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old man with a kind face came down the steps.
Maxim and then sat down beside me. I was glad of the dog's
friendly welcome. The library was a large comfortable room. Its
walls were covered with books from the floor to the ceiling.
Comfortable chairs stood on either side of a great open fireplace.
From its long windows I could see the lawns and beyond the lawns,
the sea. There was a quiet peace in the room. It was a place for rest,
for reading and for quiet thinking.
Tea was brought to us by Frith and a younger servant. There
was a special table and a snow-white cloth to cover it. The teapot
and kettle were of silver and the china was very fine. There were
sandwiches, bread and butter and several kinds of cake. There was
far too much food for two people. But this was the tea served at
Manderley every day.
Maxim sat in a chair by the fire reading the letters that had
been waiting for him. Now and again, he looked up at me and
smiled. I leant back in my chair, drinking my tea and trying to feel
at home. It was true. Manderley was my home now - my home and
Maxim's. But somehow I still could not believe it.
My thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door. It
was Frith.
'Excuse me, Madam,' he said. 'Mrs Danvers asked if you
would like to see your room.'
Maxim looked up from his letters. 'What do the rooms in the
east wing
1
look like now?' he said.
'Very nice indeed, sir,' Frith replied. 'I think you will be very
comfortable there.'
'Have you been making changes?' I asked.
'Oh, nothing much,' said Maxim. 'They have been getting
the rooms in the east wing ready for us. There is a lovely view of
the rose-garden from there. You go and make friends with Mrs
Danvers. I'll come up later.'
I got up slowly and went out with Frith into the hall. I did not
want to be alone with Mrs Danvers. The hall seemed very big, and
my footsteps sounded very loud on the stone floor.
29
Mrs Danvers was standing at the top of the wide flight of stairs.
Her dark eyes watched me as I walked slowly up the stairs towards
her. 'I hope I haven't kept you waiting,' I said.
'It is my duty to wait for you, Madam,' Mrs Danvers said. 'I'm
here to carry out your orders.'
She led me along a wide passage. We passed through doors
and up and down wide stairs. At last Mrs Danvers opened a
door leading into a small room. This room led into a large,
light bedroom with wide windows. I went at once to a window
and looked out. The rose-garden lay below me. Beyond the
rose-garden, the smooth grass stretched to the woods.
'You can't see the sea from here,' I said, turning to Mrs
Danvers.
'No, not from this wing,' she answered, 'and you can't hear it
either. You would never know the sea was so near.'
Mrs Danvers spoke in a strange way, as though this was
somehow important to her.
'I'm sorry about that; I like the sea,' I said. 'But this is a very
charming room. I'm sure I shall be comfortable here.'
'Mr de Winter gave very careful orders in his letter about this
room. The rooms here have been specially arranged for you.'
'Then this was not his bedroom before?'
'Oh, no, Madam. He has never used this room.'
There was silence. I did not know what to say. I wished Mrs
Danvers would go away.
'I suppose you have been at Manderley for many years,' I said.
'Yes, Madam. I came here when the first Mrs de Winter was
a bride
6
.' Her voice was suddenly harsh. There was some colour
in her pale face now. And for a moment I saw a look of hatred in
her eyes.
'Mrs Danvers,' I heard myself saying, 'I hope we shall be
friends. This sort of life is new to me. I do want to make Mr
de Winter happy. I know I can leave the housekeeping to you.
I shan't want to make any changes.'
30
'Very well,' she said. 'I hope you will be satisfied. I have been
looking after the house for the past year. When the late
6
Mrs de
Winter was alive, there were lots of parties and visitors, of course.
She liked to look after everything herself.'
'I would rather leave it to you, Mrs Danvers,' I said. 'And I'm
sure we'll be very comfortable in these rooms.'
'Mr de Winter said you would rather be on this side of the
house. They used the rooms in the west wing
1
when Mrs de
Winter was alive. The windows there look down to the sea.'
There was a sound outside the door and Mrs Danvers stopped
talking. Maxim came into the room.
'Well, what do you think?' Maxim said to me. 'I hope you like
the rooms. I think you've done very well, Mrs Danvers.'
'Thank you, sir,' she said. Then she turned and went quietly
out of the room.
Maxim walked to the window. 'I love the rose-garden,' he
said. 'There's something very quiet and peaceful about this room.
How did you get
2
on with Mrs Danvers? She's a strange woman
in many ways. I think that some of the young servants are afraid
of her.'
'I expect we'll get on well when she knows me better,' I said.
'She may not like me at first, of course.'
'Not like you? Why shouldn't she like you?' said Maxim and
he came across the room and kissed me gently.
'Let's forget about Mrs Danvers,' he said. 'Come along, and
I'll show you Manderley.'
I felt happier as I walked through the house with Maxim. We
looked at the pictures in the long gallery
1
and at most of the rooms
downstairs. Maxim put his arm round my shoulder. I began to feel
that Manderley really was my home.
After dinner, we sat in the library. The curtains were drawn
and more logs put on the fire. It was new for us to sit together
quietly like this. In Italy we had walked about in the evenings, or
gone for a drive. Maxim sat in the chair to the left of the fireplace.
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