Green Girl by Sara Seale

holidays, there ’ s not the slightest need to marry. Why, when I asked you earlier if you could find me work of that kind, didn ’ t you offer me this? ”
    “ Because, you stubborn, persistent creature, Ireland is still a country where in isolated districts such as this such an arrangement wouldn ’ t be considered suitable. ”
    “ I see. Well, there must be other houses, other families. ”
    “ None of any help to you. Castle Slyne the other side of the lough is a guest-house now and the O ’ Rafferty son and heir a bare two months; the Fitzgeralds and the Lynches have grown-up families, and that leaves the two Miss Ryans with no encumbrances except dogs, Alice Docherty who might need a groom but never a nursemaid and old General Sullivan who ’ s long past either. ” He had risen from the table as he spoke and was occupying himself collecting all the used plates to put on the floor for the dogs to lick.
    “ Saves the washing up, ” he observed, catching her disapproving eye, “ we ’ re short-handed in the kitchen. Well, Miss Harriet Jones, what ’ s your alternative, since your handsome legacy is already dissipated and the fare to England can ’ t be obtained on credit even in Ireland? ”
    She, too, got to her feet for one last effort at reason.
    “ You could, Mr. Lonnegan, if you chose to be generous, lend me the fare back, ” she said a little stiffly, but immediately felt herself blushing at the enormity of the suggestion. To borrow money from a perfect strange r was bad enough by Matron ’ s standards, but to expect charity when you were already supported by it was like asking for more.
    However he interpreted that heightened colour, he was not, evidently, prepared to make things easy for her.
    “ But perhaps I don ’ t choose, ” he retorted coolly. “ I thought I ’ d already made it clear that Nonie wasn ’ t the sole reason for my proposal, strange as it apparently still seems to you. ”
    “ Well, of course it ’ s strange! Whoever heard of such a—such a crazy sort of proposal! ”
    “ Well, we ’ ve done enough sparring for the day, and I must remember my duties as host. We will go and sit on the terrace and admire the view, and you shall entertain me with unlikely tales of this orphanage which seems to have ill-prepared you for the hard facts and disappointments of adult life. Come along. ”
    The afternoon passed pleasantly, and Harriet found her disconcerting host had, when he chose, as apt a gift for putting you at ease as he had for putting you in your place. He was also a good listener and, never loth to chatter if she was encouraged, she soon forgot she had known him for barely forty-eight hours.
    “ Did you know who your parents were? ” he inquired idly at one point, and looked surprised and puzzled when she replied that she had never asked.
    “ It ’ s better not to know than be disappointed, or just make them up for yourself. I might be one of the cases who have no records, you see, ” she explained simply, and his eyes grew gentle.
    “ Yes, I see. And did you make up parents for yourself, Harriet? ”
    “ No, not parents. Sometimes I used to invent a benevolent trustee who would adopt me, or perhaps marry me, like in that old book, Daddy-long-legs .”
    “ Well, here ’ s your chance—grab it with both hands! ” he said, unable to resist such an opening, but found her eyeing him doubtfully.
    “ I don ’ t think benevolent is exactly the right word for you, Mr. Lonnegan, and I don ’ t suppose you ’ d consider adopting me, ” she said seriously, and he got to his feet.
    “ You would suppose right. One daughter ’ s quite enough to be going on with, thank you. You ’ d best be going indoors, it ’ s getting chilly, ” he said.
    Left to her own devices, Harriet felt free to explore at her leisure those rooms they had visited in the morning. Old pieces of china, many of them cracked or broken lay at the backs of display cabinets, faded miniatures, odd