Fate Takes a Hand Betty Neels

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not seeing him again. Which was exactly what he
had intended...
Watching the Bentley's elegant rear disappearing
down the street, she reflected that he couldn't have
made himself more plain; this had been by way of a
farewell visit for Peter's sake. Certainly he had spent
a good deal of time with the little boy, sitting out
there in the garden. She wondered what they had
talked about.
She went back into the cottage and helped with
the washing-up, and then wandered into the garden
where Peter was playing with the puppy.
`I must think of a name,' said Peter, 'and when I
have I shall write and tell Mr van Linssen about it.'
`Well, dear...' began Eulalia, not quite sure how
to go on.
`Don't you like him?'
108 FATE TAKES A HAND
`Yes, yes, of course I do, but I think he brought
you the puppy as a kind of goodbye present, don't
you?'
He shook his head. 'He's my friend.'
`That's nice to have a friend, I mean. You must
think of a really good name. I'll think, too, while I
do a bit of gardening.'
She wasn't thinking about names as she toiled
away at clearing the fruit-bushes, though, she was
remembering Mr van Linssen's casual goodbye, and
why she should mind that he had been so casual she
didn't know. She attacked a gooseberry-bush quite
fiercely, and told herself not to waste time thinking
about someone who didn't matter at all when there
were so many other important matters to decide
upon.
They all went to church on Sunday morning, leav-
ing the puppy happily asleep in his basket in the
kitchen, and because there was a new rector since
Eulalia had lived there with her grandmother, and
several people in the congregation wanted to speak
to her, their progress was slow as they left after the
service. Peter said nothing, but the hand she was
holding squeezed hers once or twice, just to remind
her that he wanted to get back to his new companion,
so she made the excuse that she had to get back to
cook the Sunday dinner and left Trottie happily re-
newing old acquaintances.
`I've thought of a name,' said Peter as they
reached the cottage. 'Charlie.'
BETTY NEELS 109
`Just right,' declared Eulalia. 'Put on your sandals,
dear, and take him into the garden and tell him.'
So Charlie became one of the family, and she
thought of Mr van Linssen every time she looked at
him.
It was during the following week that Jacob ar-
rived with a ginger kitten tucked inside his jersey.
`A little lady,' he pointed out. 'As sweet a nature as
you'd wish for. I heard as how you'd got a pup, so
they'll be friends, like.'
Peter was over the moon. 'Aunt Lally,' he said
excitedly, 'now we've got all we wanted, haven't
we? Well, almost there's still the rabbit and, of
course, I would like you to have a big Bentley motor
car like Mr van Linssen.'
`I'll settle for the rabbit,' declared Eulalia, not al-
together truthfully.
After suitable correspondence, she took him to the
new school, enrolled him for the autumn term and
set about getting his uniform. That meant two or
three trips to Cirencester with a Peter impatient to
get back to his pets. He had named the kitten
Blossom, and there was no denying the fact that he
was now a very happy and contented small boy.
`It is such a pity that I shall never be able to thank
that great-uncle,' she told Trottie one day. 'Just
think, Trottie, we might still have been in Cromwell
Road trying to find somewhere to live and me hunt-
ing for work. Which reminds me, once we've got
110 FATE TAKES A HAND
Peter settled at school I must start thinking about the
shop. You still think it's a good idea?'
Trottie nodded. 'It's worth a try. Start in a small
way and see how it goes. You'll have to give it a
year, and if it's paying its way by then you can open
up a bit.'
Eulalia gave her a hug. `Trottie, what would we
do without you?' She stretched her arms open wide.
`Oh, isn't life just wonderful?'
`Never better, Miss Lally. All we want now is for
some nice young man to come along and sweep you
off your feet.'
`He'd need plenty of strength! I'm what is politely
known as generously built, Trottie, and he'd have to
be someone special, for he'd have to take Peter and
you as well as me, not to mention Charlie and
Blossom.' She sighed. 'He'd be hard to find.'
`That's as may be, but you ought to have a nice
young man to take you out a bit, Miss Lally.'
`I'm very happy,' said Eulalia, and almost be-
lieved it. She had no right to be otherwise; every-
thing she had wished for had come true, so why
should she hanker after seeing Mr van Linssen
again? Such a hopeless wish it was best forgotten at
once.
She went into the garden and went on with clear-
ing the fruit-bushes. With luck, they would have soft
fruit enough next year, and very soon they could pick
the apples. The plums were ripe, too; they were eat-
BETTY NEELS
ing them every day and Trottie was in her element
turning them into jam.
`I have no reason to feel the least bit unhappy,'
said Eulalia to Charlie, who was helping her with the
digging after his own fashion.
Most of the younger men and women Eulalia had
known when she had lived with her grandmother
were either married or had left home, but there were
still one or two left. Once Peter was going to school
she would accept their invitations for coffee or a
game of tennis or supper. It would be very pleasant
to renew old friendships, she reflected, and since
Peter would have his lunch at school he would be
away all day during the week. The rector's small son
was already at the school, and the rector had sug-
gested that he could give Peter a lift there and back
when he took his own son, an offer which she had
thankfully accepted.
By the time Peter's school started the autumn
term, they had settled into a pleasant routine. Trottie,
back in her own village, was shedding the years, go-
ing off to the village shops, cooking and bottling and
making jam from the blackberries Eulalia and Peter
had picked to go with the apples. As for Peter, he
had filled out nicely, made friends in the village, and
spent happy hours training Charlie and playing with
Blossom. He was looking forward to school, too, his
one regret that he couldn't take his pets with him.
`Well, dear,' said Eulalia cheerfully, 'you will be
here to give them their breakfasts in the morning and
112 FATE TAKES A HAND
take Charlie into the garden, and back here to give
them their supper, and we might take Charlie for a
walk before your supper.'
Peter, a reasonable child, agreed to this, only add-
ing, 'It's a pity that Mr van Linssen can't see
Charlie. You don't suppose he'll come to see us?'
`No, love, I don't expect that he will. He'll be
getting married soon and he won't have any time.'
`He could write a little letter...'
`Important people like him have secretaries to
write their letters.'
She went with the rector on Peter's first day at
school, careful to keep in the background small
boys, she knew, were touchy about grown-ups tag-
ging along. From a distance, she saw him and the
rector's son go through the imposing front door of
the school. 'I do hope he'll be happy,' she told her
companion.
`No doubt of it! He's a happy child and well-liked.
I'll bring him home with my son Jack this afternoon,
and you'll find he's settled in without any trouble.
You'll have more time to yourself now, won't you?
You must come over to the Rectory for a game of
tennis one afternoon. Do you remember the
Woollands? Victor and Joyce have been in America
but they're due back any day now nice to meet old
friends again...'
`Yes, I did know them but not very well.' She
hadn't liked Joyce much, a gushing girl who spread
spiteful gossip, and as for Victor, unless he had im-
BETTY NEELS 113
proved out of all knowledge, she had no particular
wish to see him again. He had had damp hands and
an overpowering conceit. She couldn't refuse the
rector's invitation, however. He had been very kind,
helping her to slip into village life again, and perhaps
Victor had improved since they had last seen each
other...
She met him in the village street a few days later,
and at first glance he didn't appear to have altered
at all, and his hand when he grasped hers was still [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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