The Unbegotten Read Online Free PDF Page B

particularly of the tree where she had disappeared. He squeezed between an old four-poster bed and the window, peered out, and saw the girl, sitting cross-legged on a thick branch, her back against the trunk. He himself had lopped two adjoining branches in the autumn, that was why she had so much room.
    He went downstairs and into the kitchen, then out and towards the garden shed, and as he neared the shed, he saw a man; one of those who had been among the trees at the hospital. The man ducked out of sight and did not reappear. Maddern felt a creepy feeling running up and down his spine and gritted his teeth.
    Was he one of Palfrey’s men?
    If so, why was he watching this house?
    And did the girl work for Palfrey, too?
    Maddern went into the toolshed, selected a pair of secateurs and strolled into the garden. Between shed and orchard was a little rose bed, and a lot of the old, dying bloom wanted taking off, while there were a few scarlet roses. Old Josiah loved red roses.
    As he clipped and snipped, Maddern looked about him. As far as he could judge there was no one else in the garden; and if he hadn’t seen the other two he would never have suspected that anyone was here. It was pleasantly warm. Tall beech trees and spreading chestnut trees from parkland adjoining the house sheltered him from the hot sun. He did not search, but once or twice looked up. There was the girl, legs drawn up, body pressed very tightly against the trunk, as if she were scared.
    Then, Maddern saw a remarkable thing.
    She took her hand from her pocket, and he caught a glimpse of a small pistol. She levelled it, and his heart began to thump, but she was levelling it at someone at least five yards to his right. He turned his head, very cautiously, and saw the man who had ducked out of sight.
    If he, Maddern, was any judge, the girl was waiting until the man drew within range; and the moment he was, she would shoot.
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Chapter Four
A MATTER OF URGENCY
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    A cry hovered in Maddern’s throat, and the sound would not come. He stood in cold stillness. The girl sat in ambush and the man drew within a dangerously close range. Then, as Maddern broke the tension and began to shout a warning, a man he had not seen before appeared beneath the tree, behind the girl, and spoke in the most casual of voices.
    â€˜That’s enough, Susie. Down you come.’
    He stepped beneath the girl and held his arms upwards and outwards, as if to catch her when she jumped. Instead of jumping, she stood up and stretched out for a higher branch, then with a dazzlingly swift movement pointed the gun towards the man and fired. There was a bark of sound. The man dodged to one side, just in time. The girl then dropped until she swung on the branch where she had been crouching, kicking out at the first man who was now close to the tree.
    â€˜Watch her,’ the other called. ‘Little vixen!’
    â€˜That’s enough, Sue,’ the other reproved. ‘Drop that pistol and—’
    Instead, she let one hand go, levelled the gun, and fired again. The speaker swayed to one side. The girl dropped to the grass, and straightened up, light as a bird. Then she began to race towards the house, her beautiful fair hair streaming back from her head.
    There was only one expression on her face: terror .
    It showed in her eyes, in the way her lips were turned back, in the way her hands were clenched. Terror. She did not look behind her and did not seem to know that Maddern was there. Both men spun round and began to follow, but she had ten or twelve yards start, and she ran like the wind.
    â€˜Stop her!’ one man called.
    It was too late, even had Maddern been inclined. She was past him in a flash, and the men, running as fast as they were able, seemed lumbering by comparison. The second one, indeed, lost his balance and pitched into Maddern’s precious roses. He gasped, as thorns clawed at him. Maddern, torn between fear for the girl and alarm for