The Power of the Dead Read Online Free

so much as a postcard from either since the divorce, in which their mother had been proved to be the guilty party. There had been several men during the war, while he was away at sea, in service to his country; he had found out about one, the co-respondent in an undefended case. And for all that he knew, Phillip might have been one of her paramours, according to his sister Viccy, whose maid had seen Bee go into his bedroom when Phillip had stayed at the Hampshire home in the spring of 1915; only to leave, abruptly and without notice, very early on the morning following his arrival of the day before.
    However, that was neither here nor there. If Phillip, his only nephew surviving from the war, showed himself capable of assum ing responsibility as the future head of the family, he would in due course become tenant-for-life of the estate; and when his son or sons came of age, they would, if they proved themselves capable and of good character, become trustees and in time Billy, the heir, would become tenant-for-life in his turn.
    For himself, Hilary, whose life had been spent first in a Glasgow shipping office and then on the high seas until he entered the Ministry of Shipping in the war, and incidentally made a small fortune in the buying and selling of tramp steamers, had no desire to play the squire. He had been driven by an idea to see his father’s land back in the family, and thus, in part, to heal the despairing early memories of a father who had kicked over the traces and broken his mother’s heart. Now the land was back in the family, the ambition of his life had been realised; but so far it had not yet given him any satisfaction.
    *
    Phillip saw the red car stop outside in the lane and ran down from his writing room. Nuncle was just opening the door to get out.
    “Good afternoon, Phillip.”
    “Good afternoon, Uncle Hilary. How are you? Have you had a good journey?”
    Hilary looked at Phillip’s beard. He paused with his hand on the top of the door and said, “You can’t go about looking like that, you know. That beard looks simply awful.”
    Phillip, as though complimented by this remark, waited a moment before saying, “May I take your bag? How are the trout in Wales?”
    “Oh, local poachers have taken out most of Captain Williams’ fish with a prawning net. He tried to stop them using a seine net for sewin at the mouth of his river, you see. How are the rainbows in the Longpond doin’?”
    “I’ve seen several. They’ve grown a lot since they were put in. They like the deeper water at the bottom end, near the reeds.”
    “They’re probably tryin’ to get down with the stream to spawn,” replied Hilary, as he squeezed himself out of the roadster. “Rainbows usually disappear in land-locked water, you know, after a year or two.” There was a pause, then he said, “You must shave off that beard, you know.”
    “Oh.”
    “It doesn’t become you.”
    “To tell the truth, I haven’t had time to look. Where’s your bag?”
    “I can manage it, thanks. But be a good fellow and give me a hand with the wireless set.”
    At the back of the boot was the biggest loud-speaker Phillip had seen. “I say, that looks a magnificent job. The promenade concerts from 2LO are starting again. My little Cosmos crystal-valve set is very feeble, except late at night. How many valves has this?”
    “Twelve. I can get America on the Welsh coast. I get New York sometimes very late at night at Bournemouth, but I don’t anticipate it will pick up many foreign stations here, being so far inland. Well, Lucy, my dear. You look blooming.”
    He was about to kiss her when he heard Phillip’s voice behind him saying, “Oh hell. Don’t look up the lane, anyone. I’ll take in the wireless set,” and he staggered away with the cabinet.
    Hilary turned to look up the lane and saw what was evidently a country gentleman approaching about two hundred yards away, walking with a shooting stick and a retriever on lead. He asked