commendable self-control Harold put aside his researches and joined in the celebration of Christmas with the rest of his neighbours, but before the year was out he rang the Misses Lovelocks' house, and was lucky enough to get the youngest one, Violet, at the other end of the line. Violet, although almost eighty, was rather more practical than her sisters, and her memory was decidedly better.
'I'm sure we have some papers of Papa's about Octavius Fennel, but I have a funny feeling that we got one of the young men from the choir to put a trunkful of that sort of thing in the loft. I will check with Ada and Bertha and ring you back.'
For the next hour Harold paced about the house within earshot of the telephone, doing his best to be patient.
Just as he and Isobel and Betty Bell, their daily help, were sitting down to their morning coffee in the kitchen, Violet Lovelock rang him.
'Yes, indeed. Bertha clearly remembers the trunk going up into the loft. And I have recalled the article that Papa wrote. It was one of a series about local people who had contributed to Lulling and Thrush Green in one way or another. Quite short, you understand. I believe the series first appeared in the church magazine, and Papa had them put together in a little leaflet.'
'Wonderful!' cried Harold. 'When may I fetch them?'
'Well, today we are turning out the spare room, and tomorrow is bathroom-cleaning day, so what about Friday morning?'
Harold agreed readily. Secretly he wondered why the attentions to the Lovelocks' spare bedroom and bathroom forbade his picking up a leaflet from the ladies, but Violet's further explanation threw some light on the matter.
'I'm afraid we'll have to send you up into the loft to fetch the papers,' said Violet. 'We are now past coping with the little folding ladder.'
'No bother at all,' Harold assured her. 'I will look forward to seeing you at about ten, if that is convenient?'
'Perfectly,' said Violet, and rang off.
Charles Henstock, of course, had been kept informed of every step taken by Harold in his quest for details about Nathaniel and Octavius.
The discovery of a firm date for the official opening of Nathaniel's mission gave both men great satisfaction and they were in entire agreement that something must be done to note the occasion in October next.
'I hope it won't clash with the school's centenary,' Charles said. 'I know that Alan Lester is keen to mark that. It's quite extraordinary how one's calendar fills up for months in advance, what with church festivals, and visiting clergy, and the dentist.'
'I don't have to worry too much about your first two,' admitted Harold, 'but the dentist certainly seems to figure in my diary far too frequently.'
'By the way,' continued Charles, 'we had a charming letter from Robert Wilberforce after his visit. He hopes that we will see him if ever we go his way. And he wanted Dulcie Mulloy's telephone number. I think he means to get in touch when he comes south next time.'
'Good!' said Harold. Could Isobel be right about Wilberforce's interest in Nathaniel's descendant, he wondered? He dismissed the thought immediately. He was getting as bad as the rest of Thrush Green!
Friday came at last and Harold set out for Lulling High Street on foot. He carried with him a small case, notepad and pen.
'You look as though you are going for the weekend,' Isobel said.
'Well, heaven knows how much stuff I may find in that loft. I'm going prepared.'
He was greeted effusively by the three sisters who fluttered about him, pressing him to take coffee with them.
Harold managed to excuse himself, and was taken up two flights of stairs by Violet to what must once have been the servants' quarters. On the landing he espied a trap door above him which gave access to the loft and, he hoped, the treasure he was seeking.
Violet showed him how it opened and let down a metal ladder. It looked remarkably wobbly to Harold, who was a large and heavy man, but he hoped for the best. Violet
'I'm sure we have some papers of Papa's about Octavius Fennel, but I have a funny feeling that we got one of the young men from the choir to put a trunkful of that sort of thing in the loft. I will check with Ada and Bertha and ring you back.'
For the next hour Harold paced about the house within earshot of the telephone, doing his best to be patient.
Just as he and Isobel and Betty Bell, their daily help, were sitting down to their morning coffee in the kitchen, Violet Lovelock rang him.
'Yes, indeed. Bertha clearly remembers the trunk going up into the loft. And I have recalled the article that Papa wrote. It was one of a series about local people who had contributed to Lulling and Thrush Green in one way or another. Quite short, you understand. I believe the series first appeared in the church magazine, and Papa had them put together in a little leaflet.'
'Wonderful!' cried Harold. 'When may I fetch them?'
'Well, today we are turning out the spare room, and tomorrow is bathroom-cleaning day, so what about Friday morning?'
Harold agreed readily. Secretly he wondered why the attentions to the Lovelocks' spare bedroom and bathroom forbade his picking up a leaflet from the ladies, but Violet's further explanation threw some light on the matter.
'I'm afraid we'll have to send you up into the loft to fetch the papers,' said Violet. 'We are now past coping with the little folding ladder.'
'No bother at all,' Harold assured her. 'I will look forward to seeing you at about ten, if that is convenient?'
'Perfectly,' said Violet, and rang off.
Charles Henstock, of course, had been kept informed of every step taken by Harold in his quest for details about Nathaniel and Octavius.
The discovery of a firm date for the official opening of Nathaniel's mission gave both men great satisfaction and they were in entire agreement that something must be done to note the occasion in October next.
'I hope it won't clash with the school's centenary,' Charles said. 'I know that Alan Lester is keen to mark that. It's quite extraordinary how one's calendar fills up for months in advance, what with church festivals, and visiting clergy, and the dentist.'
'I don't have to worry too much about your first two,' admitted Harold, 'but the dentist certainly seems to figure in my diary far too frequently.'
'By the way,' continued Charles, 'we had a charming letter from Robert Wilberforce after his visit. He hopes that we will see him if ever we go his way. And he wanted Dulcie Mulloy's telephone number. I think he means to get in touch when he comes south next time.'
'Good!' said Harold. Could Isobel be right about Wilberforce's interest in Nathaniel's descendant, he wondered? He dismissed the thought immediately. He was getting as bad as the rest of Thrush Green!
Friday came at last and Harold set out for Lulling High Street on foot. He carried with him a small case, notepad and pen.
'You look as though you are going for the weekend,' Isobel said.
'Well, heaven knows how much stuff I may find in that loft. I'm going prepared.'
He was greeted effusively by the three sisters who fluttered about him, pressing him to take coffee with them.
Harold managed to excuse himself, and was taken up two flights of stairs by Violet to what must once have been the servants' quarters. On the landing he espied a trap door above him which gave access to the loft and, he hoped, the treasure he was seeking.
Violet showed him how it opened and let down a metal ladder. It looked remarkably wobbly to Harold, who was a large and heavy man, but he hoped for the best. Violet
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