The End Of The Rainbow – Episode 16


For days afterwards Adam struggled to remember what they had talked about on that magical, moonlit night. He had told her about working on the farm, and she had promised to meet him there.“Come to the bottom gate, the one nearest the Grange,” she’d instructed him.Try as he might, however, he couldn’t remember when she had planned to get away for a meeting. Their whispered, hasty words had been lost in a kiss, which was what Adam Gray remembered more than anything else. He thought of little else in the days that followed. Morning and evening, when he’d finished his work at the stable, he walked down to the bottom gate, scanning the road that led towards the Grange in the hope of seeing her approaching figure.But there was no sign of Constance, and during those days when he’d waited in vain, he could find no inspiration for painting.Josh noticed, but said little until Adam, exasperated, tore up several sketches he’d just begun.“It’s Constance, isn’t it?” Adam simply shook his head. Josh, sitting under a plum tree in Panama hat and shirt sleeves, smiled at a group of village girls who had paused and were regarding him with interest.“The course of true love never runs smooth,” he said to no-one in particular. “Go and see her.”Adam decided instead that he’d wait just one more morning at the bottom gate before taking his friend’s advice.****At that particular moment, Kirsty was regarding the dress laid out on her bed with an expression of sheer delight. It was made of finest white lawn, sprigged with blue and finished with a neat lace collar.“Thank ye, Miss Constance. Are ye sure? It’s such a bonnie frock!”Constance smiled.“You’re welcome to the dress, Kirsty. It’s just a little bit short for me. Mama’s dressmaker would have had to alter it. Besides, I’m sorting out my wardrobe while I have the chance. If I’m going back to Glasgow at the end of the summer, I’ll need to organise things properly.”Kirsty clapped her hands and beamed.“Yer mama’s letting ye go back tae the art school? That’s great news!”Constance glanced at the door and placed her fingers on her lips.“Shh, Kirsty. Don’t shout it from the rooftops! It’s a secret, especially as far as Mama’s concerned. I’m waiting for the right moment to tell her.”Kirsty’s eyes grew round with wonder.“But what if she says no, Miss Constance? Ye’ll no’ can go, then.”“Then I’ll run away to Glasgow,” Constance whispered, her eyes twinkling, “and you can come with me for company.”The two of them laughed at that.Then Constance’s face grew serious.“I mean to be an artist, Kirsty. Mama has other plans for me, but I’m hoping I can bring her round to my way of thinking. I’m going to tell her about the Summer School, stressing that it’s for young ladies, and that I’ll be going there from time to time. Once she gets used to that, she’ll see that I’m serious about painting. I’ll not need you to cover for me any more, not for that, anyway.”

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