Read HIGH TIDE AT MIDNIGHT for Free Online Page B

think he sounds the kind of man likely to provide favours for
    chance-met strangers?'
    'On the face of it, no.' Morwenna shook her head. 'On the other hand, he's
    obviously a supreme egotist, and he might just be flattered to think someone
    has travelled half way across England to ask him to do something for them.
    Besides, I'm not wholly a stranger to him.'
    'Well, I wouldn't count on it,' he said bitingly. 'And what do you
    mean—you're not "wholly a stranger"?'
    But Morwenna was already regretting that she had said so much.
    'I'm sorry, but I think that's my business,' she said, biting her lip. 'And I don't
    doubt you're a lifelong friend of his and that you can't wait to get down to
    Trevennon and tell him what I've said. Well, go ahead. I don't suppose that
    in the long run it will make much difference anyway.'
    'As a matter of fact,' he said slowly, 'at this precise moment, I'm wondering
    whether I've ever known him at all. As for proceeding with all haste to
    Trevennon to drop you in it, may I remind you that the road is blocked by a
    tree. Besides, I'm going to make a detour round to the farm to get Jacky
    Herrick to bring his tractor down to shift it, so if you hurry you should arrive
    at Trevennon with your version first.'
    'A tractor?' Morwenna let her voice register exaggerated surprise. 'You mean
    you're not going to pick it up with one hand, and toss it lightly into the
    hedge?'
    She was sorry as soon as she had said it. There was something about him that
    got under her skin, but that was no excuse for behaving with gratuitous
    rudeness.
    When he spoke, his voice was cold with anger. 'If I was in the mood for
    tossing anything into a hedge, believe me, young woman, you'd get priority
    over any tree.'
    'I think we've already established that,' she said ruefully, wincing a little as
    she moved forward.
    'Are you hurt? The car hardly touched you…'
    'Oh, please don't bother about me.' She felt as if one side of her was one
    terrific bruise. 'I still might manage to finish fourth.'
    'Stand still,' he ordered abruptly. 'You might have broken something.'
    She stood, teeth clenched more with anger than with pain as he completed a
    swift but comprehensive examination of her moving parts.
    'Thank you,' she said with awful politeness when he had finished. 'You
    should have been a vet.'
    'I won't complete the analogy,' he returned with equal courtesy. 'Although
    several members of the animal kingdom do suggest themselves. Which
    reminds me—when you get down to Trevennon, watch out for the dogs.
    They're not trained to encourage strangers.'
    'Oh God!' Morwenna, retrieving her case and rucksack from the hedge,
    swung round to look at him. It was maddening that it was too dark to see his
    face properly, let alone the expression on it, and she could hardly ask him to
    stand in the car headlights for a moment so that she could judge whether he
    was joking. He hadn't done a great deal of joking up to that point, certainly,
    and there was no reason for him to start now, so the dogs probably existed.
    She moistened her lips uncertainly. 'Do—do they bite?*
    'It has been known,' he said laconically. 'The thing to do is stand your
    ground. Don't try to outrun them—that's fatal.'
    'I can imagine it would be.' Morwenna knew an overwhelming desire to sit
    down on the wet lane and scream and drum her heels. 'But you don't have to
    worry. I doubt very much whether I could outrun a tortoise at the moment.
    Would it help if I knew the dogs' names?'
    'It might. They're called Whisky and Max. Do you think you can remember
    that?'
    'Oh, I think so,' she said grimly. 'I imagine I shall have great difficulty in
    remembering anything else.' Wincing slightly, she settled her rucksack on
    her shoulder then picked up her case.
    'Dear God!" He was still standing in the shadows well out of range of the
    headlights. 'Not just a casual call, I see. Just how long were you planning to
    stay at Trevennon?'
    It was on the tip of her tongue to confess