“MY PLACE OR yours?” Gus had said lightly to Deirdre next morning. They were deciding where to meet Ivy. Deirdre had called in at Rose Budd’s for some free-range eggs, and nipped along to the end of the terrace to see how he was feeling after all yesterday’s excitement.
“I suppose we could go to Springfields as usual this afternoon. Still, there’s more room at Tawny Wings,” she answered. “Easy for Ivy to get to. She can just about manage to walk up, with her stick. She likes an outing.”
“What about Roy?” Gus said. He had really liked the old man, and had not missed the disappointed look on his face when he thought he would be left out from now on.
“What d’you think? No harm in him joining us, if he can make it up to my house.”
Gus said he thought the old boy would be quite an asset with all his local knowledge. “I’ll call for him,” he said. “They’ve probably got a wheelchair we can borrow.”
“Dare you show your face at Springfields detention centre?”
Gus laughed. “There you are then,” he said. “How could we leave out the old boy when that’s how he thinks of it?”
“Answer the question,” Deirdre said. “Dare you show your face to Mrs. Spurling after she practically evicted you?”
“I’ve dealt with worse than Mrs. S. in my time. Just watch me.”
Deirdre said she would look forward to that, and departed.
WHEN GUS CALLED Ivy to tell her he’d collect both of them to walk to Deirdre’s, he nervously asked if Mrs. S. would be on duty. She said he needn’t worry because Mrs. Spurling had a day off to go to a funeral. “It’ll be Miss Pinkney in charge,” she said, “and for some reason she seems to like you. Said it wasn’t the same without Mr. Halfhide keeping them all amused.”
Gus sighed dramatically. “I can’t help it, Ivy,” he said. “I have this effect on elderly spinsters.”
“Well, here’s one who can resist,” Ivy said tartly, and ended the call.
As Gus chuckled and put down the phone, there was a gentle knock at his door. He knew immediately who it would be, and thought of hiding. But no, he had to let her in sooner or later, so it might as well be now.
“Gus! How are you?” It was Miriam, looking really very presentable, and clutching a large box of chocolates. She thrust them at him and said she had been so worried, and not been able to find out what had happened.
“Come in,” he said, trying to make it sound welcoming. “Have a seat. What lovely chocolates! Thank you so much. Shall we have one to celebrate my homecoming?”
Miriam relaxed. She had been nervous about calling on him, not sure how she would be received. Since her abortive visit to Miss Beasley, she had begun to suspect something was going on between Gus, the old girl at Springfields, and that smart woman at Tawny Wings. And Rose Budd was involved, too. As for Theo, he seemed to have taken leave of his senses, according to report. More likely he had come to them at last, Miriam had thought privately. Was there hope for her after all?
Then there had been that invitation to tea at the Hall, and Beattie had treated her like royalty. Bosom friends was what she apparently had in mind. Miriam’s thoughts were in a whirl, and she hoped to gain some enlightenment from Gus.
“I do hope you weren’t frightened by my tumble,” Gus said. Miriam might have seen something from her watching position by the window?
“I think I must have been out,” she said now. “I didn’t hear anything, unfortunately. These old cottages must be more soundproof than I thought. The first I knew of it was after you’d been taken away in the ambulance. The whole village was buzzing with it next morning.”
“I don’t think I yelled. I was out cold when Mrs. Bloxham found me.”
Miriam said that she was really sorry. She could have rescued him sooner, perhaps. “I could have tried that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation thing,” she added brightly.
Lucky escape, thought Gus, but said kindly, “So what have you been up to? Are the police any nearer finding out who attacked your poor mother?”
Miriam looked suitably downcast. “They’ve been back asking me questions,” she said, “but they won’t tell me anything.”
“What questions?” Gus said, and added hastily that he wouldn’t like to think she had been upset by them at such a sad time.
“Mostly about Mother. They wanted to know things like how long she’d lived in Barrington, when she married my dad, if she’d worked at the Hall, an’ on and on. They wanted to know about me, too. Where I’d worked, if I’d had any boyfriends, all kinds of personal stuff like that. It’s not fair, Gus. Not when I’m grieving for me dear old mum.”
Gus looked at his watch as obviously as he could. Miriam took the hint, but said why didn’t he come round and share a chicken casserole with her? There was plenty for two, and she’d made a plum duff for pudding. “I don’t suppose you’ve got any food in the house?” she said.
As it happened, Gus knew that Deirdre had filled up his fridge for his return, but he was interested in what Miriam had been saying about the police, and so accepted her offer with gratitude. She was delighted, of course, and said he might as well come back with her now, and she would help him through the rusty old gate.
BEATTIE WAS ON her way to the shop when she saw Miriam and Gus disappearing round to the back of Miriam’s house. Good heavens, the woman was insatiable! Not content with seducing Theo way back, now she had her claws into the Halfhide man. She walked on, feeling the ground shifting beneath her feet. It wasn’t, of course, she told herself, looking down at her feet walking smartly over the potholed tarmac. It was an illusion, and she tried to convince herself that things were just as before.
But things were different, she knew, absentmindedly waving to Rose Budd at the end of the terrace. Theo was no longer willing to accept her judgements and suggestions. He wanted to see the farm accounts, the housekeeping records, even the orders for the shop. At breakfast, he had announced that he wanted her to buy everything she could from the village shop, keeping her purchases from the supermarket to a minimum. “ ‘Use it or Lose it!’ ” he said merrily, quoting from a Post Office advertisement.
All her hard work and planning over the years had been wiped out in a single afternoon, she reckoned, and then realising that he could have many more afternoons with Rose Budd’s connivance. And now Theo had this ridiculous idea of reorganising the farm! It had all gone so smoothly, though admittedly the income from the estate had gradually diminished.
And that was another thing! Theo had said he wanted all the accounts, bank statements and cheque book stubs in his study. He would be buying a new filing cabinet to house all the financial documents relating to the estate.
“You’ve taken on so much over the years owing to my neglect and idleness,” he had said, and added that now he intended to make recompense by relieving her of all those onerous tasks. “You must go out more,” he said, smiling at her. “Enjoy yourself, Beattie. You’ve earned it.”
She was left with nothing to say. Her blood boiled, and she was sure that he was having a great time making her suffer. His apparent concern was completely false. He knew exactly what he was doing to her, and it was he who was enjoying it.
She stopped at the foot of the steps leading into the shop, and looked at the seat placed there in memory of Theo’s father. “To hell with both of you!” she said under her breath. “I’m not beaten yet. Just you wait, and that goes for you, too, Mrs. Bloxham.”
“Morning, Miss Beatty,” Will said, coming out of the shop door to put out the empty milk bottle crate. “Nice to see Mr. Roussel getting out and about again.” He continued, “All due, I’m sure, to your tender loving care!”
Beattie would have spat at him if she had not spent most of her life grooming herself to be a lady. “I suppose you’ve run out of apples as usual?” she said sourly, and followed him into the shop.