A Quiet Death Read Online Free Page B

finance with compassion for his employees. His boast was: 'We are all brothers here, all one big family.'
    'Incidentally, Stepfather, Sir Arnold is a patient of mine,' Vince added casually.
    'Congratulations, lad.' And in view of that information, Faro had second thoughts. He would keep McGowan's story to himself meanwhile. Indeed it had become more extraordinary and unbelievable over the last twenty-four hours. Was he wasting his sympathies on a madman?
    As if in confirmation of his thoughts Vince said: 'Deane's are into everything these days, Stepfather. Sometimes one would think they had invented the word progress. And the good thing is that in their case, everyone benefits by their prosperity.'
    Faro looked out of the window and discovered they were now following the Monifieth Road, alongside the river east of Dundee. On the steep hills rising to the left perched the elegant handsome mansions built by the jute lords.
    'Where are we heading, lad?' he demanded curiously.
    Vince smiled. 'Deane Hall.'
    ' The Deane Hall?'
    'The same,' said Vince with a grin.
    Glancing sideways at Vince he noted his air of suppressed excitement. 'Home of the Sir Arnold, Baron of Broughty Ferry, who is a patient of yours?'
    'Excellent, Stepfather, excellent,' said Vince.
    'Vince, is there something you have forgotten to tell me?'
    'Not forgotten, just hadn't time to go into it. Didn't know whether you would approve. Rachel is the Deane heiress—'
    'Rachel—the young lady you are to marry?'
    'Of course.' Observing his stepfather's expression he added, 'Oh Lord, did I not even tell you her name?'
    'You omitted that vital clue. But please proceed...'
    'Rachel inherits next month when she comes of age. She is Sir Arnold's only grandchild.'
    'Well, well, you have done well for yourself, lad. First the resident doctor and then the heiress's husband,' said Faro with a smile.
    'It's a family tradition. After all, Sir Arnold's father was a poor Yorkshire lad who came to Scotland and ended up by marrying his boss's daughter, who was also an heiress.'
    Faro said nothing and, alarmed by his silence, Vince said hotly: 'If you're thinking it is her money—'
    'Of course I'm not, lad—' Observing Vince's dark frown, he added hastily, 'A figure of speech and in my usual bad taste, I'm afraid. The policeman in me sometimes forgets. Do forgive me.'
    Vince did so readily. 'Let me tell you, even if Rachel had been the poorest of the workers I have to attend in the factory, I still would want to marry her. She is so beautiful, the loveliest raven black hair, eyes like violets—'
    He paused, suddenly embarrassed. 'But you will see for yourself in a few moments. We met one day quite by accident, when I was attending her grandfather...'
    Faro listened, smiling, delighted by his stepson's happiness but at the same time wondering how on earth the lad was to support an heiress. Certainly not on his salary as resident doctor.
    But Vince was no longer aware of reality or indeed of his stepfather's presence. And with compassion Faro recognised that Vince had happily surrendered his grasp of the practicalities of life. Gazing fondly at the lad, he observed him in the throes of that state of temporary insanity which Faro considered, from his own bitter experience, as being 'in love'.
    Deane Hall was a mansion with a setting worthy of the Baron of Broughty's role in society and commerce. Battlemented, turreted as any castle of old, it overlooked the unfinished piers of the Tay Bridge.
    One day, Sir Arnold expected that a fine monument gazing down upon the river would be the city fathers' acknowledgement of his role in Dundee's progress and Deane's contribution to the longest bridge in the world. A bridge that would stand for ever, carrying the railway linking the northernmost towns and cities of Scotland with those of the rest of Britain. Most gratifying of all was that this vital link had acquired royal approval, giving her Majesty and the royal families of Europe easy