built.
Grace nodded at a photograph of two young men, very alike, with sharply intelligent good looks. ‘Esther’s sons can’t be here for my birthday, of course,’ she said on a note of regret. ‘They both came to see me when they were last at home. They’re doing exceptionally well. They’re ambitious and hard-working, like their father.’ She grimaced. ‘Just as well they didn’t take after their mother or they’d probably both be sitting around, waiting for someone to organize their lives.’ She half smiled. ‘If I’d had a daughter I’d have wanted her to be like Nina.’ She looked up at Kelsey. ‘She came from a very ordinary background, you know, though you’d never think it. Everything was done very quickly when Matthew decided to marry her. We never met her parents, she never produced them. She gave us to understand her father had retired early from business, because of ill health, and her mother was a shy woman; they went about very little.’ She moved her hand. ‘Bernard had discreet inquiries made. It turned out they were small shopkeepers, not retired at all, both of them working long hours for a modest living. Very respectable, decent, honest folk.’
She smiled slightly. ‘I never let on to Nina that we’d been so nosey. I could well understand why she’d said what she said. I liked her from the start, I always knew she was right for Matthew.’ She gave a decisive little nod. ‘Best thing he ever did, marrying Nina.’ She was silent for a moment. ‘I’ve often felt sorry for James, married to a nervy wife.’ She expelled a little breath. ‘Poor Esther, she does try so hard to please. She comes to see me regularly but I find her visits rather depressing, she will fuss over me.’
She went on to talk about the new hospice, how devotedly everyone was striving to raise money. The Chief told her he had every intention of seeing the foundation stone laid. ‘It will have to be something pretty cataclysmic to keep me away,’ he assured her.
‘It would be lovely if I could be there myself,’ she said. ‘But if not, I can listen to it on the local radio. And I can see it on regional TV in the evening.’
‘I’ll hope to see you at the ceremony then.’ The Chief glanced at the clock, mindful that he mustn’t tire her. They went on chatting for a little longer, then he rose to leave. He stooped to kiss her cheek.
‘If either one of us doesn’t make it to the ceremony,’ Grace said, ‘do come and see me again when you can.’ She smiled up at him. ‘Better not leave it too long.’
On Tuesday evening, when Grace had been settled down for the night, Dorothy Nevett was crossing the hall when the phone rang. She answered it and heard Alice’s voice. She stood listening intently, putting in a question or two. ‘You’re not to worry about it,’ she said at last. ‘Leave it to me, I’ll think of something.’ When she had replaced the receiver she stood looking down at the floor, frowning, thinking, thrusting out her lips. Then she moved slowly off through the hall and up the stairs to her room.
On Wednesday morning, Dorothy Nevett, with Mrs Gosling in tow, busied herself with the preparation of bedrooms, in readiness for the weekend visitors. Esther and James would have the large, twin-bedded room at the front of the house, across the landing from the best bedroom – the one occupied by Mrs Dalton until her illness, and now no longer used. Nina would require only a single room as Matthew wouldn’t be staying the night. He would arrive towards the end of Saturday afternoon and would leave again after the birthday dinner, to drive back home. He was one of the organizers of a charity golf tournament to be held on the Sunday morning, in aid of the new hospice and would be playing in the tournament himself. James was also taking part in the tournament but as he wasn’t involved in the organizing and wouldn’t be playing in any of the early matches, he had no need to hurry back to Brentworth and would be staying the night at Elmhurst.
Verity could occupy a single room near Jean Redfern’s bedroom. There was never any need to ponder about where to put Barry: around the corner from Jean’s room, along a passage, in the snug little room he had always had, from the very first night he had ever slept at Elmhurst. He was fond of the room and looked on it by now as his own. He would have been astonished and dismayed to find some interloper installed in his place and himself banished to other quarters. Not that Dorothy would dream of playing any such trick on him. She had always had a soft spot for Barry who had been unfailingly considerate and well-mannered towards her, even as a young boy, stunned by his father’s death.
Verity was another matter entirely. She had certainly been subdued enough when she first came to Elmhurst but Dorothy had felt from the start there was a volcano simmering away deep down inside, waiting to erupt. She had always struck Dorothy as someone who might, under the thrust of events and emotions, be capable of almost anything.
At eleven-thirty on Thursday morning, Dr Wheatley called to check that all was well with Grace, in readiness for the birthday celebrations. He brought with him his card and birthday gift, a handsome Welsh knee-rug, gorgeously coloured.
During the afternoon, Jean washed and set Grace’s hair. She had grown used to the task over the last two years and took pride in achieving an ever more pleasing result. She had early on got Grace to agree to the purchase of a salon-type hairdryer and now went about the operation with almost professional expertise.
The first guests to arrive were Verity and Barry, on Friday afternoon. They went along separately to see Grace and have a chat, leaving an interval between their visits, mindful of the need not to tire her.
The early evening brought Esther on her own; James would be arriving on Saturday afternoon. She had a chat with Grace before supper. Later, when Verity and Barry were sitting together, absorbed in their own conversation, Esther wandered off to the old playroom, where so many hours of her childhood had been spent. The room was large, furnished with cupboards, shelves and drawers. It looked out over the garden, at the rear of the house.
The last children to use it had been Verity and Barry. The only use made of it in more recent years was as a green room at Christmas and other domestic festivals when it had always been an Elmhurst tradition to play charades, get up playlets or revue-type shows. Everyone, servants and all, had been pressed into these productions.
There had been none of these entertainments since Grace’s illness, but the big dressing-up chest was still there, with garments belonging to Daltons dead and gone. A roomy cupboard still housed an assortment of items useful as props.
Esther opened the cupboard and glanced over the shelves. She lifted the lid of the chest, fingered the contents. She crossed to the rows of bookshelves. One shelf held old bound copies of magazines. She took down a volume and went over to a window seat. She sat slowly turning the pages, sunk in thought.
* * *
Saturday morning was bright and calm, crisply invigorating. After an early breakfast, Matthew Dalton went off to his office. Nina put her bag in her car for the overnight stay at Elmhurst and drove over to the Dalton cottage. She wore old casual clothing; her hair was tied up in a scarf, in readiness for whatever jobs might present themselves, indoors or out.
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