The Newcomer. Fern Britton

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СКАЧАТЬ pink silk wrap on the bathroom door, Robert,’ Mamie added. ‘Toot sweet, if you could. I’m freezing my jacksie off here.’

      After a hot bath and a change into warm pyjamas, Mamie came downstairs to find the sitting room fire had been lit. A proper afternoon tea was laid out on the piano. Cheese sandwiches, ham sandwiches, scones and cake. Angela was setting down the teapot.

      ‘Angela, what a spread,’ Mamie exclaimed. ‘The country is doing you good.’

      Angela sat heavily on the sofa and sighed. ‘The leftovers from yesterday’s farewell party for Simon and Helen. I hope the sandwiches are not too curled at the edges.’

      Robert entered with an armful of logs. ‘Simon has a fine log store round the side of the house.’ He crouched in front of the crackling grate and balanced a log onto the blaze. ‘Very impressive. Simon knows what he’s doing obviously. A good log store takes understanding and time to …’ he looked up at the unimpressed faces of Angela and Mamie and changed tack, ‘Ah. There you are, Mamie. Better after the bath? Another brandy?’

      ‘If you don’t mind. Then I shall tell you all about this afternoon’s misadventure.’

      After he’d heard the story, he was torn between respect for Piran and a desire to go round and punch his lights out. ‘I had my doubts about the man when I met him yesterday.’

      ‘Did you really?’ Angela contradicted. ‘I thought you said you were looking forward to going fishing with him.’

      ‘Going fishing with him and liking him are two entirely different things.’

      ‘He’s a swine.’ Mamie tipped the brandy into her mouth and held out the glass for Robert to refill.

      Angela plonked the remains of a Victoria sponge onto her plate and sat down. ‘I think he was in shock. Remember, Robert, when Faith was small and we lost her in that hypermarket in France? When we found her you shouted at her until you were hoarse.’

      ‘That was with relief.’

      ‘Quite. And I believe that Piran was feeling the same. Relief. Shock. The poor man was only out on a walk with his dog and ended up fully submerged in the icy Atlantic, saving the life of a strange, fully clothed woman.’

      Mamie growled, ‘I was the victim.’

      Angela pulled a face of disbelief. ‘You have never been a victim. I shall go and see Piran and Helen tomorrow and pour oil on troubled waters. We have only just arrived and I want to be friends with everybody. I want this year to be a success.’ She glared at her aunt and husband. ‘You two have to buck up and be nice. Understood?’

      Mamie pursed her lips and looked over at Robert. ‘I suppose I could,’ she said reluctantly. ‘If Robert will.’

      ‘I will,’ answered Robert slowly. ‘Just as long as no one else takes a pop at either of you.’

      ‘Good. That’s sorted.’ Angela smiled at them both and pushed a large chunk of Victoria sponge into her mouth.

      Two hundred yards away, across the village green, Helen was having words with Piran in her cottage.

      ‘How could you? You have insulted Angela by suggesting she’s not welcome here, and you have been extremely rude to an elderly lady.’

      ‘She ain’t no lady. I can tell. Smelling like a tart’s boudoir and pouring herself all over me when I put her down. You should have seen her face when Jack cocked his leg on her foot. Priceless.’

      Helen picked up Piran’s wet jumper from the rail of the Aga and threw it at him. ‘Goodbye.’

      Piran caught the jumper in astonishment. ‘Now what’s got into you? I thought you was cooking supper?’

      ‘I am cooking supper. But not for you. I don’t like it when you go all Neanderthal. Go to the pub and get something there.’

      ‘But my trousers are still damp.’

      ‘Well, go back to your house, get changed, and then go to the pub.’

      Scowling, Piran went to the door, whistling up Jack behind him. ‘Come on, Jack. Someone’s had a sense of humour failure.’

      Helen winced as he slammed the front door. Piran was one of the kindest, gentlest men she had ever met. But, unfortunately, he still had rather a large slice of chauvinism in his blood.

      Helen abandoned the idea of making a lasagne, and took a Scotch egg, some salad and a bottle of wine out of the fridge. Putting the small meal together she went to her snug front room and turned on the television. A romantic comedy starring Ryan Gosling was just starting. Helen settled into the sofa and balanced her plate on her lap. She took a sip of wine and put her feet up.

      ‘He’ll be back,’ she said to herself. ‘Idiotic man.’

       6

      ‘Good morning, darling.’ Mamie put her face around the door of Angela’s office where Angela was on her knees stacking books onto Simon’s emptied shelves. ‘Sleep well?’

      ‘Always.’ Angela heaved herself up and kissed her aunt. ‘How are you after yesterday? No bruises or chills?’

      Mamie laughed her throaty laugh. ‘It’d take more than a dunk to kill me off. And in retrospect, my rescuer was rather handsome.’

      Angela shook her head. ‘He’s taken.’

      ‘My dear, I have never stooped to stealing a man.’

      ‘Well, don’t start now, please.’

      ‘Even when John was having a “break” – I think that’s the modern term – from Yoko, I told him firmly, no.’

      ‘You mean …?’

      ‘Yes. And he was sweet. But so was she.’

      Again Angela shook her head in amazement. ‘Why have I never heard about that before?’

      ‘One forgets all that one has done in one’s past,’ Mamie replied airily. ‘I am going to explore the village shop. Get some stamps … and some local gossip.’

      Queenie was sitting in her comfy old armchair in the Pendruggan village store chatting to Tony, the village gardener.

      ‘So I wants some window boxes this year. Make the shop entrance even more enticing.’

      Tony scratched his nose. ‘Do you want me to write things down?’

      ‘Help yourself to one of them notebooks on the shelf behind you and there’s me pen on the counter. I was thinking apricot geraniums.’

      Tony sat back down and opened the school exercise book he’d found. ‘I’ll write that down.’

      ‘And maybe some light blue pansies.’

      ‘Right you are.’

      ‘And СКАЧАТЬ