laughed. One of them asked me: âWhen did you last see your father?â and I thought of that picture of the little Cavalier boy surrounded by Roundheads. Oh, dear!â She laughed now, with happy reminiscence.
There was a loud knock at the door.
âItâs only the papers,â said Clare. âThe boy always knocks like that. Letâs see what we can find in them.â
âDo you take six daily papers?â said Jane, as the pile was brought in.
âWell, itâs only one for each of us and the picture papers for Cook and Edith,â said Clare. âBut I suppose we must give some of them up, and all the magazines.â
âWe canât give up any newspapers while Fatherâs in the news,â said Merry, searching eagerly.
Jane was pleased to find Rupert had underestimated his news value. He had made most of the front pages, if only in a small way. There was one bit of information that hadnât been on television. His whereabouts were said to be unknown.
âSounds as if heâs got clean away,â said Merry. âStill, weâll keep our fingers crossed for him a bit longer.â
The telephone rang. Clare returned from answering it to say one of Drewâs old ladies had wanted to comfort him.
âSheâs sure itâs all a mistake. I hope a lot of people wonât ring up â though if they donât, I shall think theyâre unfeeling.â
The telephone rang again. âIâll go this time,â said Merry. It proved to be the Vicar, asking if he could help in any way and undertaking to pray for them all.
âNice of him,â said Clare. âConsidering we never go near his church when heâs doing anything in it.â
Again the telephone rang. This time it was their village grocer, wanting Clare to come in and have a word with him. âAnd I can guess why,â she said, when Merry brought the message. âLetâs go and see how much we owe him.â
They went into the study and ended by going through all the unpaid bills. Only the previous monthâs were outstanding but Jane was staggered by what they amounted to, as they were not only for the very lavish household expenditure but also for clothes, books, gramophone records â¦
âDid none of you have allowances?â she asked.
âWell, weâve always had spending money,â said Clare. âAnd quite a bit of it. But Father paid for most things â and we could order what we liked, within reason. What a lot we owe for meals at the Swan. And Merryâs school fees arenât paid.â
âJust as well, as I donât intend to go back.â
âEven if you didnât, weâd owe a termâs fees in lieu of notice. And you must go to some school.â
âMust I? You just wait and see.â
âBut itâs the law, Merry.â Clare turned to Jane for support.
âHereâs the car back,â said Merry.
They all went to greet Cook, Edith and Burly, who had been driven back by Drew, Richard having gone to London to see his fatherâs solicitor.
âAnd one or two other people who needed seeing,â said Drew, while the maids embraced Clare and Merry with lugubrious affection.
âNo doubt you have relatives who can advise you,â said Jane.
âWeâve no relatives at all but Fatherâs Aunt Winifred, and no one could hanker for her advice,â said Clare. âOh, heavens, Drew, Iâve just remembered Father gave her an allowance.â
âIt was only to make up for sending her away. Sheâs got plenty without it.â
âWeâve enough on our minds without thinking of her,â said Cook. âDo you know my worst nightmare? Itâs when I dream sheâs back here again. Well, Miss Minton, this is a sad day for us all. But no doubt itâll turn out for the best.â
âA door never shuts but another opens,â said Edith.
âSo oneâs
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