she'll have one whether there's a housekeeper there or not. I honestly don't think we should worry."
"But we have to worry."
"Why?"
"It's not just the housekeeper . . . there are other things to be considered. The garden, for instance. Two acres of it, and she's always done it all herself. Digging the vegetables and mowing the lawn. Everything. She can't be expected to go on coping with that sort of physical work."
"She isn't going to," Olivia told her, and Nancy frowned, "I had a long gas with her on the telephone the other evening—"
"You didn't tell me that."
"You've scarcely given me the chance. She sounded splendid, robust and cheerful. She told me that she thought the doctor was a fool, and that if she had another woman living with her, she'd probably murder her. The house is too small and they'd do nothing but trip over each other, with which I whole-heartedly agreed. As for the garden, even before she had the so-called heart attack, she'd decided it was getting a bit too much for her, so she got in touch with the local garden contractors and has arranged for a man to come and work two or three days a week. I think he's starting next Monday."
All this did nothing to put Nancy in a better frame of mind. It was as though Olivia and Mother had been conspiring behind her back.
"I'm not sure I think that's a very good idea. How do we know what sort of a person they'll send? It could be anybody. Surely she could have found some nice man from the village."
"All the nice men from the village are already employed at the electronics factory at Pudley ..."
Nancy would have argued on, but was forestalled by the arrival of her soup. It came in a round brown earthenware pot and smelled delicious. She suddenly realized how hungry she was, took up her spoon, and reached for a warm brown croissant.
After a bit, she said stiffly, "You never considered discussing the matter with George and me."
"For heaven's sake, what is there to discuss? It has nothing to do with any person but Mumma. Honestly, Nancy, you and George treat her as though she were senile; she's sixty-four, in the prime of life, strong as an ox and as independent as she's ever been. Stop interfering."
Nancy was enraged. "Interfering! Perhaps if you and Noel interfered, as you term it, a little more often, it would take some of the load from my shoulders."
Olivia became icy. "Firstly, don't you ever bracket me with Noel. And secondly, if you have a load on your shoulders, you dreamt it up and put it there yourself."
"I don't know why George and I bother. We certainly get no thanks."
"What is there to thank you for?"
"A lot. If I hadn't convinced Mother it was madness, she'd have taken herself back to Cornwall and be living in some fisherman's hut by now."
"I could never understand why you thought that was such a bad idea."
"Olivia. Miles away from all of us, at the other end of the country ... it was ridiculous. I told her so. You can never go back, that's what I said. That was all she was trying to do, recapture her youth. It would have been a disaster. And besides, it was George who found Podmore's Thatch for her. And even you can't say that it isn't the most charming, perfect house in every way. And all thanks to George. Don't forget that, Olivia. All thanks to George."
"Three cheers for George."
There came at this point another interruption, while Nancy's soup bowl was removed and the escalope of veal and the 'omelette were served. The last of the wine was emptied into Nancy's glass, and Olivia began to help herself to salad. When the waiter had left them once more, Nancy demanded, "And what is this gardener going to cost? Contract gardeners are notoriously expensive."
"Oh, Nancy, does it matter?"
"Of course h matters. Can Mother afford it? It's very worrying. She's always been so secretive about money, and at the same time so dreadfully
"But we have to worry."
"Why?"
"It's not just the housekeeper . . . there are other things to be considered. The garden, for instance. Two acres of it, and she's always done it all herself. Digging the vegetables and mowing the lawn. Everything. She can't be expected to go on coping with that sort of physical work."
"She isn't going to," Olivia told her, and Nancy frowned, "I had a long gas with her on the telephone the other evening—"
"You didn't tell me that."
"You've scarcely given me the chance. She sounded splendid, robust and cheerful. She told me that she thought the doctor was a fool, and that if she had another woman living with her, she'd probably murder her. The house is too small and they'd do nothing but trip over each other, with which I whole-heartedly agreed. As for the garden, even before she had the so-called heart attack, she'd decided it was getting a bit too much for her, so she got in touch with the local garden contractors and has arranged for a man to come and work two or three days a week. I think he's starting next Monday."
All this did nothing to put Nancy in a better frame of mind. It was as though Olivia and Mother had been conspiring behind her back.
"I'm not sure I think that's a very good idea. How do we know what sort of a person they'll send? It could be anybody. Surely she could have found some nice man from the village."
"All the nice men from the village are already employed at the electronics factory at Pudley ..."
Nancy would have argued on, but was forestalled by the arrival of her soup. It came in a round brown earthenware pot and smelled delicious. She suddenly realized how hungry she was, took up her spoon, and reached for a warm brown croissant.
After a bit, she said stiffly, "You never considered discussing the matter with George and me."
"For heaven's sake, what is there to discuss? It has nothing to do with any person but Mumma. Honestly, Nancy, you and George treat her as though she were senile; she's sixty-four, in the prime of life, strong as an ox and as independent as she's ever been. Stop interfering."
Nancy was enraged. "Interfering! Perhaps if you and Noel interfered, as you term it, a little more often, it would take some of the load from my shoulders."
Olivia became icy. "Firstly, don't you ever bracket me with Noel. And secondly, if you have a load on your shoulders, you dreamt it up and put it there yourself."
"I don't know why George and I bother. We certainly get no thanks."
"What is there to thank you for?"
"A lot. If I hadn't convinced Mother it was madness, she'd have taken herself back to Cornwall and be living in some fisherman's hut by now."
"I could never understand why you thought that was such a bad idea."
"Olivia. Miles away from all of us, at the other end of the country ... it was ridiculous. I told her so. You can never go back, that's what I said. That was all she was trying to do, recapture her youth. It would have been a disaster. And besides, it was George who found Podmore's Thatch for her. And even you can't say that it isn't the most charming, perfect house in every way. And all thanks to George. Don't forget that, Olivia. All thanks to George."
"Three cheers for George."
There came at this point another interruption, while Nancy's soup bowl was removed and the escalope of veal and the 'omelette were served. The last of the wine was emptied into Nancy's glass, and Olivia began to help herself to salad. When the waiter had left them once more, Nancy demanded, "And what is this gardener going to cost? Contract gardeners are notoriously expensive."
"Oh, Nancy, does it matter?"
"Of course h matters. Can Mother afford it? It's very worrying. She's always been so secretive about money, and at the same time so dreadfully
Similar Books
