A Village Affair

'Darling, I should have rung-'

'Not at all,' Alice said politely.

Clodagh said, 'I'll go in and put the kettle on,' and went into the house with Charlie on her hip and the others dancing behind her. Cecily watched her go.

'Is she an Unwin from the Park?'

'Yes. The youngest.'

Cecily wanted to say that Clodagh seemed very much at home but stopped herself. She put an arm round Alice.

'It is lovely to see you. I've been longing to see how you were getting on with the house. And I thought, heavens, the holidays are nearly over-'

'We've been so busy,' Alice said. 'I don't know why moving should take up all one's life, but it seems to.'

'And what about some help?'

'I'm fine,' Alice said.

'And a holiday?'

'Honestly,' Alice said, and there was an edge of impatience to her voice, 'we don't need one just now.'

'There's Martin,' Cecily said, dropping her arm and catching Alice's tone, 'as well as you.'

Alice began to move towards the house.

'Come in and have tea.'

The kitchen looked undeniably a happy place. There was a blue jug of yellow tulips on the dresser, and on the table James and Natasha were putting out plates and mugs haphazardly on a yellow flowered cloth. Charlie was already in his high chair gnawing on a carrot, and by the window, still in her wizard's cloak, Clodagh was slicing and buttering currant bread. There was a kettle on the Aga and the top half of the stable door was open. In a Windsor armchair by the fire a tabby kitten lay asleep on a blue and white cushion. It was all entirely as it should be and the sight of it caused Cecily's heart to sink like lead.

She had paused, on her way to The Grey House, at the Pitcombe shop and post office. She was not quite sure why she had done this, nor why she had said vivaciously to Mr Finch, 'I am on my way to The Grey House! I am Mr Jordan's mother, you see.'

Mrs Macaulay had been in the shop at the time and so had Stuart Mott's wife, Sally. Mrs Macaulay had beadily taken in Cecily's clothes - very good but my, wouldn't it be a treat to have that much to spend - and Sally Mott, who was tired of having Stuart out of work and under her feet all the time, came boldly forward and said she wondered if Mr Jordan could do with some gardening help because Stuart could probably spare him a bit of time if...

Cecily was delighted. The suggestion suited her every wish to help and it gave her a purpose in arriving at The Grey House unannounced and clearly not just passing. She took Sally's telephone number, bought two this of dog meat - not the brand, Mrs Macaulay noticed, that her girls favoured - and a box of chocolate buttons, and went out of the shop leaving a breath of 'Arpege' behind to daze Mr Finch. He took the washing powder and the packet of aspirin that Mrs Macaulay held out to him and heard his mouth say, 'Will that be all?' While his heart sang Swinburne:

Strong blossoms with perfume of manhood, shot out from my spirit as rays.

Now, Cecily put the chocolate buttons down on the table beside the milk jug. James's eyes bulged with immediate desire and Charlie, using his carrot as a baton, pointed at them with it and mewed urgently. Clodagh stopped buttering and with a winglike swoop of her cloaked arm vanished the box into her pocket.

'After tea.'

'Now, now, now,' said James.

'After tea.'

'Now-'

'James,' Alice said, 'you know the rules perfectly well.'

'So sorry,' Cecily said stiffly. She looked round the room. 'You've made this so pretty. And how lovely to have a kitten.'

Natasha slid into a chair next to her grandmother.

'He's called Balloon because of his tummy. Clodagh says he's a lousy kisser.'

The other side of the table, James began to giggle.

'Personally,' Natasha said, 'I don't kiss him a lot because his breath is fishy.'

'I'm glad to hear it,' Cecily said.

'There's hens,' James said.

'Hens, darling?'

Alice said, 'We've got a dozen pullets. White Leghorn crossed with Light Sussex. Clodagh knows about hens and we are learning.'

They can't do eggs yet,' James said, 'but they can when they're bigger.'

Cecily eyed Clodagh.

'What a knowledgeable young woman-'

Clodagh put the plate of buttered bread on the table and then went over to the Aga and said something quietly to Alice who was making the tea. Alice laughed and said something inaudible back. They came back to the table together and began in a practised mutual way to give the children their tea, cutting up Charlie's bread into little squares, putting honey on James's, pouring milk into mugs. Alice gave Cecily a cup of tea and sat down beside her.

'Darling,' Cecily said, 'I think I've found you a gardener this afternoon. Someone called Stuart Mott-'

'He's a rogue,' Clodagh said.

'All gardeners are rogues,' Cecily said, 'more or less.'

'This one's more.'

'But does he know about gardening?'

'I think he must. He's mad about prizes, marrows like hippos, yard-long runner beans. If you lick off all the butter, Charlie Jordan, you will simply have to eat your bread bare.'

Smiling angelically, Charlie laid the bread on his highchair tray and began, with tiny, neat fingers, to pick out the currants. Alice, Cecily noticed, had hardly spoken.

'Darling. Mightn't he be worth a try?'

Alice said slowly, 'I'll suggest it to Martin-'

'I Jong for you to come down to Dummeridge. The potager is having its first real spring and as you were in at its conception-'

'Alice,' Clodagh said, 'are you a gardener?'

'You know I'm not-'

'Alice painted the most lovely frontispiece for my book. She was a kind of inspiration-'

'You must beware of my mother,' Clodagh said, stretching over to rescue a sticky knife that had fallen from Natasha's plate. 'She thinks you are a gardening genius but she's quite unscrupulous in bending people to her will. You'll find yourself talking to the Evergreen Club, none of whom can hear a word you say.'

Cecily turned to Alice who was cradling her cup in both hands and drinking dreamily out of it.

'When can you come? Come for the night. Bring everyone, before the end of the holidays.'

'It would be lovely,' Alice said remotely.

'I've started the recorder,' Natasha said to her grandmother. 'I can play "London's Burning" after only two lessons. Will you come and hear me?'

'Yes,' Cecily said unhappily, 'I should love to.'

She got up. Alice said, 'Five minutes only, Tashie.'

Natasha took Cecily's hand and led her out of the room. When the door had closed behind them Cecily had a sudden angry, irrational feeling that everyone in the kitchen was bursting with suppressed laughter the other side of it.

'Do you,' she said to Natasha, despising herself for doing it, 'do you like Clodagh?'

'We adore her,' Natasha said, 'and I can play the first two lines of "Frere Jacques" too-'

'And does she come here a lot?'

'Oh, every day. And when Mummy was doing the shop she took us on a walk and got us some frog spawn. It is disgusting. Of course, a lot of interesting things are disgusting. Aren't they?'

'Yes, darling,' Cecily said sadly. 'Yes, I'm afraid that they are.'

When Cecily returned to Dummeridge that night, Richard was at home. She had known he would be and although the knowledge hadn't in any way affected her impulsive drive to Pitcombe, she discovered that she was surprisingly pleased to find him when she got back. He was sitting in the drawing room with an open briefcase and a whisky and soda, and when she stooped to kiss him he said, 'What's the matter?'

Tired, I think. I've just come back from Pitcombe.'

He went on flipping through papers because it was what she expected of him.

'All well there?'