used anything but tissues. Miss Cook was taking one of her digestive pills which she usually did as a precaution after a meal out, and eyeing with malevolence the gorgeous bottle of bath salts which she had received. “I am sure she never buys herself little luxuries,” Letty had thought, “it’s expensive but Cooksie shall have a treat for once.” But Janet Cook had never used bath salts in her life and never meant to. “Just waste, stinks the place out and muddies up nice clear water.” Whatever was she to do with it? She might give it to Henry’s Doris, only as she never gave her presents like that, it would seem queer, it was a real worry!
“A party in a parlour, all silent and all damned,” quoted Aubrey Stacey to himself as he thankfully ran up the stairs to his attic fastness.
But old Mrs Sanderson firmly put away disheartening thoughts together with all the remains of the food, the candle-holders and the present-wrappings. She must not be in a hurry, she told herself, it was early days yet, give them time and they would all be friends, she felt sure. Meanwhile there was Harriet’s arrival to look forward to.
CHAPTER FIVE
HARRIET WAS USED to changes; she did not much like them, though. She did not really want to leave Queensmead because she had been at school there since she was five and a half and she was now nearly eight, and that was a long time. She had almost got a best friend now, too. When you were little, it didn’t matter not having one so much, but later it began to matter. The friend had not been at Queensmead very long, and she had been glad of Harriet because she had a squint and they called her ‘Squinty’ — her real name was Mandy. They called Harriet ‘Fatty’, not being very inventive at Queensmead, and the two got left out of things together which was better than being left out of them alone, though Harriet secretly didn’t like Squinty all that much.
But Margot arrived after Christmas was over and told her that she was to go to a more grown-up school. This was frightening but exciting and, what was more important even, she was to live at home with Margot and Andrew and go every day to this school from a new house. Margot had told Harriet to call them Margot and Andrew when she was six. She had never called Andrew “Daddy” anyway because he wasn’t her real father, so she hadn’t called him anything, and secretly she still called Margot “Mummy” to herself. She thought her the most beautiful and wonderful mother that anyone could have.She knew the other children at Queensmead thought so too. When Margot came to visit Harriet she talked to them all and Harriet could see them liking it because she was so pretty and wore such lovely clothes. This was Harriet’s one claim to fame, but though she gloried in her mother, she had also felt sorry and ashamed for some time now, ever since one of the children had said to her “You’re not a bit like your mother, are you?” Once she had firmly believed she would grow like her when she was older, then she hoped desperately that she might — “O God, let me be, O God, let me be!” — but now she knew she wouldn’t ever be. She felt it deep down inside.
When her mother came to Queensmead this time and explained that Harriet was to leave, she brought a big box of chocolates for her to give to all her friends and though, except for Squinty, she knew they weren’t really her friends, she enjoyed handing them round and hearing everyone say how lucky she was to be going away from horrid old school with such a lovely mother. Mrs Campbell, the headmistress, was sorry to lose Harriet who was a quiet, if unresponsive, child and gave little trouble, unlike some of her other charges for whom Queensmead was a substitute home “especially designed to meet the needs of those children whose parents were, for reasons of all sorts, unable to provide a home for themselves”.
“I can’t thank you enough, Mrs Campbell, for all you have
“A party in a parlour, all silent and all damned,” quoted Aubrey Stacey to himself as he thankfully ran up the stairs to his attic fastness.
But old Mrs Sanderson firmly put away disheartening thoughts together with all the remains of the food, the candle-holders and the present-wrappings. She must not be in a hurry, she told herself, it was early days yet, give them time and they would all be friends, she felt sure. Meanwhile there was Harriet’s arrival to look forward to.
CHAPTER FIVE
HARRIET WAS USED to changes; she did not much like them, though. She did not really want to leave Queensmead because she had been at school there since she was five and a half and she was now nearly eight, and that was a long time. She had almost got a best friend now, too. When you were little, it didn’t matter not having one so much, but later it began to matter. The friend had not been at Queensmead very long, and she had been glad of Harriet because she had a squint and they called her ‘Squinty’ — her real name was Mandy. They called Harriet ‘Fatty’, not being very inventive at Queensmead, and the two got left out of things together which was better than being left out of them alone, though Harriet secretly didn’t like Squinty all that much.
But Margot arrived after Christmas was over and told her that she was to go to a more grown-up school. This was frightening but exciting and, what was more important even, she was to live at home with Margot and Andrew and go every day to this school from a new house. Margot had told Harriet to call them Margot and Andrew when she was six. She had never called Andrew “Daddy” anyway because he wasn’t her real father, so she hadn’t called him anything, and secretly she still called Margot “Mummy” to herself. She thought her the most beautiful and wonderful mother that anyone could have.She knew the other children at Queensmead thought so too. When Margot came to visit Harriet she talked to them all and Harriet could see them liking it because she was so pretty and wore such lovely clothes. This was Harriet’s one claim to fame, but though she gloried in her mother, she had also felt sorry and ashamed for some time now, ever since one of the children had said to her “You’re not a bit like your mother, are you?” Once she had firmly believed she would grow like her when she was older, then she hoped desperately that she might — “O God, let me be, O God, let me be!” — but now she knew she wouldn’t ever be. She felt it deep down inside.
When her mother came to Queensmead this time and explained that Harriet was to leave, she brought a big box of chocolates for her to give to all her friends and though, except for Squinty, she knew they weren’t really her friends, she enjoyed handing them round and hearing everyone say how lucky she was to be going away from horrid old school with such a lovely mother. Mrs Campbell, the headmistress, was sorry to lose Harriet who was a quiet, if unresponsive, child and gave little trouble, unlike some of her other charges for whom Queensmead was a substitute home “especially designed to meet the needs of those children whose parents were, for reasons of all sorts, unable to provide a home for themselves”.
“I can’t thank you enough, Mrs Campbell, for all you have
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