Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
A governess in a French chateau encounters an apparent plot against her young charge’s life in this unforgettably haunting and beautifully written suspense novel.
When lovely Linda Martin first arrives at Château Valmy as an English governess to the nine-year-old Count Philippe de Valmy, the opulence and history surrounding her seems like a wondrous, ecstatic dream. But a palpable terror is crouching in the shadows. Philippe’s uncle, Léon de Valmy, is the epitome of charm, yet dynamic and arrogant, his paralysis little hindrance as he moves noiselessly in his wheelchair from room to room.
Only his son Raoul, a handsome, sardonic man who drives himself and his car with equally reckless abandon, seems able to stand up to him. To Linda, Raoul is an enigma, though irresistibly attracted to him, she senses some dark twist in his nature. When an accident deep in the woods nearly kills Linda’s innocent charge, she begins to wonder if someone has deadly plans for the young count.
Review
Nine Coaches Waiting was first published on 1 January 1959 and tells the story of a young English governess, Linda Martin, who travels to the French Alps to care for Philippe de Valmy, a nine-year-old boy who was orphaned when his parents were killed in a plane crash the year before. As the only son of his parents, Philippe inherited the Château Valmy along with the title of Comte de Valmy, however his young age means everything is being held in trust by his uncle, Léon and Hippolyte. Although the advert specifically stated an English girl with no knowledge of the French language was required as governess, Linda conceals the fact she is bi-lingual as she is desperate for the job and she develops a bond with young Philippe as she lost her parents in the same manner.
When Linda arrives at the chateau she is immediately struck by its gloomy atmosphere and the menacing presence of Léon de Valmy who has lost the use of his legs due to breaking his back in a polo accident some years back. Léon puts on a charismatic front but Linda is uneasy in his presence and soon begins to suspect that the man wants the title and the chateau for himself. Linda’s suspicions are increased when Philippe becomes the victim of several unfortunate accidents that threaten his life and she finds herself becoming closer to Léon’s son, Raoul, who harbours several grudges against his father. However, Raoul is reckless and Linda starts to wonder what his motives are in regard to the Château Valmy and young Philippe. Believing she is unable to understand them, the inhabitants of the chateau often speak French freely in front of her, and Linda soon learns she is being set up as a scapegoat in an evil plot to kill Philippe. Taking matters into her own hands, Linda spirits Philippe away from the chateau and hides him until she can hand him over to his uncle Hippolyte who is the only one to be trusted.
The title Nine Coaches Waiting is derived from the play The Revenger’s Tragedy attributed to Thomas Middleton which is quoted in the first chapter and Linda’s sudden memory of it points to the possibility she is being lured to her doom. While Linda scoffs at the notion, it is a seed that is firmly planted into the reader’s head from the outset so we are far more suspicious of everything from the beginning. The novel is also divided into nine parts and the nine “coaches” are all vehicles that Linda travels in throughout. As usual, Stewart knows how to get the best out of her chosen setting and we are left pondering who can be trusted right up to the end. However, I didn’t really find this book as thrilling as others seem to have done and was actually quite bored by it long before the end despite all the subterfuge.
