Magic In Vienna Part 7

"No, of course I don't. I like being here and we get on well together but I meant what I said. .."

"You won't go?" Eileen wound thin arms round her neck.

"I'm very fond of you, Cordelia, truly I am. I don't ever want you to go away. When Mummy and Daddy get back I'm going to ask if you can stay."

Cordelia put a motherly arm round the child. "Well, love, we'll have to see about that when they get here. In the meanwhile tidy this room and we'll go down to dinner. I expect your uncle is back by now."

But only just, he was striding through the hall, making for his room as they paused at the top of the stairs. He stopped short when he saw them.

"I'm late; give me ten minutes, will you? Cordelia, get yourself a drink and pour me one will you? Whisky, please. Eileen, that's a very pretty dress..."

"Uncle Charles, Cordelia's got a pretty dress too."

He barely glanced at her.

"So it is." He couldn't have seen it; she was sure that if she asked him presently what she was wearing he would have no idea. She went into the drawing room with Eileen and poured her a lemonade and herself a gla.s.s of sherry and then she poured whisky into one of the cut gla.s.s tumblers.

"He's mean," declared Eileen pettishly, 'he didn't even look and you're quite pretty this evening."

"Why thank you, love." Cordelia's voice was as calmly serene as usual; no one, and that meant Uncle Charles, was going to know how hurt her feelings were. Perhaps governesses didn't have feelings? But surely the modern young woman undertaking the education of the young, had feelings and made no bones about expressing them? I'm living in the wrong century she thought and tossed off the sherry rather too fast.

The doctor was as good as his word, freshly shaven, immaculately tailored, he presented a picture of elegance, what was more, he laid himself out to be an amusing companion. They were all in the best of spirits as they got into the car and drove to the Concert House standing back from the Schubertring. It took a very short time; Cordelia wished it could take longer, for Vienna was looking her best; the trees in full leaf, the evening sky clear and bright and the pavements thronged with people. She was as excited as Eileen as they waited at the entrance while the doctor parked the car and then accompanied them to their seats.

The programme was almost all Strauss; Cordelia, a sentimental girl at heart, sat spellbound and stayed so during the interval when they were regaled with cold drinks. The doctor made very little attempt to talk to her but busied himself pointing out the various people he knew in the audience to his niece and answering with commendable patience, her endless questions. The concert over, Cordelia still had very little to say for herself; her head was full of music and s.n.a.t.c.hes of dreamlike thoughts. They were crossing the hall when she asked, "Are the Vienna Woods very lovely?"

The doctor smiled faintly.

"Oh, yes. They quite live up to the music.

Before you return to England we must all go there, it's not far; if the

weather is fine we might take a picnic.""Tomorrow?" asked Eileen eagerly."Good G.o.d, no--perhaps next weekend.. .""Why not tomorrow?" persisted Eileen, 'it's; Sunday.""And I'm spending it with friends in the country!" There was something in his quiet voice which stopped her saying more.

Cordelia, going to say goodnight to Eileen found her tearful.

"I.

think he's very unkind," the child began as soon as Cordelia got into

the room.

"He's always reading or shut up in his study or at his beastly hospital--we don't matter at all. . ." "Now that's.not fair." Cordelia sat down on the bed and kickea off her shoes, taking the pins out of her hair.

"We're just back from a lovely evening and here you are moping. It really won't do, love. Your uncle's days are filled and he has every right to enjoy his free time in whatever way he wishes. And he's already said he'll take us to the Vienna Woods and I don't think he's a man to say something and not mean it."

Eileen hunched a shoulder. *I thought I liked him...""And you do. Come on, cheer up, I think he's been very kind to us.""Yes, but it's easy to tell Thompson and Mrs Thompson to look after us, and arrange lessons for me and give us enough money so that we can sight see, but he doesn't bother himself, does he?"

"Why should he?" Cordelia spoke bracingly, "You're a bit young for him you know and I'm rather dull with no looks to speak of," She caught Eileen's eye and they giggled together. It didn't hurt so much if she laughed about it, thought Cordelia.

"I tell you what, supposing we go to Schonbrunn tomorrow? We could have an early lunch and have tea there. We can go all the way by tram so it will be easy."

"Uncle Charles won't mind?"

*I can't think why he should. We'll have a guided tour and take a taxi if he doesn't like us to go by tram!"

She put on her shoes and bundled up her hair, thrusting the pins in haphazardly.

"I'll go now and see what he says, it'll be too late if I leave it till the morning."

The doctor was in his study, writing and if he was vexed at being interrupted he was too well mannered to show it. He got up and offered Cordelia a chair and asked, with only the faintest trace of impatience, what he might do for her.

"I thought Eileen and I might go to Schonbrunn Palace tomorrow if you've no objection. If we could go after an early lunch? We could have tea there and see the gardens before coming home in the early evening. Do you mind if we take the tram?"

"Not in the least; you're a sensible young woman and you have sufficient German to get around, but take a taxi if there's any waiting about." He opened a drawer in his desk and took out some notes.

"That should be enough, I think--if you spend more let me know."

She was still smarting from being called a sensible young woman; she didn't dispute that; it was correct, she just didn't like being reminded of it. She thanked him quietly and got up and wished him good night and found him at the door before her.

"You do not find your duties too arduous?"

Compared with her unending care of her stepbrothers and sisters it was child splay "Not at all thank you. Eileen is a nice child and intelligent for her age."

"But spoilt. .."

"Perhaps. Well, yes, she is, but that'll sort itself out when she goes to school and her parents are home again."

"My mother indulges her and of course she is an only child."

And when she didn't reply: "Well, enjoy yourselves tomorrow. Good night Cordelia."

"Good night, Dr Tres...o...b..." She went past him up the stairs and along the corridor to her own room. For no reason at all, she felt unhappy.

Schonbrunn wasn't like anything else she had seen; to begin with it was vast, standing well back from the busy street at its gate. They crossed the vast courtyard, already crowded with visitors and tourists, and went into the courtyard and up the stairs where they joined a small group of people being led around by a guide. Eileen was all for going off on their own, but as Cordelia pointed out, they would get lost in the vastness of the palace, so they tagged along on the fringe of Americans and English ladies in their cardigans, trying to hear what the guide was saying and not miss any of the grandeur around them. Magnificent pictures, portraits of bygone Habsburgs, marvelous painted ceilings, inlaid tables and chairs, damask hung walls--they wandered from one room to the next, trying to take it all in. The Walnut Room, with it's inlaid floor and red Damask, the gloomy bedroom of Franz Joseph the first and his wife, the Yellow Salon, the Hall of Mirrors, the great gallery, where they craned their necks in order to get a view of the painted ceiling. Then they saw the Chinese rooms, a room panelled in lacquer in which, the guide told them solemnly, the Empress Maria Theresa spent her days when she was widowed and which made them both slightly claustrophobic, the Goblin Room, the Napoleon Room, a sad little memorial room of the young Duke ofReichstadt, endless rooms, decked out in red damask, leading from one to the other, affording, as far as Cordelia could see, no privacy. It was all a little more than she could digest and as for Eileen, while admitting that the whole Palace was magnificent, she could see no sense in living in a vast hollow square of huge rooms and said so.

"Yes, but of course, these are the State Apartments, I daresay they had smaller rooms as well," observed Cordelia.

"It's all very magnificent though, you can just imagine the ladies swis.h.i.+ng to and fro in their panniers and silks and satins."

Just the same she was glad when they reached the final Anteroom and went down the vast staircase and out into the courtyard, and agreed readily enough to go in search of a tea room.

The gardens were a delight, vast and beautifully laid out, with the fountains at the far end. They visited the Roman Ruins, which weren't Roman at all, but built in the eighteenth century. They inspected the dove house too and admired the various marble figures but Cordelia drew the line at a visit to the zoological gardens in the park.

"It's too late," she: decided, 'and we can come another day."

Although Eileen put up a token opposition, her heart wasn't in it; they walked to the gates and since the doctor had been generous, took a taxi back to the apartment.

The doctor was in the hall, bidding goodbye to a woman; not very young but still with striking looks and dressed in the kind of clothes Cordelia longed to possess. The woman looked both Eileen and Cordelia over and dismissed them as of no account, but the doctor wished them a polite good evening. Eileen would have lingered, but Cordelia took her firmly by the arm and urged her into the small sitting room they had come to regard as their own, and shut the door.

"He's got a girlfriend," hissed Eileen, "I thought he only read books."

"Don't be vulgar," said Cordelia calmly, "Of course your uncle has friends. I thought she was quite beautiful."

Eileen eyed her with pity.

"You're too nice, Cordelia: she looked at us as though we were road sweepings. All the same Uncle Charles isn't so bad I wouldn't like him to marry her, I mean, when he isn't buried in his beastly books or at the hospital, he's quite fun."

Cordelia didn't answer; she hardly cla.s.sed as fun the polite conversation they carried on at meals, the brief discussions as to Eileen's well being and the absent minded enquiries as to her progress at her cla.s.ses. She didn't feel she was qualified to comment.

"How much longer must we stay here?" asked Eileen impatiently.

"Well, we'll hear the front door..." She realised uneasily that they wouldn't, they were too far away. "I'll take a quick peep," she decided.

She opened the door cautiously and looked down the hall. The doctor and his visitor were standing where they had left them, the lady with her back to her, the doctor most unfortunately facing her. She met his eyes and closed the door again, which was a pity or she would have seen his smile.

"They're still there," she said, 'we'll just have to wait."

She found a pack of cards, got down on the floor with Eileen, and

shared a game of Patience with her, they were arguing as to whose turn it was when the door opened and the doctor came in.

"You don't have to shut yourselves up here," he observed mildly, "You were free to go into the drawing room or to your rooms."

"We thought we'd better go somewhere in a hurry, in case you wanted to

kiss her," said Eileen.

"Eileen," said Cordelia severely, "You've just made that up and it was rude. Be good enough to apologise

to your Uncle."

"Did you kiss her?" said Eileen taking no notice.

The doctor sat down on the arm of a chair and said calmly.

"No--some ladies are so beautiful and so exquisitely dressed one

hesitates toer-- rumple them."

"You wouldn't rumple Cordelia," observed Eileen, 'she's not exquisitely dressed and she's not beautiful either."

Cordelia blushed.

"Eileen," she said awfully, 'there is nothing clever in making remarks

like that..."

"Well, it's what I think--why shouldn't I say what I think?"

"It sometimes hurts peoples feelings," said the doctor placidly 'and

Cordelia asked you to apologise."

"Well I'm sorry, but only because I like Cordelia and I quite like you too."

"Thank you," said her uncle meekly.

"Did you enjoy your visy to Schonbrunn?"

The next half hour was spent in an exaggerated and not quite truthful

account of their afternoon on Eileen's part. All the same Cordelia was pleased to hear that her pupil had learned a good deal of history as well as forming an opinion of the Palace and it's furnis.h.i.+ngs.

"And you, Cordelia?" asked the doctor, 'you enjoyed it too?"

"Oh, very much. Very grand, just as Eileen says, and not quite to my taste--all that gilding and none of the chairs looked very comfortable, but the paintings were magnificent.. .1 suppose that they felt at home there?"

"I imagine that if you've never lived anywhere different it would be home. I like something much more cosy myself." He got up and strolled to the door.

"I shall be out this evening Thompson will look after you. I'll see you at breakfast."

"I bet he's having dinner with that woman," said Eileen, and Cordelia rebuking her, agreed silently.

He was at breakfast the next morning, as usual immersed in letters and the daily papers; beyond a brief acknowledgement of their presence, he had nothing to say and he was equally silent at lunch, saying only enough for politeness and then shutting himself in his study. Mindful of his wish for peace and quiet, Cordelia took Eileen for a walk, but the child seemed tired and they found a seat in the park and sat down in the sun.