دردسرهای جدید لورنا

CHAPTER SIX

Lorna’s new troubles

When I arrived at the farm, Mother held me tightly and cried for half an hour. I gave everyone all the presents I had bought for them in London, but of course what I wanted to do most of all was find Lorna, and see how she was. I wanted to tell Mother all about her, but the thought of my father’s murder by the Doones stopped me. There was little chance that Lorna would love me, so why should I worry my mother about it?

As soon as I could, I went to Doone valley - but, there, I could not believe my bad luck. When I looked from the cliff top, I saw Lorna’s sign - her coat on a white rock! She had needed me, and now perhaps I was too late to help her.

I climbed round the outer cliffs to the waterfall, and was soon looking down towards the green fields of the valley. I stood and waited - not caring, now, if anyone saw me - and then at last a little figure came towards me.

I could see she was frightened, so I went towards her slowly.

‘Miss Lorna, I saw your sign on the white rock, that you needed me.’

‘Oh, yes, but that was a long time ago - two months or more, sir,’ and she looked away. She looked so sad that I thought everything was over between us, and tried to turn away and go. But when she saw that I was hurt and ashamed, she ran towards me and took my hands.

‘Oh John, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,’ she said. How happy I was, to hear her call me ‘John’! Then she led me away to her secret room, through the cave in the mountain. Since it was partly open to the sky, plants and flowers were able to grow there, and now, in the late summer, it was beautiful.

She could not look at me at first, but when she did, I could see that she had been crying.

‘My grandfather is not well,’ she said. ‘And now Carver Doone and his evil father, the Counsellor, have more control over the Doones. They want me to marry Carver. Not immediately - I am only seventeen. But they want me to give my promise, in front of my grandfather, that I will marry Carver. They say it’s for the peace of the Doones. That’s why I left the signal out for you, Mr. Ridd. They wanted to force me, but my grandfather would not let them. They won’t do it - at least while grandfather is alive. But they’re watching me, and following me, and I can’t go where I want any more. Gwenny is helping me. If she wasn’t, I couldn’t even be here, talking to you. But perhaps even you don’t care about me anymore.’

Her eyes filled with tears, and I quickly explained about my journey to London. I told her how much I had missed her and how I had worried about her all this time. Then I showed her the present I had brought her from London -a ring with blue and white stones. At first she cried even more, and then came and sat so close to me that I began to tremble. Then I picked up her hand and, while I was pretending to look at its beauty and softness, put the ring on her finger.

‘Oh, Mr Ridd!’ she said, her face going red. ‘I thought you were much too honest and simple ever to do something like this! No wonder you are good at catching fish. But no, John, you have not caught me yet, not completely, though I like you very much - and if you will only keep away, out of danger, I will like you even more.’

With tears still in her eyes, which seemed to come partly from wanting to love me as much as I loved her, she kissed my head. Then she gently took my ring off her finger, and, kissing it three times, gave it back to me. ‘John, I cannot take it now,’ she said. ‘It would not be right. I will try to love you dearly - as dearly as you could wish. Keep the ring for me until then. Something tells me I will earn it -very soon.’

This time, I promised Lorna that I would not come back to see her for two months. If Carver or the Counsellor became violent towards her, she would signal me as before. Two months was a long time to wait, but because of what she had said to me, I was happy.

Very soon after that I told my sister Annie about Lorna. I knew she would keep my secret, and it was good to be able to talk to her about my troubles. Then she gave me a surprise. Tom Faggus had asked her to marry him, and she had agreed. But although Mother liked Tom, we both knew she would not like her daughter to marry him! And how would she feel about me wanting to marry Lorna Doone? We promised to help each other, if we could.

On the very first day after the agreed two months, I went to find Lorna. But this time when I got to the top of the waterfall, she was not there.

I waited for hours, but she didn’t come. Then I saw something that made me afraid for her. While I was hiding behind a tree, a big man appeared, walking lazily down the valley. He wore a wide hat, a dark jacket and tall boots, and he carried a gun over his shoulder. As he came closer, I could see his face clearly, and there was something in it the ground beside them. Here, the cliffs widened out into broken, rocky ground, with deep shadows between the rocks. The guards were clearly not expecting an attack, and were drinking and talking. I stood and watched, and while I was wondering what to do, they began to argue, and then to fight. This gave me my chance. I went slowly along the cliff wall, and then moved quickly into the shadows of the open rocky ground. The guards were so busy with their fight that they did not see or hear me, and I was soon past them and going down the hillside into Doone valley.

Lorna had told me that her grandfather’s house was the first one after the gate. So, carefully and quietly, I went towards it and stood below one of the windows. I could not shout or call out because there were other guards around the small village, but luck was with me that night. Lorna came to the window, opened it, and looked out up at the night sky. I whispered her name. She jumped in alarm, but then looked down and saw who I was.

‘John!’ she said. ‘Oh, John, you must be mad!’

‘I was going mad, because I didn’t know what had happened to you. But you knew I would come.’

‘I hoped you would! But do you see they have put these bars across my window?’ She put her hand out through them, and I took it and kissed it, and then held both her hands in mine.

‘Oh, John, you’ll make me cry,’ she said, though I could see she had already been crying. ‘We can never be together.

Why should I make you unhappy? Try to forget me.’

‘Never,’ I said. ‘If we want to belong to one another, Lorna, no one can stop us - only God, if he wishes it. Now tell me, why have you been kept in prison here?’

‘My grandfather is very ill now. I am afraid he won’t live long. The Counsellor and his son are the masters of the valley. They want me here where they can see me, so that I can’t escape from Carver; and Gwenny is not allowed to move about now, so I couldn’t send you a message, or signal you. You must watch this house day and night, John, if you wish to save me. There is nothing they wouldn’t do, if my poor grandfather - Oh, I can’t think only of myself, when I should think of him.’

‘How can I leave you even one more night here, Lorna?’ I said.

‘You must, John,’ she said. ‘You’re so brave, but I love you too much to let you stay any longer. Yes, it’s true! But I cannot leave my grandfather while he is dying. So, if you love me, John, you must go.’

‘I’ll go for now. But when I hear that your grandfather has died, I will come and get you out of here. If I promise to take you safely away, will you come with me?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Of course I will.’

So now I took her hand in mine again, and put my ring on her finger. I had kept it in my pocket since the day I had first brought it to her. This time she kept it, though she cried and held my hand tightly.

‘Oh, John. This can never, never be!’ she said.