Country Wives (26 page)

“All right, then. We’ll try. Goodnight.” As Kate turned away to walk to her car, her mobile rang. She fumbled about in her bag and eventually found it and conducted her conversation with Dan with her mother listening.

“Kate? Dan here. Where are you? I’m off to a lambing at Porter’s Fold. Coming?”

“Oh, Dan, yes! I’m in the mall parking garage. Where are you?”

“About a hundred yards away, I was going to pick you up from home on my way through. Good thing I rang first. Let’s think. I know, I’ll pull in at the fountain end.”

“Right. Three minutes.” To her mother she said, “A lambing. Got to go. Give me a ring like you said.” On winged feet
she fled down the stairs, heart zinging with delight. This was a world in which she knew where she was, not that slipping, sliding world her mother lived in, where you never knew what was truth and what wasn’t.

Dan was just pulling up as she arrived, and she leaped in with relief. “What’s the problem?”

“Don’t know, but Connie’s worried and they need support. He must be nearly dead on his feet. Belt up.” Dan surged off into the first gap he could find and headed for Magnum Percy.

This time it was Connie who was in the lambing shed, wrapped in her tartan blanket. “Tad’s asleep like a man felled, so I’ve come out. We’ve lost two lambs today. These are the ones causing a problem at the moment.”

In the same pen where the ewe had given birth to the twins only the night before stood two ewes in dire straits. Their bulging stomachs told their own story. “Looks like twins again, Connie. Right, let’s get to work. May I ask if Kate could examine one? Just for experience. Would you mind?”

“Not at all. I’ll leave you to it and go and see how Tad is.” She heaved the tartan blanket more closely about her neck before she left the shelter of the shed and disappeared into the night.

In an old set of parturition clothes belonging to Dan, Kate knelt down in the straw. Dan squeezed some lubrication cream into the ewe and left Kate to get on with her examination. She hadn’t the first idea of what sensations she would experience but she was eager to have a try. It was tight getting her hand in through the ridge of the pelvic bone, but once through that there was more room and inside felt warm and wettish. Kate felt a head, and a jumble of legs, bony and angular, but as for making sense of what she felt, that was beyond her.

She withdrew her hand and turned to see what progress Dan had made. He had one lamb out on the straw and was
struggling with the second one. It popped out with ease. “How do you do it? I can’t make any sense of what I could feel. There could be three or four in there for all I know.”

“Let me look. Check these two for me.”

Dan had the two lambs out on the straw almost quicker than it takes to say “The first one needed turning round; he was coming back end first.”

When they left the barn and set off to wash up in the outside lavvy, as Connie called it, there were four spanking lambs and two proud mothers in the pen. Connie gave them both a hot toddy before they left. “Thanks for all you’ve done. Just couldn’t manage it myself. You’re blinking good at your job, Dan, there’s no doubt about that. I hear his lordship will be taking you back on.”

“Really? I hadn’t heard.”

“So they were all saying in the market on Wednesday. Horses and farm they were saying. I’m surprised you don’t know. They all knew in the market; that’s the place to be if you want to hear the latest. Here, I’ve just had a thought. Come in the dairy and choose some cheese for yourselves. I’ve had some good reports about this batch.”

Kate and Dan put down their empty glasses and followed her out. The tartan blanket hitched up round her shoulders against the biting wind, Connie led them into the dairy, which was better equipped than the house, as though all Connie’s creativity were centered in there rather than her home. Well-scrubbed stone shelves, immaculate, gleaming, stainless-steel pans and bowls, huge shining spoons and ladles, and best of all, shelves holding a small selection of cheeses waiting to mature.

“These are ready, these at this end, up to there. Choose one. Go on.”

“It’s very kind of you,” said Dan, “but please let me pay you for it. I can’t expect you just to give me it.”

Connie stood tall and answered sharply, “I shall be offended if you offer me money.”

Kate, anxious not to give any more offense, said, “Dan lives on his own and there’s only two of us at home; how about if we share a cheese? Otherwise it’ll take us months to eat it up.” She smiled her sweetest smile at Connie, who gave in with only a slight demur.

“I see your point. I’ll cut the one you choose into two halves and wrap them for you.” She busied about getting paper and a huge shining knife down from her knife rack and stood waiting.

Dan nudged Kate. “Go on, you choose.”

They all appeared the same to Kate, but she took her time choosing, knowing it would please Connie.

As they left Porter’s Fold, Kate said, “I feel very embarrassed about this cheese. She can’t really afford to give it away, can she?”

“No, but like she said, she’d be offended if we’d insisted. Very proud the two of them.”

“I see that. A lot of veterinary work is with the people, isn’t it, as much the animals. I wish I were good at that.”

“I’ve always thought you were.”

“No, Dan, I’m not, not where it counts. I’ve made such a hash of taking my mother out this evening, you wouldn’t believe.” She explained how angry she’d been and how disappointed. “You see, Mia would have fallen in with my plans without a murmur because she
understands
. But my mother? Oh no! An Italian restaurant in the mall wasn’t good enough. Even the clothes she wore were all wrong for Barleybridge. She was all set for the Askew Arms no less, you see. I can’t afford to afford
that, if you see what I mean. I need to keep a hold on any money I have because of college.” Kate gave a great sigh and continued looking out of the side window, deep in thought.

Dan patted her knee. “Come on, Kate, it’ll take time, you know.”

“Still, we made a good job of those lambs, and that’s more important. Well, to me it is.” She beamed a great smile at him, and he smiled back at her, glad to see her spirits had lifted.

“So, seeing as I keep using you as my life counselor, what do you advise me to do? Keep on seeing her?”

“Of course. You must. Forget the dreams of childhood and your disappointment at her not matching up to them, and meet her as an adult on an equal footing.”

“Mm.”

“She can’t replace Mia, can she?” He got no reply. “Can she?”

Kate snapped out. “Of course not.”

“There you are, then. Tessa happens to have given birth to you, but Mia is your mother. You might find Tessa’s very lonely, and your father dying has given her a window, as you might say. Here we are, then.”

“Yes.” Kate stared out at the fountain thrusting water fifteen or more feet into the air as though she hadn’t seen it before. “Oh! Yes, here we are. Right, I’ll be off. Thanks Dan, for thinking of me; it’s been a wonderful experience and gives me a real impetus to succeed. Thanks for the lift.” She hunted in her bag for her car keys.

“Don’t forget your cheese.”

“Oh, right. You know they’ve caught the people who tortured poor Copperfield? Dickie Bird came in this morning to tell us; not only that, but they are also the same ones who are stealing the cars from the parking garage, so he’s killed two birds with one stone, as you might say. He’s got some daft idea about their being part of an international gang stealing cars to
order. I ask you, honestly, in sleepy old Barleybridge! He’s been watching too many American gangster films.”

“There are people with pots of money around here. He could be right.”

“I suppose. Good night. Thanks again. See you tomorrow.”

T
he letter asking Mungo if the practice would take on Lord Askew’s equine work and also take back the farm animal work was on Mungo’s desk the following morning. Joy opened it and sprang to her feet, shouting, “Eureka!” before she’d finished reading the first paragraph.

Joy raced up the stairs to the flat and burst in to find Miriam and Mungo still eating breakfast. “He’s done it!”

“Who’s done what, Joy?” Miriam asked.

“Sorry! It’s this.” She thrust the letter under Mungo’s nose. “See?”

Mungo, sensing the importance of the moment, slowly picked up his reading glasses, placed them on his nose, and solemnly read the letter all the way through before he spoke, his face showing no reaction whatever. Then he leaped to his
feet, put his hands round Joy’s waist, kissed her heartily twice and swung her round.

Miriam picked up the letter from where Mungo had dropped it on the table and read the magical words. “What did I tell you. All due to Dan.”

“Exactly!”

With a wry grin on her face, Miriam asked Mungo, “He can stay, then?”

“Of course. What else? I never thought the beggar would do it, but he has. So we’re equine too now. Champagne all round tonight before they leave?” Mungo raised a questioning eyebrow at Miriam.

“Shall we keep mum until it’s all agreed? Knowing Dan, he could drive a hard bargain, or perhaps more likely, knowing Lord Askew,
he
could drive a hard bargain and
us
not agree.”

“Perhaps you’re right, yes, of course. But what a climbdown on his part.”

Miriam corrected him. “No, Mungo, what a wise man he is. He knows how clever Dan is and wants him for himself.”

Joy declared she rather thought it might be Lady Mary who’d swung things in their direction. “I know for a fact that Dan has had dinner with her twice in the last few weeks.”

Miriam looked up from reading the letter again and asked, “Has he? I didn’t know. You don’t think …”

“I’ve work to do even if you two haven’t, so stop your matchmaking the pair of you and start the day.” Mungo went off to the bathroom to clean his teeth and left Joy and Miriam speculating.

Joy said, “He’d lead a hell of a life if anything ever came of it.”

“Lord Askew as a father-in-law! God help him.”

“Apparently Dan thinks he has a soft side to him.”

“He must be the only person ever to think that. No one has a good word for his lordship.” Miriam put the letter back in its envelope and placed it by Mungo’s glasses. “And you, Joy, what about you? What if Dan wanted to be a partner. Would you agree?”

Rather primly and with tight lips, Joy answered, “As Zoe so rightly told me not long ago, I’m not a partner so I have no say in the matter.”

“For heaven’s sake, of course you have. You’ve the rest of the staff to carry with you about this. Well?” Miriam folded her arms and looked as though she had all morning to wait for Joy’s reply.

“Well, at one time I would have opposed it, but I’ve got used to him now and there’s no doubt about it, he brings nothing but credit to the practice and that can’t be bad. Now he’s apparently won back Lord Askew … So, yes. It’s fine by me.”

Miriam kissed her cheek. “Excellent! You see I was right. I’ve always said he would be good for us. I may not work in the practice, but I do have a nose for knowing what’s going on.”

Joy looked away, wondering just how much Miriam had guessed about her own love for Mungo. God, she hoped Miriam never found out. She couldn’t bear it if she did. Fast on the heels of that thought she was hit as though by a sledgehammer with the realization that her reaction to Mungo swinging her round by her waist and kissing her had not brought the adrenaline rush it would have done at one time. As she pondered this astounding thought, he came back to pick up his glasses and the letter from the kitchen table, and she found that her heart scarcely stirred at the smile he gave her, and there was only the slightest tingling of jealousy at the sight of him kissing Miriam au revoir. So what had happened to her? Nonplussed by the void which had apparently opened up in her life, Joy thought she’d better go before her face gave anything away. “I’ll come down with you.”

She followed Mungo down the stairs, noticing that his hair grew as vigorously as ever. For twenty years she’d fiercely resisted the temptation to lay a loving hand on his neck where his hairline began, or more tempting still, caress his temples where his dark hair sprang so strongly. Somehow the urge to do so had almost bled away. But he was still a very desirable man. As Mungo walked down the stairs, he glanced back to look at her and winked. “We’re forging ahead again, aren’t we, Joy? Aren’t you thrilled?”

“Oh, yes! We’re moving on.” But Joy wasn’t sure whether she referred to the practice or to her passion for him.

When Mungo handed Dan the letter to read later that day, Dan was beside himself with delight. “This is marvelous! Just what we wanted, isn’t it?” He looked up at Mungo and asked, “Isn’t it?”

“Of course. We’re all thrilled. It’s a whole new world opening up for us, a new chapter. We’ll get him here on home ground, you and me, and have it all out in the open. Get things clear right from the start.”

“Absolutely. While I wouldn’t mind building up the equine side, I don’t want to be exclusively equine, remember. In any case, there wouldn’t be enough work to begin with until we got more clients.” Dan handed back the letter to Mungo and added, “That business of capital and wanting to be a partner, I’d like that.”

“Let’s get the meeting over with first. I’m in favor, but there’s the others to consider before we can make concrete plans. Talking of plans, what’s this about Lady Mary?”

“What about her?”

“Having dinner, I understand. The two of you.”

“That’s all. Nothing more.”

Mungo held up his hands in surrender. “Right. Sorry. None of my business.”

“No. Would you want me at this meeting?”

“Of course. You and I, but before the meeting I’ll consult Colin and Zoe.”

“Certainly. Must be off. I take it I’m staying, then?” Dan smiled. “I’d like it more than anything. But I’d buy a house and then the flat could be available for another vet should you decide to employ an additional one.”