she said, taking a last truffle and tucking it into her cheek like a hamster. Then she got up, dusting cocoa powder off her hands. ‘Better go,’ she said indistinctly. ‘See you tomorrow!’
I didn’t see Raffy again until the meeting, unless you counted brief, early morning glimpses when he walked Arlo past my window – or rather, dragged him past, since Arlo always seemed determined to come in.
I think I may have become what they call a curtain-twitcher.
We Lyons were out in force at the meeting: Grumps, Zillah and Jake had decided to go, and Kat was there with her parents, so we would all get to meet them at last – and vice versa. Janey arrived under her own steam and even Clive Snowball was there; he must have left his mother and Molly in charge of the pub.
Raffy chaired the meeting, with the whole Parish Council, including Felix and a very self-conscious Poppy, sitting on the stage and taking questions. As usual, Miss Winter answered most of them, though she did graciously defer to the vicar from time to time.
There was lots of indignation about this stranger daring to come into their midst and trying to change things, though one or two of the local businesses that he patronised were slightly more forgiving.
‘I spoke to Mr Mann-Drake myself,’ Raffy said, ‘and he was adamant that he intended selling the tennis court and the lido land for housing development. He seemed confident that he’d be able to obtain planning permission on appeal, because the areas are within the village boundary.’
‘The junior tennis club gives the kids something to do in summer,’ a man’s voice called from the back of the hall and someone else said, ‘That’s right, and most of us have learned to swim up at the lido, and the Guides and Scouts have their annual camp there.’
‘The tennis club problem is easily solved,’ Miss Winter announced. ‘The vicar is renovating the court at the rear of the vicarage, which he has generously offered to let us use instead.’
‘The court and pavilion should be ready by the end of next month, when the lease on the other site runs out,’ Raffy agreed. ‘I’m making access to it by the side gate onto Church Way, and Miss Yatton will have the keys and run it as before.’
‘In fact, I think it will be a distinct improvement,’ Effie said. ‘The current one floods most of the winter, so there’s always a lot of clearing up to do in the spring.’
‘But of course!’ Laurence Yatton exclaimed. ‘That’s why the tennis court land was never built on – seasonal floods! They affect the edge of the lido field too. I’d quite forgotten, and I don’t suppose Mann-Drake would know that at all, not being from the area.’
‘We will have to make sure any potential property developers are fully aware of it,’ Hebe Winter said thoughtfully.
‘Hear! Hear!’ someone called, and there were echoes around the room.
‘I can speak to my cousin Conrad,’ suggested Poppy. ‘He’ll probably learn about any interest in the site first, being the main local estate agent – or he can find out.’
‘That would be really useful, thank you, Poppy,’ Raffy said, and she went quite pink with pleasure.
‘Isn’t there a line on the side of the tennis pavilion, marking the highest floodwater levels?’ asked Mike, the village policeman.
‘I think it just shows how high the great flood of ’36 got,’ Effie said. ‘There’s a plaque too, but its paint has peeled off.’
‘It should be repainted so it’s nice and clear,’ suggested Felix, and someone in the hall volunteered to do that.
Then Laurence Yatton proposed that a group could be organised to go and picket the Town Hall in Merchester and protest about the lido field, and by the end of the meeting there was a general air of having declared battle and of everyone being ready for action, once they knew exactly in what direction to proceed.
The main business of the meeting wound up with Hebe Winter graciously thanking the vicar for coming to the rescue with the tennis courts and also for taking on the repairs to the village hall annexe.
Everyone enthusiastically gave three loud cheers and then made a dive for the refreshments while Mr Lees, who had been sitting at the piano next to the stage with his black Labrador sprawled across his feet, now lifted the lid and played a Beatles medley, to everyone’s amazement.
Kat introduced her parents to Grumps, who was gracious, Zillah, who grinned glintingly from ear to ear, and then to me, by which time they looked slightly stunned, though they told me what a nice boy Jake was. Then they left, taking him with them, which was probably easier than trying to disentangle him from Kat.
‘That went really well,’ I said to Felix and Poppy when I caught up with them by the buffet table. Felix had piled his plate up so high that it looked like one of those Continental choux pastry wedding confections. ‘It doesn’t sound like the tennis courts are going to be quite the valuable asset Mr Mann-Drake thought they would be, does it?’
‘No, and I’m sure we can get lots of protesters out with placards, and coverage in the newspapers if any developers show interest in building there, or on the lido field,’ Felix agreed.
Poppy said earnestly, ‘Yes – I mean, it’s not that we’re against having any new homes in Sticklepond, just that they look so much better slotted in here and there, rather than a whole estate of little boxes dropped down in one place. I’ll see if I can get Conrad to be my mole about what’s happening.’
‘I wonder if there were houses on the lido field before the Plague?’ I mused. ‘I could ask Grumps to look on one of his old maps.’
I noticed that Felix and Poppy seemed to be sticking together much more than usual, though there was no sign of any special awareness between them, so either the love potion didn’t work, which was just as I thought, or I simply hadn’t put enough in. But there was still a little left and I had it with me…
‘I’ll get you both some more coffee, before it runs out,’ I suggested. ‘Back in a mo.’
The crowd had thinned out over by the urns and, by keeping my back to the room, I managed to pour the last drops of the potion into two cups…only to find Zillah at my elbow, watching me with interest. I started guiltily.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Poppy got one of Hebe Winter’s love potions and I stole it, because I think she and Felix would be perfect together!’ I hissed. ‘I put some in their drinks the other night, only it doesn’t seem to have worked, so I’m doing it again.’
‘We all hoped you and Felix would get together, because he’s a nice man and better than that David. But I see things working out differently in the cards now.’
‘I don’t want either of them,’ I told her, then noticed that Poppy and Felix were coming over. ‘Sssh!’
‘Here you are,’ I said, handing over the coffee. ‘Sorry I was ages. I got talking to Zillah.’
‘But I’m off now,’ said Zillah. ‘I only came over to tell you Clive’s giving your granddad and me a lift back, so you don’t have to bother.’
‘Grumps has been the
