‘I’m quite sure the house will be fit to live in,’ Joanne stated confidently. And then she went on to tell her sister of Dom Manoel’s final offer. ‘Apparently he has in his care two children of his sister’s. She’s a widow and has been in hospital for some time. Dom Manoel thinks the children’s English should be improved, so he’s offered me the post of instructress to them. He says I can take Glee with me.’

  Chris’s eyes flickered.

  ‘He did? He must want that land badly. Still, I think his offer was generous, don’t you?’

  Joanne’s mouth tightened.

  ‘The offer was put forward as an inducement for me to sell,’ she retorted, and Chris had to smile.

  ‘Obviously you don’t intend giving him the benefit of the doubt.’

  ‘There is no doubt. He wants the land and he’ll go to any lengths to get it.’

  Chris looked at her sister thoughtfully.

  ‘If you did sell out to him you might be able to buy some sort of a business—’

  ‘Exactly what he suggested. No, Chris, I’m quite determined to try my hand at farming. He says I’ll have difficulty in obtaining labour, but I wouldn’t dream of taking his word for that. And if I can get one or two good men I’ll soon show the high and mighty Dom Manoel that I can make a success of the farm.’

  ‘Well, knowing you, I daresay you’ll succeed ... if it’s all as you’re expecting it to be, that is.’ Chris paused and then added, as the thought occurred to her, ‘Should it be that the house and lands are in a bad state, and you really can do nothing with them, then you could still take advantage of his offer, I suppose?—could work for him, I mean?’

  ‘I should think so—but I shan’t have to.’

  Something else crossed Chris’s mind.

  ‘Probably not, but if you do want to work for him you’ll be grateful for his assumption that you’re married.’

  Joanne glanced up quickly, her teacup poised half-way to her mouth.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘He’d be unlikely to employ you were he to think Glee were illegitimate.’

  ‘Why?’ Joanne frowned uncomprehendingly.

  ‘Haven’t you heard Grandmother speak about the unsullied house of Alvares?’ she queried with a laugh.

  ‘I still don’t understand. What did Gran say about the house of Alvares?’

  ‘It’s their proud boast that no illegitimate child has ever contaminated the illustrious threshold of the Solar de Alvares!’

  Joanne’s eyes darkened with contempt.

  ‘That sort of boast is not difficult to associate with Dom Manoel,’ she scoffed, adding, ‘I wonder how they can be so sure of a thing like that?’

  Chris remained silent and the light of indignation entered Joanne’s wide grey eyes. ‘Anyway, Glee’s not illegitimate; and were I forced to accept his offer of work—which I never shall be,’ she added inconsistently, ‘then I’d naturally tell him the truth about Glee.’

  ‘That she’s your brother’s child?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Thoughtfully Chris shook her head.

  ‘It wouldn’t sound convincing.’

  ‘The truth must sound convincing!’

  ‘It should do, I admit, but... I wouldn’t advise it, somehow,’ Chris murmured and, when Joanne looked inquiringly at her, ‘He doesn’t appear to be the sort of person who’d believe you, especially as you’ve told him you’ve been married.’

  ‘I haven’t told him I’ve been married.’

  ‘Allowed him to believe you have, then—and that Glee is yours.’ Chris shook her head again, more firmly this time. ‘If things do go wrong, and you feel like taking advantage of his offer, then leave it as it is. It’ll be much simpler than trying to explain, for I’m sure he won’t believe you. You see, you’ve complicated matters by not correcting him immediately he jumped to the wrong conclusions.’

  ‘Perhaps you’re right,’ Joanne conceded after a little thought. ‘Still, it’s not important, because if I don’t make a go of the farm we’ll come back home.’ What would there be for them? She pondered, frowning. The house was to be sold and the money shared between Roger and the two girls. With her share Joanne hoped to carry on until the farm began to pay, but should anything go wrong, and the capital were lost, she would have no alternative but to sell out and use the money to re-establish herself in England. Perhaps, she thought with a sudden hint of dejection, she would in the end be compelled to buy a small business as Dom Manoel had suggested. As Joanne could think of nothing more dull and uninspiring than spending eight hours a day behind a shop counter she dismissed the possibility of failure and said, with a lightening of her spirits, ‘Such an eventuality won’t occur, though, because I’m quite sure I’ll make a great success of the farm.’

  CHAPTER TWO

  THE grapes had ripened to their full maturity and into Dom Manoel’s vineyards swarmed an army of extra helpers—men, women and children, dancing and skipping along to the accompaniment of mandolins, pipes and guitars. They came from the neighbouring villages, to harvest and tread the grapes, for it was early October and in the Douro valley the vintage had begun.

  Joanne stood by the farmhouse door, gazing pensively down to where the people were working, picking the grapes from the low bushes which grew on the narrow, hand-cut terraces running like the seats of some gigantic amphitheatre up the precipitous sides of the valley. For as far as she could see the lands belonged to Dom Manoel, but the vineyards formed only a part of the vast Quinta of Alvares.

  ‘What are they going to do with all those grapes?’ Glee came from the house and stood by Joanne. ‘Are they going to sell them in shops? Who’d buy such a lot as that? Why didn’t our grapes grow? Didn’t you do it right?’

  A reluctant smile broke over Joanne’s pale face, and she tried not to reveal her dejection as she said,

  ‘Which question would you like me to answer first?’


  Glee looked up, and the inevitable grin appeared, ‘I ask too many questions, don’t I?’

  ‘Who said that?’

  ‘Auntie Chris.’

  ‘Well, you wouldn't learn anything if you didn’t ask questions.’ She listened for a moment to the sound of laughter drifting up from the terraces below. ‘The grapes are used to make wine.’

  ‘O-oh, I like wine. Auntie Chris gave me some at Christmas. Can I have some next Christmas?’ Next Christmas. Joanne’s mouth curved bitterly. The way things were going they’d be lucky if, by the end of the year, there was any money left for food.

  ‘You’re too young for wine.’

  ‘I had that much—’ With her fingers Glee indicated the amount. ‘I wanted some more, but Auntie Chris said no. Why didn’t our grapes grow?’ she asked again.

  ‘I didn’t do it right, Glee,’ Joanne answered with a sigh, recalling how she had seen the bright, metallic sheen appear on Dom Manoel’s vines. She hadn’t realized it was the result of a very necessary spraying with a solution of sulphate of copper and lime. But in any case her vines had been neglected for years, and the farmhouse itself had been dilapidated when Joanne had first arrived. In fact, everything had turned out just as Dom Manoel had described. She had not been able to obtain labour ... but only because Dom Manoel employed every available strong man for miles around. Eventually Joanne had managed to get Luis, an elderly man who, having some grievance against Dom Manoel, had left his employ three months after Joanne took possession of Pendela Farm. He had been with her for less than a week when she realized that his labours would not be missed on the Alvares estate, nevertheless, she was grateful for what small help he did give, although his wages were now becoming a drain on her purse.

  ‘Will they grow next year?’

  ‘We might not be here next year,’ said Joanne after a small hesitation. ‘How would you like to go home again, to England?’

  A little frown creased Glee’s wide intelligent brow.

  ‘I like it here, and I’m clever at school now, because I know lots of words—At first I didn’t like it when I couldn’t speak to the children, and they laughed at me, but I like it now. Don’t you like it?’

  ‘Very much, but it takes a lot of money to have the farm, Glee, and I haven’t a lot of money.’

  Glee considered this, and she turned to glance up at the house.

  ‘Was it because you had to spend all your money for the builders?’

  ‘Yes, Glee, that’s right. The builders took most of my money.’ It had been foolish in the extreme to have the house renovated, but that stubborn streak in Joanne’s nature prevented her from admitting defeat at this early stage. Yet through all her six months of struggle she harboured a grudge against Dom Manoel for what she had done. It was all very illogical, she had to admit, but she placed the entire blame on him for everything that had happened to her. Had he been more reasonable, adopted a less haughty and superior attitude, she would probably have listened to him. And even though she might not have taken his advice—and his offer— at the time, she most certainly would have done so immediately she saw the house and lands. Knowing that Dona Amelia had occupied the property until the time of her death, Joanne had naturally expected to find a reasonably comfortable house and a well-run farm. But Dona Amelia had lived the life of a recluse, occupying only one room, and allowing the farm lands to become overrun with weeds and the buildings to fall into disrepair.

  Pride alone had caused Joanne to reject the idea of offering the property to Dom Manoel, and she had recklessly set about putting the house into some sort of order. It was now fairly comfortable inside, but it must still be an eyesore to her arrogant neighbour, whose magnificent manor house was much nearer than she had imagined. Her house and buildings marred his view, and Joanne was reasonable enough to own that, were she in Dom Manoel’s position, she would make every effort to buy the farm and demolish the buildings.

  ‘Here’s Luis.’ Glee’s voice broke into Joanne’s thoughts and she glanced across the courtyard to where her farm hand was approaching from the direction of the low building where they kept the hens. ‘Why does he walk so slowly? Our teacher says you’re lazy when you walk like that—but it might be because he’s old.’

  Luis was not very well—at least, he said he wasn’t, and Joanne had no option but to let him go home. This had happened several times lately, and Joanne wondered whether it would be in order to stop his wages, but there was no one whom she could ask.

  ‘I’ll be in in the morning, Mrs. Barrie,’ he promised, speaking in very broken English, and using the English form of title. Like Dom Manoel, Luis had assumed Glee was hers and so Joanne had not corrected his form of address. For the first time she began to feel the awkwardness of her position, and to remember those warning words of her mother’s, ‘... I can foresee a great deal of embarrassment for you, Joanne dear.’ Luis was speaking again, complaining of the pain in his back.

  ‘I should rest it, then, Luis,’ she advised, pushing a hand wearily through her hair. ‘Do try to come in tomorrow—early, please.’

  ‘I’ve said I’ll be in,’ he returned sulkily. ‘I can’t work with the backache, can I?’

  ‘No, of course not.’

  He ambled away, and had just disappeared into the trees on the edge of Joanne’s land when Glee said,

  ‘Here’s Dom Manoel; he’s coming through our field gate ... and that nasty lady’s with him.’

  Joanne turned in surprise, then looked down at Glee in some puzzlement.

  ‘What makes you say she’s nasty?’ Had even the child noticed the supercilious and condescending manner of the beautiful Rosa Fernandes? She was Dom Manoel’s cousin, and Joanne had heard from Luis that she and Dom Manoel were to be married the following spring. ‘How do you come to know her?’

  ‘She asks me questions.’

  ‘Asks you questions?’ Joanne frowned down at her niece. ‘When does she ask you these questions?’

  ‘She stopped the car one day when I was coming home from school and asked me how old I was. I said I was six and a half.’

  ‘What else did she ask you?’ Joanne glanced up again; the couple had halted by the hedge and were surveying her nearest field. Rosa waved a hand and even from this distance it could be interpreted as a deprecating gesture.

  ‘She asked me how old you were, and I said I didn’t know. How old are you, Mummy?’

  Joanne’s lips compressed.

  ‘Never mind. Did she ask you anything else?’

  ‘She asked me if I had a daddy.’

  ‘She—?’ Joanne stared unbelievingly. Surely Dom Manoel had imparted to his fiancée the knowledge that she, Joanne, was a widow. ‘What did you say to that?’

  ‘I was going to say yes, and that he came to see me sometimes—when we were in England—but another car came up and she had to move. She stopped again farther along the road, but I ran home through the fields, because I didn’t like her.’

  The couple were walking on again. Mechanically Joanne glanced down at her left hand ... and then, for some quite incomprehensible reason, she went into the house and, taking her mother’s wedding ring from the box where she had always kept it, slipped it on to her finger. Then, after a glance in the mirror, she took up her brush and tidied her hair. The lovely grey eyes, large and wide, looked back at her, a most curious expression in their depths. This was not the first time Dom Manoel had paid her a visit; he had been twice before, and both times Rosa was with him. On each occasion Glee had been in bed ... and on each occasion Rosa had asked some pointed questions about her. Why the interest? There seemed no explanation for it, but it troubled Joanne, especially now that Rosa had deliberately stopped her car in order to question the child herself.

  ‘I think, Glee dear,’ she said on returning to the front door, ‘that perhaps you’d better go and play somewhere. Dom Manoel will want to speak to me privately.’ She knew why he came; the interview would be unpleasant, but he would never persuade her
to sell to him. For some weeks she had known she must consider selling out, but she was determined that Dom Manoel would never have the satisfaction of owning Pendela Farm.

  ‘Play? Where can I play?’ and, before Joanne could reply, ‘I asked that lady if I could play with the two girls who live in the big house—their names are Filipa and Leonor—but she looked all stuck up, like Dom Manoel and said they weren’t allowed to play with anyone like me.’ She paused for a second to pick up a great fat spider that was climbing one of the decaying supports of the verandah, and Joanne transferred her gaze to the Solar de Alvares, standing on the green and undulating land above the valley, surrounded by beautiful formal gardens and enhanced even more by the distant backcloth of pine forest rising darkly against the vivid blue of the autumn sky. ‘They’re nicer than she is, though. I talked to them through the hedge once and I liked them. Filipa’s seven and Leonor’s nine, and they have lovely long hair and it’s black and it shines. What shall I do with the spider?’

  ‘Put it back where you found it.’ Joanne’s voice was sharper than she intended, but a sudden surge of anger rose within her, bringing a hint of colour to her cheeks. So Rosa Fernandes did not consider Glee good enough to play with the noble Alvares children? Such snobbery was out of date in England, and Joanne thought it was high time it disappeared here, too.

  Glee looked up, puzzled, her eyes clouding momentarily.

  ‘Are you cross?’

  A smile instantly erased the anger from Joanne’s face.

  ‘Not with you, darling.’ Dom Manoel and Rosa had almost reached them and Joanne did not press Glee to go and play. Perhaps her visitors would depart more quickly if the child remained, thought Joanne, pushing three chairs to the front of the verandah. She bade them ‘good afternoon’ unsmilingly, and invited them to sit down.

  ‘Good afternoon, Mrs. Barrie.’ Dom Manoel eyed the chair with some uncertainty, and Joanne could not quite make out whether he mistrusted its strength or whether he were afraid of some sort of contamination. Rosa certainly eyed her chair both with doubt and disdain, but as her cousin at last decided to sit down she followed his example.